History, MA

Master of Arts Degree in History

University of Nebraska at Kearney

  • Fully Online
  • 36
    Credits
  • $315.00
    In-State
  • $504.00
    Out-of-State
  • Overview
  • Admissions and Requirements
  • Courses You’ll Take
  • Tuition & Fees

Program Overview

The online Master of Arts in History is designed for everyone - from those just beginning a graduate career, teachers and others desiring further professional development and those seeking greater personal fulfillment. 

The program seeks to serve those in active military duty and their families, those interested in becoming community college educators and students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in history. A focused, yet eclectic, professional online program, the Master of Arts in History program can launch a potential career in a number of promising directions.

Online History, MA students enjoy: 

  • A fully online program with no residency requirement
  • Thesis and non-thesis options
  • Low teacher/student ratios fostering student/professor relationships
  • Extensive online course offerings each semester with emphasis on areas such as Military History, the American West and Modern Europe
  • Public/digital history specializations available
  • A respected, affordable University of Nebraska degree
  • Flexibility in degree completion to accommodate busy schedules

The faculty teaching and research experiences contribute to overall knowledge about people and places around the globe as well as throughout time and space. Students study the many ways people interact politically, economically, militarily and culturally in both the U.S. and international history. 

As a program that pinpoints specific students' interests yet provides extensive knowledge in the field, this program can provide graduates with many promising career opportunities. This is proven in the achievements of our students, which include: 

  • The 2013 Texas History Teacher of the Year
  • Several James Madison Fellows
  • Students pursuing doctoral programs
  • Lecturers at universities and community colleges
  • Public history positions in museums and archives
  • Student presentations at professional conferences
  • Student and alumni research leading to publications
  • Several students with campus-level thesis awards

Admissions and Requirements

To be accepted to this program, you must have:

  1. A Bachelor's degree

    Including completion of at least 18 semester hours of history or closely related humanities courses.

  2. 2 letters of recommendation

  3. Official transcripts from all previous schools

  4. A 3.25 undergraduate GPA, or submit GRE scores

  5. Evidence of the writing and analytical skills necessary for graduate level course work

NOTE: This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states

To apply to this program:

  1. Complete and submit the online application for admissions
  2. Pay the $45 non-refundable application fee
  3. In the absence of any of the above, admission may be granted on a conditional basis. If an applicant does not have a writing sample or academic letters of recommendation, they can apply as a non-degree student and take 1-2 courses in the program. This will allow an applicant to produce a graduate-level paper to submit with their application and request a letter of recommendation from a UNK professor. Up to 12 credit hours can be transferred to a degree granting program from non-degree seeking course work.

Courses You’ll Take

Course Information

Additional details about the thesis and non-thesis options: 

Thesis Option A - 36 total credit hours

Students pursuing the thesis option must submit and defend a thesis within two years after the completion of coursework.

  • 12 credits history core courses
  • 6 credits US history
  • 6 credits non-US history
  • 6 credits history electives
  • 6 credits thesis

Non-Thesis Option B - 36 total credit hours

Students pursuing the non-thesis option must complete a comprehensive academic portfolio for non-thesis history students instead of the comprehensive examination. For further details, contact us to speak with an adviser.

  • 6 credits history core courses (HIST 801 and 803)
  • 3 credits in public or digital history
  • 12 credits US history
  • 9 credits non-US history
  • 6 credits elective

Core Courses

Course NumberCourse NameCredits
HIST 801America Interpreted3
An introductory (required) graduate readings course in American historiography. The class examines the leading schools of historical opinion from the founding of American society through the modern era.
HIST 803Historical Methods3
This required course will introduce graduate students to the history profession and to the tools and methods used by historians.
HIST 848Readings in American History3
A variable themed graduate level course. Topics in American history will include both key issues and periods in history as well as historiographical disputes. May be repeated for credit. Some examples of course topics are: Age of Jackson, American Borderlands, American Constitutional History, American Religion, American West, American Women's History, Civil Rights, Civil War, Cold War, Colonial America, Great Depression, Hispanics in America, Historical Preservation, Indians & Empires, Modern West, Native American History, Nebraska History, Plains Indians, Popular Music, Popular Culture, Public History, Reconstruction, Revolutionary Origins, Sports History, U.S. Latin American Relations, World War II, etc.
HIST 849Readings in World History3
A variable themed graduate level course. Topics in European or World history will include both key issues and periods in history as well as historiographical disputes. May be repeated for credit. Some examples of course topics are: 17th Century Europe, 19th Century Britain, 19th Century Britain, 19th Century European History, The British Empire, English History, Ethnic Conflict, French Revolution & Napoleon, Gender & War, German Unification, Holocaust, Imperial Russia, India, Medieval England, Medieval Europe, Modern Britain, Modern Germany, Nazi Germany, Reformation, Russian Revolution, Seapower in History, Stalin's Russia, Tudor/Stuart History, Vikings, War & Society, Wars of Religion, Weimar Republic, World War I, WWII in Asia, etc.
HIST 894Introduction to Thesis3
A required course for graduate students pursuing the thesis option. Prepares students to conduct primary research, construct historical arguments, identify historiographical patterns, and begin the writing process.

Tuition & Fees

Nebraska Residents

Per Credit Hour

Tuition
$315.00
Fees
$52.25
Total
$367.25

3 Credit Hours

Tuition
$945.00
Fees
$156.75
Total
$1101.75

Out of State Residents

Per Credit Hour

Tuition
$504.00
Fees
$52.25
Total
$556.25

3 Credit Hours

Tuition
$1512.00
Fees
$156.75
Total
$1668.75
Linda Van Ingen, Ph.D.
Professor

Linda Van Ingen focuses her research on modern U.S. political and social history with a special interest in issues of gender, race, class and aging. Van Ingen’s publications contribute to the historiography of women in politics by exploring the limits of state suffrage for women candidates and by introducing the concept of a gendered politics of accommodation. She advises graduate student thesis projects in areas of civil rights, women’s history and modern U.S. political history.

Application Deadlines
  • Fall SemesterJul 10
  • Spring SemesterNov 10
  • Summer SemesterApr 10