GRADUATE CERTIFICATE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS

This graduate certificate is designed for current and prospective secondary school social studies teachers and aims to help teachers deepen their substantive content knowledge and enrich their expertise with effective pedagogical methods and theories. This graduate certificate allows the Villanova student to combine studies in History and Political Science as well as to further integrate them with relevant pedagogy courses offered by the Education Department.

The Graduate Certificate in Teaching Advanced History and Government requires students to successfully complete 15 credits in a combination of history, education and political science courses. For maximum flexibility, students will be able to distribute these 15 credits among the following curriculums:

• American History/Government
• European History/Comparative Government or International Relations
• World History/Comparative Government or International Relations

Students will take at least one course in each discipline and two courses in two of the disciplines.
 

Sample Curriculum Sequences

AP US History/AP US Government and Politics

• PSC 7175 - Topics in American Government
• PSC8110 US Congress or PSC 8120 US Presidency
• HIS 8016 - Revolutionary America
• HIS 8026 - US Civil War
• EDU 8673 - Philosophy of Education
   

AP European History and AP Comparative Government and Politics

• HIS 8231 - French Revolution and Napoleonic Era
• HIS 8241 - European Nationalism 1815-1870 or HIS 8274 Twentieth Century Europe
• PSC 7375 - Topics in Comparative Politics
• PSC8320 - Russian Politics
• EDU 8550 - Methods of Teaching English and Social Studies

Please note that this program does not lead to teacher certification. Students are expected to already have or be planning to earn their teacher certification. Students must have completed their Bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 undergraduate GPA. GRE scores are not required and the certificate is open as a post-bac or post-grad certificate. Those who already possess a Master’s degree may have certain requirements waived, based on approval from the primary program director.

This unique and exciting program offers students the opportunity to combine the scholarly rigor of a traditional MA in History with the valuable pragmatic skills needed for management positions in non-profit institutions. It is particularly well suited for students interested in careers in the field of Public History, including work in museums, historic preservation, cultural tourism, libraries and archives, and new media. While advancing their mastery of historical research, historiography, and methodology in rigorous graduate seminars and internships in history, students in the combined program also learn how to manage the economic, administrative and political challenges faced by nonprofit institutions in their courses in Villanova’s nationally accredited Master of Public Administration (MPA) program.

Admission and Completion Requirements

Applicants must be evaluated and accepted by both the History Department for its master's program and the MPA program for its Nonprofit Management Certificate program. The same admission standards that apply for the MPA program apply for students in the History MA/Certificate program.

Required Courses

The program follows the university’s policy that allows students to pursue two programs simultaneously and have up to 25% of the courses in one program count for credit in the other program. The credit requirements are as follows:

• 24 History credit hours or eight courses from the History curriculum, one of which must be History 8702, Introduction to Public History. History will accept six credit hours or two courses in Public Administration toward the History master's degree.
• 12 credit hours or four courses from Public Administration’s Certificate in Nonprofit Management. 
• History 8702 Introduction to Public History will be accepted for credit in both programs.

Total Credits: 36 (History 24 + MPA 12)

History: 24 credits

• Theory and Methods - 3 credits *
• Concentration - 12 credits
• History 8702, Introduction to Public History- 3 credits
• Electives - 6 credits
• The remaining six credits required for the MA in History are fulfilled by two MPA courses.

* Material Culture or Visual Culture will fulfill the Theory and Methods requirements for students in the Combined Degree program.

Masters in Public Administration Certificate in Nonprofit Management: 12 credits

• MPA 8031 - Financial Management
• MPA 8600 - Effective Nonprofit Management
• MPA 8700 - Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations
• One elective. For a list of electives, contact the MPA program.
• The remaining three credits required for the Nonprofit Management Certificate are fulfilled by History 8702, Introduction to Public History.

Scholarships and Assistantships

Graduate assistants and tuition scholars in History who wish to participate in the combined program will receive tuition remission for 30 credits (24 History credits plus six MPA credits), but not for the additional six credits required to earn a Certificate in Nonprofit Management. 

This combined program provides an opportunity for graduate students in history who are interested in learning about the professional dimensions of federal, state and local government agencies. The program allows students to gain the practical skills necessary for managing and promoting the political, economic and administrative elements of government institutions while providing them with in-depth knowledge and experience in historical research, historiography and methodology.  

Career Opportunities for Historians in Government Agencies

Job market trends over the last decade have shown numerous career opportunities for historians in federal, state and local government agencies. Some common examples of government agencies at the Federal and State levels that employ historians are the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the U.S. Congress, the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of State and the National Archives. Duties range from teaching; to processing and preserving documents; to tracking lineages and organizational histories of military, political, or diplomatic units; to preparing briefings for members of the Congress; to developing policy and writing policy documents.

Historians employed with local government agencies have a range of professional responsibilities, including preservation of local landmarks and historic sites, assisting schools with educational programs, archiving, maintaining community historical resources, and developing policy at the local government level. Training in public administration can help prepare historians for the range of administrative, managerial, technical, and policy development duties that these positions require.

Admission and Completion Requirements

Applicants must be evaluated and accepted by both the History Department for its Master’s program and the MPA program for its City Management Certificate program.  The same admission standards that apply for MA in History and the MPA Program will apply for students in the History MA/Certificate program.

The combined MA in History with a Certificate in City Management Program will require students to take 36 credits (instead of the 30 credits required for the History MA degree).  These credits will be divided as follows: 24 History credit hours and 12 credit hours from the designated Master of Public Administration’s curriculum.

Required Courses

The program follows the university’s policy that allows students to pursue two programs simultaneously and have up to 25% of the courses in one program count for credit in the other program. 

The MA in History requires 30 credits; the Certificate in City Management requires 15 credits. When the two are combined, the credit requirements are as follows: 

• 24 History credit hours or 8 courses from the history curriculum, one of which must be History 8702, Introduction to Public History. History will accept 6 credit hours or two courses in Public Administration from the Certificate in City Management curriculum toward the History Master’s degree. 
• 12 credit hours or 4 courses from the Master of Public Administration’s Certificate in City Management.  
• History 8702: Introduction to Public History will be accepted for credit in both programs.

Total Credits: 36 (History 24 + MPA 12)

History: 24 credits:

• History 8702: Introduction to Public History - 3 credits
• History 8850: Historical Theory and Methodology - 3 credits
• History 9006: Internship - 3 credits
• Additional History courses -  15 credits (12 credits must fall in the student’s Concentration)

The remaining 6 credits required for the MA in History are fulfilled by two MPA courses.

Master of Public Administration Certificate in City Management: 12 credits

• MPA 8500: Effective City Management
• MPA 8550: Urban Politics and Government
• MPA 8031: Financial Management
• One elective

The remaining 3 credits required for the MPA Certificate are fulfilled by History 8702, Introduction to Public History

Scholarships and Assistantships

Graduate assistants and tuition scholars in History who wish to participate in the combined program will receive tuition remission for thirty credits (24 History credits plus 6 MPA credits), but not for the additional 6 credits required to earn a Certificate in City Management.