Dr. Joelle Neulander, Department Head

joelle.neulander@citadel.edu 

Mission

The Master of Arts in Applied History is a unique program, designed both to meet the diverse professional development needs of historians and teachers across the nation who work in public and private institutions that have a historical emphasis, and to offer a way for any budding historian to learn more about the practice of history and apply that knowledge to a personal history project. History teachers, museum directors, public historians, and interested citizens are all members of our targeted audience. In addition, this online, synchronous program has state and national reach with a stellar and wide-ranging faculty, and a strong emphasis on local historical practice. 

Program Objectives

The Online MA in Applied History is an online, synchronous program. Students will meet with classes using weekly zoom classes. The program will equip students with the ability to practice research and history in any related field of work, including museum curation, elementary and secondary teaching, business, tourism, and historical interpretation.  

As a synchronous, online program, the MA will allow participants to interact directly with professors and fellow students, while still giving them access to local archives, schools, libraries, and historical sites. Students will apply what they learn locally, using courses and mentorship to expand knowledge of local historical topics and issues. 

The curriculum develops students’ critical thinking, oral and written communication, and research skills. Students will learn a variety of historical methods and practices and apply what they learn to an individual research project, centered on their personal experience, research interests, and local opportunities. We expect that our program will help shape local historical practice across South Carolina and further afield. 

The program will introduce students to different theories of history in a variety of chronological and area contexts. They will analyze both universal historical themes of change and continuity over time, as well as more regional and localized ways of understanding and describing past events. They will examine how history has been shaped by the individual people who lived it, as well as its broader social, cultural, environmental, and geographical effects. 

Students who receive an Online MA in Applied History at The Citadel will demonstrate the following: 

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Analyze the important role that history plays in local, regional, national, and global contexts. 
2. Learn about the practice of history by professional and non-professional historians. 
3. Create an original historical project of significance to their own historical practice. 
4. Apply thematic and wide-ranging historical knowledge to shape a personal and/or local understanding of history. 
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the ways historians interpret and write about the past. 
6. Apply historiography to contextualize their historical research.

Admission Requirements

1. Completion of the online graduate application along with the non-refundable application fee. 
2. Submission of an official transcript reflecting the highest degree earned from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants should have significant experience in history coursework at the undergraduate level. 
3. Applicants are expected to have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of at least 2.5 and a 3.0 in their major. Students who fail to meet the minimum score requirement may be provisionally accepted into the MA degree program provided all other admission requirements have been met. Upon completion of the first eight hours of degree coursework, with a minimum GPA of 3.50, the student is considered fully admitted. Admission tests must be current within five (5) years of application and official score sent directly to the CGC office at the request of the student. 
4. A 300-600 word application essay outlining reason for application and intended research project or goal. 
5. Submission of two signed letters of recommendation, normally from a former professor, commanding officer, or employer. It is preferred that at least one of the letters come from a former professor. Each reference should be as specific as possible in analyzing the applicant’s potential for success in the program.

Application Deadlines

The Admissions Committee will consider complete applications for the program on the following dates:
 

Admission Term:	Materials Due:
Fall and Summer	March 1st
Spring	November 1st

Program Requirements

The program requires completion of 33 graduate hours as described below: