CSUDH - HUX advice

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by mrboffo, May 9, 2002.

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  1. mrboffo

    mrboffo New Member

    Well, it's been a long time coming, but I've just applied for the CSUDH Humanities External Degree. I know there are several here who have been in the program. Anyone have any useful advice or comments?
     
  2. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Welcome aboard!

    A few random pieces of advice:

    1. In my humble opinion, the hardest Defining the Humanities course is HUX 501 (History); the rest are relatively easy, though HUX 502 (Literature) probably has the most reading assignments, for obvious reasons.

    2. Ben Mijuskovic filled up my papers with notes and sent me handout sheets. Jim Jeffers sent me little scraps of paper with summary comments and grades, but didn't mark up my work. Eiichi Shimomisse is the nicest German-fluent phenomenologist I've ever met, and I consider him the most knowledgeable philosophy guy on staff. C. Michael Mahon sent lots of letters, and likes to build up a conversation with students. David Heifetz is easiest to reach by telephone. Marshall Bialosky is even more scatterbrained than I am, but he means well. Arthur Harshman is pleasant to deal with. William Hagan is the most competent religion guy on staff. Tom Giannotti was the only professor I had who preferred that I e-mail assignments in instead of mailing them. Donald Lewis is a brilliant smart-aleck. Lyle Smith is tough, fair, and thorough; next to Mijuskovic, I vote him "most likely to send you more than you sent him." I've always been told to avoid David Churchman (and our paths never did cross), but I'd also been told to avoid Arthur Harshman, and he was just fine. I can't say enough nice things about Nicole Ballard, especially since she's probably reading this. If you suffer from seasonal depression, save HUX 548 for the summer semester. Allow a year for thesis work; you could conceivably write your thesis on a three-day weekend like Steve Levicoff, but you will almost certainly not get an A on your first pass. If you plan on doing Ph.D. work, choose the thesis option, not the creative project option, and try to get your thesis over the 15,000-word mark if Australia and the UK are on your doctoral program short list, because some schools over yonder don't consider it a master's thesis if it's less than 15,000 words.

    3. Above all, have fun. This is one of the most genuinely delightful programs I've ever run across, and I don't think the fact that I did it myself biases me too much.

    Good luck!


    Cheers,
     
  3. jcryan

    jcryan New Member

    CSUDH MA Humanities

    Somewhere I heard that the program can be completed in a year. Is this true?
    Thanks!
    John Ryan
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Re: CSUDH MA Humanities

    Any 30-36 credit Master's degree can be completed in one academic year if you want to bust your hump. I completed my 33 credit Master's degree in an academic year by taking 3 classes each each of the 3 semesters, and 1 class each summer session.

    I stress academic year because you won't actually finish in one year. You'll finish at the end of the same semester (winter, fall, spring) you started the previous year.


    Bruce
     
  5. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Re: CSUDH MA Humanities

    In theory, yes; in practice, not really. I did take 12 semester hours of coursework in Spring 1998, and for a 36-hour master's that would have logically meant that three semesters would have done it. But there are lots of necessary delays involved with the thesis process that would, I think, bump the program up to a minimum 18 months. I spent two years on coursework (1997-99) and a year (2000) going through the thesis process. Count on at least a semester for the first draft and a semester for the final draft, because it has to go through (literally) six people before being approved, and four of them (the readers and the formatting person) have to comment on it.


    Cheers,
     
  6. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    Re: Re: CSUDH MA Humanities

    Or rather: Two academic years (Fall 1997 to Fall 1999) on coursework, and one academic year (Fall 1999 to Fall 2000) on the thesis.


    Cheers,
     
  7. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I graduated from CSUDH-HUX in 2000. All in all, I liked it a lot and got a lot out of it.

    Advice? It's easier to respond to issues than to think of some off the top of my head.

    The biggest drawback to HUX, in my opinion, is low interactivity. You will rarely if ever contact other students. So the whole thing is like a tutorial, where every class is taken one-on-one through independent study.

    But all that your classes are going to require from you is turning in the assigned papers. Although you will have to carefully read the comments on your returned papers, since heeding that stuff is very important, you needn't talk to a soul. You can easily fall into an isolated lone-ranger thing.

    So you need to make contact with them. They won't reach out to you, you have to do it.

    My experience with that was a lot like my experience with on-campus office hours. Some professors will try to brush you off, others are thrilled that you are interested in their subject and invite you in. You will find you like some and don't like others.

    But try to form a relationship with some of them. That way you get more out of your classes, and they will remember you when it comes time for recommendations and stuff.

    Another bit of advice is to read widely. Don't just read the assigned readings but prowl the academic libraries, if you have access to one. They love it when you do that. When they send you a bibliography, it's not just there for looks. Since you won't have the benefit of lectures, you have to take up the slack.

