phd public history online

Public History

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Public History, Ph.D.

Are you ready to take your public history career to the next level? Do you want to deepen your knowledge of history and its applications in the public arena? Thinking about teaching at a college or university? Consider pursuing a Ph.D. in Public History at MTSU!

MTSU led the way in offering a PhD with public history as the major field of study. This program offers an innovative, practice-based, individualized program of study and provides a community of nationally recognized scholars and cultural heritage professionals cooperating to train the next generation of leaders in the field.

Public History Ph.D. Program Highlights:

• One-on-one mentoring from nationally recognized faculty and public history professionals
• Research and professional development opportunities with our campus and community partners, including the Center for Historic Preservation, Albert Gore Research Center, Center for Popular Music, and Rutherford County Archives
• A flexible teaching or professional practice residency of 3-12 credit hours
• Professional development opportunities in the local community, throughout Middle Tennessee, and beyond
• Graduate assistantships and scholarships offered on a competitive basis
• Afternoon and evening classes accommodate work and family life
• If you live in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, or South Carolina, you may be able to attend MTSU at in-state rates under the Academic Common Market

Designed to assist candidates in melding scholarship and theory with professional practice, the third-year residency is at the heart of the Public History doctoral program. Students have benefited from teaching residencies at MTSU and other universities in the state and from professional practice residencies with a wide variety of local, state, and national organizations and institutions, including the Tennessee State Parks, the National Park Service, and the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive.

If you live in one of these states: AL AR FL KY SC; you may be able to attend MTSU at in-state rates under the Academic Common Market program.

Requirements

Information.

News Briefs

MTSU on WGNS: Public History Ph.D. program, Women’s History Month events, Positive Aging Conference

Middle Tennessee State representatives appeared on WGNS Radio recently to talk about an impactful public history degree program, a full slate of events on campus for National Women’s History Month in March, and an upcoming conference on positive aging. They appeared on the live “Action Line” program with host Scott Walker broadcast on FM 100.5, [ Read More ]

MTSU public history Ph.D. candidate helps get over 100 years of Maryland records released

Michael McCormick, a candidate in Middle Tennessee State University’s Public History Ph.D. program, took a passion for researching his family origins to a career of multiple, major genealogy projects and most recently an internship that helped release over 100 years of vital records in Maryland.  “There are legal and health reasons why a person should have [ Read More ]

Related Media

Public historians work in a wide range of professional settings with public audiences of all ages. Potential employers include archives, museums, historic organizations, historical societies, historic sites, private consulting firms, and historical agencies at all levels of government. Examples of career possibilities with an advanced degree in public history include

• Architectural historian
• College professor/instructor
• Cultural heritage manager
• Cultural resources manager
• Digital librarian/cataloger
• Historic preservation planner
• Museum/collections curator or administrator
• Oral historian
• Public archaeologist

American Association for State and Local History job postings

Employers of MTSU alumni have included

• Alabama A&M University
• Appalachian State University
• Arkansas State University
• Blount Mansion
• Center for Historic Preservation, MTSU
• Coastal Carolina University
• Colorado State Historic Preservation Office
• East Tennessee Development District
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
• History Colorado
• James Madison's Montpelier
• Metropolitan Nashville Historic Commission
• National Museum of African American Music
• North Dakota State University
• Northern Kentucky University
• Sewanee: The University of the South
• Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of American History
• Southeastern Archaeological Research Inc.
• Stephen F. Austin State University
• Tennessee Agricultural Museum
• Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area
• Tennessee State Library and Archives
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
• University of Nebraska-Kearney
• University of North Carolina-Greensboro

MTSU’s Career Development Center

MTSU offers a comprehensive Career Development Center that serves students throughout the full student experience and beyond. They collaborate with faculty and staff to equip students with the tools to be marketable to the world of work and continuing education.  

Students can schedule an appointment or check online resources and job boards at mtsu.edu/career . 

Students can find current internship opportunities by talking to faculty and visiting the University job and internship board called Handshake . 

Wondering what you can do with your major? Check out our What Can I Do with A Major In guides. 

REQUIREMENTS

Dr. Emily B Baran

Dr. Yuan-Ling Chao

Dr. Mark Doyle

Dr. Mary A. Evins

Dr. Sean Foley

Dr. Stacey Graham

Dr. Mary S. Hoffschwelle

Dr. Kelly A Kolar

Dr. Aliou Ly

Dr. Brenden Martin

Dr. Kristine McCusker

Dr. Susan Myers-Shirk

Dr. Lynn Nelson

Dr. Martha Norkunas

Dr. Andrew R. Polk

Dr. Lisa Pruitt

Dr. Ashley Riley Sousa

Dr. Christoph Rosenmüller

Dr. Amy L. Sayward

Dr. Kathryn Sikes

Dr. Suzanne Sutherland

Dr. Carroll Van West

Dr. Louis Woods

INFORMATION

Academic links.

• Ph.D. Public History Student Handbook
• Ph.D. Public History Professional Residency
• Past Residencies and Job Placement
• Student Learning Outcomes for History Graduate Seminars
• Student Learning Outcomes for Public History Seminars
• Professional Development
• Maymester Experience Visiting Professors

On-campus partners

• Center for Historic Preservation
• Center for Popular Music
• Albert Gore Research Center
• MTSU Digital Collections
• Walker Library Media Studio

For students

• Association of Graduate Students in History
• Current History Graduate Students
• Public History Internships
• Public History Student Portfolios
• Society of American Archivists - MTSU Student Chapter

Public History news

• Public History Newsletters
• Center for Historic Preservation Annual Reports
• Center for Popular Music Annual Reports

Program history

The MTSU Department of History added an emphasis in historic preservation to its master's program in 1976 and to its former doctorate degree in 1981. Historic preservation and the preservation of American popular music assumed a public dimension in 1984when MTSU established the Center for Historic Preservation and the Center for Popular Music , with missions that combined research and public outreach. After adding courses in museum studies, material culture, and archival methods, the master's program concentration changed its name to Public History in 1991. History faculty also developed the Albert Gore Research Center , which opened in 1993. In 2005, the department launched a new Ph.D. in Public History, the first doctoral program nationally to declare public history as the major field of study. Today, MTSU's Public History program partners with all three campus centers and collaborates with the Walker Library Media Studio to develop digital collections and other digital initiatives.

Financial aid links

• Public History Financial Support
• History Department Scholarships

Graduate Assistantships

To help support students pursuing graduate study, the Department of History offers a number of graduate assistantships at both the M.A. and the Ph.D. levels. These assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis and are renewable for up to two years for M.A.assistantships and up to three years for Ph.D. assistantships. Graduate assistants receive a tuition waiver plus a stipend to cover living expenses. In return, graduate assistants work a maximum of 20 hours a week during the semester on an assignment determined by the History Department. These assignments include work as teaching assistants, research assistants, and other duties related to the ongoing work of the department and our on-campus partners. To apply for a graduate assistantship with the HistoryDepartment, complete the College of Graduate Studies' Graduate Assistantship Application , and submit it to the Department of History along with the rest of your application.

Many M.A. and Ph.D students in the History Department also work as research fellows, graduate assistants, and hourly employees for MTSU's Center for Historic Preservation . The Center has a separate application and review process for these positions. You can read full descriptions of these opportunities on the Center's Academic Opportunities page and download the Center's Application for Student Academic Support. The department urges students applying for a graduate assistantship with the History Department to apply to the Center as well.

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Study History Where It Is Made

AU’s PhD in History will prepare you for a career as an educator, researcher, analyst, and writer working in academia, public and institutional history, and other fields requiring investigative and analytical skills. In this program, you will develop a deeper understanding of how historians investigate and interpret the past while you explore the past with your own original research .

You will receive a high level of mentorship and develop close working relationships with your professors. Under the guidance of our award-winning faculty , our students complete strong dissertations and present work at top conferences while making valuable connections and gaining experience in the Washington, DC, area.

This program is ideal for students interested in American and modern European history, including Russian history. Our department also has strengths in a variety of subfields , including public history, African American history, women’s/gender history, politics and foreign relations, and Jewish history. This diversity will open your options for research and allow for specialization without sacrificing breadth of study.

Rigorous Study with a Degree of Flexibility

Our program combines rigorous training in scholarship with the flexibility to pursue your intellectual interests. Our coursework will give you a solid foundation in historical theory and methodology, research methods, and United States or modern European history. Together with your academic advisor, you will design a program of study to match your academic goals . You will acquire and demonstrate mastery of tools of research , such as foreign languages, quantitative research methods, oral history, new media, and other methodologies. Your doctoral examinations will be tailored to fit your individual fields of study. You will then pursue your own research in writing your doctoral dissertation.

The Department will supervise PhD dissertations in the history of Modern Europe (normally for the period 1789 to the present), United States history (including the colonial period), US foreign relations, and modern Jewish history.

See all admissions and course requirements .

Cutting-Edge Faculty Dedicated to Your Success

Our history faculty makes national news, uncovers under-represented areas of history, and guides doctoral students , helping them generate innovative and influential research . From predicting presidential elections to publishing award-winning books and articles, our distinguished professors produce relevant historical scholarship and will train you do the same. With academic and professional mentorship from our faculty, you will you will enter the field as a thoroughly prepared and well-connected scholar.

Endless Opportunities in a Historic City

Pursuing your doctorate in the nation’s capital provides you with unparalleled access to renowned museums, archives, institutions, and resources . From the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution and National Archives to the DC Historical Society, our students are only a metro ride away from exceptional local and national repositories. As part of the Washington Consortium , students at American University are able to take courses at colleges and universities throughout the DC metropolitan area, providing the opportunity to work with a variety of faculty in diverse programs and fields of study.

A truly global city, DC, contains hundreds of embassies, cultural organizations, and enclave communities. Brimming with history , the DC area offers Civil War battlefields, the Capitol, Mount Vernon, the White House, and countless landmarks of the colonial period, Revolutionary War, Civil War, and more recent American history. The city is also home to smaller historical organizations like the DC Historical Society and the DC Preservation League. Whether your interest is global, national, or local, this historic city undoubtedly has something for you.

Explore the Possibilities

Our students go on to become university and college faculty and administrators or work in federal and state governments, for museums and archives, and in other exciting fields. Our alumni teach at universities around the world , from the University of Houston in Texas to University of Prince Edward Island in Canada and Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Munich. Our PhDs hold positions with the nation’s most important institutions , including the Library of Congress, Department of State, National Archives and Records Administration, American Historical Association, National Endowment for the Humanities, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Recent and Current PhD Dissertation topics

