History, MA

Chairperson: Lezlie S. Knox, Ph.D.
Department of History Graduate Program website

Degree Offered

Master of Arts

Program Description

History includes politics, economics, and aesthetics, as well as social, spiritual and cultural relations—our past, our present, and our potential as human beings. The history graduate program, mindful of the discipline’s manifold importance and application, offers master of arts and doctoral degree programs in breadth and depth, allowing for diverse professional outcomes.

Graduate study in history permits students to increase their knowledge of the past and the processes that have shaped the human experience. Such study may prepare students for careers in scholarship, teaching, public service fields, cultural institutions, and many business settings.

General Information

Direction and Advising

The director of graduate studies is charged with directing the department’s graduate programs and with the general advising of all graduate students in matters of course selection, financial aid, and placement. In consultation with the director of graduate studies, a field adviser also may assist in directing the student’s field-specific work, including: the selection of course work, the master’s essay, and advising on the student's next professional steps.

Degree Overview

Students begin with the course HIST 6100 History, Theory and Practice, which addresses methodological and epistemological approaches to the study of history at the graduate level. Master of arts candidates complete 30 credit hours of course work. They also must submit a master’s essay or public history project to fulfill degree requirements.