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School of Arts, Humanities & Education

History-Practicum Option

Online Master of Arts in History-Practicum Option (MA)

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$0 Application Fee
$0 Transfer Credit Evaluation

0 Entrance Exams
No GRE/GMAT Required

About This Program

Play an active role in helping the public learn from the past with this master’s in public history offered by American Public University (APU).

This online history master’s degree studies the diverse ways that history is presented to the public. Archives, museums, and other historic sites serve as living laboratories as you build the foundation for becoming a public historian.

Experiential learning is an integral part of this history master’s program. For example, you will learn about oral history, cultural resource management, historic preservation and interpretation. You will also conclude your studies with a 16-week practicum. On-site practicum locations could include a museum, historic preservation agency, archives, or national park.

You also benefit from faculty who bring their own real-world experience as public historians, scholars, and authors to your learning.

What You Will Do

  1. Demonstrate broad knowledge of people and events in history to reveal how global complexity impacts human experiences
  2. Distinguish the historical schools of thought that have shaped scholarly understanding of history
  3. Apply persuasive arguments that are reasoned and based on suitable evidence
  4. Assess the past using digital and archival primary and secondary sources
  5. Produce original contributions to the body of knowledge using advanced historical methods

View Program Outcome Assessment Results

Degree at a Glance

Number of Credits
36
Transfer up to 15 credits1
Cost Per Credit
$455 | $250*
$386.75** | $409.50***
*with Preferred Military Rate
**with Veteran Grant
***with APUS Opportunity Grant
Courses Start Monthly
Online
and vary from 8 to 16 weeks

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Program Requirements Printable Catalog Version

Students must choose a concentration for this degree program:

Whether in archives, museums, cultural resources, historical editing, or heritage tourism, public history is the presentation and interpretation of the past to the public. Public historians should not merely learn the technical aspects of a given field; they should also be versed in the historiography and methodologies of contemporary scholarship so that they can apply skills and knowledge in the public realm. In that regard, even if they work in a variety of professional venues usually outside the academy, public historians share roles as researchers and interpreters of history with their academy colleagues. Public historians are found in archives, museums, historic preservation agencies, historic sites, cultural resource firms, national parks and forests, editorial positions, and historical agencies.

Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this concentration, the student will be able to:

  • Categorize and assess important historical developments in public history and identify the intellectual, ethical, and professional issues that public historians confront.
  • Evaluate and verify current institutional collection policy and practices based on standard archival and records practice.
  • Establish and reconstruct the processing of a collection: arrangement and description, preservation and digitization, and develop the skills necessary to successfully undertake applied research.
  • Test and apply the use of oral history techniques and methodology to demonstrate how oral history supports a diverse resource base and audience across interdisciplinary fields.
  • Distinguish and prioritize issues such as the relationship of collections and landscapes to identify the intersection of commerce and culture; and the influence of museums and exhibitions in preserving a view of the past and developing an image of progress.
  • Prescribe and test the selection criteria for strategies for preservation, metadata to support digital preservation, maintaining the integrity and authenticity of digital materials, management of digitization and digital preservation programs, risk management, and disaster recovery.
  • Manage and improve field experience and practicum in applied public history.

Must take all courses for this section.

Course ID: 3506

|
This course is a comprehensive seminar in U.S. history designed to provide a foundation in U.S. historical theory, trends, and concepts for the further study of specialized and topical history at the graduate level. Students should be expected to read and write intensely on both broadly and narrowly addressed topics of history. This course is not designed as a refresher of undergraduate history survey courses; rather, it is a concentrated study of U.S. history for serious history students and professionals.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 03/02/25 Winter 2025 Session B 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session

Course ID: 3973

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The Seminar in Public History examines the varied and interdisciplinary "field" of Public History--such as community/local history, historic preservation, archives, historical archaeology, museum studies, business and policy history, documentary editing and publishing, and documentary films--through readings, class discussions, occasional guest speakers, and occasional field trips. The central theme explores some of the many ways people create and convey history, some of the major themes in community and social history, and the problems and possibilities of working as historians in public settings.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 03/02/25 Winter 2025 Session B 8 Week session
10/28/24 - 04/04/25 04/07/25 - 06/01/25 Spring 2025 Session B 8 Week session

