Graduate Program
Get Involved in History!
There are lots of great opportunities to get involved while you're a student in history, including events, clubs, collaboration, research projects with faculty, study abroad and career-building opportunities, and more!
Degrees Offered
The Department of History offers courses of study leading to the PhD, MA, and MS degrees, and has a particular strength in the history of the American West. In addition to the life of the Department, faculty and graduate students are engaged with the University's most exciting interdisciplinary programs. Among them are the American West Center, Gender Studies Program, the Middle East Center, the Asia Center, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Environmental Humanities Program, the International Studies Program, and the Tanner Humanities Center.
Graduates of the program not only learn about the past, they also develop a capacity for careful and rigorous thought, cultural competence, and abilities that promote success in careers throughout the global economy. These learning outcomes include content knowledge, habits of mind, and practical skills.
MA Program Information
We offer MA degrees in US History and Global Contexts. Global Contexts is intended for students who do not wish to specialize in US History. Students who would like to pursue a general course of study that does not require them to specialize in a time and/or place should choose Global Contexts. This degree is also well-suited to students wishing to work comparatively on themes such as environmental history, gender and sexuality, colonialism and imperialism, and the history of science, medicine, and technology. Students wishing to specialize in aspects of Asian History, European History, Latin American History, or Middle Eastern History can enroll in the Global Contexts program, but will pursue their research interests in the context of global historical processes. The ability to specialize in a region will be contingent on course offerings and the availability of faculty to supervise the program of study.
Applicants interested in the Global Contexts MA will have to choose a track at the time of application. We offer a Global Contexts MA Portfolio track or Thesis track. Applicants should contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Elizabeth Clement to help determine which track is better suited to their goals.
Master of Arts in US History
Graduate students interested in US History will benefit from our department's internationally recognized strength in that field. In the final semester of the program, students will compile a portfolio and undergo a portfolio defense. MA in US History students do not write a thesis.
Master of Arts in Global Contexts: Portfolio Track
Graduate students wishing to focus on coursework should pursue the MA in Global Contexts: Portfolio Track. In the final semester of the program, students will compile a portfolio and undergo a portfolio defense.
MA in Global Contexts: Portfolio Track Checklist
Master of Arts in Global Contexts: Thesis Track
Graduate students who would like to undertake intensive independent research should pursue the MA in Global Contexts: Thesis Track. In the final semester of the program, students will undergo an oral MA thesis defense.
Students pursuing the thesis track can write theses in aspects of Asian History, European History, Latin American History, or Middle Eastern History. They may also choose to pursue transnational or comparative topics. The department has thematic strengths in environmental history, gender history, colonialism and imperialism, and the history of science, medicine, and technology. Students must be accepted into this track by a faculty member able to supervise their research.
MS Program Information
The Master of Science degree in History is designed to provide broad competence in a selected field of historical study as well as an introduction to basic techniques of historical research and writing. The MS differs from the MA degree in that it requires no foreign language competency, has no thesis requirement, and allows a more liberal selection of course work. The MS in History is a terminal degree not intended to lead to the PhD program in History. In the final semester of the program, students will compile a portfolio and undergo a portfolio defense.
Graduate students wishing to pursue a general course of studies that is not focused on US History should apply to the MS in Global Contexts program.
Master of Science in US History
Graduate students interested in US History will benefit from our department's internationally recognized strength in that field. In the final semester of the program, students will compile a portfolio and undergo a portfolio defense.
Master of Science in Global Contexts
Graduate students wishing to pursue a general course of studies that is not focused on US History should apply to the MS in Global Contexts program. In the final semester of the program, students will compile a portfolio and undergo a portfolio defense.
PhD Program Information
The Doctor of Philosophy program provides general instruction in the historian’s craft and intensive training in one major field and two minor fields of history. Candidates for the PhD are expected to obtain a broad historical knowledge, demonstrate expertise in the special area of their dissertations, and master fundamental research techniques and methodologies. PhD candidates should strive to make substantive contributions to historical scholarship in original research and writing, classroom teaching, or institutions of research and interpretation.
The Department has a particular strength in the history of the American West and currently offers PhD training only in American history.
Graduate Certificate in Public History
The Graduate Certificate in Public History provides students with theoretical and methodological grounding to prepare them for a range of careers in the public arena, including museums, historical consulting, historic preservation and cultural resource management, archives, and government agencies. The certificate balances rigorous academic classroom work with hands-on experience at partner institutions both on and off campus.
What is the Graduate Certificate in Public History?
The focus of the certificate is to train scholars who are firmly grounded in the most universal methods of archival historical research and who also possess the interdisciplinary and alternative methods, interpretive skills, and intellectual self-confidence to work in the public arena.
