RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Research Support and Faculty Mentorship

The Graduate Program in History supports faculty and student research in a wide range of scholarly interests. At Villanova, scholars work together to uncover truths from the past to encourage conversations about today’s issues. History faculty are top scholars who regularly publish influential works in their fields and willing mentors who guide students in their own scholarly endeavors.

• Meet our Faculty
• Explore Research and Scholarship

Conference Travel Grants

The Department of History encourages students to present their research at professional conferences. Graduate students wishing to obtain Departmental support for travel to a professional meeting must apply to the Graduate Studies Office, which funds travel up to $1,000 ($1,200 for international travel).

Summer Research Fellowships

You will also have the opportunity to apply for Summer Research funding through the Graduate Studies Office to support travel and other expenses related to your research while in our program. Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship awards are made on a competitive basis in the amount of $3,500 for work in June, July and August.

Internships

To best equip aspiring historians to face a challenging job market, we encourage our students to volunteer, intern and gain experience as leaders in projects and activities (whether or not these are history-related). In addition to becoming excellent historians, these experiences allow them to develop excellent communication skills and to assemble a portfolio of evidence of these skills. We encourage them to be proactive in developing a network of professional contacts and becoming informed about their prospects in the field.

The History Department encourages students to design internships that develop their particular academic interests and professional goals. By working on site with public historians and on campus with faculty advisors, students benefit from coordinated mentorship that links classroom and workplace experience. Most importantly, interns hone their applied research skills by completing a project designed to enhance historic interpretation at their internship site.

Current and prospective students interested in interning at area institutions should contact Dr. Whitney Martinko.

Tuition Scholarships and Assistantships

Villanova’s graduate school tuition is very competitive, and there are a number of ways to finance your master's degree in History. All of the classes are held in the evenings, permitting you to work while in the program whether you are studying part-time or full-time.

The program offers a number of graduate Tuition Scholarships and Graduate Assistantships. The Tuition Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, while the Graduate Assistantships cover tuition plus a stipend. To be considered for these funding sources, you should apply for admission in the fall semester. Applicants for spring admission cannot be considered for these awards.

There are also assistantships offered by other Villanova departments and offices. If you apply for other University assistantships, you will still be considered for internal department funding.

For more information, visit Financing Your Education.

Benefits for Teachers

Villanova offers a 20% tuition discount if you teach in a public or private school, and a 40% discount if you teach at a Catholic school.

Each year some of the brightest and most ambitious History/Social Studies teachers in the Philadelphia area pursue our degree in order to deepen their understanding of the history that they teach, expand their teaching repertoire, or simply for personal enrichment. If you are a certified teacher, our program also helps you to meet the requirements of Act 48. We also offer a Graduate Certificate in Teaching Advanced History and Government.

Our program offers the flexibility that you need as a teacher. All of our two-hour seminars classes are held in the evening, at 5:20 or 7:30 p.m., to accommodate your work schedule. If you wish, you may pursue the program part-time on a schedule that is comfortable for you. We offer a number of summer courses.

Many teachers find our standard MA curriculum exactly what they want. If you prefer an additional pedagogical emphasis, we welcome you to pursue the teaching track within our program. This track permits you to do the following:

• Take two courses in the Education program as part of your History MA studies.
  
• Work with our first-rate research librarians and our expansive digital primary source collections to design final seminar projects that are of use in your teaching, such as Unit Plans, on-line exhibits, or history-related games or apps.
  
• Work with faculty to plan an intense course of study during your sabbatical.