This page explains the new Master of Arts of Historical Resources Management program of the History Department of Idaho State University. This innovative program is based on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for historical research and teaching.

Master of Arts in Historical Resources Management

INDEX

• Brief Explanation of the Program

• The Program

• The Internship Experience

• Required Graduate Courses

• Elective Graduate History Courses

• Analysis/ Management Courses

• Admissions

• Getting Ready

• What is needed to start the program?

• Exploring Geographically-Integrated History Projects

Brief Explanation of the Program

In the fall of 2007, the first class of four to six students will enter this innovative program, which combines an emphasis on the use of emerging technologies, especially Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related Information Technologies (IT), with internship experiences that develop skills in communication and collaboration. Strong preparation in the organization and analysis of complex historical data will enable graduates to compete successfully for a wide variety of jobs with state, national, and international businesses and educational, government, and private agencies and to strengthen K-12 and higher education teaching in an increasingly technological instructional environment.

For an elementary introduction to GIS, visit "What is GIS?," www.gis.com/whatisgis/index.html

Students will graduate with the ability to catalogue historical information (that is, original written documents and photographs; digital text, image, and tabular data) on the basis of location and to use appropriate Information Technologies to organize, distribute, integrate, explore, analyze, and present this data in response to the needs of a variety of employment environments. Moreover, graduates will know how to use primary sources appropriately, will understand the major contemporary historiographical debates that provide context for their projects, will know how to seek funding, will collaborate effectively, and will demonstrate skill in written, oral, and visual communication. There will be a final oral examination.

You may learn more about the Department of History's intentions in offering this program by reading the following article written by its creators, Dr. J. B. Owens and Dr. Laura Woodworth-Ney: Envisioning a master's degree program in geographically-integrated history, Journal of the Association for History and Computing 8,2 (2005).

You may also wish to read the online version of an article about the program that appeared in the trade journal of ESRI, ArcNews:
Idaho State University Creates Innovative Program in History and GIS, ArcNews 27,3 (Fall 2005): 45.

The Program

• A minimum of 30 semester credits.

• Core courses, 15 credits (12 at the 600-level): The core courses are designed to teach students (1) about the use of GIS and related Information Technologies in historical studies, the proper use of primary sources, the major contemporary historiographical debates, and obtaining funding, (2) to collaborate in the physical and virtual workplace, and (3) to communicate effectively by visual, oral, and written means. All students will have taken GEOL g403, Principles of Geographical Information Systems, or its equivalent, prior to entering the M.A. program.

• An internship is required. The internship will require the student to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related Information Technologies (IT) in a collaborative work environment to accomplish one or more of the following: to explore, analyze, and visualize historical resources, the interactions among them, and their relationship to space and time; to catalogue, connect, and distribute historical resources on local and global scales; to develop public policy; to formulate questions for analysis; and to present the results of such work in response to research problems posed by individual researchers, community groups, public entities, and private institutions.

• Electives: at least 12 credits of elective course work must be in History, beyond the required core courses and internship. If more than 9 graduate credits in History are transferred from another institution, the candidate's advisory committee may require additional work in History to ensure that the candidate meets the Department's goal of graduating students capable of using primary sources and understanding contemporary historiographical debates appropriate to the individual student's interests and goals. All students in the Master's program will have taken at least 18 credits of previous course work in History at the upper-division level prior to admission.

• There will be a final oral examination. For students seeking the M.A. in Historical Resources Management with the thesis option, the examination will be based on the thesis. For those seeking the degree with the non-thesis option, the examination will be based either on the internship project or on GIS-based modules created for HIST 642, "Presentation of History Projects." The format of the non-thesis option examination will be flexible in order to accommodate a wide variety of possible student experiences.

• Because the program deals with a rapidly-changing field, a student must complete all requirements for the degree within four (4) years of the beginning of course work. The program is designed for completion within two years but can be extended to accommodate part-time students.

The Internship Experience

The program focuses on an internship experience:

Hist 664: Graduate Internship, 3-12 credits
Supervised experience in the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other relevant Information Technologies to an historical project in a collaborative work environment. May be repeated as necessary.

The internship will require the student to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related Information Technologies (IT) in a collaborative work environment to accomplish one or more of the following: to explore, analyze, and visualize historical resources, the interactions among them, and their relationship to space and time; to catalogue, connect, and distribute historical resources on local and global scales; to develop public policy; to formulate questions for analysis; and to present the results of such work in response to research problems posed by individual researchers (the program has a thesis option), community groups, public entities, and private institutions.

Required Graduate Courses

In addition to at least twelve elective graduate credits in history, all students in the program will also take the following core courses (fifteen credits) prior to beginning the internship:

Geographic Information Systems in Historical Studies, 3 credits
Description: Introduction to the use of GIS in historical studies. Detailed examination of major projects around the world, of handling uncertainty and fragmentary data, and of problems of interoperability in integrating data about a place and sharing data from different studies. Practice in using primary sources in conjunction with GIS and related Information Technologies and in creating and using geographically-integrated history databases.

