2023 Best History Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best History Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 32,731 people earned a degree or certificate in history, making the major the #31 most popular in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best History Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 255 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best History Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for history majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in History
Our 2023 rankings named Princeton University the best school in the United States for history students working on their master’s degree. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Notre Dame helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best history schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Out of the 255 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Yale University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Brown University ranked #6 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Providence.
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Harvard University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Georgetown University ranked #8 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
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Tufts University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for history students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Medford.
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Northwestern University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of Chicago came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
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Vanderbilt University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
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New York University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Monmouth University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for history students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Monmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of West Long Branch.
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With a ranking of #16, Ashland University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Located in the fringe town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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American Public University System ranked #17 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.
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With a ranking of #18, Salisbury University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Salisbury, Salisbury is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.
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Emory University ranked #20 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #21, George Washington University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
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University of Nebraska at Kearney landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. UNK is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Kearney.
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Boston College ranked #23 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Boston College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.
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Virginia Tech landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg.
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Citadel Military College of South Carolina landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. The Citadel is a small public school located in the midsize city of Charleston.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for History students that almost earned our Best History Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 40 | Arizona State University - Tempe | Tempe, AZ |
| 41 | Minnesota State University - Mankato | Mankato, MN |
| 42 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville, PA |
| 43 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 44 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 45 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 46 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 47 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 48 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
| 49 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 50 | University of California - Davis | Davis, CA |
| 51 | University of Houston - Clear Lake | Houston, TX |
History by Region
View the Best History Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More History Rankings
History Related Rankings by Major
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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