The UVM History Department is home to a small, selective Master of Arts (MA) program distinguished for its intellectual rigor and for its support of students’ individual curricular and career goals. Our faculty are both active scholars and engaged teachers, and our graduate program is based on close mentoring relationships between faculty and graduate students.

The program prepares students for one of several highly competitive career paths, offering three distinct routes to the MA: the Portfolio Option, designed to give students the opportunity to tailor a course of study to specific intellectual or career goals; the Thesis Option, designed for students who wish to commit a significant portion of their time to immersion in a longer and more complex research and writing project; and our newly created Expanded Essay Option, which allows students with an interest in writing, journalism, or editing to learn the ins and outs of writing publishable historical work.

All paths to the MA in History provide first-rate preparation for students aiming for doctoral programs or careers in public history. Our program has a nearly perfect record in placing its PhD-bound graduates at appropriate doctoral institutions. For students interested in a career in public history — museums, historical societies, or other public educational facilities — the program incorporates internships at advanced levels in archives and museums.

In the past two years, students from the program have researched, processed, and organized entire manuscript collections; created and organized their own digital archives in conjunction with the University’s Special Collections; worked closely with a curator on an exhibit at Shelburne Museum; helped to plan and create a visual arts exhibit at the university’s Fleming Museum; and interned at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Students leave the program with a portfolio demonstrating their acquisition of these skills and experience.

Whatever path students choose, their work in the History MA program is based on close mentoring relationships between faculty and graduate students.