• Auketayeva, Laura : "Gender and Jewish Evacuees in the Soviet Union during the Holocaust" 
• Barry, Michael : "Islamophobic & Anti-Islamophobic Ideas in America"
• Brenner, Rebecca : "When Mail Arrived on Sundays, 1810-1912" 
• Boose, Donelle : "Black Power and the Organizing Tradition: Work-ing Women of Washington, DC. 1965-1990"
• Chatfield, Andrew : "American Support for India’s Self-Determination from 1915-1920: Progressives, Radicals, and Anti-Imperialists"
• Duval, Lauren : "Landscapes of Allegiance: Space, Gender, and Mili-tary Occupation in the American Revolution"
• Englekirk, Ryan : "The Third Team: Unmasking Fraternity and Mascu-linity Among Major League Baseball Umpires 1970-2010" 
• Estess, Jonah : "The People’s Money: The American Revolution, Cur-rency, and the Making of Political Economic Culture in American Life, 1775-1896" 
• Frome, Gavin : "American Protestant Service Workers in Viet Nam, 1954-1975"
• Gabor, Ruth : "'Moda' for the Masses: Moscow Fashion’s Appeal at Home and Abroad during the Cold War"
• Gibson, Laura : "It’s Love that Counts: The History of Non-Nuclear Families in American Domestic Sitcoms"
• Grant, Jordan : "Catchers and Kidnappers: Slave Hunting in Early America" 
• Grek, Ivan : "Illiberal Civil Society in Russia, 1992-2000"
• Harris, Curtis : "Hardwood Revolution: The NBA's Growth & Player Revolt, 1950-1976" 
• Hawks, Julie : "Capital Investments: Engineering American Cold War Culture" 
• Jobe, Mary "Allison" : "'We Remember Him for His Character': The Life of James W. Ford and the Communist Party USA" 
• Kaplan, Anna : "Left by the Wayside: Memories and Postmemories of the Integration of the University of Mississippi"
• Killian, Linda : "Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine: The Shared Political Ideology at the Heart of American Democracy" 
• Kitterman, Katherine : "'No Ordinary Feelings': Mormon Women’s Political Activism, 1870-1896" 
• Langford, Amy : "Creating a Body Politic: Boundary Crossings and the (Re) Making of Latter-Day Saints on the U.S. Border, 1885-1920"
• Levin, Jeffrey : "Felix Warburg and the Establishment of the Hebrew University" 
• MacNeill, Lindsay : "Policing Politics in Austria, 1918-1955"
• Milwicki, Alon : "Baptizing Nazism: An Analysis of the Religious Roots of American Neo-Nazism"
• Rafferty-Osaki, Terumi : "'Strictly Masculine': Reforming and Per-forming Manhood at Tule Lake, 1942-1946" 
• Recordati, Maurizio : "Russia Turns Inward: Russian Grand Strategy in the Post-Crimean War Period (1856-78)"
• Sowry, Nathan : "Museums, Native American Representation, & the Public: The Role of Museum Anthropology in Public History, 1873-1929"
• Styrna, Pawel : "Polish-Russian Relations, 1904-1921"
• Vehstedt, Scott : "'Lets Help Finland': The Return of American Relief Aid in the Winter War, 1939-1940"
• Weixelbaum, Jason : "At the Crossroads of Fascism: The Decision of Ford, General Motors, and IBM to do Business with Nazi Germany"

Alumni Job Placements

Graduates of the history PhD program are working as professors, researchers, and directors across the US and at international locations. Here is a list of where select graduates have or are currently working:

• Director, National Coalition for History
• Assistant Professor, University of Prince Edward Island
• Assistant Professor, Towson University
• Assistant Professor of History and Director of American Studies, West Chester University
• Independent historian
• Senior Archivist, National Archives
• Associate Professor, Ryerson University
• Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• Historian, US Army
• Senior policy adviser and special assistant to the president of the Humane Society
• Historian, Office of the Historian, Department of State
• Museum Director, Renton History Museum, Oregon
• Public History Coordinator, American Historical Association
• Assistant Professor, Bridgewater State University
• Lecturer in Sociology, California State University at Bakersfield
• Assistant Professor, Delaware State University
• Historian, Global Classroom, US Holocaust Museum
• Director, Digital Archive, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library
• Assistant Professor, Illinois State University
• Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland at College Park
• Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Assistant Professor, University of West Florida
• Independent historian and filmmaker
• Adjunct Assistant Professor of History, US Naval Academy
• Administrative Support Specialist at FEMA
• Senior editor and writer, National Endowment for the Humanities
• Instructor, Religion Dept., National Cathedral School (earned Master of Divinity after PhD)
• Curriculum and Publications Coordinator, AU Registrar's Office
• Assistant Professor, Seminole State College

News & Notes

PhD candidate Reza Akbari presented at the Middle East Studies Association's annual conference in Montreal, Canada. His presentation,  Etched in Mistrust: Continuity and Change in US-Iran Nuclear Negotiations (1969-1978),  argued that America's drive to keep Iran's nuclear program peaceful began decades before the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

PhD candidate  Andrew Sperling  published " A Halloween Party in Boston Turned Ugly when a Gang Hurled Antisemetic Slurs and Attacked Jewish Teenagers ," detailing the events of an antisemetic attack on Jewish teens at a Halloween party in 1950. 

Theresa Runstedtler 's new book on Black ballplayers of the 1970s and '80s setting the NBA up for success: Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywoof, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA (2023) .

Doctoral student Maurizio Recordati Koen won first prize in the 2022 Trench Gascoigne Essay Competition for "The Stuff of Strategy: How Sublime Strategics Turned into a Real Thing" in RUSI Journal.

John Schmitz (CAS/PhD '07) published Enemies among Us: The Relocation, Internment, and Repatriation of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans during the Second World War .

Doctoral student Jonah Estess presented his paper, "Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: The American Revolution and the National Origins of the Politicization of Money" as part of the panel at this year's Business History Conference.

Andrew Demshuk published Three Cities after Hitler: Redemptive Reconstruction across Cold War Borders .

PhD candidate Katherine Kitterman wrote on women's voting rights in Utah for the Washington Post.

Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow

Nguyet Nguyen brings new perspective to the Vietnam War.

Discover CAS: The Humanities

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Best Online History Doctorate Degree Programs (PhDs) 2025

Key Takeaways

• Online History PhDs provide students with access to a wide range of digital archives, databases, and virtual libraries.
• Online history PhD programs are a great option for aspiring historians, history professors, and historical research leaders.
• Given the increasing role of technology in historical research and education, an online format offers a great opportunity to develop digital research and presentation skills.

Top 10 Best Online History Doctorates in 2025

George mason university, university of houston, liberty university, regent university, featured programs.

Only a select number of universities offer a PhD in history online. Though online history PhD programs are somewhat scarce, the online history programs that do offer a doctoral degree do have a high acceptance rate. This means that most students with a strong academic track record will enjoy access to these advanced online history PhD programs.

What are online PhD programs in history?

In history, a PhD is considered a terminal degree. This means a PhD is the highest degree that history students can earn. Online doctoral history programs can lead to opportunities for professional historical research, consultation for government agencies, professorship in a university history department, and more.

Online PhD in history candidates are typically already working at a high level in their field. Many are already working as history teachers or applying their research skills in supporting roles.

Often, this means that students seeking their PhD degree must balance existing work and personal responsibilities with a challenging course of education. For many graduate students, the online history PhD program makes this balance possible.

For a look at how the online history program stacks up against traditional on campus programs, check out our look at the Best Research Universities for History Degrees.

Or find other top schools with a look at the complete List of University Rankings .

Otherwise, read on and learn more about how you can earn your PhD in history online.

About Accredited Online History PhD Programs

The best online PhD in history programs will have proper accreditation. Be sure that your are pursuing your PhD in history through a fully accredited university and program:

• Institutional Accreditation : Accreditation is vital for online doctoral programs. It signifies that the online PhD programs offered by the online school are in compliance with the standards of a Department of Education-approved accrediting body.

A school must also be accredited in order to offer federal financial aid to its online doctorate candidates. When looking for an online doctoral program, seek out options with accreditation from a colleges and schools commission in your region. This stamp of approval is critical for ensuring the quality and credibility of your online program.

• Programmatic Accreditation : In addition to institutional accreditation, be sure that you prioritize online doctorate degree programs with programmatic accreditation.

While there is no specifically required programmatic accreditation for the general field of historical research, those who intend to work in post-secondary educational institutions may be required to complete a doctoral program with accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Make sure that you online history program offers the proper programmatic accreditation requirements for your career goals.

• Carnegie Classification : The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or as it is more commonly known, the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for categorizing all accredited, degree-granting institutions in the United States.

Originally formulated in 1970 by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and administered through the University of Indiana’s Center for Postsecondary Research since 2014, the Carnegie Classification is “the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education.”

Under this classification, top research universities for doctoral degrees and PhD candidates are identified as either R2: Doctoral Universities for “high research activity” or R1: Doctoral Universities for “very high research activity.” Look for these classifications when considering options for your online PhD programs.

Key Point: Be sure that you only consider online PhD programs with proper accreditation.

Admission Requirements

Each online doctoral in history program has its own admission requirements. However, most online doctoral programs will carry the same basic threshold for admission:

• A completed online application
• Official undergraduate college transcripts
• A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0
• GRE scores, MAT scores, or GMAT scores
• Letters of recommendation
• Personal interviews
• Personal statement or writing sample
• Plan of study

Key Point: In most cases, you will be eligible to enter your online PhD in history after earning a bachelor’s degree. However, some specialized online PhD programs may require you to have earned a master’s degree as well.

Curriculum and Courses

As with other advanced degree and graduate programs, research is the central component of your online PhD in history program. This is true for fully online doctorate degrees as well as hybrid degrees combining online education with traditional on-campus courses.

Regardless of whether you complete a traditional, hybrid or online history PhD program, the typical time to completion is five to seven years.

The typical components of your online PhD program may include:

Foundational Courses

Some foundational online doctorate courses may be focused on your specific area of study.

You may be able to choose a concentration in an area such as:

• American history
• World history
• European history
• African history
• Latin American history
• Political science
• Ancient history

In addition to your core concentration courses, additional courses will focus on honing research skills and practicing experimental design. You may be able to complete many of these requirements through online classes.

Examinations for PhD Candidacy

Many online doctoral candidates are required to complete certain examinations to enter into online PhD candidacy. This will typically occur after you’ve completed one to two years of foundational courses.

Dissertation

In most cases, the central component of your online PhD program will be the completion of your dissertation. After gaining status as an online PhD in history candidate, you will typically work closely with a professorial advisor or mentor to develop an original research question.

This research question will form the basis of your dissertation—an ongoing project designed to address this research question through applied research. While you will work closely with your advisor or mentor, much of your dissertation will be rooted in independent research. This is especially true for students pursuing their PhD in history online.

Oral Defense

Upon completion of the written portion of your dissertation—which will typically present the findings from your original research project—you will be expected to defend your findings. This “oral defense” will typically be conducted by a commission of professors and experts in your field. PhD candidates in some online degree programs may be able to conduct this defense via teleconferencing.

Teaching Requirements

Some online PhD in history programs will also include a teaching component, which will require you to work as an adjunct professor or teacher’s assistant in an undergraduate or graduate school. It may be possible for students in the online doctoral degree program to also serve teaching requirements by instructing students through an online program.

Key Point: The online history PhD is a research-focused degree. Your dissertation will be a central part of your online PhD program.

Careers for Students Who Complete Online Doctoral History Programs

The online PhD in history is a terminal degree program. This means that PhD students who complete this online program will qualify for top positions and opportunities in their field.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that you may be able to qualify for work as a historian with a master’s degree in history. However, the highest paying careers in history are generally held by those working in research positions either for educational institutions or government agencies.

The BLS notes that the highest paid 10% of professionals in the history field earned more than $118,000 in 2021.

Earning an online PhD in history can lead to some of these top-paying roles in the field, including:

• Theoretical Research
• Scientific Research
• Post-Secondary Education
• Public Policy Consultation
• Clinical Practice
• Organizational Leadership

Key Point: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, graduates with a PhD in history will qualify for top-paying roles in educational institutions and government agencies.

What’s the difference between online doctoral programs and online PhD programs?

Technically, a PhD program is a type of doctorate degree program. This means that all online PhD candidates are doctoral students. By contrast, not all doctoral students are PhD candidates.

The primary distinction is that doctoral students are primarily focused on putting existing theories into practice. Depending on your chosen field, your online doctoral degree may require participation in an educational leadership program, engagement in clinical practice, work as a resident in a nursing program, and much more.

By contrast, online PhD students are focused on creating new knowledge in their area of study. This usually means that online PhD candidates are focused on introducing new theories, creating research projects around these theories, and presenting new findings that demonstrate a mastery of existing knowledge and the insight to introduce new ideas into the field.

Today, more working professionals than ever before are pursuing both online doctoral degrees and online PhD programs.

The Best Online History Doctorates (PhDs)

The online PhD in history programs identified here are ranked based on influence, with weighting for graduation rate and full-time online enrollment.