    Have some original ideas about the topic of the class, and lay it out in your papers. Improvise around your subject. Think outside the box.

    Try to write well. Some of the professors seem to let anything pass, but the next one will demand professional publishable quality prose from you, and it can be a shock. Be ready. One way to do that is to read journal articles. Not only do you benefit from the content, but the style rubs off. Try to emulate the style of professional writing.

    Concerning quantity, the rule of thumb is 10 pages/unit. A three unit class will usually want about 30 pages. That's normally divided up into several papers due several weeks apart. 3 10's or 4 7's, for example.

    They are usually good about returning your papers before the next one is due. Read the comments and pay close attention to them. Incorporate that stuff into your next paper.

    The quality of comments is all over the map. They range from something inane like "good" to (literally!) an equally long paper written back at you. The latter indicates that the professor found what you wrote interesting and is interested in the same things. He or she is definitely one of the professors that you want to contact.

    Since HUX is an interdisciplinary program revolving around history, philosophy, art, music and literature, you are inevitably going to get hit with something that you are not prepared to handle. In my case, I was pretty much in the dark about music, and that happened to be one of those no nonsense professors I referred to above that wanted a professional quality paper out of me. I rather desparately read some encyclopedia articles and stuff, trying to generate some voabulary. But this thing isn't impossible, and the professor didn't expect technical music theory out of me, though he was happy to see it from those specializing in music. I ended up writing a paper on some influences, historical and personal, that helped shape a particular composer's work. It was an interdisciplinary paper which, after all, is what HUX is all about.

    They won't expect the same kind of technical expertise from you that a graduate student in music, art or philosophy would be expected to wield, but they will expect you to make connections more broadly. You will apply philosophy to history or to art, and not just to technical problems of interest only to philosophers.

    I took my classes slowly, usually only one or two at a time. That worked out well, since I could devote myself to a subject and get deeply into that mind-set for a while. I liked that, and some of it has stuck with me, which is the point, I guess.

    The thesis. It's the most frustrating part, by far. It will take longer than you think. Be ready for that. Start toying with topics as soon as you can. If you get excited about something or have an unusually cool idea, think about whether you can turn it into a thesis topic. Look closely at the faculty listing thing that they send you giving all the faculty's research interests. Think about who you can get to serve on your committee.

    I believe that they have started a mandatory one unit thesis class since I was there, and now help guide you through the process of choosing a topic, making a proposal, recruiting a chairman and a committee etc. They help you find mentors now, where I had to wing it myself. I guess they realized that they had a logjam there.

    Don't let the thesis psych you out. It doesn't have to win a Nobel prize. Don't make it into more than it is. It's really just a long extended bit of academic writing that demonstrates that you can develop an argument and do some research.

    Try to find some masters theses in a local university library and check them out to see what other students have been doing.

    Use a decent word processing program. Since the theses are bound, they are very picky about stuff like margins. They have some of the world's most anal-retentive people making sure that every page is in accordance with the style handbook, so you will need to rewrite your thesis at least once. So make sure that you can easily alter format items. Back everything up! Don't lose your thesis if something crashes.

    Graduation. Don't be impatient. Once you get all your committee members to sign off, it will take a long time for them to process your paperwork.

    Finally, and perhaps most important, if you have a question or a concern, for God's sake don't sit and worry. Call the HUX office. They are *very* friendly and nice and can either reassure you or fix your problem in minutes. Things will go wrong from time to time, but nothing that can't be easily fixed with a phone call.
     
  8. mrboffo

    mrboffo New Member

    Wonderful advice all around. Thanks, all!

    I'm anxious to begin. My primary area of interest is history, and I intend to do the history concentration.

    The coursework sounds like it should be fairly smooth. I recall doing an average of about 15 pages per unit for my upper-level bachelor's history classes. I'm not too intimidated by the thesis, as I produced a 13,000 word paper for my Senior Seminar at the undergrad level. I've actually been mulling around thesis ideas for the better part of 2 years, since the time I decided I wanted to go back to school.

    I am a little concerned about the issue of time. I'd like to complete the program in 2 years. I'm confident in my ability to complete the coursework and thesis in that time, but the process of moving the thesis through the proper channels sounds as if it could greatly delay the process. I'd hate to lose another year before I can move on; I'm already seven years behind!

    Again, thanks for the informative comments.
     
  9. Tom Head

    Tom Head New Member

    It should be entirely possible to do the program in two years, but I'd do the following:

    1. Call Nicole Ballard now and tell her that this is what you want to do, and ask for any advice on things you can do now to keep the process running smoothly (taking HUX 598 early, for example, since you already have a topic in mind). Call her once per trimester to follow up, and every three weeks or so once you've begun the final project phase.

    2. Make sure that any professors you put on your committee have a reputation for responding to this sort of thing quickly; also, get all of their phone numbers so you can call them if they forget to follow-up.

