History, M.A.
Deepen your understanding of the past and advance your career prospects.
About the Master of Arts in History
The Department of History in the College of Liberal Arts offers the M.A. in History as either a thesis or nonthesis option. Students may study a variety of topics and chronological sweeps of American and European history, as well as much of the histories of Africa, Latin America, and East Asia.
Accelerated Master's Degree in History
Undergraduate history majors who have completed 90 credits as an undergraduate with a GPA of 3.0 or greater can begin earning credit toward an M.A. in history, while completing their B.A. in history. They can thus earn the M.A. in only one additional year of graduate work after completion of the B.A. degree.
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Program Information
Program Type
Master's Program
Area of Study
Humanities
School
Duration
2 years
Degree
M.A. in History
Program Location
Required Credit Hours
30 hours
M.A. in History Program Details
APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1 (for Spring entry) or December 1 (for Fall entry)
The Department of History welcomes student applications with the following materials. Additional details about the application process are found on the department website.
- Complete the Graduate School’s Online Application.
- Pay the application fee ($60).
- Submit official transcripts.
- International applicants whose first language is not English may be required to submit scores from an acceptable English language proficiency test.
- Upload Supplemental Application materials for the Department of History to the link provided in the online application.
- Statement of purpose: describe your intellectual background and future goals.
- Three letters of recommendation: provide contact information for three recommenders.
- Sample of written work: email sample directly to the Chair of the Graduate Advisory Committee, Dr. Rebecca Marchiel.
To gain admission to the graduate program, an applicant should have at least a B average as an undergraduate and should have majored in history (or have taken a significant number of history courses).
Students in the M.A. in History program complete either a thesis or a nonthesis option. The thesis option requires 24 hours of graduate-level course work and 6 hours of thesis work. The nonthesis option requires 36 hours of course work.
With either option, students complete:
- Hst 550: Historical Methods and Philosophy of History
- Hst 601: Professionalization and Colloquium I
- minimum of 9 credit hours of 500-level courses
- minimum of 3 credit hours of 700-level research seminar
With approval, students may take 3-9 credit hours of graduate courses outside the department.
Nonthesis option: Students must pass an oral examination.
Thesis option: Students will complete the thesis and pass an oral examination.
Undergraduate history majors who have completed 90 credits as an undergraduate with a GPA of 3.0 or greater can begin earning credit toward an M.A. in history, while completing their B.A. in history. Therefore, they can earn the M.A. in only one additional year of graduate work after completion of the B.A. degree.
To pursue this path, undergraduate students enroll in the GradSHARK Launch "PAAD" (Program for Accelerated Advanced Degrees) program with the Graduate School by submitting a required form each semester. They can earn up to 15 credits toward the M.A. in history by taking 500- or 600-level history courses in their senior year and completing all coursework requirements for graduate-level credit as specified in the course syllabi.
Admission to the graduate program in history is a separate process, not guaranteed by participation in the Launch PAAD program. Participants in the Launch PAAD program who gain admission to the graduate program in history can apply graduate credits earned as an undergraduate through the Launch PAAD program (with a grade of B or higher) to their graduate degree in history.
The department offers several competitive graduate assistantships every year based on merit. All applicants are automatically considered for these assistantships that pays as much as $16,000 per year and cover some or all of the tuition and non-residency fee, if applicable, for regular semesters and subsidized health insurance.
The Graduate School has a recruiting fellowship program that promotes academic excellence and access to graduate education to groups who are historically underrepresented. See the Graduate School’s financial aid page.
Reach out to our Graduate Program Coordinator
I'm excited to answer any questions you may have about the Master of Arts in History at the University of Mississippi. If you have any questions or need any additional information about our wonderful program and the opportunities it offers, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Rebecca Katherine Marchiel
Associate Professor of History
Video: Get to Know the Department of History
Hear firsthand from students and faculty about the History program.
Accelerated Master’s Degree in History
Undergraduate students at UM that are interested in graduate study in History can get a head start through the accelerated Master’s Degree Program in History.
Undergraduate students that would like to qualify for the Accelerated Master’s Program must meet the following requirements:
- 3.0 minimum GPA overall
- 90 completed credit hours as an undergraduate
- the department expects that admission to the PAAD opportunity is equal to admission to the MA program
Note, to be formally admitted by the Graduate School upon completion of the bachelor’s degree, Accelerated Master's Degree Program participants will need to complete an application for graduate study in their senior year.
