History (M.A.)

Master of Arts with a major in history degree program is dedicated to preparing serious and creative professional historians. The master’s degree prepares students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. in History or a related field, such as Library Science, Museum Studies, Historical Preservation, and other graduate degrees. Alternatively, many students use their knowledge of history in the public information sector, in secondary education, or at the two-year college level.

We offer students a rich intellectual environment, unique local research resources, and numerous opportunities for professional development outside the classroom. Our students develop research and analytical skills that allow them to advance in their profession or begin to explore a career in history.

Explore how the past has shaped the present and apply that knowledge to your future!

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History (M.A.) Program Quick Facts

  • Dahlonega & Gainesville Campuses
  • Program length 30 credit hours
  • With or without thesis option
  • Face-to-face and limited online courses
  • Courses offered within a two-year rotation
  • Choice of research interests

Program Application Deadlines

If program capacity is met prior to established admission deadlines, we will stop accepting applications for admission and cancel remaining incomplete applicants. All application materials are to be received prior to the deadline. Completing your application earlier is better.

International Students seeking F1 Visa:

Spring application deadline - November 1
Fall application deadline - April 1

Fall Deadline

May 1

Spring Deadline

December 1

Why Study History at UNG?

The History (M.A.) is not just for those aspiring to become historians or teachers. This degree is designed to prepare you for advancement in both private and public sectors. Our creative and dynamic faculty engage with you to provide you with skills designed to help in a variety of career choices that require problem solving skills.

Our program provides training in the theoretical and methodological elements of the discipline of history; advanced research techniques and analysis; and oral, written, and multi-media communication skills. You will develop and strengthen skills in information literacy; the ability to find information and to use it effectively.

Professional Development Opportunities

UNG has built relationships with the Northeast Georgia History Center and other local institutions and encourages graduate students to pursue internships for course credit that contribute to their career goals. We also host professional development workshops featuring professionals using their historical skills in various fields including:

  • Museum Studies
  • Preservation and Conservation
  • Legal Studies
  • Education and Pedagogy
  • and many others

Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

The department has graduate assistantship opportunities that allow students to hone their professional skills.

Teaching assistants have helped instruct World History surveys and upper division courses like History of Ancient Rome.

Research assistants have helped in the research and writing of textbooks, developed history-focused social media campaigns, and conducted archival research for book projects.

How to Apply to UNG's History (M.A.) Program

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Learn More the History (M.A.) Program

All candidates for the Thesis Track Master of Arts with a major in History must demonstrate competency in one language in addition to English. Capstone Track students are exempt.

The language competency requirement is met by taking a translation examination (500 words) administered by the department before the student can advance to the thesis-writing stage, usually between their second and third semesters. The language exam takes two hours with a dictionary allowed. The translation exam may be attempted three times. 

If a student has completed four semesters of a foreign language, or the equivalent, within the last five years at a university or community college, the student is eligible to take the translation exam with no further coursework. For a non-European language, the student should consult with his/her primary professor concerning minimum skill level to qualify for the translation exam.

If a student’s foreign language hours are more than five years old, the student must take a competency exam. If successful in placing at the level of a fourth semester in the language, the student is eligible to take the translation exam.

In order to pass the translation examination, a student may find it necessary to take language courses at UNG or another institution. These courses never count toward the degree requirements for the MA.

The History department at the University of North Georgia is proud to have several students who have successfully completed the M.A. program in History since its creation in 2009. Many students are either currently working in the teaching profession or pursuing advanced studies in Ph.D. programs.

