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Best History Master's Degree Schools

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2023 Best History Master's Degree Schools

255 Colleges
$38,715 Avg Salary

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

#1

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

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.

Read full report on History at Princeton University

#2

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. 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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#3

Yale University

New Haven, CT

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Yale University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#4

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #4 on this year’s 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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#5

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full History at Duke University Report

#6

Brown University

Providence, RI

With a ranking of #6, Brown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

Full History at Brown University Report

#7

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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#8

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown 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 #8 on the list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Washington.

Full History at Georgetown University Report

#9

Tufts University

Medford, MA

With a ranking of #9, Tufts University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Medford.

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#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. 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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#11

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #11 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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#12

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University ranked #12 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on History at Vanderbilt University

#13

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus 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 #13 on the list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.

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#14

New York University

New York, NY

New York University ranked #14 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full History at New York University Report

#15

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, NJ

Monmouth University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Monmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of West Long Branch.

Full History at Monmouth University Report

#16

Ashland University

Ashland, OH

Ashland University ranked #16 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on History at Ashland University

American Public University System landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.

Read full report on History at American Public University System

#18

Salisbury University

Salisbury, MD

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 small suburb of Salisbury, Salisbury is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #19 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

Full History at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#20

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

With a ranking of #20, Emory University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full History at Emory University Report

#21

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington 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 #21 on the list. GWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

Read full report on History at George Washington University

University of Nebraska at Kearney came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UNK is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Kearney.

Full History at University of Nebraska at Kearney Report

#23

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Boston College landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.

Full History at Boston College Report

#24

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech 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 #24 on the list. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.

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With a ranking of #25, Citadel Military College of South Carolina did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. The Citadel is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Charleston.

Read full report on History at Citadel Military College of South Carolina

Rest of the Top Best History Master's Degree Schools

#26

Norwich University

Northfield, VT
#31

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA
#32

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY
#33

Boston University

Boston, MA
#38

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, NY

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

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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