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2025 Best History Master's Degree Schools

91 Colleges in the United States
3,531 Master's Degrees
$44,227 Avg Early-Career Salary
Historymaster's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #24 out of the 37 majors we look at each year. This may make is a little harder to find a school that is a good fit for you.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 91 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best History Master's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,531 master's degrees in history during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great History School for Your Master's Degree

Best History Master's Degree Schools The history master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for history students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank History Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More History Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best History Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study History in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in history. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

18 Top Schools for a Master's in History

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Harvard University if you want to pursue a master's degree in history. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in history from Harvard University

2
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6 Annual Graduates

Duke University is a great choice for individuals interested in a master's degree in history. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham.More information about a master’s in history from Duke University

3
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
57 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in history needs to look into Yale University. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.More information about a master’s in history from Yale University

4
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
25 Annual Graduates

New York University is a wonderful option for students interested in a master's degree in history. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in history from New York University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in history from Northwestern University

6
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15 Annual Graduates

Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.More information about a master’s in history from Georgetown University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
40 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in history from Columbia University in the City of New York

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
23 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a master’s in history from University of Wisconsin - Madison

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15 Annual Graduates

University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Charlottesville.More information about a master’s in history from University of Virginia - Main Campus

10
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in history from Boston College

11
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6 Annual Graduates

William & Mary is a moderately-sized public school located in the small suburb of Williamsburg.More information about a master’s in history from William & Mary

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in history from George Washington University

13
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
16 Annual Graduates

Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova.More information about a master’s in history from Villanova University

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in history from University of Maryland - College Park

15
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
154 Annual Graduates

American Military University is a very large private for-profit university located in the town of Charles Town.More information about a master’s in history from American Public University System

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
19 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in history from Indiana University - Bloomington

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20 Annual Graduates

Loyola Chicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in history from Loyola University Chicago

18
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
30 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in history from American University

Rest of the Top Best History Master's Degree Schools

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best History Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
26 University at Albany Albany, NY
27 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
28 Ashland University Ashland, OH
29 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
30 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA
19 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
20 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
21 Clemson University Clemson, SC
22 George Mason University Fairfax, VA

History by Region

View the Best History Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

History Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
History 3,531

Majors Similar to History

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 17,401
Theology & Religious Vocations 13,436
Communication & Journalism 12,283
English Language & Literature 8,169
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 2,950
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 2,867
Philosophy & Religious Studies 2,236
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 1,863
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 1,850

Notes and References

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