History, M.A.

The Master of Arts program in History guides students in developing familiarity with issues and literature in selected major and minor fields of history; an understanding of the fundamentals of historiography and its variations over time; and skills in historical research, analysis, and writing. The program emphasizes opportunities for both independent and collaborative learning. Areas of particular strength include American History, Southern History, Early Modern and Modern European History, Comparative Global History, Atlantic World History, War and Society in a Global Perspective, and Public History. We welcome students seeking admission to a doctoral program in history or similar professional studies, a career teaching history in secondary schools or community colleges, work as a professional public historian, or simply a greater understanding of the historical development of our society and the world. We expect our graduates to function effectively as professionals in their chosen fields of history.

For regular admission to the program, a student must ordinarily have a degree in history with a 3.0 undergraduate GPA. If his or her degree is in social studies, or in a social science other than history, a student may be admitted provisionally with the permission of the Department of History.

Students interested in public history may pursue the public history track. The program requires fifteen hours in public history, nine hours in a history concentration, an internship, the historiography class, the historical writing class, and a choice between a traditional thesis or thesis project.

The History Department also offers two graduate certificate programs. The Museum Studies Certificate, offered in association with the Atlanta History Center, requires three museum studies seminars, the Material Culture Seminar, and museum internship. Students may elect to take the majority of these classes as part of the M.A. program, or they may add this certificate to an existing M.A. degree in history.

The Public History Certificate is designed for individuals who already hold an M.A. in History or a related field and would like to gain additional training in public history to prepare for a career. Students must take Introduction to Public History, nine hours of public history seminars, and the Public History Internship.

The department offers three distinct tracks leading to the MA in History: the Thesis track (please see the list of concentrations available for this track listed above), the Public History track, and the Generalist (non-thesis) track. All graduate students, regardless of track or concentration, must complete a total of 36 hours of course work in history, including a course in historiography, a course in historical writing, and at least four seminars at the 6000-level. In addition, all students must fulfill a global/cultural literacy requirement, and demonstrate a competence in research and writing consistent with graduate-level work in history.