I want to get a LEGITIMATE masters degree in history online or through a distance program. Any suggestions?
Question:
Answer:
Fort Hays State University (Master's of Liberal Studies with concentration in history available. This institution is accredited by a legitimate accreditation association.)
Norwich University (Military history only, but it is also accredited by a recognized body.)
Having said that, both degrees, although accredited by recognized accreditation associations, would be considered worthless in the larger context of academia, because legitimate Master's degrees in the liberal arts require close mentoring and guided research within the context of an active intellectual community. Online programs can only provide reading lists, examinations, and discussion groups, and are only able to focus on content or data.
A real Master's degree from a "brick and mortar" institution is not merely about reading, taking tests, and discussing the reading with others. A real Master's degree focuses on theory and methodology. It requires a setting in which a student can take the first steps toward a certain level of competency in a subject area, guided by professors with expertise in that area, and engaged by peers with ongoing similar methodological and theoretical investigations.
I do wish you the best in your pursuit of further studies.
Try Kaplan University. Not sure if they have one in History but they may. I know they have Masters Degrees.
Just Yell if you need more info on Kaplan
I have been trying to find an online Masters in history myself and have not had much luck. In addition to the ones mentioned above, there is also one through San Houston University in Texas (military focus) and the American Public University (which looks the most promising of the ones I have seen). APU is ran by the government with the aim of providing education for government employees who are overseas (diplomats, etc). There is a similar online university system aimed at military employees. None of them look great though.
I'm not sure what your goal is, but I am a person that works full time in a different field and am interested in history mainly as a very serious hobby and a possible second career somewhere down the line. I already present papers and publish my own research and want to 'take it to the next level' but it is frustrating that all the nearby masters programs only have classes during the day (ie: you have to be a full time career student - working people need not apply).
In my industry (computers), we have a number of people taking online or evening courses for both MBAs and technical fields from very highly-regarded universities and their degrees are recognized. Since history involves so much reading and writing anyways, you would think it would be an ideal subject for online teaching. Discussion can be done online and via email (which is how a lot of real world history debate/discussion gets done these days anyways).
Classroom time may be important if you want to teach, but history research and writing is not exactly a team sport. Working for a global corporation, I see much more complicated and people-intensive processes done by teams spread across continents who have never seen each other face-to-face. I think the lack of online history programs is due more to a mindset and lack of familiarity/comfort with technology than any real practical reasons.
Good luck!
More Questions & Answers...