Degrees and Certificates
Graduate
PhD in History
The PhD in History prepares students for careers as professional historians in academia, museums, digital humanities centers, and other venues. Students gain expertise in traditional historical methods, as well as in digital history and web-based technologies. Major fields include U.S. history, European history, and world history. Minor fields are chosen by the student and may be defined geographically/temporally (such as Early America or Modern East Asia), topically (women’s history or cultural history), or methodologically (digital history or museum studies).
Students may attend either full-time or part-time. Admissions are competitive. Funding is available for full-time students. Digital History Fellowships to support students who plan to specialize in digital history.
Click here for more information about our Digital History Fellowships.
MA in Art History
The MA in art history draws on departmental strengths in traditional research, the application of new media, and the vast cultural resources of the Washington, DC area. Students study a broad range of art-historical periods, theory, and research methods. The master’s program emphasizes new media skills, museology, and pre-professional internship training.
MA in History
Students in the MA in history program select an area of specialization in American history, European history, or world history. They choose from one of four concentrations.
Accelerated MA in Art History
Highly qualified undergraduates in any major who have taken at least two 300-level art history courses with a minimum grade of B+ in each may apply to the accelerated master's degree in art history.
Accelerated MA in History
Highly-qualified Mason undergraduates may apply to the accelerated master's degree program and obtain both bachelor's and master's degrees in history after satisfactory completion of 144 credits. The BA and MA earned separately require 120 and 30 credits respectively. Well-prepared undergraduates are encouraged to apply when they have completed between 75 and 90 credits.
Graduate Certificate in Digital Public Humanities
Both recent graduates and experienced professionals will benefit from this online graduate certificate program. Coursework is designed to help students achieve mastery of the digital tools and skills that are increasingly necessary for career advancement as a humanities professional, and a virtual internship with a unit of the Smithsonian Institution enables students to apply those tools and skills in hands-on digital projects with the nation’s premier public humanities institution.
Undergraduate
BA in Art History
As an art history major at Mason, you'll investigate works of art to learn about how and why they were made, and about the people who made them. You'll study art as a form of personal expression and a record of its historical moment by understanding not only the artwork's aesthetic qualities, but also the way art influences and is influenced by culture, technology, and economics.
BA in History
Studying history at George Mason will provide you with a broad perspective on the contemporary world and the events that have shaped it. As a history major, you will hone your skills in collecting, interpreting, and communicating information. Our department is home to specialists on every region of the globe, focusing on different time periods, and we are at the forefront of digital and public-facing history. We recognize that new technologies and methods bring together multiple voices and diverse audiences in an ever-changing world.
Minor in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology
This interdisciplinary minor is for students with diverse interests in the material culture of the ancient world. Course work combines the study of archeology, literature, art, history, philosophy, myth, and religion. The scope of the minor is not limited to Greece and Rome, but touches on all the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean and the heirs of late antiquity such as Byzantium and early Islam.
Minor in Art History
The minor in art history enhances any major in the arts, humanities, social sciences, management, art studio, information technology, and more.
Minor in Digital Humanities
The Digital Humanities minor is designed to help students expand their ability to make humanities arguments using digital tools. This minor takes an interdisciplinary, expansive view of the humanities, including courses from across the college. Students will learn how to interpret, analyze, and use digital methods to communicate in new and innovative ways, including skills such as digital rhetoric, podcast creation, mapping, and data visualization.
Minor in Health, Disease, and Culture
Minor in History
For those who love history but do not foresee it as their major career focus, a history minor can be a rewarding option. Because of its flexibility, the history minor may also be shaped to enhance a variety of majors.
Minor in Medieval Studies
The Middle Ages has had a powerful, long-lasting effect on cultures worldwide. A medieval studies curriculum enables students to discover just how much of our modern world can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The Minor Program in Medieval Studies has been designed as an interdisciplinary minor, to reflect the inherently interdisciplinary nature of the field of Medieval Studies and to best prepare students to develop a complex understanding of the period.
Minor in Museum Studies
This interdisciplinary minor is for students with diverse interests in the history and practices of museums. Courses examine museums as institutions, their history, frameworks, ideologies, practices, and contemporary issues. Through this minor, students acquire practical skills as well as scholarly background.
Minor in Sport and American Culture (CHSS)
The minor in sport and American culture provides students with the opportunity to study the meaning of sport in American society and culture. Through courses in the minor, students trace the history of sport in America and examine the role of sport in today’s society.