Norwich’s history program curriculum is composed of six courses, each of which is delivered through our online classroom over 11 weeks for a total of 36 credit hours.
Our graduates can:
Public History is designed to enable you to make history accessible through the preservation and interpretation of visual artifacts, written documents, material culture, and other sources.
For the 4th course, please refer to the elective course list in the next section.
Please note that the Research and Planning Seminar and Capstone Project courses will be taken as the 5th and 6th courses.
HI553 and HI563 will entail working as an INTERN for a total of 300 hours working on site. This 300 hours can be spread over 9 months – (3 months for HI553, 3 months for HI563, and if needed 3 months for an extension on HI563).
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar that defines the field of public history. The seminar will teach the professional skills and knowledge in non-teaching history-related careers in preservation, oral history, archival work, records management, museology, digitization, documentary editing, corporate history, and living and public parks history. Attention will also be paid to developing grant-writing skills.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge needed to systematically identify, select, protect, organize, describe, preserve, and make available archival materials to users. Attention is also paid to increasing responsibility to engage and educate the public, to learning grant-writing techniques, to diversify the historical record and the profession, to solve problems and use archival materials creatively, to perform in the digital realm, to advocate for the profession, and to enhance the public good in ethical ways.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge to work in permanent institutions in the service of society and its development, which acquire, conserve, research, mediate, interpret, communicate, digitize, and/or exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage in ethical and professional ways for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment of the public.
In this course, students will identify a Capstone Project for HI 563 and start the research and planning process for that Capstone Project. Depending upon their residential locations, interests, and personnel and career goals, students will lay the foundations to undertake significant Capstone Projects, while interning at museums, historical societies, archives, battlefields, libraries, government agencies, genealogical societies, or similar institutions. The research and planning assignments will give students the necessary historical and methodological foundations and prepare them to complete their Capstone Projects.
An intensive 11-week Capstone Project in which the previous seminar’s research and plans will be executed. This capstone will take the form of an internship and will be supervised and evaluated by qualified staff members at institutions in consultation with Norwich’s Program Director for Public History (Dr. Ulbrich). Each student will be required to spend a total of 400 hours working on site as part of this Capstone Project. The Capstone Project could include any of the following: cataloging and creating a finding aid for personal paper collections at an archive, transcribing and annotated primary documents for a historical society, and planning and curating an exhibit for a museum either on-site or online. The expectation for the Capstone project is that it should be added to the student’s portfolio.
Students can take any one of these electives for the fourth seminar in the Public History concentration. The elective should be chosen in consultation with the Program Director or Associate Program Director. The elective should give students historical content knowledge for the period, region, or type of public history employment they will pursue.
This seminar introduces students to the main themes and historiography of Early America. Students read overviews of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early Republic periods, but most of the assigned books are research monographs that explore particular historiographical themes and perspectives, such as religious controversies, political ideologies, gender relations, and slavery’s evolution. Although topics mostly address British North America from 1607 until the early 1800s, requisite attention is also given to Native American experiences, as well as those non-British peoples living along the borderlands.
The seminar is not a recitation of dry and lifeless facts. The nineteenth century is a period of much drama, humor, and sadness in American history---a time of great achievements and unspeakable horrors. This seminar maintains a sense of the enormity of this national drama---to experience what historian Bruce Catton has described as "history with the blood in it." The objective of this sort of history is to capture the "feel" of the era as well as the "facts” during the years 1815 – 1903. Broad topics include constitutional debates about slavery, American western expansion across the continent, the American Civil War in history and memory, and the challenges of American industrialization.
This seminar explores American history beginning with the turn of the twentieth century and introduces students to major themes and historiographic trends of the period. Among these are the ways historians have interpreted the struggles for equality for women and minorities, the evolving relationships between the natural and built environments, and the increasing American involvement in international economics and foreign conflicts. At times, large groups of people such as immigrants receive attention, while at times in the course, the influence of key individuals receives close scrutiny.
This seminar examines the human development from the dawn of civilization and the development of agriculture to the onset of European discovery and colonization of the New World in the late 1400s CE. In addition to examining the forces responsible for the development of human civilization in this period, major historiographic debates, historical themes, and methodological problems receive careful attention. Topics include why diverse environments fostered the development of the earliest civilizations, religion and its cultural impact on various societies, the rise and fall of great empires, the social development of class structures and cultural roles of women, and the causes and consequences of major wars. The overall framework of the seminar also allows for the consideration of how different societies influenced and interacted with each other over time.
This seminar examines the development of human cultures and civilizations from the late agrarian era to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which is more traditionally known as the Early Modern Epoch (1500-1800). In addition to analyzing new patterns in trade and increased global interactions, motivations and methods of expansions of empires emerge as key interests in the course. The role of religion, as well as the introduction and spread of new technologies such as firearms, played critical roles in the growth and competition among empires. The readings showcase major historiographic debates, historical themes, and problems for this era.
This seminar examines history from a global perspective, beginning with the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the contemporary post-Cold War world. The growth and dissolution of European colonial empires, the emergence of the United States and Russia as global rivals, and the upheaval of two World Wars provide the contours of this seminar. Readings comprise seminal works in the historiography of Modern Global History as well as more recent contributions that expand beyond the traditional focus of historical analysis on great leaders and major conflicts.
This course examines the global patterns of warfare, on land and at sea, from the ancient world to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. Special emphasis is placed on continuity and change in warfare, as well as the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors.
This course examines the most influential military theoreticians and strategists from the period of the Thirty Years’ War to the present. You will examine the theories of Clausewitz, Jomini, Douhet, Mahan, Corbett, and Mao Tse-Tung, as well as the theories of deterrence and nuclear war and post-Maoist revolutionary warfare.
This course examines some of the major historical factors that have shaped the military trajectory of the modern extra-European (and North American) world, comprising China, Israel, Middle East, Africa, India/South Asia, Ethiopia, Latin America/South America, and Turkey/Ottoman, with particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries.