Last Year’s Ranking:

• #2 Best Public Colleges in Virginia 2025
• #2 Best Colleges in Virginia 2024
• #4 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
• #14 Best Research Universities for Criminal Justice Degrees
• #2 Top 8 Fastest Accelerated Online Psychology Doctorates (PhDs)
• #2 Top 15 Most Affordable Online Information Technology PhD Programs
• #4 10 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Accounting Programs 2025
• #5 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Virginia
• #5 Top 3 Best Online Economics PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025

Tuition + fees

Student body

Median SAT/ACT

Career Outlook for History degree at George Mason University

What do we love about george mason university.

George Mason University began in 1949 as a regional branch of the University of Virginia. Achieving its independent status in 1972, the public university based in Fairfax has since become the largest public research institution in the state of Virginia.

Today, George Mason serves more than 39,000 students. Of those, more than 11,000 are pursuing a graduate level degree.

George Mason is classified among R1: Doctoral Universities, those which are distinguished for their very high level of research activity.

George Mason offers an online PhD in History degree program.

Aspire to careers in government and public policy. George Mason is situated just 20 miles from the nation’s capital.

Don’t enjoy a good long walk. Students note that, at 677 acres, the Fairfax campuses is quite large, with long distances between academic buildings.

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Career Outlook for History degree at University of Houston

What do we love about the university of houston.

The University of Houston was founded in 1927 and, today, serves a massive student population of over 47,000 undergrads and grad students. This makes the Southeast Houston campus the third largest in the state of Texas.

Students can choose from a wide range of degree programs, with more than 275 degrees offered across 16 academic colleges.

Houston is noted for a number of specialized advanced degree programs, including an online doctoral degree in social studies and social education for aspiring history education leaders.

Enjoy college athletics. The school is home to 17 intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams.

Prefer the personal attention of a small school.

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• #2 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's of Information Technology
• #3 Top 10 Fastest Accelerated Online PhD in Criminal Justice (Doctorates)
• #3 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Virginia
• #3 Best Online Degrees for a Career in Teaching Ranked 2024
• #3 Best Online Associate in Paralegal Studies
• #3 Fastest Accelerated Online Healthcare Administration Masters 2025
• #3 Top 5 Best Online Criminal Justice Doctorates (PhDs) 2024
• #3 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in the District Of Columbia
• #3 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's of Cybersecurity
• #4 Best Online Bachelor’s of Homeland Security Degree Programs for 2025
• #4 Best Online Doctorate of Educational Psychology (PhDs) 2025
• #4 Top 16 Most Affordable Online Counseling PhDs (Doctorates)
• #4 Best Online MBA Programs in Virginia
• #4 Best Online Associate in Accounting
• #4 Best Online Doctorate in Organizational Leadership Degree Programs
• #4 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Illinois
• #4 Most Affordable Online PhD Programs Ranked for Students in 2024
• #4 Top 15 Most Affordable Online Information Technology PhD Programs
• #4 Most Affordable Online PhDs in Psychology Ranked for 2025
• #4 Best Online Associate in Psychology
• #4 Best Online Bachelor’s of Elementary Education Degree Programs for 2025
• #5 Fastest Accelerated Online Doctorate of Information Technology
• #5 The Best Online Christian Colleges and Universities for Bachelor's Degrees
• #5 Top 20 Easiest Online Degrees from Accredited Schools in 2024
• #6 Best Online Master's Programs in Virginia 2025
• #6 Best Online Bachelor's in Sports Management Degree Programs for 2025
• #6 Top 8 Fastest Accelerated Online Psychology Doctorates (PhDs)
• #6 Best Online Bachelor's of English Degree Programs for 2024
• #6 10 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Accounting Programs 2025
• #6 Most Affordable Online Criminal Justice PhDs (Doctorates) 2025
• #6 Best Online Bachelor's in Strategic Communications Degree Programs
• #7 Best Online Bachelor's in Law and Legal Studies Degree Programs for 2025
• #7 Top 15 Fastest Accelerated Online Counseling Doctorates (PhDs)
• #7 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Business Administration Doctorates 2025
• #7 Most Unusual Doctoral Degrees You Can Earn Online (PhDs)
• #7 Most Affordable Online Criminology Doctorate Programs (PhDs) 2025
• #7 Most Affordable Online Applied Behavioral Analysis PhD Programs
• #7 Online Colleges That Start Anytime and the Benefits of a Self-Paced Education
• #8 Best Online Master's in Project Management 2025
• #8 Best Online Bachelor’s of History Degree Programs Ranked for 2025
• #8 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Bachelor's of Cybersecurity 2025
• #8 Top 10 Best Online Communications PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #9 Best Online Bachelor's in Social Work Degree Programs Ranked for 2025
• #9 Best Online Bachelor’s of Early Childhood Education Degree Programs for 2025
• #9 Best Online Bachelor’s of Data Science and Analytics Degree Programs for 2024
• #9 Best Online Bachelor’s of Education Degree Programs for 2024
• #9 Best Online Associate in Business Administration
• #9 Best Online Master's in Biology
• #10 Best Online Bachelor’s of Data Science and Analytics Degree Programs for 2024
• #10 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Master's of Nursing Programs 2025
• #10 Best Online Bachelor's in Network Administration Degree Programs for 2024
• #10 Best Online Bachelor's in Interdisciplinary Studies Degree Programs for 2024
• #11 Top 18 Most Affordable No GRE Online PhD Degree Programs 2025
• #11 20 Fastest Accelerated Online English Doctorates (PhDs) 2024
• #11 Best Online Doctorate in Business Administration Degree Programs
• #11 Best Online Bachelor's of Finance Degree Programs for 2024
• #12 Best Online Master's in Sports Management 2025
• #14 Best Online Bachelor's in Accounting 2025
• #14 Top 15 Most Affordable Online Economics PhD Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #14 Best Online Bachelor's of Healthcare Administration Degree Programs for 2024
• #15 Best Online Christian Colleges and Universities for Master's Degrees
• #16 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Doctorate of Education (PhDs) 2025
• #16 Best Online Associate in Criminal Justice
• #17 Best Online Bachelor’s in Marketing and Advertising Degree Programs for 2024
• #18 Top 20 Best Online Accredited Doctorate Degree Programs (PhDs) 2025
• #18 Best Online Bachelor's in Computer Science Degree Programs
• #18 Most Affordable Online Master's Degree Programs Ranked for Students
• #18 Best Online Master’s in Finance
• #21 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity
• #23 Best Online Master’s in Counseling
• #25 Best Online Associate in Christian Ministry
• #25 Best Online Bachelor's of Economics Degree Programs for 2024
• #1 Fastest Accelerated Online Associate's of Counseling Degree Programs
• #2 Fastest Accelerated Online PhDs in Education Degree Programs 2024
• #5 20 Fastest Online Bachelor's of Business Degree Programs Ranked 2024
• #5 How to Earn Your Master's Degree Without Your Bachelor's Degree
• #5 Top 20 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's in Counseling
• #5 Best College Majors that Offer Accelerated Degree Programs 2025
• #6 10 Best Accelerated Online PhD Programs Ranked for Students in 2025
• #8 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Counseling Degree Programs 2024
• #14 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Nursing Degree Programs 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at Liberty University

What do we love about liberty university.

Liberty University is one of the largest Christian universities in the world as well as one of the largest private non-profit universities in the U.S. Much of this size is based on its online enrollment.

Liberty University enrolls roughly 15,000 residential students across its 17 colleges, and an additional 80,000 through its extensive online course and degree offerings.

Liberty University is noted for the sheer volume of advanced degrees and online degrees earned by its student body. With more than 47,000 students pursuing advanced degrees, Liberty offers an extremely wide range of online doctoral programs, including its online PhD in history program.

Wish to attend the world’s largest seminary—Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity.

Students who do not identify with Evangelical Christianity.

• #9 Best Research Universities in Virginia 2025
• #2 Best Online Associate's in History Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Online Bachelor’s of Counseling Degree Programs for 2025
• #2 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Virginia
• #2 Best Online Bachelor's of Theology Degree Programs in 2025
• #2 Best Online Associate in Christian Ministry
• #2 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in the District Of Columbia
• #3 Best Online Master's in Organizational Psychology 2025
• #3 How To Get an Online Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies
• #3 Top 10 Best Online Counseling PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #3 Best Online Associate Degrees in Virginia 2024
• #3 Best Online Bachelor’s of Graphic Arts Degree Programs for 2025
• #3 Best Online Bachelor's in Music Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
• #4 Best Online Bachelor’s of Christian Ministry Degree Programs for 2025
• #4 15 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Psychology Programs
• #5 Best Online Bachelor’s in Biblical Studies
• #5 Top 16 Most Affordable Online Counseling PhDs (Doctorates)
• #5 Best Online MBA Programs in Virginia
• #5 Best Online Master's in Theology 2025
• #5 Most Affordable Online PhDs in Psychology Ranked for 2025
• #5 Best Online Associate in Psychology
• #6 Best Online Doctorate of Educational Psychology (PhDs) 2025
• #6 Best Online Master’s in Biblical Studies 2025
• #6 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's of Information Technology
• #7 Best Online Master's Programs in Virginia 2025
• #7 Best Online Bachelor’s of Digital Media for 2025
• #7 Best Online Colleges in Virginia 2024
• #8 Fastest Online Associate Degrees Ranked for 2024
• #8 Best Online MBA in Entrepreneurship Ranked for Students in 2024
• #8 Best Online Master’s in Human Services
• #8 Most Affordable Online Applied Behavioral Analysis PhD Programs
• #9 Top 15 Fastest Accelerated Online Counseling Doctorates (PhDs)
• #9 Best Online Bachelor's in Sports Management Degree Programs for 2025
• #9 Top 10 Best Online Communications PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #9 Top 20 Easiest Online Degrees from Accredited Schools in 2024
• #10 Best Online Bachelor's in Law and Legal Studies Degree Programs for 2025
• #10 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Bachelor's of Cybersecurity 2025
• #10 Best Online Associate in General Studies
• #10 Best Online Bachelor's in Computer Science Degree Programs
• #11 Best Online Bachelor’s in Information Technology Degree Programs for 2025
• #11 Best Online Master’s in Emergency Management 2025
• #12 Fastest Accelerated Online Public Health Doctorates (PhDs) 2025
• #12 Best Online Bachelor’s of Early Childhood Education Degree Programs for 2025
• #13 Best Online Bachelor’s of History Degree Programs Ranked for 2025
• #14 Best Online Bachelor's of Economics Degree Programs for 2024
• #15 20 Fastest Accelerated Online English Doctorates (PhDs) 2024
• #16 Most Affordable Online PhD Programs Ranked for Students in 2024
• #17 Best Online Bachelor's of English Degree Programs for 2024
• #24 Best Online Master’s in Counseling
• #8 Top 20 Fastest Accelerated Online Bachelor's in Counseling
• #10 20 Fastest Accelerated Online MBA Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
• #13 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Counseling Degree Programs 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at Regent University

What do we love about regent university.

Regent University is a private Christian University that provides an array of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Founded in 1977 by Southern Baptist Minister Pat Robertson, Regent University offers a wide range of both online and on-campus degree programs.

Regent University serves more than 10,000 students today, with many pursuing online degrees at the master’s and doctoral degree levels.

Regent University is also noteworthy for its extremely diverse range of online PhD programs, including a history PhD rooted in Regent’s tradition of faith.

Are pursuing advanced degrees online. More than 60% of Regent’s students are in post-graduate programs.

Prefer a secular educational experience.

Other Options for Aspiring History PhDs

Students considering an online doctoral in history should also check out the best on-campus options to compare features like cost, curriculum, acceptance rate, and more.

