2023 Most Popular 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.
The Most Popular History Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 379 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the History program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for history majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Master's in History
Our analysis found Southern New Hampshire University to be the most popular school for history students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. SNHU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Manchester.
Of the 218 students majoring in history at SNHU, 45% are male and 55% are female.
Read full report on History at Southern New Hampshire University
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at American Public University System helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular history schools in the United States. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.
Women make up 25% of the history majors at the school.
Full History at American Public University System Report
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great place for history students working on their master’s degree. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.
Women make up 47% of the history majors at the school.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Of the 135 students majoring in history at ASU - Skysong, 58% are male and 42% are female.
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Out of the 379 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Pace University - New York landed the # 5 spot on the list. Pace University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
About 42% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 58% are male.
Full History at Pace University - New York Report
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With a ranking of #6, Norwich University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Norwich is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Northfield.
Of the 63 students majoring in history at Norwich, 68% are male and 32% are female.
Full History at Norwich University Report
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Ashland University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular 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.
About 47% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 53% are male.
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Yale University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Women make up 53% of the history majors at the school.
Full History at Yale University Report
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Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree history programs. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Women make up 64% of the history majors at the school.
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New York University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for history students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 50% of the history majors at the school.
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Harvard University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 42 students majoring in history at Harvard, 57% are male and 43% are female.
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Missouri State University - Springfield landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree history programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public college with a very large student population.
About 36% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 64% are male.
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Sam Houston State University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 34 students majoring in history at SHSU, 56% are male and 44% are female.
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University of Nebraska at Kearney did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for history students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. UNK is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kearney.
About 34% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 66% are male.
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With a ranking of #14, George Mason University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for history students working on their master’s degree. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax.
Of the 29 students majoring in history at GMU, 41% are male and 59% are female.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
About 64% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 36% are male.
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Simmons University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Simmons is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.
Of the 27 students majoring in history at Simmons, 15% are male and 85% are female.
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California State University - Fullerton came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 40% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 60% are male.
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With a ranking of #18, University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for history students working on their master’s degree. UNCW is a fairly large public school located in the city of Wilmington.
Women make up 56% of the history majors at the school.
Full History at University of North Carolina at Wilmington Report
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California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for history students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
Of the 24 students majoring in history at Cal State LA, 71% are male and 29% are female.
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University of Massachusetts - Boston ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Boston, UMass Boston is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 68% of the history majors at the school.
Full History at University of Massachusetts - Boston Report
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With a ranking of #21, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 50% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 50% are male.
Full History at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Report
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University of Missouri - St Louis came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, UMSL is a public college with a large student population.
About 67% of the students majoring in history at the school are women while 33% are male.
Full History at University of Missouri - St Louis Report
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California State University - Sacramento came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Sac State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.
Of the 21 students majoring in history at Sac State, 67% are male and 33% are female.
Full History at California State University - Sacramento Report
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Texas State University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree history programs. Texas State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of San Marcos.
Women make up 25% of the history majors at the school.
Read full report on History at Texas State University
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Remaining Award Winners
This section represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Most Popular History Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 379 different United States history schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | Monroe, LA |
| 48 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 48 | University of South Florida - Main Campus | Tampa, FL |
| 48 | The University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL |
| 48 | Salem State University | Salem, MA |
| 56 | University of Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 56 | East Tennessee State University | Johnson City, TN |
| 56 | Monmouth University | West Long Branch, NJ |
| 56 | Providence College | Providence, RI |
| 56 | University of Colorado at Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs, CO |
| 56 | The University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 56 | Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro, TN |
| 56 | Duquesne University | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 56 | University of New Orleans | New Orleans, LA |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular History Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | St John’s University - New York | Queens, NY |
| 65 | University of Missouri - Kansas City | Kansas City, MO |
| 65 | Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond, VA |
| 65 | University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA |
| 65 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green, OH |
| 65 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 71 | California State University - East Bay | Hayward, CA |
| 71 | Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti, MI |
| 71 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 71 | Loyola University Chicago | Chicago, IL |
| 71 | Rutgers University - Newark | Newark, NJ |
| 71 | Eastern Washington University | Cheney, WA |
| 71 | Rowan University | Glassboro, NJ |
| 71 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD |
| 71 | Eastern Illinois University | Charleston, IL |
| 71 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 71 | University of West Georgia | Carrollton, GA |
| 71 | Center for Advanced Studies On Puerto Rico and the Caribbean | San Juan, PR |
| 71 | Fort Hays State University | Hays, KS |
History by Region
View the Most Popular 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 |
Majors Related to History
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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.