The M.A. in History degree introduces students to professional historical study by combining analytical rigor with training in a broadly defined field of history. M.A. students master the principal outlines of events, developments and ideas, and continuities and changes in the field. They gain thorough understanding of the historiography and the methods and approaches that historians past and present have applied. They develop research skills with primary and secondary sources, and sharpen their analytical thinking and written and oral communication skills.
Master's
History (MA)
Degrees
The M.A. in History program is a 30-credit-hour degree program.
Catholic University’s Department of History offers the M.A. in the following areas:
- medieval European history
- modern European history (with options to emphasize either early modern or recent modern eras)
- colonial-era and post-revolutionary American history
- Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World (described elsewhere in this site), which capitalizes upon the department’s unique concentration of faculty expertise in these fields and upon the centrality of religious history to the department’s mission.
The M.A. requirements include
- 10 courses (up to 6 graduate-level credit-hours may be transferred from another university)
- of these courses one must be History 601 (Historical Analysis and Methodology), two must be research seminars (800-level courses or History 793, Directed Research), and the remainder are colloquia or readings courses
- proficiency in one foreign language (except for students in medieval history, who must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages of which one must be Latin)
- a comprehensive examination lasting four hours per day on two consecutive days, after or near completion of coursework
The M.A. usually requires three or four semesters of full-time study.
$1,250 / credit hour
More information about this degree is available on the School website or by request from our Admissions team.