University of California, Berkeley

• #2 Best Universities in the US Ranked for Prospective Students in 2025
• #2 50 Best Graduate Schools Ranked for Prospective Students in 2025
• #2 50 Best Colleges and Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2025
• #2 Top Schools that Offer Free Master's Degrees Online
• #2 50 Best Research Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2024
• #3 Best Universities in the World 2025
• #1 Best Colleges in California 2024
• #1 Best Grad Schools California 2025
• #1 Best Research Universities in California 2025
• #1 Best Public Colleges California 2024
• #1 Most Affordable Colleges in California 2025
• #2 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
• #1 Best Research Universities for Social Work Degrees 2025
• #1 Best Research Universities for Communications Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities for Computer Science Degrees
• #2 Best Colleges and Universities for Sociology Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities for Math Degrees
• #2 Best Research Universities for Philosophy Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities for Economics Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities for Psychology Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities for Biology Degrees 2025
• #4 Best Research Universities for Engineering Degrees
• #4 Best Research Universities for Sociology Degrees
• #4 Best Research Universities for Chemistry Degrees
• #5 Best Research Universities for Anthropology Degrees
• #6 Best Research Universities for Physics Degrees
• #7 Best Research Universities for English Degrees
• #7 Best Research Universities for History Degrees
• #7 Best Research Universities for Political Science Degrees
• #8 Best Research Universities for Earth Sciences Degrees
• #9 Best Research Universities for Religious Studies Degrees
• #1 Most Affordable Online Computer Science PhDs (Doctorates) 2025
• #1 Best Online Clinical Nutrition PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #1 Fastest Accelerated Online Computer Science Doctorates (PhDs)
• #1 Top 3 Best Online Economics PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #1 Best Online Sociology PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #2 Top 5 Best Online English PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #2 Top 8 Best Online Public Health PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #4 Guide to Free Online Courses for MBA Students in 2024
• #2 The Best Traditional MBA Programs Ranked for Students in 2024
• #3 Best Schools in the World for Earning an MBA Degree Ranked for 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

• Earth Sciences
• Computer Science
• Mathematics
• Anthropology
• Engineering
• Communications

Most Influential Alumni

• Daniel Kahneman
• John Kenneth Galbraith
• Timothy Leary
• Shing-Tung Yau
• Ken Thompson
• Niklaus Wirth
• Douglas Engelbart
• Theodosius Dobzhansky
• Betty Friedan
• George Dantzig
• Octavio Paz
• Gary Snyder

University of Michigan

• #4 Top Schools that Offer Free Master's Degrees Online
• #9 Best Universities in the US Ranked for Prospective Students in 2025
• #9 50 Best Graduate Schools Ranked for Prospective Students in 2025
• #9 50 Best Colleges and Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2025
• #14 Best Universities in the World 2025
• #22 50 Best Research Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2024
• #1 Best Research Universities in Michigan 2025
• #1 Best Colleges in Michigan 2025
• #1 Best Grad Schools in Michigan 2024
• #1 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
• #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Michigan 2025
• #1 Best Public Colleges in Michigan 2024
• #2 Best Research Universities for Education Degrees 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities for Nursing Degrees
• #3 Best Research Universities for Business Degrees 2025
• #4 Best Research Universities for Communications Degrees 2025
• #8 Best Research Universities for Anthropology Degrees
• #8 Best Research Universities for Sociology Degrees
• #8 Best Research Universities for Biology Degrees 2025
• #9 Best Research Universities for Computer Science Degrees
• #9 Best Research Universities for Math Degrees
• #9 Best Research Universities for Philosophy Degrees 2025
• #9 Best Research Universities for Economics Degrees 2025
• #9 Best Research Universities for Psychology Degrees 2025
• #9 Best Research Universities for History Degrees
• #11 Best Research Universities for Engineering Degrees
• #12 Best Research Universities for English Degrees
• #12 Best Research Universities for Political Science Degrees
• #13 Best Research Universities for Earth Sciences Degrees
• #13 Best Research Universities for Physics Degrees
• #13 Best Research Universities for Chemistry Degrees
• #14 Best Research Universities for Religious Studies Degrees
• #1 Best Online MBA Degree Programs No GRE Required Ranked for 2025
• #1 Fastest Online Master's Degrees Ranked for Students in 2025
• #1 Best Online MBA Programs in Michigan
• #1 Best Online Master’s in Health Science 2025
• #1 Best Online Master's Programs in Michigan 2025
• #1 Top 8 Best Online Public Health PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #2 Best Online Clinical Nutrition PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #2 Top 10 Best Online Communications PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #2 Best Online Master's Programs 2024
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• #3 Top 3 Best Online Economics PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #3 Top 5 Best Online English PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #6 Guide to Free Online Courses for MBA Students in 2024
• #1 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Nursing Degree Programs 2024
• #7 The Best Traditional MBA Programs Ranked for Students in 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at University of Michigan

University of Michigan’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

• Social Work
• Claude Shannon
• Arthur Miller
• Alvin Plantinga
• Edgar F. Codd
• Hans-Hermann Hoppe
• Stephen Smale
• Urie Bronfenbrenner
• John Henry Holland
• Amos Tversky
• Marshall Sahlins

New York University

• #10 50 Best Colleges and Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2025
• #16 Best Universities in the World 2025
• #23 50 Best Research Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2024
• #2 Best Grad Schools in New York 2025
• #2 Best Research Universities in New York 2025
• #2 Best Colleges in New York 2024
• #2 Best Private Colleges in New York 2024
• #3 The Most Influential Universities and Colleges Ranked by State 2024
• #2 Best Research Universities for Social Work Degrees 2025
• #3 Best Research Universities for Education Degrees 2025
• #3 Best Research Universities for Nursing Degrees
• #4 Best Research Universities for Business Degrees 2025
• #5 Best Research Universities for Communications Degrees 2025
• #8 Best Research Universities for English Degrees
• #9 Best Research Universities for Biology Degrees 2025
• #10 Best Research Universities for Computer Science Degrees
• #10 Best Research Universities for Math Degrees
• #10 Best Research Universities for Philosophy Degrees 2025
• #10 Best Research Universities for Economics Degrees 2025
• #10 Best Research Universities for Psychology Degrees 2025
• #14 Best Research Universities for Sociology Degrees
• #15 Best Research Universities for Anthropology Degrees
• #15 Best Research Universities for History Degrees
• #15 Best Research Universities for Political Science Degrees
• #15 Best Research Universities for Religious Studies Degrees
• #23 Best Research Universities for Engineering Degrees
• #23 Best Research Universities for Physics Degrees
• #1 Best Online Master's in Management 2025
• #1 Top 10 Best Online Communications PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #1 20 Best Online Master's of Speech Pathology Degree Programs
• #1 Best Online Master's Programs in New York 2025
• #1 Best Online Master's Programs 2024
• #1 Top 5 Best Online English PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #2 Fastest Online Master's Degrees Ranked for Students in 2025
• #3 Best Online Clinical Nutrition PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #3 Best Online Sociology PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #1 Fastest Accelerated Online Master's of Counseling Degree Programs 2024
• #1 Fastest Accelerated Online PhDs in Education Degree Programs 2024
• #4 Top 20 Best Business Schools for MBAs Ranked for Students 2025
• #10 The Best Traditional MBA Programs Ranked for Students in 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at New York University

New York University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

• Erich Fromm
• Robert Mueller
• Martha Nussbaum
• John Archibald Wheeler
• Glenn Greenwald
• Howard Zinn
• Eric Kandel
• Lewis Mumford
• Alvin Toffler
• Louis Nirenberg

University of California, Los Angeles

• #7 America's 15 Most Technologically Advanced Colleges
• #13 Best Universities in the US Ranked for Prospective Students in 2025
• #13 50 Best Graduate Schools Ranked for Prospective Students in 2025
• #13 50 Best Colleges and Universities Ranked for Undergrads in 2025
• #24 Best Universities in the World 2025
• #2 Best Public Colleges California 2024
• #2 Most Affordable Colleges in California 2025
• #3 Best Colleges in California 2024
• #3 Best Grad Schools California 2025
• #3 Best Research Universities in California 2025
• #4 Best Research Universities for Education Degrees 2025
• #5 Best Research Universities for Nursing Degrees
• #7 Best Research Universities for Business Degrees 2025
• #8 Best Research Universities for Communications Degrees 2025
• #11 Best Research Universities for Anthropology Degrees
• #12 Best Research Universities for Sociology Degrees
• #12 Best Research Universities for Earth Sciences Degrees
• #12 Best Research Universities for Chemistry Degrees
• #12 Best Research Universities for Biology Degrees 2025
• #13 Best Research Universities for Computer Science Degrees
• #13 Best Research Universities for Math Degrees
• #13 Best Research Universities for Philosophy Degrees 2025
• #13 Best Research Universities for Economics Degrees 2025
• #13 Best Research Universities for Psychology Degrees 2025
• #14 Best Research Universities for History Degrees
• #14 Best Research Universities for Engineering Degrees
• #14 Best Research Universities for Physics Degrees
• #15 Best Research Universities for English Degrees
• #18 Best Research Universities for Political Science Degrees
• #21 Best Research Universities for Religious Studies Degrees
• #4 Top 3 Best Online Economics PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #4 Top 5 Best Online English PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates)
• #4 Best Online Sociology PhD Degree Programs (Doctorates) 2025
• #12 The Best Traditional MBA Programs Ranked for Students in 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

• Hilary Putnam
• Elinor Ostrom
• Judea Pearl
• Glenn T. Seaborg
• Barry Boehm
• Stanley Cavell
• William F. Sharpe
• John Ehrlichman
• Stephen Krashen
• Edward O. Thorp
• Stephen Kosslyn

University of Florida

• #8 Best Value Colleges and Universities Ranked for Students in 2024
• #20 Most Affordable Colleges and Universities in the U.S. 2025
• #20 Most Affordable Graduate Schools Ranked for 2025
• #22 50 Best Public Colleges and Universities Ranked for Students in 2025
• #23 50 Best Public Grad Schools 2025
• #1 Best Public Colleges in Florida 2025
• #1 Most Affordable Colleges in Florida 2025
• #1 Best Grad Schools in Florida 2024
• #1 Best Colleges in Florida 2024
• #1 Best Research Universities in Florida 2025
• #1 Best Research Universities for Criminal Justice Degrees
• #16 Best Research Universities for Education Degrees 2025
• #17 Best Research Universities for Nursing Degrees
• #20 Best Research Universities for Business Degrees 2025
• #20 Best Research Universities for Communications Degrees 2025
• #21 Best Research Universities for Anthropology Degrees
• #21 Best Research Universities for Earth Sciences Degrees
• #22 Best Research Universities for History Degrees
• #23 Best Research Universities for Chemistry Degrees
• #23 Best Research Universities for Biology Degrees 2025
• #25 Best Research Universities for Engineering Degrees
• #1 Best Online Bachelor's in Anthropology 2025
• #1 Best Online Bachelor's in Computer Science Degree Programs
• #1 Best Online Master's Programs in Florida 2024
• #1 Best Online Colleges in Florida 2024
• #2 Best Online Bachelor’s of Digital Media for 2025
• #2 Best Online Bachelor's in Biology 2025
• #2 Best Online MBA Programs in Florida
• #2 Most Affordable Online Applied Behavioral Analysis PhD Programs
• #3 10 Best Online Master's of Music Education Degree Programs 2025
• #3 Fastest Accelerated Online Public Health Doctorates (PhDs) 2025
• #4 Top 20 Most Affordable Online Doctorate of Education (PhDs) 2025
• #9 Top 20 Best Online MBA Programs that Can Be Completed in One Year 2025
• #19 Top 20 Easiest Online Degrees from Accredited Schools in 2024
• #4 Most Affordable Master's in Counseling Degree Programs Ranked for 2025
• #15 Best Schools in the World for Earning an MBA Degree Ranked for 2024

Career Outlook for History degree at University of Florida

University of Florida’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:

• Criminal Justice
• J. Barkley Rosser
• Marshall Warren Nirenberg
• Paul Tibbets
• Robert Costanza
• Michael Connelly
• Robert H. Grubbs
• Carl Hiaasen
• Gilbert Stork
• Aseem Shukla
• Neil Druckmann
• Norman Thagard

Find out what your options are with a look at our Guide to Online Degrees .

National Council on Public History

Resources for students.

NCPH has long been involved in the education of public history students. This page offers a range of resources to guide and inform current students of public history or those looking to enroll in a program.