2011
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Dennis Bagwell Thesis or non-thesis  Non-thesis, Military History, 
Student Ross Burger Thesis or non-thesis  “The Rhetoric of Blitzkrieg” (Drs. Byers, May, Bennet).
Student Chris Monroe Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Jamie Myers Mize Thesis or non-thesis  "‘Instances of Wanton Cruelty and Barbarity’: The Evolution of Martial Culture in 18th Century North America" (Drs. Van Sickle, Kim, Spike).
Student James Wolfe Jr. Thesis or non-thesis  “Early Elizabethan Piracy: 1558-1568” (Drs. Van Sickle, Spike, Brick).
2012
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Donna Hamil Thesis or non-thesis  The Mongol Khatuns: Political Agency and Cultural Adaptation of Royal Women in the Expanding Mongol Empire” (Drs. May, Hightower, Proulx).
Student Sarah Harris Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, American History
Student Jonathan C. Harton Thesis or non-thesis  In the Shadow of Mountains: Civil War Archaeology and Memory in Northwest Georgia” (Drs. Smith, Van Sickle, Spike).
Student Peter Kravchenko Thesis or non-thesis  “Modeling History: The Omni-Narrative and Unified Event Narrative” (Drs. Byers, Van Sickle, Proulx).
Student Winston Glen Kyle Thesis or non-thesis  Forged in Conflict: The Role of War in the Development of Atlanta 1861-1946” (Drs. Smith, Van Sickle, Byers).
Student Ronald Martz Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, Military History
Student Laura Mullins Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Joshua Sasser Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student John Thompson Thesis or non-thesis  "World War I and Indigenous Identity" (Drs. Spike, May, Wynn, Byer).
2014
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Robert Baker Thesis or non-thesis   “From the First to the American Way” (Drs. Van Sickle, Smith, Whittemore).
Student Sarah Hyde Thesis or non-thesis  “Democratization and Political Realignment in Antebellum South Carolina” (Drs.Van Sickle, Connolly, Smith).
Student Heather Welch Thesis or non-thesis  A Matter of Bodies: Gendered Responses to Economic Incentives in the Holocaust and Argentina's Dirty War” (Drs. Byers, Spike, C. Harris).
2016
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Robert Klemm Thesis or non-thesis  “A Slow Demise: Transatlantic Fascism and the Development of Latin American Nationalism in the Early 20th Century” (Drs. Byers, Spike, Harris).
Student Richard Morales Thesis or non-thesis  Non-thesis, Military History
Student Nicole Bronsted Wagner Thesis or non-thesis  “Defenders of ‘Beauty and Booty’: The Politicization, Plunder, and the Formation of American Identity during the War of 1812” (Drs. Van Sickle, Bricker, Spike).
2017
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Daniel Bennett Thesis or non-thesis  “Fraternal Ties in Nationalist Eyes: The Fate of Freemasonry in the Age of European Nationalism” (Drs. Byers, Bricker, Whittemore).
Student Brian Everett Thesis or non-thesis  “American Exceptionalism in the Film Industry of the 20th Century” (Drs. Jespersen, Byers, Marker).
2018
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Jeb Graydon Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, Military History
Student Jennifer Smith Thesis or non-thesis  “Contact and Consequence: Space and Function of the Wakhan Corridor during the Nineteenth Century” (Drs. May, Hightower, Blackwell).
Student Bryant Wine Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
2019
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Coleman Lee Thesis or non-thesis  "You and the Cold War: An Orwellian Look at the Superpowers" (Drs. Blackwell, Harris, and Byers)
Student Dianna Southers Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History 
2021
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Jeremy Donald Conner Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Kelsie Burks Mayes Thesis or non-thesis  “Batesville, Georgia: Timber and the Decline of Yeomanism in a Southern Appalachian Community” (Drs Rohrer, Bush, Whittemore)
2022
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Lesley Katen Jones Thesis or non-thesis  “Home is Where the Haunt is: The Cultural History of the Domestic Séance in Victorian London (Drs Guerty, Greene, O’Day, Pardue)
Student Michael Donald Mathis Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Jordan David Richardson Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Anna Katherine Rogers   Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Michael Benjamin Schinabeck     Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
2023
Student Thesis or non-thesis 
Student Gunter C. Bales  Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Jessica Paige Brazinski    Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Kinsey Jacquelyn Knight Thesis or non-thesis  Capstone, World History
Student Savannah Grace Whitman Thesis or non-thesis  Lived Experiences in the KL 2nd Gulag Camp Systems (Drs Byers, Wisnoski, Miller)

Questions?

For questions about the program, contact:
706-864-1468

For questions about the application process, contact:
Graduate Admissions
grads@ung.edu 
706-864-1543

Where This Program Could Lead You

Graduates of the M.A. in History program will have comprehensive knowledge in their subject area specialties and will master the analytical tools for making ethical and intelligent decisions in the global environment. This combined set of cultural, historical, and intellectual capital, supported by the soft skill set of research, analysis, and effective communication provides M.A. History degree-holders with highly applicable assets advantageous to professional decision makers of all occupations.

Our students seek careers in education, museums, community organizations, and government agencies.

Use the career insights tool to explore different opportunities related to this degree program. Learn about average salary and discover the skills you need to get the job you want.