History (MA)
Program overview
The MA in History trains inquisitive minds for the 21st century. The department’s mission is to prepare historians for careers in teaching and research and produce graduates who share its commitment to serving the broader community. We offer courses in a wide range of temporal and thematic fields, including law and society, gender and sexuality, genocide and human rights and transnationalism and empire. Our faculty members are engaged in interdisciplinary research projects and encourage student participation in research projects at the local, national, and international levels. You will benefit from our long-standing affiliation with internationally-renowned research institutes such as the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling. Our resources will help you develop expertise as an oral historian and multimedia storyteller, to communicate research findings in imaginative and unconventional ways and to gain experience in policy-making and public advocacy.
Program Details
Admission Requirements
- Honours degree in history or its equivalent.
- Proficiency in English. Applicants whose primary language is not English must demonstrate that their knowledge of English is sufficient to pursue graduate studies in their chosen field. Please refer to the English language proficiency page for further information on requirements and exemptions.
Degree Requirements
Fully-qualified candidates are required to complete a minimum of 45 credits.
Please see the History Courses page for course descriptions.
History MA (45 credits)
| 6 | credits of Required Courses: |
| 9 | credits chosen from History MA Electives |
| 30 | credits chosen from • HIST 685 MA Thesis (30.00) |
History MA Electives
| • HIST 610 Selected Topics in European History (3.00) • HIST 620 Selected Topics in Canadian History (3.00) • HIST 630 Selected Topics in US History (3.00) • HIST 634 Selected Topics in Latin American and Caribbean History (3.00) • HIST 638 Selected Topics in Asian History (3.00) • HIST 642 Selected Topics in Middle Eastern History (3.00) • HIST 646 Selected Topics in African History (3.00) • HIST 650 Selected Topics in the History of Genocide and Human Rights (3.00) • HIST 660 Selected Topics in the History of Gender and Sexuality (3.00) • HIST 665 Selected Topics in Public History (3.00) • HIST 670 Selected Topics in History (3.00) • HIST 679 Tutorial in a Selected Area of History (3.00) |
| DEGREE |
FALL (September) |
WINTER (January) |
SUMMER (May/June) |
| History | MA | Feb. 1 | Oct. 1 | n/a |
The MA in History provides you with an academically rich and collaborative learning environment. In small seminar settings, you will be able to work closely with the department’s award-winning professors. You will also benefit from two seminars designed exclusively for our incoming MA students. These seminars offer you an opportunity to explore contemporary debates about the meaning and practice of history, envision and conceptualize your MA thesis, and, equally important, forge strong bonds with your peers in the program.
In addition, we offer a broad range of thematic and methodological courses including:
- Globalization and Culture
- Histories of Violence
- Historical Nonfiction Workshop
- Oral History Methods
- History of the Emotions
- Confronting Stalin’s Legacy, 1953-1991
Consult the graduate calendar for a complete list of courses and read about upcoming and current course offerings.
Full-time graduate students and new applicants for full-time study can apply for marker/mentor positions of around $ 2,500 per year. Students will not be considered if they are beyond their second year of study in the program.
A number of departmental awards are also available for graduate students, including the Keith Lowther Graduate Award, the Inge Thurm Bursary in Women’s or Gender History, and the Geoffrey Adams Scholarship in French History.
Other awards available through the Faculty of Arts and Science include:
- Concordia Merit Scholarship
- Concordia University Graduate Fellowship
- Hydro-Quebec Graduate Award
- John W. O'Brien Graduate Fellowship
- Clara Strozyk Scholarship
- Out-of-Province Fee Remission Awards
- Conference Travel Awards
Consideration for Entrance Awards is automatically part of the admissions process for all new students.
Please also consult Concordia’s graduate funding page and Financial Aid and Awards.
The research of our full-time faculty members spans the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Areas of faculty research expertise include:
- law and society
- gender and sexuality
- war and peace
- science and the environment
- public history and memory
- media and popular culture
- genocide and human rights
- transnationalism and empire
Review an inspiring list of thesis topics and read about some of our exceptional graduate students.
Graduate students organize one of North America’s longest-running history graduate conferences. History in the Making is an annual bilingual conference that invites students from Quebec, Ontario, Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States to showcase their work in their respective fields. Past conferences have addressed topics such as “Recording History: Memories, Monuments & Manuscripts,” “Shattered Spaces: Piecing Together Narratives of Crisis and Change” and “Reinterpreting Our Collective Pasts: Community, Identity, and Memory.”
The Graduate History Students’ Association aims to promote a stimulating academic and social atmosphere by organizing social events, informal academic discussions, speaking engagements and other activities.
As a graduate student in history, you will hone your communication and research skills, learn how to combine meticulous attention to detail with a wide-ranging understanding of the historical context, and develop your cultural knowledge and sensitivity. The ability to comprehend and broker cultural differences is useful in a wide range of fields.
Our alumni find great success in a diverse range of professional careers, including international relations, pharmaceuticals, health care, media, government, social work, journalism, law, politics, public advocacy, archives management, documentary filmmaking and education.
Our MA history graduates have been accepted to highly competitive doctoral programs, such as Columbia University, Yale University, Rutgers University, the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan.
Read about our alumni and their career paths since graduation.