Guide to Public History Programs

The GUIDE TO PUBLIC HISTORY PROGRAMS is a free, comprehensive resource for prospective students. Standardized formatting makes it easier to compare resources and practices, whether at graduate or undergraduate levels. Schools are searchable by program type, degrees offered, program strengths, and location.

The Public History Navigator

THE PUBLIC HISTORY NAVIGATOR is a “consumer’s guide to public history programs” designed to help history undergraduates prepare for, select, and succeed in a graduate public history program. The Navigator also includes links to other online resources that will help undergrads navigate the waters of grad school. It’s also great for high schoolers who are considering pursuing history or public history as their focus of study in college.

Public History Employer Report and Survey

Based on a survey of 401 public history employers, this report surveys trends in public history employment since the 2008 recession. It was compiled by the Joint Task Force on Public History Education and Employment of the American Association for State and Local History, the American Historical Association, the National Council on Public History, and the Organization of American Historians. It identifies skills and knowledge employers consider valuable for entry-level professional positions, what employers look for when hiring for mid-career and senior positions, and skills and expertise that employers see as increasingly important. The report also considers broad trends affecting historical organizations and institutions and recommends steps for public history programs to take to prepare students for post-graduate opportunities and long-term career growth. Finally, the report recommends greater advocacy on the part of national, state, and local historical organizations to combat anti-intellectualism and increase appreciation for historical scholarship and history education. The report is  here . A supporting document compiling all of the survey comments is also available  here.

Public History Careers Report and Survey

In 2016-17, the Joint Task Force on Public History Education and Employment surveyed alumni of MA programs in public history and closely related fields to obtain information about career trajectories and employment experiences. The survey obtained 1,488 responses. “Career Paths in Public History,” a report prepared by the Joint Task Force, summarizes the major findings of the survey. The survey data shows that most graduates of public history programs find employment in the field within a year of graduating; the majority of public historians remain in the field over time; and public historians report relatively high levels of job satisfaction. Comments submitted by respondents, however, express significant concerns about the conditions of public history employment, competition for jobs, and the future of the field. The report is here . Three appendixes present the survey questions , the survey data , and comments submitted by respondents .

Careers for Students of History

Sponsored by the American Historical Association and the NCPH, and authored by faculty and students in the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina, the 2002 edition of Careers for Students of History is for students interested in pursuing a career in history. This edition discusses numerous career possibilities and includes interviews with prominent historians in all fields of history, ranging from academic and publishing, to public and consulting.

Jobs in Public History

This “Tips for Getting a Job in the Public History Field” video was produced by NCPH, UTEP, & AASLH.

NCPH maintains a jobs listing page, which is a free service our organization provides to the public history profession. Job seekers can search by field, position type, and location. Jobs are updated weekly.

On August 31, 2022, NCPH’s New Professional and Student Committee hosted a Public History Hangout with representatives of NCPH’s Government Historians Committee on federal history jobs (getting them and having them). Check out the recording on our Youtube channel.

ADDITIONAL CAREER LINKS:

• “Advising Undergraduates about Career Opportunities in Public History.” Melissa Bingmann. AHA Perspectives on History, March 2009.
• “History for Dollars,” David Brooks column for the New York Times, June 7, 2010.
• “Careers for History Majors, A Miniguide from the American Historical Association”
• “Careers in Public History,” webpage from the American Historical Association
• “Beyond Academe” website (for graduate students)
• “Beginning a Job Search” webpage
• “A Guide to Becoming an Historic Preservation Professional: The Work You Can Do, What Employers Want, and Educational Considerations” by Jeremy Wells

Social Media

NCPH maintains organizational accounts on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram, LinkedIn , and Bluesky . A few of our committees also manage related Twitter accounts, follow them for more specific content: NCPH Consultants Committee , NCPH Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) , NCPH New Professional and Student Committee , NCPH Government Historians Committee.

If you are an NCPH member, there are additional social media perks. You can request to join the NCPH Members’ Forum on Facebook, where you can ask questions, share successes or concerns, publicize a project or event, or just catch up with public history friends. Meanwhile on Instagram, you can sign up to do a week-long takeover of the account, where you can share posts and stories about your work. Send us a Direct Message on Instagram or email us at [email protected] if you’re interested!

Resources for Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

The NCPH Board-led Sub-Committee on Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment has compiled a list of resources to help those who work in the field of public history. The document includes links to websites, articles, books, and more that aim to both support those who have experienced gender discrimination or sexual harassment and to guide organizations in developing their own policies and best practices related to these issues. This is a living document that will be periodically updated. If you have questions or suggestions on resources to be added please email us at  [email protected] .

Other Resources

Check out the Around the Field posts on our blog, History@Work . Around the Field is posted every other week with the most up-to-date links for workshops and learning opportunities,   calls for proposals for conferences   , awards, and publications.

How I became a Public Historian

Denise Meringolo is Assistant Professor of History and coordinator of the public history track in the Department of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Before I became a public historian, I was a museum professional. Over the course of my work and my education, I have come to think of those two professional identities as complementary but distinct.

As an undergraduate American Studies major, I found my way into museum work through an internship at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. There, I had the good fortune to work for Edith Mayo, who was the women’s history expert in what was then called the Division of Political History. Mayo took me under her wing and through the locked doors of the museum’s collections, where I handled artifacts that didn’t simply interest me. They moved me.

As a student of American history and culture, I had been trained to believe that historians were objective and that the most scholarly historical narratives were therefore unemotional. So, I tried to hide the fact that the banners crafted by the National Woman’s Party and the jailhouse door pin Alice Paul gave to protestors who were arrested outside Woodrow Wilson’s White House quite literally brought tears to my eyes.

I quickly discovered that the Smithsonian’s exhibits moved our visitors, too. I often answered letters from visitors moved with pride–or with anger–by the installation of particular artifacts or the interpretation of particular pasts. Typically, I responded to these missives with little more than a nod to emotion and with far more than a page-worth of historical context to explain the interpretive process behind museum display. I’m certain these letters didn’t answer the real question most visitors were trying to ask: is there space for me in this history?

I left the Smithsonian in 1995, after accepting a job as the curator of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington. When stakeholders at the Jewish Historical Society—visitors, donors, members, community organizers—discovered that I was neither a native Washingtonian nor Jewish, they asked me some variation of the same question: “Why do you care?” Invariably the question was not a defensive one. Rather, it conveyed a real curiosity about my role in the life of the community.

And, indeed, I had no satisfactory answer.

Their question forced me to confront the fact that I might love history and appreciate artifacts, I might be an excellent researcher and a good writer, but I did not know anything about what it meant to be a public historian. I did not know what my role should be in helping a community define itself. I did not know how to be both scholarly and of service.

The past is meaningful in the development of community ties; no amount of intellectual distance will change that. For me, the necessary work of balancing service-oriented interest in community life with scholarly interest in historical research and narrative makes public history exciting—not to mention frustrating, awe-inspiring, and rewarding.

Today, I am an Assistant Professor of History and coordinator of the public history track in the Department of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I am honored to be training the next generation of public historians who will respond to visitor outrage with more empathy than I felt free to express when I began my career 17 years ago. As an active member of the National Council on Public History, I find that I am among friends who understand in a personal and profound manner that history and emotion are not mutually exclusive—nor are service and scholarship.

Alexandra Lord was the Acting Historian at the United States Public Health Service in 2007 when she wrote this article. She now works as a Curator for the National Museum of American History.

When I was nine, my father, an attorney with a passion for history, told me that historians worked in archives where they read and worked with objects from the past. That, combined with all the stories my older sister told me about Henry VIII and his wives, was enough to get me hooked: I couldn’t imagine anything better than being an historian.

At Vassar College, I majored in Medieval and Renaissance Studies while fulfilling the requirements for a history major. After college, I worked at The Walters Art Gallery. I loved the emphasis which museums placed on public education.

When I began my doctorate in history, I believed that historians worked not only as professors but also as curators, researchers, documentary film makers, and archivists. Unfortunately, during my five years in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, my understanding of what historians could do narrowed. Like most of my peers, I became convinced that historians, at least the “best” historians, worked only in universities. It was no surprise, then, that I wound up becoming a tenure-track professor.

Teaching was wonderful but many aspects of academia frustrated me. Although I always changed the books and assignments, my classes had to cover the same basic principles, year in and year out. Additionally, I believed that ground-breaking historical research should be written for both historians and people like my father—non-historians who could use history to gain insight into current issues. But tenure and promotion did not reward historians who wrote for the general public. In fact, many academics seemed to spurn civic engagement altogether.

Gradually, I came to see academia as providing not a refuge but rather a retreat from the world and, in 2000, I decided to re-enter the world. If I knew what the term “public historian” meant at that time, I probably believed that I could never become one because my education was in European medical history. But that spring, I interviewed to be an historian for the US Public Health Service. When I tentatively mentioned that my background was not in American history, my interviewer told me that the most important skill which a public historian needed was the ability to grow and learn.

For public historians, there is no such thing as a typical day. I frequently work with reporters, film makers, Congressional legislators and other researchers, educating them on the history of medicine. I love never knowing what questions I will be asked! I also work with Save Ellis Island and other historic sites, helping to preserve and restore these sites. More recently, I curated an exhibit on the history of nursing and I provided an historical analysis of flu pandemics to government officials planning for a new outbreak. I also lecture at universities, historic sites and community centers. Best of all, I am researching and writing a book for both historians and the general public on the history of federally funded sex education.

For me, public history has opened new doors into how I understand and practice history. Visit Alexandra’s web site at http://www.beyondacademe.com/ .

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• Faculty and Staff Directory
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Public History (Ph.D.)

• Research and Engagement

The goal of the doctoral program in Public History is to train leaders in the public interpretation and application of history. We expect students to produce work that significantly advances the frontiers of Public History, both as a practical discipline and as an intellectual enterprise.

Faculty work closely with students in graduate seminars and colloquia, as dissertation advisers, and in imagining and implementing public outreach. For that reason and to gauge whether NC State’s Public History program fits their professional goals, prospective students should familiarize themselves with the doctoral handbook and contact faculty with whom they would like to work before applying to the program . The primary dissertation adviser will be a tenure-track member of the Public History faculty , with supporting mentors in both History and Public History fields.

Since we admit only four students each year with full financial assistance and benefits, the program is very competitive and selective. Applicants who already have graduate degrees  may  be given allowance for up to eighteen credit hours from their master’s work toward the doctoral degree.

Public History is unlike traditional historical studies in that students do not necessarily specialize in geo-temporal or historically thematic fields. Rather, students attend to how and why history is publicly employed—public interpretation, memorialization and commemoration, political appropriation, media uses, community activism and uplift, educational uses, digital dissemination, and so on. Still, during their careers at NC State, students are expected to read critically, analyze primary and secondary sources skillfully, and write rigorously. The doctoral curriculum is fairly flexible, to be tailored to the students’ professional aspirations. Although we do not have designated tracks of study, we recommend that students, in consultation with their primary adviser, conceptualize a curriculum structured in one of the following ways:

Early American public history: 7 public history courses, 7 history courses primarily in US, 2 interdisciplinary courses, dissertation focus on the public history of early America (pre-1877).

Modern American public history: 7 public history courses, 7 history courses primarily in US, 2 interdisciplinary courses, dissertation focus on the public history of modern America (post-1877).

World Heritage: 7 public history courses (with 587, 594, and 789 highly recommended ), 7 history courses (5-6 in non-US history), 2 interdisciplinary courses, dissertation focus on public history in a geo-temporal or thematic topic outside US history.

Beyond in-class coursework, all doctoral students complete a practicum in their own special areas of interest (for example, history museums, historic sites or parks, historic preservation, heritage tourism, or historical publications). They also serve as teaching assistants in their first year of study and, in most cases, as independent instructors during their remaining years. Although many doctoral students do not plan to continue in academic education, the ability to relate history to audiences and help them understand the purpose and usefulness of historical study is a central part of being a public historian.

Requirements at a Glance

Public history field (21 hours).