    3. Plan on finishing all of your coursework in about one academic year. Since they work on a trimester system rather than a semester system, this should be doable at 9 sh per trimester.

    Good luck.


    Cheers,
     
  10. Mr Boffo:

    Your question comes at a propitious time, as I have just completed the HUX coursework, having begun the program in the Spring of 2000 and taken two courses every trimester. I’m taking the summer trimester officially “off” but actually I will be doing a lot of prep reading and writing for my thesis. I am taking HUX 598 (the “one unit” thesis class that Bill Dayson wrote about ) in the Fall of this year and HUX 599 (the “thesis” itself) in the spring 2003.

    By the way, thanks to all of the regulars on this board who gave me encouragement when I started. Special thanks to Tom Head who was finishing up his HUX work as I was getting started.

    You’ve already received fine advice, so I’ll just add several points from my own experience:

    * Embellishing on the assigned paper topics is important. Imaginative thinking, backed up by evidence culled from source materials, seems to be rewarded.

    * I took two independent studies, and if I had to do it again I would take three. They were very helpful in doing foundational work for my thesis.

    * Start trying to develop a thesis idea once you have completed the five core courses. This will give you advance time to gather thoughts and materials, and gear your work toward the final project. You might order the helpful HUX materials on thesis writing now. They are “Thesis and Project Guide” and “Developing Final Projects for Graduate Degrees in the Humanities.”

    * Make a point to peruse the fine print in the hard copy catalog every month to remind yourself of important deadlines.

    I found the history course very interesting. While the Gustavson text is out of print, I found its insights fascinating. The course requires one long paper on a book of your choice. I picked "The New Empire" by LaFeber.

    Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
     
  11. ternahan

    ternahan New Member

    The isolation in the program is a significant detractor since you do not have a cohort to chat with. you might like to join [email protected]. Which is the closest thing I know. Lots of encouragement there.

    Another thing: you need to have a 598 proposal on 1 May for Fall and on 1 October I think for Spring. It gives you an idea of how long it takes to staff stuff through the department and the potential readers. It must be the HUX law: you will think you have allowed enough time, but it will always be longer.
    Phil
     
  12. litlnemo

    litlnemo New Member

    Sorry to resurrect this thread after nearly a month, but having been away from this board for a while, I wasn't able to throw in my two cents.

    There is a general HUX students mailing list/BBS besides the HUX599 one at Yahoo Groups -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/huxstudents/ is the address for it. All are welcome.

    I'm in my second term in HUX now, so I can't really add much to what the others have said here -- I'm still desperately trying to think of a thesis topic! :rolleyes: So far, though, I think it is an excellent program, and it is causing me to stretch myself a great deal. I've completed the History and Art core courses, and I'm currently enrolled in the Music core course and the World Religions interdisciplinary course. I expect to follow the History concentration.

    As others have said, though, it is relatively isolated in that the only interaction is between you and the professor who reads your papers -- and sometimes that isn't even very much. For some people, that might be a serious problem, but for others it is ideal.
     
  13. Twiga

    Twiga New Member

    Wonderfully helpful, informative review.

    This reply is comprehensive and exceptionally helpful to folks like me a soon-to be enrollee (FA 2011) in the program.

     
  14. CraigSE

    CraigSE New Member

    I graduated from the HUX program in Dec 2004. I found very affordable compared to some options and was able to self finance it, without the need for loans etc.

    The HUX offices were all very helpful and easy to contact. I may have had an advantage as I was in the UK and therefore 8 hours ahead of California so could call (email was an option but when I did the program I did not have home online access) during my evening studies. The program was mainly correspondence when I started, but with online content and options starting up. I found it flexible in that it allowed you to pay the equivalent of one credit hour to continue your enrollment status without actually taking a class. This benefitted myself in that I moved from the UK to US in the middle of the degree, and needed some time out. Using this option allowed me to work on the thesis, and then when I was ready I was able to take the Thesis class *548, without starting from scratch.

    The faculty I did not really have a problem with, one professor had handouts that were considerable. Another one disagreed with a paper I wrote which mentioned that I saw Putin as emulating Stalin in certain aspects of state control to consolidate power. As this was written in 2001 he did not see this happening. I am not sure if it affected my grade for that paper or not.

    I had David Churchman for his Middle East class which was well put together. I am not sure what was meant in the above posts about
    “being told to avoid him". I had no problems with his methods, and I found knowledgeable on his subject, and readily available to answer questions.

    I don't think you should avoid any professor based on rumor. That is the challenge of education outside of the basic completion of assignments. Professors may have a different view of things than yourself but being able to state your case against possible opposing ideals is as valuable a tool as whatever you are meant to learn from the course you are taking.

    Overall I think the HUX program due to its affordability and flexibility is a great program for someone wanting to gain a masters degree.
     

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