This course provides an introduction to Chinese military history and covers topics including military thought, strategy and tactics, technologies, and cultural factors as they pertain to the waging of war. You will be introduced to the latest scholarship and interpretations and will be encouraged to engage in comparative thinking throughout the class. In the process, you will attempt to determine if any society approaches warfare uniquely or if universal approaches outweigh the specific.
This course examines amphibious operations from antiquity to the present. It also sketches broader contexts for amphibious warfare as it has affected political, diplomatic, and economic change by determining to what degree, if at all, various amphibious actions figured in what has been labeled as an early-modern “military revolution” that contributed to the “Rise of the West.”
This course examines America’s unique experience of warfare and the development of military institutions and military policy in the United States. You will explore the country’s military history from the Colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, frontier wars, America’s rise to great power status, World War I and World War II, and the conflicts of the Cold War era. Throughout the course, you will also examine the efficacy of the Russell Weigley's “American Way of War,” as well as America’s civil-military relations.
This course covers the complex issues surrounding racial integration in military institutions, including questions about citizenship and ethnicity. You will also examine the history of women’s participation in warfare and issues of gender integration in the military.
This course examines the origins of the concept and practice of “total war” in the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War. The French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, World War I, and World War II will be studied. You will also examine the evolution of modern war, the characteristics of “total war,” and the usefulness of the concept in describing such massive conflicts.
American History is designed to help you establish yourself as a complete historian through the systematic exploration of history in the United States. For the courses below, in addition to common readings and threaded discussion posts each week, each student writes several papers of varying lengths. This concentration will progress as outlined; course descriptions are down below.
First Course:
Introduction to History and Historiography (MH510)
Second and Third Course (choose two):
American Colonial, Revolutionary and Early National History (HI520)
19th Century America (HI530)
20th Century America (HI540)
Fourth Course:
Choose an elective from the below list.
Fifth Course:
Directed Readings in History (HI550)
Sixth Course:
Capstone Paper (MH562; or M.A Thesis via MH570 and MH571)
This introductory course examines the development of history as a topic of study and trains you in the key disciplines of historiography and methodology. Historiography examines historical thought and research from the first works of history in the classical world to those of the present. You will explore historical methodology and informational literacy, the ways historians gather information and formulate hypotheses, the development of research methods including the use of primary and secondary sources, and the challenges of objectivity, selectivity, and bias in historical interpretation.
This seminar introduces students to the main themes and historiography of Early America. Students read overviews of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early Republic periods, but most of the assigned books are research monographs that explore particular historiographical themes and perspectives, such as religious controversies, political ideologies, gender relations, and slavery’s evolution. Although topics mostly address British North America from 1607 until the early 1800s, requisite attention is also given to Native American experiences, as well as those non-British peoples living along the borderlands.
The seminar is not a recitation of dry and lifeless facts. The nineteenth century is a period of much drama, humor, and sadness in American history---a time of great achievements and unspeakable horrors. This seminar maintains a sense of the enormity of this national drama---to experience what historian Bruce Catton has described as "history with the blood in it." The objective of this sort of history is to capture the "feel" of the era as well as the "facts” during the years 1815 – 1903. Broad topics include constitutional debates about slavery, American western expansion across the continent, the American Civil War in history and memory, and the challenges of American industrialization.
This seminar explores American history beginning with the turn of the twentieth century and introduces students to major themes and historiographic trends of the period. Among these are the ways historians have interpreted the struggles for equality for women and minorities, the evolving relationships between the natural and built environments, and the increasing American involvement in international economics and foreign conflicts. At times, large groups of people such as immigrants receive attention, while at times in the course, the influence of key individuals receives close scrutiny.
This course is designed to help students gain a detailed, graduate-level understanding of specific areas or topics in American history or world history, and historiography that will prepare students for comprehensive examinations, capstone papers/thesis projects and for teaching.
Under the direction of a Norwich faculty member assigned by the program’s capstone director, you will research and write a capstone paper of approximately 50 pages. The paper must cite scholarly secondary sources as well as primary source documents and demonstrate your mastery of the historiography of your topic. The paper must contain a well-developed historical question and a compelling interpretation/argument in answer to the question posed.
For seminar four, students choose one of the following courses.
This seminar examines the human development from the dawn of civilization and the development of agriculture to the onset of European discovery and colonization of the New World in the late 1400s CE. In addition to examining the forces responsible for the development of human civilization in this period, major historiographic debates, historical themes, and methodological problems receive careful attention. Topics include why diverse environments fostered the development of the earliest civilizations, religion and its cultural impact on various societies, the rise and fall of great empires, the social development of class structures and cultural roles of women, and the causes and consequences of major wars. The overall framework of the seminar also allows for the consideration of how different societies influenced and interacted with each other over time.
This seminar examines the development of human cultures and civilizations from the late agrarian era to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which is more traditionally known as the Early Modern Epoch (1500-1800). In addition to analyzing new patterns in trade and increased global interactions, motivations and methods of expansions of empires emerge as key interests in the course. The role of religion, as well as the introduction and spread of new technologies such as firearms, played critical roles in the growth and competition among empires. The readings showcase major historiographic debates, historical themes, and problems for this era.
This seminar examines history from a global perspective, beginning with the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the contemporary post-Cold War world. The growth and dissolution of European colonial empires, the emergence of the United States and Russia as global rivals, and the upheaval of two World Wars provide the contours of this seminar. Readings comprise seminal works in the historiography of Modern Global History as well as more recent contributions that expand beyond the traditional focus of historical analysis on great leaders and major conflicts.
This course examines the origins, sources, and nature of the western legal tradition from the rediscovery of Roman Law in the 11th century CE to the Age of Revolutions in the late eighteenth century. Students survey the development of western legal traditions, including theories and practices of governance through political institutions, legislative bodies, and courts of law, as well as informal and formal arrangements between states and empires designed to mediate relations of war and peace. The course concludes with the transformation of the western rule of law into an international and global legal tradition that continues to shape national and international law within and beyond the United States and Europe in the twenty-first century.