• HI 596: Introduction to Public History
• HI 642: Internship in Public History 
• HI 791: Research Seminar in Public History

and four courses from the following:

• HI 533: Theory and Practice of Oral History
• HI 534: Theory and Practice of Digital History
• HI 535: Spatial History
• HI 563: Topics in History and Memory
• HI 587: Cultural Resource Management
• HI 588: Family and Community History
• HI 589: Interpretation in Historic Sites and Parks
• HI 591: Museum Studies
• HI 593: Material Culture
• HI 594: Cultural Heritage
• HI 787: African American Public History
• HI 789: Public History in International Contexts

History Field (21 hours)

• HI 597: Historiography and Historical Method
• 18 credit hours in history, at least 9 of which are in HI 792: Colloquium in History

Outside Field (6 hours)

6 hours in one category or a field designed in consultation with adviser and the Director of Public History. Students may want to consider completing certificate programs in their outside fields to complement their doctoral preparation.

• Architecture
• Digital Humanities ( certificate ) 
• Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
• Geographic Information Systems ( certificate )
• Leadership and Volunteer Management ( certificate )
• Natural Resources
• Non-Profit Management ( certificate )
• Professional Communication and Management Skills ( certificate )
• Public Policy ( certificate )
• Youth Development and Leadership ( certificate )

Foreign Language Proficiency

The foreign language requirement ensures competence with one of the important tools of scholarship. Students are expected to make every effort to understand and appreciate works of historical research in other languages, even if relevance to their own topic of study is not immediately apparent. Documentation of foreign language proficiency exam passed during masters work at this or another institution may be submitted to fulfill this requirement. Or, students may meet the language requirement through completion of six credit hours in GIS, receiving a B or better in these courses, and obtaining certification from the instructor attesting to their proficiency in GIS for graduate work.

Doctoral Examination and Dissertation (24 hours)

• HI 889: Doctoral Dissertation Seminar (1 credit hour for 2 consecutive semesters, beginning in semester preceding preliminary exams)

and 22 hours from the following:

• HI 895: Doctoral Dissertation Research
• HI 899: Doctoral Dissertation Preparation

Some good advice on dissertation writing may be found in Liena Vayzman’s “ Practical Advice for Writing Your Dissertation, Book, or Article .” 

• Public History Ph.D. Handbook
• The Graduate School Handbook

History, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD History

The PhD program in history offers outstanding opportunities for graduate study in North American, European, public and global-comparative history.

The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies' world-class faculty members deliver courses and individualized mentoring in a wide range of historical topics, such as urban history, environment and sustainability studies, politics and policy, immigration, gender, race and ethnicity, and comparative history. In addition, doctoral history students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the numerous collaborative opportunities that exist throughout the university in ASU's many innovative schools and centers.

Degree Requirements

Curriculum plan options.

• 84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (16 credit hours) HST 502 Public History Methodology (3) HST 640 Historical Methods (3) HST 641 North American History (3) HST 643 Global History (3) HST 644 Area Studies in History (3) HST 682 Advanced Research Skill (1)

Electives and Research (44 credit hours)

Other Requirement (12 credit hours) HST 591 Seminar (6) HST 792 Research (6)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) HST 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information In general, all credit hours must be at the 500 level or above. Graduate credit may be awarded for 400-level courses; it must be approved in advance and documented in the student's file.

The doctoral program requires a minimum of 84 credit hours and may be completed in four to five years. Students with a master's degree may apply 30 credit hours toward the 84 required credit hours with approval of the academic unit and the Graduate College. If the student does not already have a master's degree in a related field, then the remaining 30 credit hours are made up of electives and research to reach the 84 credit hours required for the doctoral program.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree, in any field, from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program. The most competitive applicants have a GPA of 3.30 or higher.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• resume or curriculum vitae
• writing sample
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency. The history program requires a TOEFL iBT score of at least 90. A student whose native language is not English also must submit a copy of an article or research paper in the student's native or principal research language in addition to the English writing sample required of all students.

Students are required to submit a minimum of three email addresses of faculty or others qualified to speak to the student's suitability for graduate study in history. Letters of reference should be submitted by the recommenders in addition to the electronic reference form they are asked to complete.

The statement of purpose is to be addressed to the history admission committee and should explain the applicant's scholarly background and training, career goals, the primary field the applicant wishes to pursue, the proposed research specialization, and why the applicant wants to pursue graduate study at ASU; it should be about 500 words in length.

The writing sample, either published or unpublished, may be an article, a research paper, or any other extended sample of expository skill, and it must be no longer than 35 pages in length. Longer writing samples should not be submitted without first consulting the graduate director. Documents and files should not be password protected. Acceptable file types are .rtf, .pdf and .doc.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

• Identify and complete applications for funding opportunities that can support their research
• Demonstrate mastery of three domains of historical knowledge as well as display expertise in their proposed topic of study
• Accomplish meaningful contributions to the profession through accepted publications and presentations

Career Opportunities

Graduates possess the foundational skills in research, writing, and communication and fundamental training needed for careers in research, archival work, higher education, teaching, public history, government service, and a host of other areas in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

They serve as first-rate historians, highly qualified instructors at two-year schools and universities, researchers and consultants for business and government, archivists, foreign service officers, management professionals, community organizers and public servants. Other career examples include:

• editorial and publishing professional
• K-12 school teacher
• museum director and staff
• nonprofit director
• university professor

Global Experience

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-5778

University Catalog 2024-2025

Public history (phd).

Degree Requirements

Students may choose from course tracks to complete coursework within a focus area.

Degrees earned will be distributed as: "Doctor of Philosophy in Public History" without focus area track specifications.

Students can select a focus area track for to meet this requirement.  Focus Area tracks include: African American History, Digital History, Heritage Studies, Museum Studies and Public Memory.

HI 792 must be repeated three times to meet the minimum 9-credit requirement for the course.

Must be taken in two consecutive semesters

Minimum 22 credit hours

Full Professors

• David R. Ambaras
• Nishani Frazier
• Craig T. Friend
• Tammrah Gordon
• Holly Hurlburt
• Akram F. Khater
• Traci Brynne Marante
• Julia Rudolph
• David Aaron Zonderman

Associate Professors

• Katherine Mellen Charron
• Frederico Freitas
• Verena Kasper-Marienberg
• Susanna M. Lee
• Noah B. Strote

Assistant Professors

• Kristen Alff
• Ajamu Dillahunt
• Ebony Jones
• Alicia McGill
• Tate Sewell Paulette
• Jordan Rogers

Teaching Assistant Professor

• Steven Lechner
• Gwyneth Anne Thayer

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2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

A PDF of the entire 2024-2025 Undergraduate catalog.

2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

A PDF of the entire 2024-2025 Graduate catalog.

Department of History

PhD in History (by distance learning)

Join our rich and thriving academic community and deliver research on key research areas in history, with the flexibility to study online.

Year of entry: 2024/25

If your passion lies in research, our doctoral degrees give you the independence to focus on a specialism of your choice. You'll have the flexibility to work from anywhere in the world. Study with us and receive expert research guidance from our supportive staff.

Your research

You'll focus on an independent research project on a topic of your choice. Your research will culminate in a dissertation of up to 90,000 words.

Join one of our leading research groups, which bring together historical expertise in various fields. Find out more about  our research groups .

[email protected]

Related links

• Research degree funding
• Accommodation
• International students
• Life at York
• How to apply

3rd in the UK for research impact

and 11th overall in the Times Higher Education ranking of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

Committed to equality

We are proud to hold an Athena Swan Bronze award in recognition of the work we do to support gender equality in history.

Access to exclusive resources

Our Borthwick Institute for Archives houses one of the most extensive collections of archives in the UK. York Minster Library is the largest cathedral library in the UK and holds material spanning 1000 years of history. We also have strong partnerships and consultancies with museums, archives, heritage sites, the media, artists and community organisations.

Explore funding for postgraduate researchers in the Department of History.

Supervision

We'll help match your research interests to our supervisory expertise. Explore the expertise of our staff.

Training and support

Your progress throughout your degree will be continually guided by your supervisor , who will help you to hone your focus and deliver specialised research. Alongside regular online meetings with your supervisor, you'll attend a Thesis Advisory Panel (TAP), consisting of at least one member of staff in addition to your supervisor. You'll meet twice a year (yearly for part-time students) to discuss your research project, including more general professional development and career training.

Course location

This course is run by the Department of History.

You can study this course from around the world. You must attend a five-day induction programme in York at the beginning of your first year. You'll also visit York in your second and third years (every other year for part-time students).

Entry requirements

You should have, or be about to complete, an MA degree in History or an equivalent subject with a distinction or very high merit.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language you must provide evidence of your ability.

Check your English language requirements

Apply for this course

Take a look at the supporting documents you may need for your application.

Find out more about how to apply .

Identify a supervisor

As part of any application for a research degree you will need to name one or more academic staff who could supervise your research. You should approach them informally to discuss your proposed project before you apply.

Find a supervisor

As part of your application, you'll be interviewed by one or two academic staff members, including your prospective supervisor. The interview will last around 30 minutes to an hour, with plenty of time for you to ask questions and find out what York can offer you. Your interview can be in-person or online.

Careers and skills

Your PhD will help to extend your qualifications, giving you the ability to use research and historical thinking to shed light on historical problems and communicate this knowledge with others. You will become equipped with transferable skills in communication, data analysis, archival research and collaboration, opening the door to a wide range of career opportunities.

Our dedicated careers team offer specific support including a programme of professional researcher development and careers workshops and 1:1 career support sessions. They will help you to build up your employability portfolio and to engage in activities that will build up your skills and experience within and outside of your research work.

Career opportunities

• archives practitioner
• heritage manager
• academic researcher
• museum professional
• historic buildings conservation officer
• lecturer or teacher

Discover York

Distance learning at York

Learn more about the York approach to distance and online learning.

Support and resources

Explore the support and resources we offer for distance and online learners.

Discover more about why York is the perfect choice for your research degree.

Meet us online or on campus

Find out all you need to know about applying to York

Scholarships

Find scholarships to support your studies

• PhD History
• Prospective Students
• MA Programs

The Department of History offers a PhD program centered on rigorous research within a vibrant and diverse intellectual community. While most of our students have a history degree (BA) or degrees (BA and MA), we accept students with a variety of backgrounds and interests. 

Admission is highly competitive. All offers include a full university fellowship for the duration of the program. Between 2017 and 2024, a number of excellent students selected for admission were named  Neubauer Family Distinguished Doctoral Fellows and received additional fellowship support over for five years.

Admissions Deadline (Autumn 2025 program start):  December 5, 2024 at 11:55 

Application Process

Interested students apply to the PhD program through the  Division of the Social Sciences . For questions regarding the application submission and fee waivers, please contact  SSD Admissions.  For questions regarding the History PhD Program or History-specific application components, please contact our  graduate affairs administrator .

Official decisions are sent by the Social Science Admissions Office by late February. The Department cannot release any information on admissions decisions.

Application Advice

The requirements for the application can be found on the divisional  admissions pages . The following advice is specific to your application to the Department of History.

Your  writing sample  should be a complete self-contained work. The ideal sample should be in the field of history (or a closely related field) that you plan to pursue at Chicago. Include the class or publication for which the sample was written. We do not have a page or word limit for writing samples. For papers longer than thirty pages, please flag a section for the committee.

Your  candidate statement  provides us with vital insight into the intersection of your intellectual goals and personal trajectory. It should communicate: 1) the ambitions you wish to pursue through doctoral work in history; 2) the specific questions and themes that will shape your dissertation research; 3) the personal and intellectual trajectory that has brought you to those themes and questions and prepared you to pursue them; and 4) the reasons that the University of Chicago and its faculty are well-matched to your doctoral plans.

The most helpful  letters of recommendation  come from faculty members who can assess your ability to work on your proposed historical topic.

Prospective students are asked to identify one or two primary fields of scholarly interest from a list in the application. Our faculty pages are sorted by field. Please see those pages for more information on faculty working in your field of interest. Please note, however, that we highly encourage applicants who work across field boundaries and do not apportion admissions by field.