The required foundational courses of Tier 1 provide students with broad foundational knowledge of research and interpretive methods employed by public historians. The electives in Tier 2 help students to identify current debates over methodology in public history.
Students will construct a portfolio of work that illustrates advanced public history methodologies and interpretive practices.
Why would I want the Graduate Certificate in Public History?
The Graduate Certificate in Public History provides students with theoretical and methodological grounding to prepare them for a range of careers in the public arena, including museums, historical consulting, historic preservation and cultural resource management, archives, and government agencies. The certificate balances rigorous academic classroom work with hands-on experience at partner institutions both on and off campus.
Careers
This "Tips for Getting a Job in the Public History Field" video was produced by NCPH, UTEP, & AASLH.
NCPH maintains a jobs listing page, which is a free service their organization provides to the public history profession. Job seekers can search by field, position type, and location. Jobs are updated weekly.
Careers for Students of History - American Historical Assocation
How do I pursue the Graduate Certificate in Public History?
Students who are interested in pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Public History should review the requirements for the certificate (listed below) and begin pursuing courses.
If you have any questions, reach out to the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Elizabeth Clement.
The certificate requires a total of 18 credit hours and includes a core course in Public History methodology and two required internships along with elective courses drawn from across the University.
Students MUST submit the certificate completion form. This form must be completed no later tha two months prior to the students anticipated graduation date.
The certificate will consist of 18 units divided into 3 tiers, as follow:
Tier 1
Complete NINE credit hours:
HIST 5100 - Internship in Public History
***TWO internships required.
HIST 6360 - Careers in Public History
Tier 2
Complete ONE of the following courses:
HIST 5080 - American History and Its Publics
HIST 5090 - Methods and Topics in Material Culture Studies
HIST 5110 - Archeological Field School
HIST 6000 - Archaeology as History
HIST 7010 - Oral History
HIST 7020 - Archival Principles and Methods
Tier 3
Complete TWO of the following:
ANTH 6169 - Ethnographic Methods
ANTH 6345 - Cultural Resources Management
ANTH 6381 - Archaeological Practice
ANTH 6611 - Preparation of Grant Proposals in Anthropology
ARCH 6239 - Topics in Architectural History
ARCH 6500 - Preservation Theory and Practice
ARCH 6535 - Field Methods in Historic Architecture
ARCH 6570 - Building Condition Assessment and Preservation Technology
ARCH 6581 - Main Street” Revitalization”
ARCH 6840 - Utah Architecture and Cities
ARCH 6852 - History and Theory of Architectural Preservation since the 19th Century
ARTH 4310 - Art and the Public Sphere
ARTH 4740 - Museum Practices
ARTH 6810 - Visual Intersections: Critical Approaches to Art and Visual Culture
CMP 4030 - Leadership and Community Engagement
CMP 4260 - Land, Law & Culture
COMM 3100 - Introduction to Documentary Studies
COMM 3170 - Introduction to Organizational Communication
COMM 3770 - Cross Cultural Documentary
COMM 5380 - Interdisciplinary Applications in Community Engagement
COMM 5555 - Documentary Photography
COMM 6555 - Documentary Photography
COMM 6490 - Communication and Social Justice
EHUM 6102 - Field Methods in Environmental Humanities
EHUM 6120 - Environmental Humanities Internship
ENGL 4991 - Internship
ENGL 4992 - Service-Learning
ENGL 5995 - Digital Humanities
ENGL 7850 - Seminar in Digital Humanities
GEOG 6139 - GIS Fundamentals and Applications
GEOG 6140 - Methods in Geographic Information Systems
GNDR 3695 - Community Engagement and Service Learning
POLS 3300 - Introduction to Public Administration
POLS 3320 - Introduction to Public Policy and Analysis
POLS 3601 - Community Engaged Learning
POLS 4900 - Internship: Local
POLS 4901 - Internship: Utah State Legislature
POLS 4902 - Internship: Washington, D.C. National
POLS 4903 - Internship: International
POLS 4904 - Senator Bennett Seminar
POLS 4905 - Resident Scholar Think Tank with John Price
POLS 6004 - Qualitative-Interpretive Research Methods
POLS 6320 - Public Policy Theories and Applications
POLS 6322 - Environmental & Sustainability Policy
POLS 6525 - Engaging Volunteers in Public & Nonprofit Organizations
POLS 6550 - Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organizations
POLS 6570 - Management of Nonprofit Organizations
WRTG 3040 - Digital Storytelling
WRTG 5830 - Digital Publishing and Editing
WRTG 6610 - Internship
WRTG 7001 - Grant Proposal Writing