This seminar explores the issues of race and gender in American constitutional legal history from 1789 to the present. Focusing on landmark Supreme Court decisions, this seminar provides a broad historical survey of the interactions between law, race, and gender in American society. The first several weeks explore the legal construction and regulation of questions and issues related to race, including slavery, reconstruction and the 14th amendment, desegregation, national security and citizenship, and affirmative action. Then the second half of the seminar explores how American constitutional law has shaped gender relations through the regulation of citizenship, marriage, work, and reproduction.
This course examines the global patterns of warfare, on land and at sea, from the ancient world to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. Special emphasis is placed on continuity and change in warfare, as well as the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors.
This course examines the most influential military theoreticians and strategists from the period of the Thirty Years’ War to the present. You will examine the theories of Clausewitz, Jomini, Douhet, Mahan, Corbett, and Mao Tse-Tung, as well as the theories of deterrence and nuclear war and post-Maoist revolutionary warfare.
This course examines some of the major historical factors that have shaped the military trajectory of the modern extra-European (and North American) world, comprising China, Israel, Middle East, Africa, India/South Asia, Ethiopia, Latin America/South America, and Turkey/Ottoman, with particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries.
This course provides an introduction to Chinese military history and covers topics including military thought, strategy and tactics, technologies, and cultural factors as they pertain to the waging of war. You will be introduced to the latest scholarship and interpretations and will be encouraged to engage in comparative thinking throughout the class. In the process, you will attempt to determine if any society approaches warfare uniquely or if universal approaches outweigh the specific.
This course examines amphibious operations from antiquity to the present. It also sketches broader contexts for amphibious warfare as it has affected political, diplomatic, and economic change by determining to what degree, if at all, various amphibious actions figured in what has been labeled as an early-modern “military revolution” that contributed to the “Rise of the West.”
This course examines America’s unique experience of warfare and the development of military institutions and military policy in the United States. You will explore the country’s military history from the Colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, frontier wars, America’s rise to great power status, World War I and World War II, and the conflicts of the Cold War era. Throughout the course, you will also examine the efficacy of the Russell Weigley's “American Way of War,” as well as America’s civil-military relations.
This course covers the complex issues surrounding racial integration in military institutions, including questions about citizenship and ethnicity. You will also examine the history of women’s participation in warfare and issues of gender integration in the military.
This course examines the origins of the concept and practice of “total war” in the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War. The French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, World War I, and World War II will be studied. You will also examine the evolution of modern war, the characteristics of “total war,” and the usefulness of the concept in describing such massive conflicts.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge needed to systematically identify, select, protect, organize, describe, preserve, and make available archival materials to users. Attention is also paid to increasing responsibility to engage and educate the public, to learning grant-writing techniques, to diversify the historical record and the profession, to solve problems and use archival materials creatively, to perform in the digital realm, to advocate for the profession, and to enhance the public good in ethical ways.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge to work in permanent institutions in the service of society and its development, which acquire, conserve, research, mediate, interpret, communicate, digitize, and/or exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage in ethical and professional ways for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment of the public.
World History is designed to give you the capability to examine world history to build a strong historical knowledge base. This concentration will progress as outlined; course descriptions are down below.
First Course:
Introduction to History and Historiography (MH510)
Second and Third Course (choose two):
Hunter-Gatherer and Agrarian Eras to 1500 (HI526)
The Late Agrarian Era to 1800 (HI536)
World History from 1800 to 1991 (HI546)
Fourth Course:
Choose an elective from the below list.
Fifth Course:
Directed Readings in History (HI550)
Sixth Course:
Capstone Paper (MH562; or M.A Thesis via MH570 and MH571)
This introductory course examines the development of history as a topic of study and trains you in the key disciplines of historiography and methodology. Historiography examines historical thought and research from the first works of history in the classical world to those of the present. You will explore historical methodology and informational literacy, the ways historians gather information and formulate hypotheses, the development of research methods including the use of primary and secondary sources, and the challenges of objectivity, selectivity, and bias in historical interpretation.
This seminar examines the human development from the dawn of civilization and the development of agriculture to the onset of European discovery and colonization of the New World in the late 1400s CE. In addition to examining the forces responsible for the development of human civilization in this period, major historiographic debates, historical themes, and methodological problems receive careful attention. Topics include why diverse environments fostered the development of the earliest civilizations, religion and its cultural impact on various societies, the rise and fall of great empires, the social development of class structures and cultural roles of women, and the causes and consequences of major wars. The overall framework of the seminar also allows for the consideration of how different societies influenced and interacted with each other over time.
This seminar examines the development of human cultures and civilizations from the late agrarian era to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which is more traditionally known as the Early Modern Epoch (1500-1800). In addition to analyzing new patterns in trade and increased global interactions, motivations and methods of expansions of empires emerge as key interests in the course. The role of religion, as well as the introduction and spread of new technologies such as firearms, played critical roles in the growth and competition among empires. The readings showcase major historiographic debates, historical themes, and problems for this era.
This seminar examines history from a global perspective, beginning with the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the contemporary post-Cold War world. The growth and dissolution of European colonial empires, the emergence of the United States and Russia as global rivals, and the upheaval of two World Wars provide the contours of this seminar. Readings comprise seminal works in the historiography of Modern Global History as well as more recent contributions that expand beyond the traditional focus of historical analysis on great leaders and major conflicts.
This course is designed to help students gain a detailed, graduate-level understanding of specific areas or topics in American history or world history, and historiography that will prepare students for comprehensive examinations, capstone papers/thesis projects and for teaching.
Under the direction of a Norwich faculty member assigned by the program’s capstone director, you will research and write a capstone paper of approximately 50 pages. The paper must cite scholarly secondary sources as well as primary source documents and demonstrate your mastery of the historiography of your topic. The paper must contain a well-developed historical question and a compelling interpretation/argument in answer to the question posed.
For seminar four, students choose one of the following courses.
