Masters Program

Graduate students in History at BGSU enjoy numerous program options, academic resources, and financial aid opportunities. The Department’s main strengths lie in U.S. history, European history from the medieval period to the present, East Asian history, modern Latin American history, African history, public history, and policy history.

The Department of History offers the following degree and certificate programs:

• two Master of Arts degrees (thesis and non-thesis options)
• a dual History/German Master of Arts
• a dual History/Spanish Master of Arts
• An 18-credit Graduate Certificate in Public History
• An 18-credit Graduate Certificate in History for Educators and Professionals

Apply online to the Graduate College or pay application fee here.

All students must register for History 6520 - Historiography and Introduction to the Profession. Beyond this required course, students are free to enroll in any graduate history course, as well as up to six credits of graduate-level offerings in related departments and programs, such as American Culture Studies, Ethnic Studies, Political Science, Popular Culture, Sociology, Women’s Studies, and World Languages.

Students in the M.A. program at Bowling Green pursue one of two plans. Plan-I is recommended for students who hope to continue graduate study beyond the master’s degree, requires a minimum of 24 semester hours of course work plus a formal written thesis for which 6 hours of credit are granted. In this plan, students must pass an oral examination on the thesis and the field of history in which the thesis lies. Plan-I permits significant latitude in the selection of a thesis topic.

In Plan-II, a master’s degree candidate is required to complete an approved course of study comprising a minimum of 30 semester hours. Plan-II students then have two options: either pass a final comprehensive examination in two fields of history, or present and defend a Public History Capstone Project.

Students may also opt to enroll in the Dual Master’s degree programs in History and German or History and Spanish. Students who pursue one of these options must apply both to the Department of History and the relevant foreign language department, and they must be accepted by both. Through these degree pathways, students attain fluency in German or Spanish, experience abroad, exposure to interdisciplinary work, and access to the rigorous training provided to all students in both History and the relevant language department.

Students in the History and German program spend their first year in Salzburg, Austria, as regularly enrolled students at the Universität Salzburg. Students in the History and Spanish program spend their first year at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Spain. The thesis is directed by a member of the History faculty or by a member of the relevant language faculty; the thesis committee includes representatives from both departments.

A distinguishing feature of the Master’s programs is the high percentage of students who are funded. Successful applicants for competitively awarded research or teaching assistantships receive a stipend and waiver of tuition.