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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 #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

#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. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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#2

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

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. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

Read full report on History at University of Notre Dame

#3

Yale University

New Haven, CT

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Yale University is a great place for history students working on their master’s degree. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.

Full History at Yale University Report

#4

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

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 city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on History at University of Pennsylvania

#5

Duke University

Durham, NC

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. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

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#6

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full History at Brown University Report

#7

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University ranked #7 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Harvard is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

Full History at Harvard University Report

#8

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University ranked #8 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on History at Georgetown University

#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. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full History at Tufts University Report

#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With a ranking of #10, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on History at Northwestern University

#11

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #11 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full History at University of Chicago Report

#12

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

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 fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.

Full History at Vanderbilt University Report

#13

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

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 suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on History at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#14

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Read full report on History at New York University

#15

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, NJ

Monmouth University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the suburb of West Long Branch, Monmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on History at Monmouth University

#16

Ashland University

Ashland, OH

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. Ashland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Ashland.

Read full report on History at Ashland University

American Public University System ranked #17 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the fringe town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read full report on History at American Public University System

#18

Salisbury University

Salisbury, MD

Salisbury University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Salisbury is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Salisbury.

Read full report on History at Salisbury University

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

Read full report on History at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#20

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Atlanta.

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. Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on History at George Washington University

University of Nebraska at Kearney ranked #22 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Kearney, UNK is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#23

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

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 school with a large student population.

Full History at Boston College Report

#24

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech ranked #24 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on History at Virginia Tech

Citadel Military College of South Carolina came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best History Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Charleston, The Citadel is a public school with a small student population.

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

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

History Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
History 32,731

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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