This seminar introduces students to the main themes and historiography of Early America. Students read overviews of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early Republic periods, but most of the assigned books are research monographs that explore particular historiographical themes and perspectives, such as religious controversies, political ideologies, gender relations, and slavery’s evolution. Although topics mostly address British North America from 1607 until the early 1800s, requisite attention is also given to Native American experiences, as well as those non-British peoples living along the borderlands.
The seminar is not a recitation of dry and lifeless facts. The nineteenth century is a period of much drama, humor, and sadness in American history---a time of great achievements and unspeakable horrors. This seminar maintains a sense of the enormity of this national drama---to experience what historian Bruce Catton has described as "history with the blood in it." The objective of this sort of history is to capture the "feel" of the era as well as the "facts” during the years 1815 – 1903. Broad topics include constitutional debates about slavery, American western expansion across the continent, the American Civil War in history and memory, and the challenges of American industrialization.
This seminar explores American history beginning with the turn of the twentieth century and introduces students to major themes and historiographic trends of the period. Among these are the ways historians have interpreted the struggles for equality for women and minorities, the evolving relationships between the natural and built environments, and the increasing American involvement in international economics and foreign conflicts. At times, large groups of people such as immigrants receive attention, while at times in the course, the influence of key individuals receives close scrutiny.
This course examines the origins, sources, and nature of the western legal tradition from the rediscovery of Roman Law in the 11th century CE to the Age of Revolutions in the late eighteenth century. Students survey the development of western legal traditions, including theories and practices of governance through political institutions, legislative bodies, and courts of law, as well as informal and formal arrangements between states and empires designed to mediate relations of war and peace. The course concludes with the transformation of the western rule of law into an international and global legal tradition that continues to shape national and international law within and beyond the United States and Europe in the twenty-first century.
This seminar explores the issues of race and gender in American constitutional legal history from 1789 to the present. Focusing on landmark Supreme Court decisions, this seminar provides a broad historical survey of the interactions between law, race, and gender in American society. The first several weeks explore the legal construction and regulation of questions and issues related to race, including slavery, reconstruction and the 14th amendment, desegregation, national security and citizenship, and affirmative action. Then the second half of the seminar explores how American constitutional law has shaped gender relations through the regulation of citizenship, marriage, work, and reproduction.
This course examines the global patterns of warfare, on land and at sea, from the ancient world to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. Special emphasis is placed on continuity and change in warfare, as well as the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors.
This course examines the most influential military theoreticians and strategists from the period of the Thirty Years’ War to the present. You will examine the theories of Clausewitz, Jomini, Douhet, Mahan, Corbett, and Mao Tse-Tung, as well as the theories of deterrence and nuclear war and post-Maoist revolutionary warfare.
This course examines some of the major historical factors that have shaped the military trajectory of the modern extra-European (and North American) world, comprising China, Israel, Middle East, Africa, India/South Asia, Ethiopia, Latin America/South America, and Turkey/Ottoman, with particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries.
This course provides an introduction to Chinese military history and covers topics including military thought, strategy and tactics, technologies, and cultural factors as they pertain to the waging of war. You will be introduced to the latest scholarship and interpretations and will be encouraged to engage in comparative thinking throughout the class. In the process, you will attempt to determine if any society approaches warfare uniquely or if universal approaches outweigh the specific.
This course examines amphibious operations from antiquity to the present. It also sketches broader contexts for amphibious warfare as it has affected political, diplomatic, and economic change by determining to what degree, if at all, various amphibious actions figured in what has been labeled as an early-modern “military revolution” that contributed to the “Rise of the West.”
This course examines America’s unique experience of warfare and the development of military institutions and military policy in the United States. You will explore the country’s military history from the Colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, frontier wars, America’s rise to great power status, World War I and World War II, and the conflicts of the Cold War era. Throughout the course, you will also examine the efficacy of the Russell Weigley's “American Way of War,” as well as America’s civil-military relations.
This course covers the complex issues surrounding racial integration in military institutions, including questions about citizenship and ethnicity. You will also examine the history of women’s participation in warfare and issues of gender integration in the military.
This course examines the origins of the concept and practice of “total war” in the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War. The French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, World War I, and World War II will be studied. You will also examine the evolution of modern war, the characteristics of “total war,” and the usefulness of the concept in describing such massive conflicts.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge needed to systematically identify, select, protect, organize, describe, preserve, and make available archival materials to users. Attention is also paid to increasing responsibility to engage and educate the public, to learning grant-writing techniques, to diversify the historical record and the profession, to solve problems and use archival materials creatively, to perform in the digital realm, to advocate for the profession, and to enhance the public good in ethical ways.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge to work in permanent institutions in the service of society and its development, which acquire, conserve, research, mediate, interpret, communicate, digitize, and/or exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage in ethical and professional ways for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment of the public.
The optional master’s thesis is an original research project demonstrating your ability to conduct primary-source research and demonstrate mastery of the historiography germane to the research question. This option is recommended for those interested in continuing their studies in history at the doctoral level. The thesis must reflect graduate-level analysis, synthesis, and argument and make a compelling case for the argument's historical and historiographic significance. Students interested in this degree completion option must petition the Capstone/Thesis Director during the second semester. The petition must be accompanied by a thesis proposal and letters of recommendation from two faculty members of the Master of Arts in History or the Master of Arts in Military History program.
The thesis option is, at minimum are two 11-week three-credit seminars. Accompanying sustaining and thesis fees will be applied.
Prerequisites: Approval of thesis petition and successful completion of the five previous core courses.
This is the first of two required seminars for the thesis project in the History and Military History programs. Students will conduct primary and secondary source research and write drafts of their thesis under the guidance of a faculty thesis advisor. Students pursuing a research question requiring primary and/or secondary sources in one or more foreign languages must demonstrate advanced reading proficiency in the pertinent foreign language(s). External assessment such as the Defense Language Proficiency Examinations, Foreign Service Institute examination or reading comprehension tests approved by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages will be used to assess foreign language proficiency. If required for the research project, proof of foreign language competency must accompany the petition for the thesis option. Thesis and additional fees will be applied.
