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Master of Arts in History
30 Credits
By studying the past, we are better able to understand and communicate the importance of issues in our contemporary world. The online Master of Arts in History explores geographic regions of the world in both modern and pre-modern time periods to identify historical actors, events of significance, and social movements.
As a student in the program, you gain graduate-level historical knowledge, critical thinking skills, and techniques for clear and persuasive writing. You learn to recognize historiographic trends and their meanings, perform research, and construct original historical arguments. Your studies will culminate in at least one semester-long research project of original scholarship.
Specific areas of focus include:
- Early America (1400–1800)
- The long 19th century in the US (1800–1917)
- Modern United States (1917–present)
- The US and the world
- European history
- Latin American history
- Asian history
- African history
When you graduate from the program, you will have:
- Effective oral and written historical communication skills.
- The ability to perform research.
- The ability to construct original historical arguments.
- Competencies in digital and public history.
This program is part of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences.
The stackable structure of the MA in History is ideal for those who want to teach dual-credit courses and who need to meet Higher Learning Commission dual-credit qualification standards. These standards require teachers wanting to teach dual-credit courses in history to hold either a master's degree in history or a master's degree in another discipline (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of discipline-specific graduate coursework.
- If you need both discipline-specific coursework and a master's degree, the MA in History meets HLC standards.
- If you already hold a master's degree in a discipline other than history, you can meet HLC standards by completing the Graduate Certificate in History.
Degree Requirements
To earn the MA in History, you must complete a total of 30 credit hours. Requirements are broken down as follows:
- Core courses (9 credit hours)
- Major courses (12 credit hours)
- Minor courses (6 credit hours)
- Additional research seminar or thesis (3 credit hours)
Concentrations
History Track (12 credits)
Beyond the core courses and capstone, students complete either the U.S. History OR World History track, plus a minor field.
U.S. History Track
- Choose four courses from:
- HIST-T 520 Teaching the U.S. History Survey
- HIST-T 530 Early America, 1400-1800
- HIST-T 540 The Long 19th Century, 1800-1917
- HIST-T 550 Modern United States, 1917-Present
- HIST-T 560 U.S. and the World – Comparative History
World History Track
- Choose four courses* from:
- HIST-T 531 European History
- HIST-T 541 Latin American History
- HIST-T 551 Asian History
- HIST-T 561 African History
- HIST-T 571 World History
*At least two unique courses must be taken. Courses may be repeated with distinct topics.
Minor Field (6 credits)
- Students will complete a minor field by completing two courses from the list of courses in the other track.
Careers
Your online MA in History helps prepare you for such careers as:
- General researcher
- Writer or editor
- Journalist or broadcaster
- K-12 teacher
- Library or museum worker
Admissions
To be accepted to this program, you must have:
- A bachelor’s degree
- 3.0 minimum undergraduate GPA
To apply to this program, complete an online application that includes:
- Official transcripts
- 250-word personal statement explaining background and reasons for entering the program
Courses
Core courses:
- HIST-T 510 Historical Methodology (3 Credits)
- HIST-T 570 Digital and Public History (3 Credits)
- HIST-T 590 Research Seminar in History (3 Credits)
One Capstone Course from the Following (3 cr):
- HIST-T 590 Research Seminar in History
- An additional semester-long research project that will culminate in an article-length work of original scholarship.
- HIST-T 591 Research Seminar in Digital and Public History
- Students produce a digital or public history project based upon original scholarship.
- HIST-T 592 Thesis
- A course in which students build on the article-length project completed in HIST-T 590 according to professional expectations and in consultation with the instructor of record.