The objective of the Department of History is to provide its students with a thorough grounding in the past, seen from both social scientific and humanistic perspectives, and in the nature of history and historical analysis. The study of history prepares students for a variety of career paths, extending from fields such as law, education, and religion, to journalism and media ventures, and to business and government service.
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The Department trains historians who will are active in public life in a number of capacities. The Masters in History program can be a stepping stone to the doctorate; a degree for certfied secondary-school teachers; or a way for interested students to extend their liberal education. The Department of History and the Albany Law School have established a collaborative arrangement for graduate students seeking to obtain a Master of Arts (M.A.) in History and the Juris Doctor (J.D.) in Law, via execution of a formal Articulation Agreement. More information on the collaborative arrangement can be found here.
The Department of History in conjunction with the Department of Information Science offers a dual degree program combining the M.A. in History and the M.S. in Information Science. By applying six credits in Information Science to the History degree program and nine credits from History to the Information Science program, a student can reduce the total number of credits needed for both degrees to 57. However, faculty responsible for concentrations in both programs may require additional course work. Students may be admitted to a dual master's degree program at the beginning of their graduate studies, but not later than after completing 20 graduate credits applicable to a dual master's degree program. Work done for an awarded master's or doctoral degree may not be used for this program. Students may leave a dual program before completion of both degrees. If the requirements for one degree have been fulfilled, that degree may be awarded. You must be admitted to graduate study in both the M.A. in History and M.S. in Information Science degree programs for the dual degree program.
The Ph.D. program aims to prepare students for academic careers as scholars and teachers as well as for profession opportunities in research, history and media, and policy analysts and other pursuits in the public and private sectors. The program is interdisciplinary in nature and is organized by thematic fields (Public Policy; International, Global, and Comparative; Social and Economic; Gender; Cultural).
The Certificate in Public History is designed to train professional historians.