Prerequisites: approval of Program Director, Associate Program Director for Academics and Capstone Director, successful completion of Seminars 1-5, and, if applicable, advanced reading knowledge of the pertinent foreign language(s).
The second of two required seminars for the thesis project. Students will continue their research related to their thesis and will write a final version of the thesis under the guidance of their thesis advisor. Upon approval of the thesis advisor, the student will submit their thesis to their thesis committee and schedule an oral defense with his/her advisor and program thesis readers. A successful oral defense and final manuscript meeting the approval of a majority of the thesis committee will result in a grade of S (Satisfactory).
Prerequisites: MH570: Thesis I.
The Legal and Constitutional History track is designed for primary and secondary school teachers in American history, world history, social studies, and/or government with a focus on providing a broader and deeper understanding of the historiographical foundations of European and American legal and constitutional structures, such as the rule of law, civil rights, and the balance of powers among the branches of government.
For the 4th course of this track, please refer to the elective course list below.
For the Capstone project, students have a choice to complete either MH562 or HI568
This introductory course examines the development of military history as a topic of study and trains you in the key disciplines of historiography and methodology. Historiography examines historical thought and research from the first works of history in the classical world to those of the present. You will explore historical methodology and informational literacy, the ways historians gather information and formulate hypotheses, the development of research methods including the use of primary and secondary sources, and the challenges of objectivity, selectivity, and bias in historical interpretation.
This course examines the origins, sources, and nature of the western legal tradition from the rediscovery of Roman Law in the 11th century CE to the Age of Revolutions in the late eighteenth century. Students survey the development of western legal traditions, including theories and practices of governance through political institutions, legislative bodies, and courts of law, as well as informal and formal arrangements between states and empires designed to mediate relations of war and peace. The course concludes with the transformation of the western rule of law into an international and global legal tradition that continues to shape national and international law within and beyond the United States and Europe in the twenty-first century.
This seminar explores the issues of race and gender in American constitutional legal history from 1789 to the present. Focusing on landmark Supreme Court decisions, this seminar provides a broad historical survey of the interactions between law, race, and gender in American society. The first several weeks explore the legal construction and regulation of questions and issues related to race, including slavery, reconstruction and the 14th amendment, desegregation, national security and citizenship, and affirmative action. Then the second half of the seminar explores how American constitutional law has shaped gender relations through the regulation of citizenship, marriage, work, and reproduction.
This course is designed to help students gain a detailed, graduate-level understanding of specific areas or topics in American history or world history, and historiography that will prepare students for comprehensive examinations, capstone papers/thesis projects and for teaching.
Students can take any one of these electives for their fourth course in this concentration. The elective courses help give students greater knowledge of trends in historical scholarship relative to their professional interests.
This seminar introduces students to the main themes and historiography of Early America. Students read overviews of the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Early Republic periods, but most of the assigned books are research monographs that explore particular historiographical themes and perspectives, such as religious controversies, political ideologies, gender relations, and slavery’s evolution. Although topics mostly address British North America from 1607 until the early 1800s, requisite attention is also given to Native American experiences, as well as those non-British peoples living along the borderlands.
The seminar is not a recitation of dry and lifeless facts. The nineteenth century is a period of much drama, humor, and sadness in American history---a time of great achievements and unspeakable horrors. This seminar maintains a sense of the enormity of this national drama---to experience what historian Bruce Catton has described as "history with the blood in it." The objective of this sort of history is to capture the "feel" of the era as well as the "facts” during the years 1815 – 1903. Broad topics include constitutional debates about slavery, American western expansion across the continent, the American Civil War in history and memory, and the challenges of American industrialization.
This seminar explores American history beginning with the turn of the twentieth century and introduces students to major themes and historiographic trends of the period. Among these are the ways historians have interpreted the struggles for equality for women and minorities, the evolving relationships between the natural and built environments, and the increasing American involvement in international economics and foreign conflicts. At times, large groups of people such as immigrants receive attention, while at times in the course, the influence of key individuals receives close scrutiny.
This seminar examines the human development from the dawn of civilization and the development of agriculture to the onset of European discovery and colonization of the New World in the late 1400s CE. In addition to examining the forces responsible for the development of human civilization in this period, major historiographic debates, historical themes, and methodological problems receive careful attention. Topics include why diverse environments fostered the development of the earliest civilizations, religion and its cultural impact on various societies, the rise and fall of great empires, the social development of class structures and cultural roles of women, and the causes and consequences of major wars. The overall framework of the seminar also allows for the consideration of how different societies influenced and interacted with each other over time.
This seminar examines the development of human cultures and civilizations from the late agrarian era to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which is more traditionally known as the Early Modern Epoch (1500-1800). In addition to analyzing new patterns in trade and increased global interactions, motivations and methods of expansions of empires emerge as key interests in the course. The role of religion, as well as the introduction and spread of new technologies such as firearms, played critical roles in the growth and competition among empires. The readings showcase major historiographic debates, historical themes, and problems for this era.
This seminar examines history from a global perspective, beginning with the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the contemporary post-Cold War world. The growth and dissolution of European colonial empires, the emergence of the United States and Russia as global rivals, and the upheaval of two World Wars provide the contours of this seminar. Readings comprise seminal works in the historiography of Modern Global History as well as more recent contributions that expand beyond the traditional focus of historical analysis on great leaders and major conflicts.
This course examines the global patterns of warfare, on land and at sea, from the ancient world to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. Special emphasis is placed on continuity and change in warfare, as well as the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors.
This course examines the most influential military theoreticians and strategists from the period of the Thirty Years’ War to the present. You will examine the theories of Clausewitz, Jomini, Douhet, Mahan, Corbett, and Mao Tse-Tung, as well as the theories of deterrence and nuclear war and post-Maoist revolutionary warfare.
This course examines some of the major historical factors that have shaped the military trajectory of the modern extra-European (and North American) world, comprising China, Israel, Middle East, Africa, India/South Asia, Ethiopia, Latin America/South America, and Turkey/Ottoman, with particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries.