Course ID: 3985

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This course examines the theory and practice of managing archival documents, such as personal papers, institutional records, photographs, electronic records, and other unpublished materials. Topics include: manuscript and records acquisition and appraisal, arrangement and description, conservation and preservation, reference, and access. The course provides in-depth study of current issues and practices in archives, addressing fundamental problems, theoretical principles, techniques, and practical administration of archives and manuscripts; the importance of records in the modern information age; discussion of the types and varieties of archival repositories and the value of historical records beyond traditional research use.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 01/26/25 Fall 2024 Session D 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session

Course ID: 3986

|
This course explores oral history as a research methodology and studies the current “historiography of oral history.” The topics examine how oral history projects are initiated, how projects are administered, how interviews are conducted, and how oral history interviews are preserved and made available to researchers. Special emphasis is on the use of technology in making oral histories available to researchers on the Web. Students will gain practical experience in oral history interviewing and related aspects of oral history, such as transcribing, editing, and publishing oral histories.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
08/26/24 - 01/31/25 02/03/25 - 03/30/25 Winter 2025 Session I 8 Week session

Course ID: 3511

|
This course examines the changes in American society at the end of the 19th century as it confronted the issues of industrialization, immigration, and urbanization. It explores the open conflict between the advocates of isolationism and collective security and studies the impact of World War I. It also studies the changing values of the 1920s, the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, and the cultural, social, political, military, and economic growth of the United States from World War II to the present.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 03/02/25 Winter 2025 Session B 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session

Course ID: 3507

|
This course explores the history of expressive and material cultures around the world, with emphasis on industrialized nations. Topics include aesthetics, social identification, and production, consumption, and reception of cultural forms. Using literature, films, pictures, and music, students study theories of popular culture and aesthetic hierarchy; explicate historical contexts of artistic movements; discuss cultural imperialism; address problems of cultural appropriation, creativity, and identity; and examine cultural expressions of social difference and deviance. Topics also include the social history of culture in the age of mass society, including popular arts and the culture of consumption.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 01/26/25 Fall 2024 Session D 8 Week session
08/26/24 - 01/31/25 02/03/25 - 03/30/25 Winter 2025 Session I 8 Week session
10/28/24 - 04/04/25 04/07/25 - 06/01/25 Spring 2025 Session B 8 Week session

Course ID: 3988

|
This course examines the history, theory, and current issues of preservation practices in the United States and beyond. The themes center on the historical roots of preservation, rather narrowly focused on repairing old buildings, and the modern, broad field of preservation in terms of individuals, societies, and cultures and their relationships to the built environment and cultural landscape. Special emphasis is on the multidisciplinary nature of the preservation field and the public nature of its practice.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 01/26/25 Fall 2024 Session D 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session

Course ID: 3989

|
This course is a study of objects, buildings, and landscapes and how to evaluate their contexts of display through three-dimensional stories over the course of two centuries, drawing mainly on examples in the United States. Students examine issues such as the relationship of collections and landscapes to identity; the intersection of commerce and culture; and the influence of museums on intellectual culture. Key themes focus on the role of museums and exhibitions in preserving a view of the past and developing an image of progress; and how they change in response to the various contexts in which and for which they exist.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 01/26/25 Fall 2024 Session D 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session

Course ID: 3987

|
This advanced course explores the nature of the Web for historical research. Students will be exposed to techniques for evaluating and discovering “trusted” resources, as well as participation in related scholarly communities. In addition, the class provides theoretical underpinnings for the digitization of analog materials and controls for “born-digital” resources as part of a preservation program. Topics to be explored include: selection for preservation, copyright issues, digital longevity, formats and strategies for preservation, metadata to support digital preservation, maintaining the integrity and authenticity of digital materials, management of digitization and digital preservation programs, risk management, and disaster recovery
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 03/02/25 Winter 2025 Session B 8 Week session
10/28/24 - 04/04/25 04/07/25 - 06/01/25 Spring 2025 Session B 8 Week session

Must take all courses for this section.

