History, MA (online)

• MA, History - Program information from the University Catalog.
• Two-Year Course Rotation (PDF)

Historical Knowledge

Graduates with the Master of Arts in History should understand the diversity of the human experience in the past, as well as the nature of the historical enterprise. Specifically, you should demonstrate that you can explain historical developments; the significance of important events, institutions, people, and ideas in United States, European, and world history, and be able to apply different approaches and methods of study to historical evidence.

Historical Reasoning and Research

Graduates with the Master of Arts in History should understand the nature of historical interpretation, the variety of historical sources, and the structure of historical arguments. Specifically, you should demonstrate that you can pose a significant research question about a historical topic; locate, evaluate, and utilize information from and about the past to formulate and answer a research question; interpret a variety of sources, both primary and secondary, and utilize both types of sources to support a historical argument.

Communication

Graduates with the Master of Arts in History in history should be able to demonstrate that they are critical readers and writers of history. Specifically, you should demonstrate that you have mastered the written and oral forms of communication appropriate to history, such as the critical review of a primary or secondary source, the analysis of a historical event or historical argument, and the research paper.

Through each of these three areas, students taking graduate courses in history refine critical thinking skills by analyzing historical data and literary and artistic evidence in order to evaluate and put forth historical arguments; sharpen communication skills by expressing their ideas in course discussions and written assignments; deepen knowledge of the human experience at the local, national and global levels; develop the capacity to recognize and confront ethical issues in historical reasoning and research, and understand contexts that produce historical ideas and historical works.

Tuition and Fees

Completed applications are reviewed on a rolling admission basis. Admissions requirements are as follows:

• Official transcript of a bachelor’s degree, preferably with (but not limited to) a major or minor in history from a regionally accredited institution
• Three letters of recommendation
• Professional resume
• For those pursuing the MA degree, a writing sample must be submitted. This may include an undergraduate-level term paper or a published article and should be the equivalent of at least 10 typed, double-spaced pages and include footnotes and a bibliography.
• Official transcripts of graduate level course work from a regionally accredited institution (if applicable)
• Graduate application and fee
• No GRE or MAT exams required