National University, headquartered in La Jolla, California, was founded in 1971 and offers academic degrees at campuses throughout California as well as in Virginia, Nevada, Georgia, and Florida through online distance learning. This nonprofit institution is the 12th largest in the country and the second-largest in the state and is organized into one college and five professional schools: the School of Professional Studies, the School of Health and Human Services, the School of Engineering and Computing, the School of Education, and the School of Business and Management.
National University Accreditation Details
The school is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). In addition, the school has received specialized accreditations through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education for its business programs (IACBE) in degrees such as financial management, human resources management, business administration, organizational leadership, and management information systems.
National University Application Requirements
Students can apply to National University year-round, and admission into graduate programs is based on evidence such as the student's educational objectives, motivation, professional experience, interviews, test scores, and academic record in other institutions. Once qualified, a student can begin classes any month that he or she chooses, depending on what courses are offered at the time they wish to begin.
The following are the graduate admissions requirements of National University:
- A non-refundable $60 application fee
- A completed enrollment agreement and application
- Preliminary documentation of previous education
- A minimum of a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited university or college where the student achieved an overall grade point average of at least 2.5, or where the student achieved an overall grade point average of at least 2.75 in the last 90 quarter units
Graduates are also eligible to transfer up to 13.5 quarter units of prior course work to their respective degrees as long as the course was taken at a regionally accredited institution and the course was not used to earn a master's degree at another university or college. Courses taken more than seven years ago as well as those with a grade of "B-" or below are not eligible for transfer.
Specifically, in order to be admitted into the online Master of Arts in History degree program, students must currently hold a Bachelor of Arts in History degree or a degree in a closely-related field in the humanities or social sciences. Students currently holding a minor in history may be eligible for admittance following approval by the Program Lead Faculty.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition at National University costs $406 per quarter unit for 500-, 600-, and 700-level graduate courses. For a 4.5 quarter unit course, students can expect to pay $1,827. However, students considering National University may be entitled to financial aid to help delay or defer their education costs as well as some related expenses. Financial aid is available in the form of scholarships, loans, and grants, and the purpose of these funds is to bridge the gap between a student's resources and the cost of his or her education; it is not to be used to pay for a student's living expenses.
In order to establish eligibility, students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and students are required to submit a new application each fiscal year that financial aid is requested. In addition, National University offers reduced tuition for classes held on base for qualified students such as Department of Defense employees, selective military reserve members, military retirees, and active duty members, their dependents, and spouses.
How Much Does a Masters Degree Cost?
Master of Arts in History
The Master of Arts in History online degree is suited for teachers seeking a master's degree beyond just a simple piece of paper. In addition, students pursuing this educational track are well-prepared for doctoral studies in history, teaching history at a community college, a career at the State Department, or any career in the private or public sectors in which advanced writing, analytical, and research skills are required.
The curriculum offers balanced coverage of the major epochal, global, topical, thematic, comparative, regional, and theoretical approaches to the writing and research of history. Students can choose one of two tracks that lead to a significant project. First, a research track equips students with the writing, analytical, and advanced research skills needed to participate in the trenchant and transformative discussions of professional historians and to produce professional-quality historical scholarship. At the end of the program, students will be responsible for writing a master's thesis. This track is best-suited for those considering a PhD program.
Graduate students who are currently in teaching positions or those who want to teach at the community or secondary college level and who have little interest in advanced research or doctoral studies can choose a teaching option. In this program, students are exposed to cutting-edge, contemporary debates in world, European, and American history, and at the conclusion of the program, students are required to present a master's portfolio centering on classic and recent scholarship in specific fields in which the student is interested in teaching.
The online Master of Arts in History degree consists of 45 quarter units to be taken in 10 courses. Core requirements include seminar in history and theory, directed research methods, special topics in history, methods and sources, and history and applied media. At the end of the program, the student should be able to:
- Create professionally-informed and sophisticated written websites or works in a visual and prose style that is effective and clear;
- Conduct historical research and pose questions that contributes to scholarly understanding, uses relevant resources, and engages disciplinary perspectives;
- Develop a scholarship-based understanding of key historiographic philosophies and theories to a variety of historical subjects;
- Analyze the various professional and ethical issues that result from historical scholarship;
- Interpret and evaluate historical texts; and
- Analyze the relationship between interpretation, theory, method, and fact of historical accounts.
Students seeking to further their education by pursuing a Master of Arts in History degree can do so from the comfort of their own homes. The online program offered by National University is one of the most comprehensive degrees of its kind in the country, and many students enjoy the opportunity given to them to choose their own track in the program.