Best History Masters Programs in Massachusetts

The goal of the doctoral program is to train students to become both skilled scholars and conscientious teachers. Throughout the program students work with advisors and other faculty members as they engage in coursework, prepare for and take the general exam, work as teaching fellows, and research and write the dissertation. On average it takes seven years to receive the doctoral degree. Most graduates have pursued academic careers at universities and colleges in the United States and abroad, while others have gone on to successful careers in law and in government.

As a large research university, Harvard offers many resources and opportunities for its students in the form of lectures, conferences, research centers, fellowships, and grants. Students have access to the more than 80 libraries and 15 million volumes that comprise the Harvard University Library, the largest university library in the world.

Additionally, students may take courses offered by other departments in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, or at other Harvard schools, such as Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Harvard Kennedy School.

In coordination with Harvard Law School, students may pursue both a PhD in history and a JD at the Law School.

 At, Tufts University students who enroll in the MA in History program will be part of a small, selective cohort that places an emphasis on the comparative study of historical processes. In addition to participating in colloquia on comparative and local subjects, students will do independent research under the guidance of a faculty member and receive specialised instruction in a historical discipline.

The M.A. degree in history offers students an opportunity for sustained study and research with concentrations in American history, Medieval history, Early Modern European history, Modern European history (encompassing English, Irish, and Continental European), and Latin-American history. The department also offers coursework in African history, Middle Eastern history, and Asian history.

The Boston College M.A. is a “taught” degree, meaning that while students will take at least one research seminar, and have the opportunity to write a Master’s Thesis, the degree is largely based on course work. The M.A. is a terminal degree, but many students will use it as an opportunity to strengthen their application to Ph.D. programs. Others will find employment in education, public history, archives and the private sector.

Clark’s pioneering Ph.D. program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies is internationally recognized for the original research of its students and faculty. Students, who earn a doctorate in history, specialize on the Holocaust, Ottoman genocides conducted against Armenians and other Christian populations, and other events of genocide and mass violence in Asia and Africa. They research the causes, conduct and consequences of these events, learn to locate genocides in their specific social, cultural and political contexts, and familiarize themselves with up-to-date methods and concepts in the field.

Admission to the program is highly selective and most who are admitted choose to enroll. Graduate students receive tuition remission, an annual stipend, and research bursary for the entire five-year program. The program seeks to enroll dedicated students committed to maintaining the momentum of scholarship, research and education about the Holocaust and other genocides into the future. Our doctoral students come to the program from Europe, North America, Israel, and beyond. They work closely with world-class faculty members in a supportive setting that fosters a tight-knit intellectual community. Contributing faculty from many departments enrich the training students receive. The diverse and engaged faculty expands students’ intellectual reach by incorporating cutting-edge methodologies, introducing new cases, and challenging old ideas.

Strassler Center students deploy innovative historical methods, as well as approaches drawn from anthropology, geography, legal theory, political science, psychology, and sociology to examine the economic dimensions of genocide, transnationalism, inter-ethnic violence, memory, gender theory, refugee issues, and the psychology of perpetrators and victims, the dynamics of rescue, sexuality, genocidal continuity, and victimhood in post-genocide societies.

The Ph.D. students conduct innovative research on the causes, courses and consequences of the Holocaust, the Armenian and other genocides in archives around the world. They secure prestigious fellowships, like those offered by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the, Fulbright Foundation, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, and travel the globe to present their research at conferences and academic institutions. They publish in peer-reviewed journals and contribute chapters in edited volumes.