Graduate Program

Curious about the History M.A. program? Check out our brochure [pdf] to learn more and hear what our graduate students have to say.

These pages attempt to provide current and prospective history graduate students with detailed descriptions of almost all policies, procedures, and practices. Students should be aware, however, that these change over time, and they may not be reflected immediately on the history graduate website. This is especially true with respect to application and other filing deadlines.

For the most current information on deadlines, consult Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations. If in doubt on any issue, please contact the History Department office (408-924-5500) or the history graduate advisor, as we are not liable for the temporal accuracy of the information on this website.

The History Department at San José State University offers a standard M.A. program with specializations, or primary fields of study, in United States history Modern European history, and World history. Many of the faculty hold advanced degrees from the nation's most prestigious universities and have distinguished publication records.

The diverse participants in the M.A. program at San José State University include active and prospective teachers, Silicon Valley business people pursuing a personal interest or looking for a career change, and Ph.D.-bound historians. Because many of the approximately 50 actively enrolled M.A. students are working full-time, graduate courses are scheduled in the evenings (Monday–Thursday). Usually four or five graduate-level courses are offered each semester. Some applicable upper division courses are also offered in the evening, as well as a few during summer sessions.

San José State M.A.s have entered Ph.D. programs at Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Chicago, Ohio State, Penn State, Washington University in St. Louis, Louisiana State University, and the New School for Social Research. Besides teaching careers, graduates have also obtained positions in a variety of government agencies and in the private sector.

San José State University operates on the semester system. New students may enter in the fall or spring semester. The application deadline for the program, to start in the fall, is the previous April 1, and the deadline for receipt of supporting documents is April 20. The deadline for admission in the spring is Nov. 1, with supporting documents on Nov. 20. As a rule, students will hear about their application by April 30 or Dec. 1. To check whether application deadlines have changed in future years, please consult the Deadlines page maintained by Graduate Admissions and Program Evaluations.

In addition to general university financial aid, the History Department offers several scholarships for students who have completed at least one semester and excelled in their coursework. The application deadline for departmental scholarships will be announced in the spring semester.