Graduate Proseminar, 3 credits
Description: Introduction to graduate studies. Focus on contemporary historiographical debates, with emphasis on those related to location and spatial relationships.

Cartography: History and Design, 3 credits
Description: History of how map-makers represent geographic, spatial data. Special attention to the elements of successful cartographic design.

Presentation of History Projects, 3 credits
Description: Course on preparation of GIS-based modules for history courses and/or for presentations to professional audiences, administrative and political bodies, and the general public. Attention to the use of posters and the Internet. Stress on visual analysis and design.

Research Resources in History, 3 credits
Description: Instruction in the discovery of funding sources for historical research and its application and in the writing of successful funding proposals. Practice drafting proposals for major government and private funding sources in the humanities, military, public health and human services, social and natural sciences, and technology sectors.

You may also wish to read the Department of History section of the Graduate Catalog of Idaho State University.

Elective Graduate History Courses

• Hist 645: Independent Research Project, 1-6 credits
  Individual research project employing Geographic Information Systems. On a topic selected by the student. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor who will direct the project and of the student's graduate committee.
• Hist 650: Thesis, 3 credits
  Open to students seeking the M.A. in Historical Resources Management with the thesis option. May be repeated as necessary.
• Hist 521: Federal Indian Relations, 3 credits
  
• Hist 523: Idaho History, 3 credits
  
• Hist 525: Women in the North American West, 3 credits
  
• Hist 527: North American West, 3 credits
  
• Hist 529: International Relations since 1900, 3 credits
  
• Hist 530: Global Environmental History, 3 credits
  
• Hist 535: Colonial Frontiers in America and Africa, 3 credits
  
• Hist 537: Families in Former Times, 3 credits
  
• Hist 538: Women in Pre-industrial Europe, 3 credits
  
• Hist 539: Women in History, 3 credits
  
• Hist 541: The Viking Age, 3 credits
  
• Hist 543: English History, 3 credits
  
• Hist 544: Victorian England and After, 3 credits
  
• Hist 546: Social and Economic History of Greece and Rome, 3 credits
  
• Hist 548: Medieval Social and Economic History, 3 credits
  
• Hist 550: Golden Age Castile, 3 credits
  
• Hist 553: Renaissance Creativity, 3 credits
  
• Hist 560: The Global Hispanic Monarchy, 3 credits
  
• Hist 574: Islam and Nationalism in the Modern World, 3 credits
  
• Hist 578: Imperialism and Progressivism, 3 credits
  

After the master's program is underway, the department plans to add 500-level courses in "Applied History," "Quantitative History," and "Group Behavior in History" (working titles).

Analysis/ Management Courses

• Geol 606: Geostatistical Spatial Data Analysis and Modeling, 3 credits
  
• Geol 607: Spatial Analysis, 3 credits
  
• Geol 628: Advanced GIS Programming, 3 credits
  
• Anth 510: Introduction to Cultural Resources Management, 3 credits
  
• CIS 580: Database Management Systems, 3 credits
  
• Geol 504: Advanced GIS, 3 credits
  
• Geol 507: GPS Applications in Research, 3 credits
  
• Geol 508: Geotechnology Seminar, 2 credits
  
• Geol 509: Remote Sensing, 3 credits
  
• Geol 527: Information Technology for GIS (IT4GIS), 3 credits
  
• Geol 528: Programming for GIS, 3 credits
  
• M C 570: Communication Through Web Design, 3 credits
  
• Muse 511: Basic Museology, 2 credits
  

Admissions

• Applicants must have a 3.0 or above in the last two years of undergraduate work and a 3.5 or above in any graduate work in History or related subjects.

• Applicants must achieve scores in the 35th percentile or above on each of the three components of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

• Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with their academic work.

• Applicants must have at least 18 credits of previous course work in History at the upper-division level. Students will be required to compensate for deficiencies in undergraduate course work.

• Applicants must have taken GEOL g403, Principles of Geographical Information Systems, or its equivalent, or present evidence that this course will be completed prior to entering the Historical Resources Management graduate program.

• Applicants must submit as part of their admissions application a statement of interest in historical studies and personal goals. Particular attention should be given to explaining how these interests and goals relate to the Historical Resources Management graduate program.

• Note on the administration of admissions: To be successful an application must receive the support of someone in the department willing to chair the applicant's advisory committee and of a second department member willing to serve on the advisory committee.

You should also consult the Prospective Students page of the School of Graduate Studies of Idaho State University.

Getting Ready

You must have taken GEOL g403, Principles of Geographical Information Systems, or its equivalent, or present evidence that this course will be completed prior to entering the Historical Resources Management Master's degree program. It is recommended that you take this course by the end of your junior year so that you will have time for additional preparation in GIS and related Information Technologies (such as, database design and management), if your interests and goals would benefit from this additional study. In an effort to make it easier for you to work this course into your schedule, if you are an ISU student, the History Department now includes this course among those that can be taken for the undergraduate history major.

