Nov 26, 2024

2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

Public History, M.A.

Burke Miller, Ph.D., Department Chair

Brian L. Hackett, Ph.D., Graduate Program Director

Introduction

The Master of Arts in Public History (MAPH) is a flexible program that provides both traditional history educational experiences and opportunities to complete professional methods training in the fields of museum work, historic preservation, historic sites and archives.

Admission

Applications for admission can be completed online at http://apply.nku.edu. For maximum consideration, submit all materials by the priority deadline of May 1 for summer sessions, July 1 for the fall semester, and November 1 for the spring semester. If space permits, applications from qualified candidates may be considered after those dates.

Regular Admission to the MAPH

To be considered for regular admission to the MAPH program, applicants will need to complete and submit the following:

An application for graduate admission to Northern Kentucky University.
Application fee.
An official transcript indicating a bachelor’s degree in history or a related field from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in major area coursework.
Official transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate work.
Two letters of reference; please use forms which can be downloaded at this site: http://inside.nku.edu/graduate.
A letter of intent that clearly articulates your interest in public history and your abilities to pursue graduate level study.

♦ Indicates prerequisite.

Curriculum

The MAPH degree requires 36 credit hours of coursework, distributed as follows:

Required Core (18 credit hours)

Note:

* HIS 605 may be repeated when topics vary

Public History Methods Electives (18 credit hours)

Expedited Public History Concentration

Students will take 12 credits of expedited coursework during their senior year. Six credits will count for the undergraduate degree and six will be counted for the graduate degree.

Course requirements

Students need to be aware of the following requirements of the program:

18 credit hours must be at the 600 level.
A maximum of nine credit hours of transfer credit will be allowed.
An overall GPA must be a minimum of 3.0 to qualify for graduation.
No more than six hours of C grades will be counted toward the MA in Public History.

Total Hours: 36

Program of Study

Students in the MA in Public History must take Eighteen credits of required core.

18 credits of electives in Public History; graduate (500 and above) history courses as well as related graduate courses in other disciplines outside of history can be taken with permission of the Program Director.

Transfer work

With some restrictions, the program may accept nine hours of credit:

Transferred from other regionally accredited institutions.
Earned as a non-degree graduate student at NKU.

Independent Study

No more than six hours earned in independent study at NKU and approved by the graduate program director will be accepted towards degree completion unless otherwise approved by the graduate program director or MAPH advisory committee.

MAPH candidates may take independent study or readings courses. Before signing up for an independent study, you must have the approval of both the program director and the instructor. In addition, the instructor must be a member of the graduate faculty. A syllabus that describes the course topic, reading list, assignments, and learning objectives must be on file with the graduate program director.

Capstone Experience

The required capstone experience culminates in a publishable article, museum exhibit, co-op experience, or other suitable project with the instructor’s approval. The project proposal created in Capstone I must have the approval of both the Capstone I instructor and the graduate program director before the student begins the project in Capstone II. The order that the capstone courses may be taken in reverse depending on the student’s needs. The final project must have a writing component for assessment purposes.

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