This course provides an introduction to Chinese military history and covers topics including military thought, strategy and tactics, technologies, and cultural factors as they pertain to the waging of war. You will be introduced to the latest scholarship and interpretations and will be encouraged to engage in comparative thinking throughout the class. In the process, you will attempt to determine if any society approaches warfare uniquely or if universal approaches outweigh the specific.
This course examines amphibious operations from antiquity to the present. It also sketches broader contexts for amphibious warfare as it has affected political, diplomatic, and economic change by determining to what degree, if at all, various amphibious actions figured in what has been labeled as an early-modern “military revolution” that contributed to the “Rise of the West.”
This course examines America’s unique experience of warfare and the development of military institutions and military policy in the United States. You will explore the country’s military history from the Colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, frontier wars, America’s rise to great power status, World War I and World War II, and the conflicts of the Cold War era. Throughout the course, you will also examine the efficacy of the Russell Weigley's “American Way of War,” as well as America’s civil-military relations.
This course covers the complex issues surrounding racial integration in military institutions, including questions about citizenship and ethnicity. You will also examine the history of women’s participation in warfare and issues of gender integration in the military.
This course examines the origins of the concept and practice of “total war” in the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War. The French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, World War I, and World War II will be studied. You will also examine the evolution of modern war, the characteristics of “total war,” and the usefulness of the concept in describing such massive conflicts.
Students choose from one of the two available capstone courses to round out the Legal and Constitutional History concentration of the M.A. in History degree program.
Under the direction of a Norwich faculty member assigned by the program’s capstone director, you will research and write a capstone paper of approximately 50 pages. The paper must cite scholarly secondary sources as well as primary source documents and demonstrate your mastery of the historiography of your topic. The paper must contain a well-developed historical question and a compelling interpretation/argument in answer to the question posed.
Under the direction of a Norwich faculty member assigned by the program’s capstone director, students will design Capstone Curriculum Projects that include detailed lesson plans, homework assignments, classroom activities, and assessment tools commensurate with learning outcomes for primary or secondary education social studies classes. Curriculum Projects must entail research in scholarly historical sources and in teaching methodology sources. The completed Capstone Curriculum Project must demonstrate mastery of the historical subject matter at the highest levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, and it must comply with pedagogical standards set forth by the National Social Studies Standards.The length and scope will be approved by the capstone director in conjunction with the assigned Norwich faculty member advising the project
This concentration is designed to provide an educational venue for students interested in the histories race and/or gender to pursue graduate-level study in these topics. This concentration will progress as outlined; course descriptions are down below.
First Course:
Introduction to History and Historiography (MH510)
Second and Third Course (both required):
Race, Gender, and the U.S. Constitution (HI538)
Race and Gender in Military History (MH551)
Fourth Course:
Choose an elective from the below list.
Fifth Course:
Directed Readings in History (HI550)
Sixth Course:
Capstone Paper (MH562; or M.A Thesis via MH570 and MH571)
This introductory course examines the development of military history as a topic of study and trains you in the key disciplines of historiography and methodology. Historiography examines historical thought and research from the first works of history in the classical world to those of the present. You will explore historical methodology and informational literacy, the ways historians gather information and formulate hypotheses, the development of research methods including the use of primary and secondary sources, and the challenges of objectivity, selectivity, and bias in historical interpretation.
This seminar explores the issues of race and gender in American constitutional legal history from 1789 to the present. Focusing on landmark Supreme Court decisions, this seminar provides a broad historical survey of the interactions between law, race, and gender in American society. The first several weeks explore the legal construction and regulation of questions and issues related to race, including slavery, reconstruction and the 14th amendment, desegregation, national security and citizenship, and affirmative action. Then the second half of the seminar explores how American constitutional law has shaped gender relations through the regulation of citizenship, marriage, work, and reproduction.
This course covers the complex issues surrounding racial integration in military institutions, including questions about citizenship and ethnicity. You will also examine the history of women’s participation in warfare and issues of gender integration in the military.
This course is designed to help students gain a detailed, graduate-level understanding of specific areas or topics in American history or world history, and historiography that will prepare students for comprehensive examinations, capstone papers/thesis projects and for teaching.
Under the direction of a Norwich faculty member assigned by the program’s capstone director, you will research and write a capstone paper of approximately 50 pages. The paper must cite scholarly secondary sources as well as primary source documents and demonstrate your mastery of the historiography of your topic. The paper must contain a well-developed historical question and a compelling interpretation/argument in answer to the question posed.
For seminar four, students choose one of the following courses.
This seminar examines the human development from the dawn of civilization and the development of agriculture to the onset of European discovery and colonization of the New World in the late 1400s CE. In addition to examining the forces responsible for the development of human civilization in this period, major historiographic debates, historical themes, and methodological problems receive careful attention. Topics include why diverse environments fostered the development of the earliest civilizations, religion and its cultural impact on various societies, the rise and fall of great empires, the social development of class structures and cultural roles of women, and the causes and consequences of major wars. The overall framework of the seminar also allows for the consideration of how different societies influenced and interacted with each other over time.
This seminar examines the development of human cultures and civilizations from the late agrarian era to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which is more traditionally known as the Early Modern Epoch (1500-1800). In addition to analyzing new patterns in trade and increased global interactions, motivations and methods of expansions of empires emerge as key interests in the course. The role of religion, as well as the introduction and spread of new technologies such as firearms, played critical roles in the growth and competition among empires. The readings showcase major historiographic debates, historical themes, and problems for this era.
This seminar examines history from a global perspective, beginning with the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution and ending with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the contemporary post-Cold War world. The growth and dissolution of European colonial empires, the emergence of the United States and Russia as global rivals, and the upheaval of two World Wars provide the contours of this seminar. Readings comprise seminal works in the historiography of Modern Global History as well as more recent contributions that expand beyond the traditional focus of historical analysis on great leaders and major conflicts.
This course examines the origins, sources, and nature of the western legal tradition from the rediscovery of Roman Law in the 11th century CE to the Age of Revolutions in the late eighteenth century. Students survey the development of western legal traditions, including theories and practices of governance through political institutions, legislative bodies, and courts of law, as well as informal and formal arrangements between states and empires designed to mediate relations of war and peace. The course concludes with the transformation of the western rule of law into an international and global legal tradition that continues to shape national and international law within and beyond the United States and Europe in the twenty-first century.
This course examines the global patterns of warfare, on land and at sea, from the ancient world to the eve of the Industrial Revolution. Special emphasis is placed on continuity and change in warfare, as well as the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors.
This course examines the most influential military theoreticians and strategists from the period of the Thirty Years’ War to the present. You will examine the theories of Clausewitz, Jomini, Douhet, Mahan, Corbett, and Mao Tse-Tung, as well as the theories of deterrence and nuclear war and post-Maoist revolutionary warfare.
This course examines some of the major historical factors that have shaped the military trajectory of the modern extra-European (and North American) world, comprising China, Israel, Middle East, Africa, India/South Asia, Ethiopia, Latin America/South America, and Turkey/Ottoman, with particular focus on the 19th and 20th centuries.
This course provides an introduction to Chinese military history and covers topics including military thought, strategy and tactics, technologies, and cultural factors as they pertain to the waging of war. You will be introduced to the latest scholarship and interpretations and will be encouraged to engage in comparative thinking throughout the class. In the process, you will attempt to determine if any society approaches warfare uniquely or if universal approaches outweigh the specific.
This course examines amphibious operations from antiquity to the present. It also sketches broader contexts for amphibious warfare as it has affected political, diplomatic, and economic change by determining to what degree, if at all, various amphibious actions figured in what has been labeled as an early-modern “military revolution” that contributed to the “Rise of the West.”
This course examines America’s unique experience of warfare and the development of military institutions and military policy in the United States. You will explore the country’s military history from the Colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, frontier wars, America’s rise to great power status, World War I and World War II, and the conflicts of the Cold War era. Throughout the course, you will also examine the efficacy of the Russell Weigley's “American Way of War,” as well as America’s civil-military relations.
This course examines the origins of the concept and practice of “total war” in the period from the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War. The French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, World War I, and World War II will be studied. You will also examine the evolution of modern war, the characteristics of “total war,” and the usefulness of the concept in describing such massive conflicts.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar that defines the field of public history. The seminar will teach the professional skills and knowledge in non-teaching history-related careers in preservation, oral history, archival work, records management, museology, digitization, documentary editing, corporate history, and living and public parks history. Attention will also be paid to developing grant-writing skills.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge needed to systematically identify, select, protect, organize, describe, preserve, and make available archival materials to users. Attention is also paid to increasing responsibility to engage and educate the public, to learning grant-writing techniques, to diversify the historical record and the profession, to solve problems and use archival materials creatively, to perform in the digital realm, to advocate for the profession, and to enhance the public good in ethical ways.
An intensive 11-week graduate-level seminar teaching the technical skills and knowledge to work in permanent institutions in the service of society and its development, which acquire, conserve, research, mediate, interpret, communicate, digitize, and/or exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage in ethical and professional ways for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment of the public.
Whether your goals are to sharpen writing and research skills, develop a nuanced perspective on the past or garner subject matter experience, numerous Norwich alumni have proven that the pursuit of an online master’s degree in history is a fruitful endeavor.
Our Master of Arts in History degree can help you reach a variety of roles related to the field of history. You can also apply your degree to other public history venues. If you are in the military, our online master’s degree in history program may help you advance within the military or transition to a new career.
Our graduates have pursued a variety of roles, including:
Our students bring experience from nearly every sector of public service, including*:
report a higher level of responsibility at work since graduation.*
say they have acquired practical skills they were able to apply to their job.*
would recommend our online program to someone they know.*Read more about our Master of Arts in History student outcomes.
*Source: Norwich University Master of Arts in History Graduate Survey, fielded in February 2016; percentages are based on those who responded.
Speak to one of our knowledgeable admissions advisors today - we can help answer your questions about your program of interest.
Dr. David J. Ulbrich assumed his current role as Associate Dean of the Arts and Sciences Division in the College of Graduate and Continuing Education in August 2022. He supervises all online programs in diplomacy, international relations, criminal justice, interdisciplinary studies, strategic studies, history and military history. Ulbrich also remains Associate Professor and Program Director of Master of Arts in History and in Military History programs since 2017. He earned his doctorate in history in 2007 from Temple University where he studied with Gregory Urwin, Richard Immerman, and the late Russell Weigley.
Ulbrich previously served as an adjunct instructor, course developer, and capstone advisor for Norwich from 2007 until 2017. Ulbrich also taught at Ball State University, Ohio University, and Rogers State University. He earned his doctorate in history in 2007 from Temple University where he studied with Gregory Urwin, Richard Immerman, and the late Russell Weigley.
Ulbrich is an award-winning author, instructor, and consultant. His books include:
Ulbrich’s contributions to Marine Corps history were recognized in the “2012 Edwin Simmons-Henry Shaw Award” for distinguished service to the U.S. Marine Corps History Division. Ulbrich’s has published articles, reviews, or blogs in War and Society, Journal of Military History, Marine Corps History, War in History, Journal of Asian Studies, Marine Corps University Journal, Marine Corps Gazette, Rethinking History, Army History, and War on the Rocks. Two of his articles received the “Robert Debs Heinl Prize” for the outstanding article on Marine Corps life and history.
Ulbrich has lectured widely on military history at the National University of Singapore, British Library, International Committee on the History of the Second World War (China), Australian Defence Force Academy, University of London’s Institute of Historical Research, National World War II Museum, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, U.S. Army War College, U.S. Naval War College Museum, U.S. Naval Academy Museum, U.S. Marine Corps University, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Ohio University’s Center for Contemporary History, Temple University’s Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy, Cantigny First Division Museum, New York Military Affairs Symposium, and ROTC Programs at University of Dayton, Ball State University, SUNY-Maritime, and Norwich University.