There is no minimum  foreign language requirement  to enter the program, but successful applicants should possess strong language skills in their proposed research language(s) and be aware of the  language requirements for the various fields . All students are required to take a language exam in the first quarter of the program.

The University sets the  English-language assessment  requirements. Refer to the  Division of the Social Sciences  for English-language requirements and waivers.

Submission of  GRE scores  is entirely optional. Those who choose not to submit scores will not be disadvantaged in the admissions process.

MA Program Consideration

All applicants who are not admitted to our PhD program are automatically forwarded for consideration by our MA programs, unless the applicant specifically opts out of this process on their application. That said, as referred applications are considered later than most other MA applications, scholarship assistance for students admitted to an MA program through the referral process may be limited. If you are interested in our MA programs and would need scholarship assistance to attend, we would encourage you to apply directly to the MA as well as our program (note that this would require a separate application and application fee). MA applications are accepted  multiple times per year  with decisions typically issued within 6 to 8 weeks. Questions about applying to an MA program should be directed to  [email protected] .

Campus Visits

We encourage prospective students to reach out to potential faculty mentors through email. Please consult our faculty page to find professors who share your interests. Our graduate affairs administrator can provide additional information about the program.

The University also offers  graduate campus tours  throughout the year that are led by graduate students. Please check their website for campus visitor updates.

Admitted PhD students are invited to visit campus for "History Day" at the beginning of Spring Quarter.

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Online Master of Arts in Public History

Learn More About The Program

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Master of Arts (M.A.) in Public History

Embark on a journey through time and share history with others by pursuing liberty’s m.a. in public history.

Liberty University’s 100% online Master of Arts (M.A.) in Public History is designed to help you make sense of history and share it with others. This degree program is offered 100% online with no set login times and no required intensives – allowing you to earn a graduate degree while remaining committed to your job, family, and community.

This public history graduate program seeks to equip you with the skills you need to convey history to the general public. Our online public history master’s program can help you pursue careers in museums, archival departments, national parks, and other areas that deal with the preservation of history. Partner with us, gain a greater understanding of history, and pursue jobs that you’re passionate about.

What Will You Learn in Liberty University’s Public History Program?

• Best practices for conservation and preservation of historical artifacts
• Fundamentals of archaeology
• Theories of public history

This degree program is designed to foster a holistic understanding and appreciation of history. In addition to the learning outcomes mentioned above, you will study digital history, grant writing, museum studies, and America’s Christian heritage. Don’t put your passion on hold any longer – partner with us, dive into history, and learn valuable knowledge that you can readily share with others.

Potential Careers for Public History Graduates

• Conservator
• Director of education and engagement for a museum or historical site
• Museum curator

Benefits of Pursuing Your M.A. in Public History with Liberty University

As a leader in distance education since 1985, we understand what it takes to create a flexible and affordable education for busy people. Since we have been investing in distance and online learning for decades, our experience has taught us how to streamline our degree options so you can focus on what really matters to you. While many schools offer online degrees, we believe Liberty stands out.

Here’s what sets us apart:

• We are recognized by multiple institutions for our academic quality, affordability, and accessibility . Our commitment to excellence also helped us rank in the top 10% of Niche.com’s best online schools in America . Earning your Master of Arts in Public History from a nonprofit university with this kind of recognition can help set you apart from others in your field.
• Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
• You can complete our online master’s degree in public history in as little as 1.5 years.
• Students in our M.A. in Public History can benefit from networking opportunities with other professionals in the program from around the country.

Military Benefits for Public History Master’s Degree Students

Service is important to us, so whether you’re currently serving in the Armed Forces, have served, or are married to someone who serves, we’re here to serve you. Liberty’s military benefits are available to:

• Active duty service members of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Reserve/National Guard
• Veterans/retirees
• Spouses of service members and veterans/retirees
• Current Department of Defense employees

We are proud to support you in your pursuit of a flexible and affordable online education by offering you the following benefits: 

• Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
• Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course) .
• 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times  (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)

Credit Hours

100% online, 8-week courses

Interested in studying on campus?

Transfer Credits

Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total

Next Start Date

Jan 13, 2025

Accreditation

Liberty University is accredited by SACSCOC

600+ Online Degrees

With over 600 online degrees, we have something that will accommodate your dreams and calling.

Ranked in the top 10% of Niche.com’s 2024 best online schools in America

Recognized by multiple institutions for academic quality, affordability, and accessibility.

No tuition increase for 9 years

We want to help you pursue your goals – so while tuition rates at most universities have continued to increase over the years, the majority of our rates haven’t.

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PhD in History

The doctoral program in history is a 60-hour in-person program that culminates in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. Students can enter the program in two ways:

• (1) Most students enter holding a Master's degree . Usually, the PhD degree is a 30-hour program beyond the MA, but the exact hourly requirement beyond the MA will be determined by the Graduate Program Director and the Graduate School.
• (2) Students who have compiled an outstanding record in an undergraduate history major may enter the PhD Program directly from their undergraduate program. Admission with a Bachelor's degree only is highly selective and limited to a few undergraduates each year. Students are chosen on the basis of our regular criteria (GPA, letters of recommendation, writing sample and personal statement).

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the PhD in History, graduates will be able to:

• Apply the necessary skills to produce original scholarship on a chosen historical topic using primary sources while evaluating the validity of context and biases of primary and secondary sources.
• Identify and criticize interpretive paradigms and methodologies relevant to historical scholarship and the historical profession.

Career Outcomes

• Demonstrate the ability to deploy multiple forms of communication (written, oral, and new media) to discuss their own historical scholarship and graduate-level knowledge of their chosen fields.
• Advance the knowledge of the discipline.
• Conduct cutting edge research.
• Engage respectfully in debates about the nature of the past in order to enrich historical understanding and generate new questions and investigatory avenues.
• Identify career goals and develop an array of skills to pursue diverse career pathways.

General Degree Requirements

For PhD students entering with a Master’s degree, the distribution of hours is as follows if a total of 30 hours pursued at the MA institution is accepted for transfer credit:

  For students entering with a Bachelor’s degree , the distribution of hours is as follows:

 * Note: the second 500-level research seminar may be completed within a minor field.

Required or Core Courses

Students who have not taken History 400: Twentieth Century Approaches to History or an equivalent course at the Master's level must do so in the PhD program. Additionally, all doctoral students must take History 403: The Professional Lives of Historians during their first semester in the program. They must also successfully complete at least one 500-level research seminar in the major field. Students accepted into the PhD program  with only a BA degree must complete History 400 and two 500-level research seminars (one in the major field and the second in either the major or minor fields). All students must take History 598 in which they develop their dissertation proposal under the supervision of their major field advisor.

Major Field

Students choose coursework and specific research to develop a broad major within the field of United States history.

Minor Field(s)

In consultation with their major advisor, students coming in with a M.A. will select one minor field in which they must complete at least three courses. This field must be distinct from the major field and from fields taken at the Master's level. Students entering with a B.A.  must complete two minor fields. Minor fields include areas of geographic or topical foci such as:

• Gender and Women's History
• Modern Europe
• Public History
• United States

Other thematic minor fields (such as race and ethnicity or colonialism and empire) may be created with the approval of the Graduate Program Director. Students may also select a minor field from another discipline with the approval of the Graduate Program Director. Students wishing to pursue a minor field in public history must meet with the Public History Program Director, formally declare public history as their minor field and indicate their plans for fulfilling the minor.

All content courses must be at the 400 and 500 level. Students ordinarily can take no more than three directed study courses (HIST 499).

To view a course catalogue, click on one of the following links:

• Current and Recent Course Descriptions and Schedules
• Regularly Scheduled Courses

Research Tool Requirements

United States History Track: Students who choose US history as their major field must complete two research tool requirements:

• One tool must be within public history and may include History 483: Oral History or History 479: Public History Media. When taken for the research tool requirement, History 483 and History 479 cannot be counted toward the minor field in Public History. In special circumstances, students may petition the Graduate Program Director to substitute another research tool in place of the public history research tool requirement.
• The second research tool requirement may be fulfilled in two ways: a) reading knowledge of a foreign language appropriate to the student’s major field or b) mastery of a special skill required by the student’s doctoral research. With the approval of the Graduate Program Director, students may demonstrate mastery in one of the following areas: statistics, computer science, GIS, and paleography. Courses taken in these subject areas at Loyola or another academic institution may be used to show mastery of a special skill. However, these courses require prior approval by the Graduate Program Director.

Comprehensive Examinations

Near the end of their graduate program, PhD students must pass a take-home written examination and a two-hour oral examination in their major field . For the written examination, the student will produce three 10–15 page historiographical essays based on a reading list developed in conjunction with a three-member committee of history faculty of their choosing. The committee should be established no later than the beginning of the semester in which the student intends to take the examination. Students will have two weeks to complete the exam, which will be evaluated by the committee. The two-hour oral exam will occur within two weeks of completing the written exam.

For the PhD major field examination in US history , students should choose two of the three designated chronological areas:

• 19th Century America
• 20th Century America

They should also choose two thematic areas for the examination. Thematic areas include:

• Women and Gender
• Indigenous America
• African-American and Race
• American West and Borderlands
• Immigration and Ethnicity
• Environmental

Other thematic fields are possible with the approval of all committee members.

In addition, students satisfy the minor field examination requirements by passing a take-home written examination in which they will produce two 10–15 page historiographical essays based on a reading list developed in conjunction with a two-member committee of history faculty of their choosing. The committee should be established no later than the beginning of the semester in which the student intends to take the examination. Students will have one week to complete the exam, which will be evaluated by the committee. Those who select a minor field outside of history must successfully pass a comprehensive examination in that discipline. Students in the Accelerated PhD Program take only one minor field exam. The other minor field requirement is satisfied by the successful completion of three courses (nine credit hours) with at least a B (3.0) average.

For the PhD major and minor field examinations in areas outside of US history (such as modern Europe and other thematic fields with a Transnational Urban focus), students should work closely with their committee members to create reading lists with a broad chronological sweep and a set number of thematic areas.

Dissertation Proposal Review and Dissertation

Students will develop a "dissertation field" within the major field in which they intend to write their PhD dissertation. This field must be designated before 18 credit hours of coursework beyond the MA (normally at the end of the first year in the doctoral program). At this point, students present a dissertation topic and proposal to their major adviser (History 598 Dissertation Proposal Seminar) for review and approval. Students formalize their proposed committee with the submission of the recommendation of the Dissertation Proposal Committee form to the Graduate School.

Following the successful completion of doctoral examinations and the portfolio requirement, students will make a public presentation of their dissertation proposal to a committee, which will include the dissertation director and at least two other faculty members acquainted with the research areas of the dissertation. In discussing the proposal, students and members of the dissertation committee should work out problems and address questions the committee members may have. Upon successfully completing the dissertation proposal review, students submit a formal dissertation outline to the Graduate School. Following its approval and the successful completion of all other degree requirements, students are admitted to PhD candidacy.

Oral Defense

The PhD dissertation must be completed, approved by the designated committee members and successfully defended orally at a public defense.

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Public History

Pursue your passion and give yourself an edge on the job market by studying Public History at the University of South Carolina!

Begun as the Applied History Program in 1975, our Public History Program is today one of the oldest and strongest in the country. Over five decades our program has produced nearly 300 graduates who have gone on to shape the field through professional careers in archives and libraries, museums, historic preservation agencies, historic sites, documentary editing projects, state and national parks, consulting firms, and colleges and universities. Not only does USC provide excellent training and real-world experience, it also provides full funding to most of our Master’s and PhD students.

Our graduate studies in Public History serves both those who come to USC for the M.A. in Public History as well as many Ph.D students who choose to have a field in Public History or earn the M.A. in Public History on their way to the doctorate.

Opportunities for Intensive Study 

 There are several additional concentrations you can pursue during your graduate studies in Public History. 