Students enrolled in the Accelerated Master's Degree Program in History can earn 15 credit hours towards their graduate degree while completing their undergraduate studies.
Courses students in the Accelerated Master’s Degree Program in History can take to earn credit towards the graduate degree:
- Hst 505: Historiography – US to Reconstruction
- Hst 506: Historiography – US since Reconstruction
- Hst 509: Historiography – African American History
- Hst 520: Historiography for Late Antiquity
- Hst 523: Historiography of the Late Middle Ages
- Hst 550: Historical Methods & Philosophy of Hist
- Hst 551: Historiography – Europe to 1815
- Hst 552: Historiography – Europe since 1789
- Hst 570: Historiography: Precolonial Africa
- Hst 571: Historiography: Colonial Africa
- Hst 585: Historiography of the Modern Middle East
- Hst 605: Readings – US through Reconstruction
- Hst 606: Readings – US Civil War to Present
- Hst 607: Readings – Southern US History
- Hst 611: Readings – Era of the US Civil War
- Hst 612: Readings – US Depression & War
- Hst 613: Readings – Contemporary US History
- Hst 614: Readings: US Women’s and Gender History
- Hst 641: Readings in Global History: Gender
- Hst 651: Readings – European History to 1815
- Hst 652: Readings – European History since 1789
- Hst 653: Readings – Russian History
- Hst 660: Readings – Gender History of Mod. Europe
- Hst 661: Readings – Europe & Atlantic World
- Hst 662: Readings – History of Stalinism
- Hst 663: Readings – History of Modern Consumerism
- Hst 664: Readings – 20th Century Econ & Social Po
- Hst 670: Readings – Slavery in Africa
- Hst 671: Readings – Colonialism in Africa
- Hst 681: Readings – British History to 1815
- Hst 682: Readings – British History since 1815
- Hst 685: Readings – Middle East History
- Hst 686: Readings – Colonial Latin Amer. History
- Hst 687: Readings – Social Movements. Mod Lat Am
- Hst 688: Readings – Race and Ethnicity in Latin A
- Hst 689: Readings – Seculariz/Sacraliz in Latin A
- Hst 690: Readings – Gender & Power in Latin Am
- Hst 691: Readings – Modern Latin Am History
- Hst 692: Readings – African History
- Hst 693: Readings – General US History
- Hst 694: Readings – General European History
- Hst 695: Readings – Chinese History
- Hst 696: Readings – Selected Areas
*Students who fail to reserve 500-level courses for graduate credit at the time they take the course will not receive graduate credit for the course (graduate level work must be completed to earn graduate credit). Reserving graduate credit with 500-level courses is required to ensure the Graduate School and instructor know the student must complete graduate credit requirements for the course. Students cannot later claim graduate credit for 500-level courses if they did not take the appropriate steps to notify the Graduate School prior to taking the course.
Remember: Students who fail to reserve 500-level courses for graduate credit at the time they take the course will not receive graduate credit for the course (graduate level work must be completed to earn graduate credit).
- Reserving graduate credit with 500-level courses is required to ensure the Graduate School and instructor know the student must complete graduate credit requirements for the course.
- Students cannot later claim graduate credit for 500-level courses if they did not take the appropriate steps to notify the Graduate School prior to taking the course.
Students must be accepted into the Accelerated Master’s Degree Program and complete the requisite Accelerated Master's Degree Program Course Enrollment Form for this degree. The form must be received by the Graduate School (the form requires approval from your Undergraduate Advisor and Graduate Program Coordinator).
- Students must download and complete the participating program’s specific enrollment form each term. The form must be completed prior to the start of the term.
- The form requires approval from the Undergraduate Advisor and Graduate Program Coordinator (the Graduate Program Coordinator can be found next to the specific degree program listed above).
- By signing the form to approve the enrollment for the semester, the Graduate Program Coordinator is agreeing that the student has been admitted to their Accelerated Master’s Degree Program.
After the Graduate School receives the first approved program-specific enrollment form, the student will be identified as enrolled in the Accelerated Master’s Degree Program for that degree.
- Each subsequent term for which the student wishes to earn credit towards the graduate degree while still completing their undergraduate studies, they must submit a registration form prior to the start of the semester.
- Failure to submit the required form on time will mean that the student does not earn graduate credit.
To access the required form, please visit the specific page for the participating degree program of interest. The form must be submitted to the Graduate School by the Graduate Program Coordinator. Until the Graduate School receives the required form, the student is not officially registered for graduate coursework for that term.
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