In addition to academic employment, Dr. Ulbrich possesses significant experience in the Public History field. In 2015-2016, he worked as a contract historian for the U.S. Army. From 2009 to 2013, he served as a civilian historian at the U.S. Army Engineer School in Missouri. From 2007 to 2009, he worked as a historical consultant and on-air segment host for the award-winning “Echoes of War: Stories from the Big Red One” PBS television documentary, and as co-director of the Cantigny First Division Oral History Project. Both these projects were generously funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
For nearly two centuries, Norwich University has played a vital role in history as America's first private military college and the birthplace of ROTC. In fact, we have more than 18,000 alumni, many of whom have made significant contributions to our country’s development including Edwin Ferry Johnson, chief engineer of the Northern Pacific Railroad; Harry Bate Thayer, president and chairman of AT&T in the 1920s and General Gordon R. Sullivan, chief of staff of the U.S Army in the 1990s.
Our Master of Arts in History program is uniquely positioned to lead students through a comprehensive analysis of the major developments, events, and figures of the past.
Request more information about this program.
Learn from a faculty of active scholars with doctorate degrees.
Customize your studies based on your career goals and personal interests.
Develop essential skills relevant to not only careers in history but also in business, law, education, and government.
Improve your historical insight, research, writing, analysis and presentation skills.
Apply to one of four start dates per year.
Benefit from a university recognized as offering Best Value with respect to high academic quality and low net cost of attendance, according to the U.S. News & World Report.*
*Rankings are based on undergraduate programs and on students who recieved the average level of need-based finanical aid.
Norwich University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.).
Dr. John (Doc) T. Broom served as an NCO in Armor and Cavalry units, teaching history at the U.S.
Kerri Murnyack holds a master’s degree in Linguistics with a dual focus on Second Language Acquisition and Teaching English as a Second Language. Prior to her role as the associate program director at Norwich, she worked as the internal communications liaison within the IT Department of a global consulting firm, focusing most of her time on communications and change management. She also spent five years teaching English reading and writing skills to second language learners at the college level.
Toni Grout started with the Norwich student support team in December 2020. Toni graduated from Woodbury College with a bachelor of science in prevention and advocacy. In 2013, Toni graduated from Norwich University with a master of public administration and again in 2019 with a master of science in leadership.
Dr. John Votaw is the executive director emeritus of the Cantigny First Division Foundation, Wheaton, Illinois. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Army. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy (1961), he commanded U.S. Army cavalry and armored units through the battalion level and served in Vietnam in 1966-67. Votaw directed the First Division Museum at Cantigny and the collocated Colonel Robert R. McCormick Research Center from 1986 to 2005.
Mitch Yockelson is a professor of military history in the graduate program at Norwich University. He is an investigative archivist in the Office of the Inspector General at the National Archives and Records Administration, where he investigates the theft of historical documents. Additionally, he is the chief historian for the United States World War One Centennial Commission.
Get to know the graduates of Norwich’s online Master of Arts in History program.
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Please Note: All eligibility requirements are expected to be met unless noted in specific articulation agreements or memoranda of understanding (MOUs).
We encourage you to contact an admissions advisor (see below) if you need help at any stage of the application process. You will be required to submit the following items:
Mail transcripts to:
Norwich University
College of Graduate and Continuing Studies
P.O. Box 367
Northfield, VT 05663
For electronic delivery, we accept transcripts delivered from Parchment, National Clearing House, and other services if sent to cgcsamt@norwich.edu via password protection.
Call: 1-866-684-7237
Email: learn@norwich.edu
When applying for the Master of Arts in History program at Norwich University, there are two essential factors to consider: what does it cost, and how can you pay for it? There are many ways to get financial assistance and several financial strategies that can help you achieve your academic and professional goals. We are here to help you identify and pursue the options that are best for you.
Ways to Pay
Do You Qualify for a Tuition Discount?
We Accept Military Benefits
Technology - $300/term
Library - $75/term
Graduation - $150/one-time
After completing the program’s core courses, students can choose an elective specific to their interests in American history. Course topics include historiography; Colonial, revolutionary, and early national history; and 19th- and 20th-century America.
You can choose to complete either the American History track or the World History track.
Yes, in fact, both programs share one course: MH510 Introduction to History and Historiography. Master of Arts in History students also have the option of taking MH550 U.S. Military History as an elective.
Yes. The last course of the history program is devoted to your capstone paper. An optional thesis track provides the opportunity for a focused research and scholarly investigation in addition to your coursework. The thesis option extends the program time to completion by at least one additional semester.
History program faculty all have terminal degrees and have extensive subject matter expertise in history - American history, in particular. They must demonstrate a wide range of university/college-level teaching experience, and a strong research record. Our faculty members are also active in publishing their academic scholarship, presenting at conferences and editing manuscripts.
Yes, the history program is designed to complement your day-to-day work schedule.
The program’s six courses (each six credits) take approximately 18 months to complete. Depending on when you start the program, you can expect your degree to be conferred in 18 to 24 months. Thesis students will spend an additional seminar to complete their studies.
Yes, students who have previously completed the military history master’s degree are welcome to apply and study in the history program. They typically will receive six transfer credits, and if they also completed MH550 U.S. Military History, the total number of transfer credits they are eligible to receive is 12.
When you apply for admission to the Master of Arts in History program, you can submit transcripts and course outlines from previously attended institutions of higher education to be considered for transfer credits. Transfer credits will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and may be accepted for up to 12 credits. Norwich complies with VA regulations and guidelines as they pertain to transfer credits.
Norwich University offers a range of opportunities to help you lower your overall tuition costs. Contact our admissions team today to learn more about your options. Please note that scholarships are not additive. In addition to scholarships, students may also be eligible for discounts if their organization partners with Norwich University.
Discover Scholarships
Norwich University Online students may be eligible for scholarships and we encourage all potential students to visit our scholarships page here.