Graduate Certificates

Many of our students also choose to pursue an interdisciplinary graduate certificate.  A designated faculty member for each of our two concentrations supervises coursework, internships, advising, and job placement: museum studies and historic preservation.

• Certificate in Museum Management
• Certificate in Historical Archaeology & Cultural Resources Management

Graduate Applicants Welcome for 2024

The University of South Carolina welcomes graduate and PhD students in History and Public History to begin in the Fall of 2024. In order to offer you a highly individualized graduate experience, we expect to enroll six to ten new students. The deadline to apply for  Fall 2024 is January 15, 2024 .

Take the Next Steps to Apply for Graduate History Programs

Learn About Internships

At USC the curriculum emphasizes a combination of both classroom learning and hands-on experience through internships and collaborative class projects undertaken in coordination with distinguished faculty and diverse community partners.     In the recent past our students have held internships at sites as varied as:

• American Association for State and Local History, Nashville, Tennessee
• Art Deco Society of California, Los Angeles
• Atlanta History Center, Georgia
• Avery Research Center in African-American History and Culture, Charleston
• Boston Preservation Alliance
• Bowes Museum, England
• The British Library
• Canterbury Shaker Village, Canterbury, New Hampshire
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michael’s, Maryland
• City of Columbia Historic Preservation Office
• Columbia Museum of Art
• Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Oregon and Washington
• Johnson Space Center, Texas
• Library of Congress
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art
• McFaddin-Ward House, Texas
• Montpelier, Virginia
• Nantucket Historical Society, Massachusetts
• National Museum of Dentistry, Maryland
• National Air Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
• National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, New York
• National Forest Service
• National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
• National Museum of American History
• National Park Service, multiple locations
• National Trust for Historic Preservation, multiple locations
• South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum
• South Carolina Educational Television
• South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology
• South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
• Stonewall Jackson House, Virginia
• World Monuments Fund, New York
• Yad Vashem, Israel

USC Public History Alumni @ Work

• Architect of the United States Capitol, Curator’s Office, Washington, D.C.
• Fort Gordon, Augusta, Georgia.
• General Federation of Women's Clubs, Washington, D.C.
• Monticello, Virginia.
• National History Day, College Park, Maryland.
• National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
• National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, Virginia.
• National Park Service, Fort Sumter National Monument, Charleston, South Carolina.
• National Park Service, National Center for Preservation Technology, Natchitoches, Louisiana.
• National Park Service, Northeast Museum Services Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
• National Park Service, Sagamore Hill, New York.
• National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, Georgia.
• National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
• National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation, Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation, James Madison’s Montpelier, Orange, Virginia.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation, Eastern Field Services, Charleston, South Carolina.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation, Southwest Regional Office, Fort Worth, Texas
• Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Princeton University, New Jersey.
• Save America’s Treasures Program, Washington, D.C.
• United States Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C.
• United States Department of State, Office of the Historian, Washington, D.C.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
• United States Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, D.C.
• Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.
• Alabama State Archives, Montgomery.
• Alabama State Historic Preservation Office, Montgomery.
• Arkansas Delta Rural Heritage Development Initiative, West Memphis, Arkansas.
• Arizona Department of Transportation, Phoenix.
• Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Indianapolis.
• Florida Historic Capitol Museum, Tallahassee.
• Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka.
• Library of Virginia, Richmond.
• Maryland State Highway Commission, Baltimore.
• Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Boston.
• MinnesotaPedia: The Minnesota Encyclopedia, Minneapolis.
• Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson City.
• Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City.
• Nebraska Library Commission, Lincoln.
• New York State Historic Preservation Office, Albany.
• North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Historic Sites, Raleigh.
• North Carolina Department of Transportation, Raleigh.
• Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.
• South Carolina Arts Commission, Columbia.
• South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, Columbia.
• South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia.
• South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Columbia.
• South Carolina Heritage Corridor, Columbia.
• South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston.
• South Carolina Institute of Archeology and Anthropology, Columbia.
• South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, Columbia.
• South Carolina State Library, Columbia.
• South Carolina State Museum, Columbia.
• South Carolina State Parks Service, Columbia.
• South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, Pierre.
• Texas State Archives, Austin.
• Texas State Historical Association, Denton.    
• Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond.
• Albany Institute of History & Art, New York.
• Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, North Carolina.
• Amelia Island Museum of History, Fernandina Beach, Florida.
• Amherst County Museum, Virginia.
• Archives of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina.
• Atlanta History Center, Georgia.
• Augusta Museum of History, Georgia.
• Aurora History Museum, Aurora, Colorado.
• Avery Research Center for African American History & Culture, Charleston, South Carolina.
• Baranoff Museum, Kodiak, Alaska.
• Berry Museum, Rome, Georgia.
• Birmingham Public Library, Alabama.
• Bostonian Society, Massachusetts.
• Camden Archives and Museum, South Carolina.
• Capital Area Preservation, Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Carolina Raptor Center, Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation, Middletown, Virginia.
• Chesterfield County Library System, South Carolina.
• Chicago Academy of Sciences, Illinois.
• City of Columbia Historic Preservation Office, South Carolina.
• City of Montgomery Planning and Development Department, Alabama.
• Clinton County Historical Society, Wilmington, Ohio.
• Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
• Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina.
• Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia.
• Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, Billups-Garth Archives, Mississippi.
• Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• Dallas Museum of Art, Texas.
• Daniel Boone Homestead, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.
• Diocese of Charleston Archives, South Carolina.
• Downtown Statesboro Development Authority, Georgia.
• East Albemarle Regional Library, North Carolina.
• Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society, South Carolina.
• First Citizens Bank, South Carolina.
• Fort Fisher State Historic Site, Kure Beach, North Carolina.
• Frontier Culture Museum, Staunton, Virginia.
• Gaston County Museum of Art and History, North Carolina.
• German Village Society, Columbus, Ohio.
• Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina.
• Greenville Museum of Art, South Carolina.
• Handley Regional Library, Winchester, Virginia.
• The Hermitage: Home of President Andrew Jackson, Nashville, Tennessee.
• Historic Annapolis Foundation, Maryland.
• Historic Beaufort Foundation, South Carolina.
• Historic Columbia Foundation, South Carolina.
• Historic Latta Plantation, North Carolina.
• Historic Macon Foundation, Macon, Georgia.
• Historical Center of York County, South Carolina.
• Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, Indiana.
• John Marshall House, Richmond, Virginia.
• Kaminski House Museum, Georgetown, South Carolina.
• Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, Virginia.
• Lexington County Museum, Lexington, South Carolina.
• Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum, Sterling, Virginia.
• Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Louisville, Kentucky.
• McFaddin-Ward House, Beaumont, Texas.
• Main Street Program, Lancaster, Texas.
• Main Street Program, Laurens, South Carolina.
• Main Street Program, Stone Mountain, Georgia.
• Mansfield Economic Development Corporation, Texas.
• Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia.
• Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota.
• Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia.
• Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur, Texas.
• Museum of South Texas History, Edinburg.
• Museum on the Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia.
• Nantucket Historical Association, Massachusetts.
• North Central Library Service Area, Iowa.
• Old Salem, Inc., Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
• Pendleton District Historical, Recreational and Tourism Commission, South Carolina.
• Perquimans County Restoration Association, Virginia.
• Preservation Society of Charleston, South Carolina.
• President James K. Polk State Historic Site, Pineville, North Carolina.
• Public Archaeology Laboratory, Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
• Richland County Public Library, Columbia, South Carolina.
• Saint John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia.
• Scarborough-Hamer Foundation, Eastover, South Carolina.
• Seattle Art Museum, Washington.
• Sherwood Forest Plantation, Charles City, Virginia.
• St. Margaret’s School, Tappahannock, Virginia.
• Stafford County Department of Planning and Community Development, Virginia.
• Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, New York.
• Sumter County Museum, South Carolina.
• Surratt House Museum, Clinton, Maryland.
• Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, Virginia.
• Town of Leesburg, Virginia.
• Tryon Palace, New Bern, North Carolina.
• Valentine Richmond History Center, Richmond, Virginia.
• Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut.
• Washington, D.C. Public Library, Washingtoniana Division.
• The Whalehead Club, Corolla Island, North Carolina.
• William Trent House, Trenton, New Jersey.
• Brockington & Associates, Inc., Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
• CRA International, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Cultural Resources, Inc., Richmond, Virginia.
• HarpWeek, Richmond, Virginia.
• Historical Research Associates, multiple locations
• The History Factory, Chantilly, Virginia.
• New South Associates, Columbia, South Carolina.
• Radio Shack Corporation, Fort Worth, Texas.
• S&ME Inc., Columbia, South Carolina.
• TRC Companies, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina.
• Weintraut & Associates, Inc., Zionsville, Indiana.
• Wilbur Smith Associates, Lexington, Kentucky.
• Bridgewater College, Alexander Mack Memorial Library, Virginia.
• Clemson University Department of Historic Properties, South Carolina.
• Clemson University Libraries, South Carolina.
• College of Charleston, South Carolina.
• Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Emory University, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Public History Program.
• Iowa State University, Ames.
• James Madison University Special Collections, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
• Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, Baltimore.
• Michigan State University Archives, East Lansing.
• Mississippi State University, Congressional and Political Research Center, Starkville.
• Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln.
• New York University School of Medicine, Ehrman Medical Library Archives.
• South Carolina State University Archives, Orangeburg.
• Stanford University, Hoover Institution Archives, California.
• University of Georgia, Richard B. Russell Library, Athens.
• University of Idaho, Department of History, Moscow.
• University of Kentucky, Lexington.
• University of North Carolina Wilson Library, Chapel Hill.
• University of South Carolina, McKissick Museum.
• University of South Carolina, South Carolina Political Collections.
• University of South Carolina, South Caroliniana Library.
• University of South Carolina, Thomas Cooper Library.
• University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.
• West Virginia University, Department of History, Morgantown.
• Wilmington College Peace Resource Center, Ohio.
• Wilmington College Quaker Heritage Center, Ohio.
• Wofford College Archives, Spartanburg, South Carolina.

For more information about the MA program in Public History, please contact Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Josh Grace

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

Online Master of Public Affairs (MPA)

The Ford School Online MPA is for you if you're:

• Driven to make a practical impact and tackle real-world challenges.
• Committed to public service and improving societal well-being.
• Eager to advance your career, switch sectors, or take on new leadership roles.

Coming January 2026!

Starting in January 2026, the University of Michigan’s top-ranked Ford School of Public Policy will offer a graduate degree program specifically created for distance learners like you. This Online Master of Public Affairs (MPA) is designed to help you confidently sharpen leadership and analytical skills, build new capabilities to speak the language of policymaking, expand your professional network—and ultimately increase your impact on the communities you care about.

Program Benefits

Balance your studies with professional and personal responsibilities.

Evening classes and flexible scheduling for busy professionals. Start the Ford School's Online MPA program in January or August.

Sharpen leadership and analytical skills

Earn 30 credits through 12 required courses and 3 electives tailored to your interests. Sharpen your skill set with interactive online classes on public policy creation and analysis, public sector and nonprofit leadership, economics, policy writing, ethics, negotiation, financial management, political analysis, and more.

Build a strong professional network

Participate in two essential in-person workshops—each held over an extended weekend—to build strong cohort bonds and connect with Ford School faculty, staff, and peers. Experience the vibrant and historic University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus.

Become the leader others look to

Enhance your career with specialized skills in policy creation, leadership development, and financial management. 

Meet your career goals

Online MPA students have access to orientation, faculty, intentional individual career services, and academic advising.

As a mid-career professional, I was keen to avoid a prolonged gap in my professional journey and sought a concise program that would equip me with the necessary knowledge and skills to chart a new course in my career.”

Sandy Su (MPA '21)

 explore the advantages of the ford school online mpa.

Top ranked policy school

Prominent and accessible faculty

The Michigan difference

Proven record of developing local leaders.

Request more information  

Take the next step, success stories, research & impact stories, have any questions.

Dustin Castro

Associate director, recruiting and admissions, student & academic services.