Graduation and Beyond

Preparing to graduate

Mason awards degrees in December, May, and August.

Once you have registered for the classes you need to complete your degree requirements, please contact the MA director, currently Professor Robertson. He will check that all requirements have been met and, if so, sign a program of study that the graduate coordinator will send to the registrar’s office for a degree audit.

Degree Works, the software the university sometimes uses to track student progress toward degrees, is often unable to apply courses to the appropriate requirements. Only after a member of the registrar’s staff has reviewed the program of study can we expect Degree Works to show that requirements have been met pending course completion.

The Office of the University Registrar posts graduation timelines at Graduation Timelines. Starting about five months prior to our degree conferrals, you will be able to apply to graduate on Patriot Web. See the instructions at Graduation Process. The window to apply to graduate closes shortly after the beginning of the term. If you miss the deadline, you will need to file a late graduation form.

The university holds graduation ceremonies in May and December. Students who expect to complete degree requirements in the summer may participate in the May exercises prior to their final summer in the program.

Considering careers

While students seek MA degrees in history for a variety of reasons, some do so in the hopes of finding careers practising history.

Some of the best information about the state of the job market and opportunities can be found on the American Historical Association's website. The best resource for finding such careers is the Jobs & Professional Development section of the American Historical Association website. Although the Career Diversity section sometimes emphasizes holders of PhDs, much of it applies to MAs as well. The section on Careers in Public History includes links to other sites that list opportunities, including the National Council on Public History's job listings.

Mason’s University Career Services offers resources to students and alumni.

Keeping in touch

We love to hear from alumni. Please keep in touch with the MA director. We have a LinkedIn group for all History Alumni that we may try to make more active, and we welcome suggestions for other ways for alumni to keep in touch with each other and the department.