Master’s Degree

The department offers an intensive one-year terminal M.A. program. Students will take two semesters of coursework, including an introduction to historiography and historical method, research seminars, and thematic as well as regionally-based reading seminars. Students will also prepare a research portfolio consisting of two major research papers. Candidates must pass a language exam that tests reading knowledge of a language other than English.

Students admitted to the M.A. program receive an apprenticeship in archives and manuscript collections, editing scholarly books and William and Mary Quarterly articles, public history, or digital humanities. All M.A. students receive a small stipend and pay in-state tuition rates. The University also covers the cost of the health insurance for all students who enroll in the University's student health insurance plan.

Many of the graduates of the MA program in History at William & Mary have gone on to doctoral programs. Others have gone on to become secondary school teachers, editors, archaeologists, librarians, archivists, and museum professionals. For more information on the placement of graduates, see the Placement Directory.

If you have any questions, email the [[history, Graduate Program]].

Part-time students are not eligible for financial support.

See the Arts & Sciences Graduate Catalog and the History Department’s Graduate Regulations.