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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

History is the #25 most popular major in the country with 4,391 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best History Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. 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 analysis found Princeton University to be the best school for history students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the 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

Out of the 255 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Notre Dame landed the # 2 spot on the list. Notre Dame is a 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

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 large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of New Haven.

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#4

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. 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

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 city of Durham.

Full History at Duke University Report

#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 school with a large student population.

Read full report on History at Brown University

#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 city of Cambridge.

Full History at Harvard University Report

#8

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

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 school with a very large student population.

Full History at Georgetown University Report

#9

Tufts University

Medford, MA

Tufts University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full History at Tufts University Report

#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

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#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 city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Read full report on History at University of Chicago

#12

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

With a ranking of #12, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.

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#13

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

#14

New York University

New York, NY

With a ranking of #14, New York University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their master’s degree. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

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#15

Monmouth University

West Long Branch, NJ

Monmouth University ranked #15 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of West Long Branch, Monmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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#16

Ashland University

Ashland, OH

Ashland University ranked #16 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Ashland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Ashland.

Read full report on History at Ashland University

American Public University System landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on History at American Public University System

#18

Salisbury University

Salisbury, MD

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.

Read full report on History at Salisbury University

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 fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

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#20

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory 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 #20 on the list. Emory is a fairly 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 landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full History at George Washington University Report

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.

Read full report on History at University of Nebraska at Kearney

#23

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Boston College ranked #23 on this year’s Best History Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#24

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree history programs. 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 midsize city of Charleston, The Citadel is a public school with a small student population.

Full History at Citadel Military College of South Carolina Report

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 4,391

Related Major Annual Graduates
Education 199,724
Psychology 42,013
Social Sciences 22,292
Communication & Journalism 12,242
Library Science 5,929

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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