Bookmark and Share

Department of

History

Graduate Program

The Department of History at the University of San Diego offers a Master of Arts degree emphasizing both public history and the geographic region of the U.S. West and Southwest. This 30-unit MA program is open and recommended to qualified students who wish to study public history or the presentation of historical knowledge to a general public audience.  It is also open and recommended to qualified students who are interested in traditional academic history, especially teaching, and who wish to broaden their educational background. Graduate units may also be transfered into doctoral programs.

The program is supervised by history faculty, and eight of the ten courses required for the program involve seminars in the department. The two remaining courses are selected by the student from historically oriented courses in the fields of political science, international relations, art history, theology and religious studies, literature, anthropology, ethnic studies, sociology, education, business administration, and law. Full-time students typically need two years to complete the program. Part-time study is also welcomed and accommodated by a schedule that offers most graduate classes one evening per week. The goals of the program are to allow students to pursue advanced understanding of history and to enhance their career options.

The graduate program offers opportunities to intern at one of many museums and historical societies in San Diego, including Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center, Helix Water District, San Diego Museum of Man, Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego Hall of Champions, the Marine Corp Recruit Depot, and the San Diego Historical Society with its related Serra Museum, Villa Montezuma and Marston House. Students also may choose to work for preservation organizations or in the offices of local architects.

Students who complete our program go on to work in secondary schools and community colleges, law or business offices, archives, museums, historic sites, state and local historical agencies, newspapers, businesses, trade and labor organizations, and in all levels of government.  They work as editors, archivists, administrators, curators, historic preservation specialists, writers, public policy analysts and historians.  Some work in the production of historical documentaries in television, radio and film.