Course ID: 3631

|
The course addresses the development of core research skills for advanced historical study. Through case studies analyses, the evaluation of different types of historical evidence, and the consideration of how valid research questions are formulated and applied, it is designed to refine the critical thinking, research, and writing skills that are fundamental to valid historical scholarship.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 01/26/25 Fall 2024 Session D 8 Week session
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 03/02/25 Winter 2025 Session B 8 Week session
08/26/24 - 01/31/25 02/03/25 - 03/30/25 Winter 2025 Session I 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session
10/28/24 - 04/04/25 04/07/25 - 06/01/25 Spring 2025 Session B 8 Week session

Course ID: 3630

|
This course is the study of historical thought from its emergence in the classical world to the present. Students concentrate on how history has been interpreted, rather the facts of history themselves as well as contemplate the fundamental questions about the nature of history, and investigate the relationships between theory and evidence in historical writing. Emphasis is on the narratives historians have used to reconstruct the past, and the major historiographical schools of thought that have developed over time.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 01/26/25 Fall 2024 Session D 8 Week session
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 03/02/25 Winter 2025 Session B 8 Week session
08/26/24 - 01/31/25 02/03/25 - 03/30/25 Winter 2025 Session I 8 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session D 8 Week session
10/28/24 - 04/04/25 04/07/25 - 06/01/25 Spring 2025 Session B 8 Week session
Select any courses that have not been used to fulfill major requirements. Credits applied toward a minor or certificate in an unrelated field may be used to fulfill elective credit for the major.

Must take all courses for this section.

Course ID: 3974

|
The experiential or practical component of the course aims to apply learning in an aspect of interest related to the degree and concentration in Public History. It is understood to be a supervised practicum that requires approval by APUS before entering into the relationship with the organization. The selection of an organization or site for the practicum must relate to the content of the student’s course work and/or concentration. Goals of the applied practicum and integration seminar will be submitted by the student for approval using an application for approval to the Faculty member, Program Director and Dean of the School, Arts and Humanities. The organization will serve as an opportunity to experience the practice of an area of management related to the focus of the student’s degree. Practicum courses are NOT included in the university retake policy. All grades for any attempts will appear on transcript and will be calculated in GPA
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/24/24 - 11/29/24 12/02/24 - 03/23/25 Fall 2024 Session C 16 Week session
07/29/24 - 01/03/25 01/06/25 - 04/27/25 Winter 2025 Session A 16 Week session
08/26/24 - 01/31/25 02/03/25 - 05/25/25 Winter 2025 Session K 16 Week session
09/30/24 - 02/28/25 03/03/25 - 06/22/25 Winter 2025 Session C 16 Week session
10/28/24 - 04/04/25 04/07/25 - 07/27/25 Spring 2025 Session A 16 Week session

Courses Start Monthly

Next Courses Start Dec 2
Register by Nov 29
Apply Now Request Info

Admission Requirements

  • All APU master's degree/graduate certificate programs require a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an institution whose accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA®).
  • Please read all graduate admission requirements before applying to this program and be prepared to submit the required documentation.
  • There is no fee to complete the APU admission application for this program. View steps to apply.

CHEA® is a registered trademark of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 

Materials Cost

Technology fee: $85 per course 

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1The University reserves the right to accept or deny credits according to policies outlined on our University website. Please see the University's transfer credit policy webpage for complete information.

*Cost Per Credit Hour

The Preferred Military Rate is $250 per credit hour for undergraduate and master's-level courses. This rate is available to all U.S. active-duty servicemembers, National Guard members, Reservists, and military families, including parents, spouses, legal partners, siblings, and dependents.

See all military student benefits.

Cost of Attendance

Learn more about American Public University's cost components and full cost of attendance.