Master of Arts in History

Collaborative Online Degree

This 100-percent online program is taught by IU South Bend, IU East, IU Bloomington, IUPUI, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.

Many online support services are available to assist you as you progress through the program.

By studying the past, we are better able to understand and communicate the importance of issues in our contemporary world. The IU Online Master of Arts (MA) 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 19^th 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.

Of Special Interest for Teachers/Instructors Needing to Meet HLC Dual-Credit Standards

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.

Admissions

Admissions requirements vary by campus.

Master of Arts in History Requirements (30 cr.)

Requirements are broken down as follows:

• Historical Methdology (3 cr.)
• Digital and Public History (3 cr.)
• Major Field (12 cr.)
• Minor Field (6 cr.)
• Historical Research (3 cr.)
• History Capstone (3 cr.)

• All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise noted.

Historical Methodology (3 cr.)

• HIST-T 510 Historical Methodology

Digital and Public History (3 cr.)

• HIST-T 570 Introduction to Digital and Public History

Major Field (12 cr.)

Select one of the following options:

Option 1 | United States History

Select four from the following:

• HIST-T 520 Teaching College History
• HIST-T 530 Early America, 140-1800
• HIST-T 540 The Long Nineteenth Century, 1800-1917
• HIST-T 550 Modern United States, 1917-Present
• HIST-T 560 The United States and the World: Comparative History

Options 2 | World History

Students may repeat any one of the major courses once for credit.

• HIST-T 531 European History
• HIST-T 541 Latin American History
• HIST-T 551 Asian History
• HIST-T 561 African History
  Pending Final Approval
• HIST-T 571 World History
  Students in the World History major may repeat any one of the major courses once for credit provided the repeated course has a different. Students cannot count a third enrolment in a particular course in the MA History (even if all three versions have different topics).  This ensures that students cover at least two regions when completing the World History major. 

Minor Courses (6 cr.)

• Select two from the list of courses listed for the other major

Historical Research (3 cr.)

• HIST-T 590 Research Seminar in History

Capstone (3 cr.)

Select one from the following:

• HIST-T 590 Research Seminar in History
• HIST-T 591 Research Seminar in Digital and Public History
• HIST-T 592 Thesis (Pending Final Approval)