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 #23 most popular in the United States.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best History Master's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 255 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs 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. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Notre Dame. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Yale University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best history schools in the United States. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Out of the 255 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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Brown University ranked #6 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Harvard University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Cambridge.
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Georgetown University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Tufts University ranked #9 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
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Northwestern University ranked #10 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
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University of Chicago 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 #11 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Vanderbilt 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 #12 on the list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
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With a ranking of #13, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.
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New York University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
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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. Located in the suburb of West Long Branch, Monmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Ashland 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 #16 on the list. Ashland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Ashland.
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With a ranking of #17, American Public University System did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Salisbury University ranked #18 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Salisbury is a moderately-sized public school located in the small suburb of Salisbury.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.
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Emory University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Atlanta.
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George Washington University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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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. Located in the distant town of Kearney, UNK is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
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Boston College ranked #23 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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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. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.
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Citadel Military College of South Carolina ranked #25 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Charleston, The Citadel is a public school with a small student population.
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Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top 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
Rankings in Majors Related to History
History Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| History | 32,731 |
Most Popular Majors Related to History
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Education | 327,871 |
| Social Sciences | 205,984 |
| Psychology | 195,678 |
| Communication & Journalism | 120,571 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 55,820 |
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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Abraham Ortelius.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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