Although it is not required for admission, you will enhance your preparation for the program, and therefore your application for admission, if you have taken a course that teaches you how to design a relational database.

You must submit as part of your admissions application a statement of interest in historical studies and personal goals. Particular attention should be given to explaining how these interests and goals relate to the Historical Resources Management Master's degree program. GEOL g403, Principles of Geographical Information Systems, should be taken before the application deadline so that you can think carefully about this statement, because students will only be accepted for admission if the History Department feels that they have the right sort of research interests and career goals to benefit from this type of program and the funded internships available at the time of application.

You must have at least 18 credits of previous course work in History at the upper-division level. Students will be required to compensate for deficiencies in undergraduate course work, which will delay graduation. You must also submit three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with their academic work, and you will have to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

You may wish to visit the web site of the Department of History of Idaho State University.

What is needed to start the program?

In order to initiate this M.A. program, the History Department must have a new faculty position. The State Board of Education approved this new position when it approved the M.A. in Historical Resources Management, but Idaho State University must now fund the position. The department needs to strengthen its ability to provide high quality technical training in the use of GIS for historical studies. Therefore, the primary qualifications of candidates for this new position will be the use of GIS in their research and demonstrated ability to handle crucial core courses in the graduate curriculum, especially Geographic Information Systems in Historical Studies and Presentation of History Projects. Particular attention will be given to the candidates' potential to obtain external funding for research.

Candidates must also have research and teaching programs that do not duplicate those of current members of the history department. There are many possibilities. In terms of world regions, the department has no specialist in Latin America, East Europe/Russia/Soviet Union (Eurasia), East Asia, Southeast Asia, or South Asia. In terms of thematic focus, there are a number of research areas in which GIS is currently used that are not represented within the department; for example, these include demographic history, economic history, military history, and the history of Buddhism. Because appropriate g400-level courses will only be added to the course catalog when the person is hired, these are not reflected in the current list of elective graduate courses in History.

Exploring Geographically-Integrated History Projects

The M.A. in Historical Resources Management can be characterized as "geographically-integrated history" because students will learn to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related Information Technologies (IT) to manage historical resources of any type on the basis of time and location in standardized data formats that can be discovered quickly and utilized in whatever combinations seem appropriate to the user. This type of management of historical resources will permit the aggregation of data for a particular place, enriching the context within which historical questions can be answered, and the linking of that place to other locations. The following web sites provide examples of how this data aggregation and linking of locations can be done.

• China Historical GIS, www.fas.harvard.edu/~chgis

• David Rumsey Map Collection, Cartography Associates, www.davidrumsey.com/

• Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative, www.ecai.org

• Great Britain Historical GIS Project, www.geog.port.ac.uk/gbhgis/

• International Dunhuang Project, idp.bl.uk

• National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS), www.nhgis.org

• North American Religion Atlas, www.religionatlas.org of the Polis Center www.thepoliscenter.iupui.edu/polis/home.htm

• Old World Traditional Trade Routes Project, www.ciolek.com/owtrad.html

• Salem Witch Trials Archive, etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/home.html

• Valley of the Shadow, valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/

Version and change history:

• 2005-02-06: first html version of this document was posted to the Internet. This was a crude document based on the "Notice of Intent" (NOI) that Idaho State University had submitted to the Idaho State Board of Education. This NOI had been accepted by the SBOE at its meeting in January, 2005, when permission was given to submit a "Full Proposal." Because the graduate program had been mentioned in an interview with Dr. John Kijinski, dean of ISU's College of Arts and Sciences, in the student newspaper, the History Department secretary was being questioned by a number of students interested in doing graduate work in history at ISU. This page was prepared in order to give the secretary a resource to which she could send the students for answers to their questions.
• 2005-04-19: page revised when the History Department learned that the SBOE had given full approval to the graduate program.
• 2006-01-24: page substantially revised. Added the fact that Dr. Kevin Marsh was selected this month as the History Department's Director of Graduate Studies; the URL for the Owens and Woodworth-Ney article in the Journal of the Association for History and Computing; the URL for the ArcNews article; the URL for the Department of History section of ISU's Graduate Catalog and that for the Prospective Students page; URL for the History Department; statement about the importance of course work on the design of relational databases. Removed the link to the University of Portsmouth summer school because it was irrelevant to the section in which it was included. Made minor stylistic revisions.
• 2006-04-19: removed HIST 528 from the list of elective graduate courses because the department no longer offers the course.
• 2006-08-17: corrected the broken link to the "Prospective Students" section of the graduate studies web site.

All contents copyright © 2005-2006.
Department of History, Idaho State University
All rights reserved.

Revised: 17 August 2006

URL:  http://www.isu.edu/~owenjack/grad.html