Degree Requirements

American History Requirements

The formal degree requirements are the completion of 10 three-credit courses (30 credits), including:

  • Craft of History (56:512:550)
  • one global history readings course
  • two year-long readings to research sequences taught by the same professor on the same period or theme
  • four additional graduate readings courses covering chronological periods of American history*
  • two additional course from among the graduate course offerings of the History Department

Passing a comprehensive oral examination is the final degree requirement.

*The program has seven core chronological courses covering American/US history: America 1607-1763, America/U.S. 1763-1820, U.S. 1820-1898, U.S. 1898-1945, and U.S. 1945-Present, African American History to 1877, and African American History 1877-Present. Students in the American History track are required to take four of these seven courses (though they are welcome to enroll in a more if they wish).

Public History Requirements

The formal degree requirements are the completion of 30 credits, including:

  • Craft of History (56:512:550)
  • Issues in Public History (56:512:531)
  • three additional courses in public history electives
  • one 3-credit public history internship*
  • one year-long readings to research sequence taught by the same professor on the same period or theme
  • two additional courses from among the graduate course offerings of the History Department

A second required research project for Public History students will be completed within their 9 credit hours of public history coursework. Passing a comprehensive oral examination is the final degree requirement.

*The Public History Internship is a course option available only to graduate students on the Public History Track.

Information regarding the required 3-credit public history internship can be found here.

Global History Requirements

The formal degree requirements are the completion of ten 3-credit courses (30 credits), including:

  • Craft of History (56:512:550)
  • Methods in Global History (56:51:554)
  • three additional readings courses in global history
  • two year-long readings to research sequences taught by the same professor on the same period or theme
  • one additional course from among the graduate course offerings of the History Department

Passing a comprehensive oral exam is the final degree requirement.

Legal History Requirements

The formal degree requirements are the completion of 10 three-credit courses (30 credits), including:

  • Craft of History (56:512:550)
  • one global history course
  • two courses relevant to legal history from Rutgers School of Law
  • four additional readings courses from among the graduate course offerings of the History Department
  • one readings-to-research sequence taken in the Rutgers-Camden history graduate program (the readings portion of the sequence will be a fifth required readings course)

Passing a comprehensive oral examination is the final degree requirement.

Early Modern Concentration:

Students fulfill this concentration by taking 4 courses from the list below.  Only two courses can be North American or U.S. based courses.  Students can take more than four courses as long as they observe the distribution requirement rule of counting no more than two North American or U.S. based courses for the 4 course minimum requirement.

  • Readings in Early Modern England
  • Readings in Early Modern Europe
  • Readings in the French Revolutions
  • Methods in Global History
  • Gender in History and Theory
  • Readings in Race and Ethnicity
  • Readings in African American History I
  • Readings North America to 1763
  • Readings U.S. 1763-1820
  • Readings U.S. 1820-1898
  • Cultural History of Capitalism
  • Readings in the Global 19th Century
  • Readings in Migration and Immigration (Professor Jewell)

Modern Concentration:

Students can take this option by taking 4 courses from the list below.  Only two courses can be North American or U.S. based courses.  Students can take more than four courses as long as they observe the distribution requirement rule of counting no more than two North American or U.S. based courses for the 4 course minimum requirement.

  • Readings in African American History II
  • Readings U.S. 1820-1898
  • Readings U.S. 1898-1945
  • Readings U.S. 1945-Present
  • Cultural History of Capitalism
  • Gender in History and Theory
  • Methods in Global History
  • Readings in Race and Ethnicity
  • Readings in Migration and Immigration (Professor Thomas)
  • Readings in Empire and Decolonization
  • Readings in the Global Twentieth Century
  • Readings in Genocide in Global History
  • Readings in Modern Japan
  • Readings in Environmental History

In addition to the 30-credit degree program, all graduate students may choose to write a M.A. thesis by enrolling in a 2-credit independent readings course.

Comprehensive Oral Examination

The final requirement for all graduate students is a one-hour oral examination during which the student will respond to questions provided well in advance by a committee of three members of the History graduate faculty. The student is allowed to bring only a copy of the questions into the exam. If, for some reason, a student feels that he or she cannot take this final exam in the format as described, the student must consult with the director of the graduate program about possible alternative methods of examination no later than two weeks after the student is informed of the date set for the oral examination. (Oral exams are usually scheduled months in advance.)

General Requirements

Up to 6 credits may be earned in advanced undergraduate (300-400 level) courses at Rutgers. Up to 9 graduate credits (with grades of B or better) may be transferred from other institutions with the approval of the graduate program director.

Full-time, matriculated graduate students in good standing may take up to 6 credits of their elective courses from other Rutgers graduate programs with the approval of their adviser and the graduate program director. Specific courses in the M.A. program in English, the Master of Public Administration program, and the J.D. program of the School of Law-Camden are appropriate choices for such cross-registration.

Foreign Language Course Option 

Graduate Students can choose to take up to two additional courses, which would become additional credits required for the M.A., provided that they are foreign languages courses offered on a Rutgers campus.  Those with a History Department Fellowship can use it to cover the tuition of the additional foreign language coursework.  Students with scholarships can apply them to the tuition of the foreign language coursework. 

Public History Certificate

Graduate students at Rutgers Camden have the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Public History. The completion of the Certificate will be noted on a student’s transcript.

To be awarded a Certificate in Public History graduate students would need to complete the following 3 courses: 1) Issues in Public History 2) A public history elective 3) An internship in public history or an approved substitution for this course (such as an Independent Study public history project, the Practicum in Public History Course, or Eagleton Program Internship).

For History graduate students, courses taken to earn the Public History Certificate are in addition to courses taken to earn the Masters Degree and cannot be counted for credit for both the Masters Degree and the Public History Certificate.

Students interested in the Certificate should contact the Graduate Program Director, Dr. Andrew Shankman at shankman@rutgers.edu.

Grading Policy

The History Department reserves the right to remove a student from the program after a second grade below the B level. The History Department will count only one grade below the B level for credit towards the Master’s Degree.

Transfer Credits

Graduate courses completed at other institutions may be accepted for credit at the university. Students are allowed to transfer in a maximum of one-third of the credits required for their degree. The limit is 10 credits for 30-credit programs and 14 credits for 42-credit programs. The number is the maximum allowed for transfer into the Graduate School-Camden.

For more information about the History graduate program, send an e-mail request to Professor Andrew Shankman at shankman@rutgers.edu.