Master of Arts in History
Introduction
The Master of Arts in History program offers advanced training in American, African, Middle Eastern, Asian, European, and Latin American history. The program encourages students to take courses across various regions and topics while allowing them to focus on subjects that interest them. It aims to equip students with substantial historical content and applied skills to recognize and analyze themes and patterns throughout the historical landscape.
The Master of Arts in History program prepares students to seek employment in historical organizations, archives, museums, and local/state/federal offices. It also prepares students for advanced graduate programs such as Ph.D., and serves secondary school teachers seeking additional enrichment. Through tailored course selection, students in the Master of Arts in History concentrate on public history, museum studies, and archival studies. They can gain practical skills that transfer to careers in historical associations, museums, and public history.
Close contact between students and faculty is encouraged through a combination of lecture-discussion courses, internships, and research and reading seminars. These initiatives aim to enrich and deepen students’ historical knowledge while offering training in history as both a scholarly and applied discipline.
Students interested in public history, museum studies, and archives are encouraged to sign up and enroll in the Museum Studies and Public History Certificate program. Please contact the Graduate Program Director for more information.
Admission Information
In addition to College of Graduate Studies requirements for admission, applicants to the History program must have the following:
- An undergraduate major in history with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better, or sufficient undergraduate history courses with grades of B or better to serve as an indicator of probable success in the graduate history program.
- Two letters of recommendation, preferably from professors with whom the applicant has taken advanced undergraduate history courses.
- A writing sample that demonstrates the candidate’s research, analytical, and writing abilities. The department prefers that applicants submit a substantial research paper from a history course of not more than 20 pages.
- Results of the Graduate Record Examination ( GRE) are desired from all applicants. GRE test results are required, however, for applicants who do not meet the College of Graduate Studies requirement of at least a 2.75 undergraduate GPA for admission.
Under special circumstances, an applicant may remediate undergraduate deficiencies by enrolling as a non-degree student. Non-degree students must achieve a graduate GPA of 3.0 or better for twelve credit hours in approved courses to qualify for admission. Upon admission to the program the twelve credits may be applied toward the degree.
Apply Now: https://grad.engagecsu.com/
Financial Assistance
The Department of History offers a number of graduate assistantships and internships to complement full-time study. Assistantships require approximately ten to twenty hours of service per week to the department, depending upon the award received. Graduate assistant responsibilities include tutoring students, assisting professors in the preparation of lectures and discussions, and working on departmental programs. Additional financial assistance may be available through various internship programs. Applicants interested in assistantships for the Fall Semester must complete their application packet by April 1st of the prior Spring Semester.
Career Information
The History MA program is designed to prepare students for employment in a variety of public and private settings, provide ongoing content-area enrichment for secondary school teachers, and facilitate entry into doctoral programs. It is particularly well suited for students who wish to pursue careers in public history, museum studies, and archival studies.
Additionally, the master’s program in history fosters a variety of skills essential for success across many careers in business and other fields. Recent graduates have shown proficiency in conceptualization, research, analysis, and both oral and written communication in careers spanning banking, media, insurance, journalism, law, marketing and advertising, publishing, and government service.
Faculty Research and Publications
All graduate faculty members participate in the activities of local and national historical associations and are active in research and publication in their fields of specialization. In recent years, faculty members have made significant scholarly contributions in the form of peer-reviewed books and articles on diverse topics, such as modern Germany, gender in late medieval and early modern Europe, 20th-century black popular culture, American labor and immigration history, sexuality and gender in China, tenantry and land ownership in the American revolution, tourism in New Orleans, Moroccan political and social history, modern Caribbean history, urban and public history, Latin American history, colonialism, and racial discourse and labor activism in the 19th century South. The MA program is designed to encourage students to interact closely with faculty in their areas of interest. Through research and reading seminars, independent study, and/or writing a master’s thesis, students are encouraged to develop independent research and writing skills.
Current faculty information can be located on the Cleveland State University Faculty Profile page.