Data-Based Decisions 2025

After many years of assessing our graduate program via indirect means (quality and quantity of applicants, completion percentage, course reviews, employment of former students), the History Department in 2021 began a direct assessment program of its History MA/MS degrees and its Ancient Languages and Cultures MA/MS degrees. We assess our primary learning objectives using an interrater reliability method in which two evaluators (not on the student’s committee) evaluate the program’s learning objectives for a substantial sample of students’ final thesis (Plan A) or principal Plan B project or paper. (We sample over 50 percent of completions). Each major learning objective is assessed for each paper or project to track if it exceeds expectations, meets expectations, or needs work to meet expectations. These papers/projects are the culmination of each student’s MA/MS program, and thus provide the best overview of whether the program as a whole is accomplishing its goals.

Since 2021 we have evaluated a total of 34 theses or Plan B projects, including all ten projects completed in the spring and summer of 2025. In the category of Historical Knowledge, there were 26 reviews of “exceeds expectations,” 42 reviews of “meets expectations,” and 3 reviews of “needs works” (95.8 percent success rate of meeting expectations or higher). In the first of two categories of Historical Thinking (historiography), there were 24 reviews of exceeds expectations, 36 meets expectations, and 8 needs works (88.2 percent success rate of meeting expectations or higher). In the second category of Historical Thinking (sources and evidence), there were 27 reviews of exceeds expectations, 30 meets expectations, and 9 needs works (86.4 percent success rate of meeting expectations or higher). Finally, in Historical Skills, there were 30 reviews of exceeds expectations, 37 meets expectations, and 1 needs works (98.5 percent success rate of meeting expectations or higher). In total, for all learning objectives, there were 249 reviews of meets expectations or higher out of 270 total reviews, for a 92.2 percent success rate. The full data set is available on the department’s webpage; individual evaluators’ ratings are available upon request. 

In November 2025 the Director of Graduate Studies met with the Department Head to discuss these results. Given the high success rate, we are confident that our program is enabling students to meet and exceed the learning objectives established for our respective MA/MS programs. However, policy changes afoot in the School of Graduate Studies may require us to make adjustments to the program calendar to ensure timely completion of thesis projects. This will include providing revised guidance to all admitted students and their thesis advisors, and possibly restructuring the required second-year course (HIST 6030: Research Seminar) to allow for greater progress on the thesis project in the Fall semester.

The graduate committee will convene in early 2026 to review the assessment data collected here and to make potential adjustments to the program calendar to align with new policies set by the School of Graduate Studies.