Graduate Degrees
in the Department of Social Sciences

The Department of Social Sciences offers the Master of Arts in History and the Master of Arts in Teaching. See below for brief descriptions.

For more information on graduate education at Emporia State, please visit the Graduate School webage.

  You can also fill in an online form for more information on ESU's graduate programs.

 

Why get your graduate degree at ESU?

You'll get a quality education at a very reasonable price.

  • Develop close relationships with faculty by working one on one and in small classes
  • Focus on coursework in U.S. history from Colonial times to modern times
  • Earn a dual degree with the School of Library and Information management

Our master's programs provide opportunities often available only to doctoral students.

  • You can gain professional experience by attending conferences, giving presentations, and writing articles for publication.
  • Full-time students may work as Graduate Teaching Assistants, gaining valuable teaching experience.

Take advantage of museum and archival internship opportunities.

MA interns have worked in archives and museums on campus, at local, state, and regional historical societies, at historical sites around the region, and in archives from Kansas City to Washington D.C.

DEGREE PROGRAMS

The MA degree in History is designed for the History student intending to continue on for Ph.D. work in History, for the secondary teacher who desires to take graduate work concentrating in the content area of History, and for the History student intending to pursue a career in public history.  Other students also may find the program suitable, depending on their individual aspirations.

The MA degree in History concentrates on three types of learning. The first of these is simple factual knowledge of history: students should enter the program with good undergraduate preparation in this regard, but MA work should add depth in areas of specialty and breadth in other areas. The second type of learning is historiographic: students should learn how historians have interpreted the historical record and given it meaning through time. The third type of learning is methodological: students should learn how to conduct original research and compose the historical essay, as well as other  conventional forms of scholarly writing in History.

The multi-disciplinary MAT degree in Social Sciences, designed specifically for licensed secondary social studies teachers, allows candidates to concentrate their focus in the areas of American history, world history, geography, political science, anthropology, sociology, and economics. The program emphasizes mastery of the methods of teaching the social sciences within the professional educational context, with the aim of developing each candidate's skills as Critical Thinkers, Creative Planners, and Effective Practitioners. The program prepares candidates for enhanced classroom performance by supporting state assessment standards, integrating technology in the classroom, and advancing the professional development of program candidates.