The Department of History offers a Master of Arts degree with specialties in the history of the United States, Europe before 1500, Europe after 1500, Latin America, World History, and Gender in History. It is one of the leading Master's programs in the United States, both in terms of total degrees granted and in the number of our Master's students who go on to PhD programs. In order to meet various students' needs, the program provides training for those preparing for further graduate work, for those interested in a teaching credential, and for those planning to terminate their training at the Master's level and seek employment in areas for which they are qualified. Thus the M.A. program is designed to accommodate students' varied interests and needs as they pursue a course of study under the direction of a committee of faculty members. Students choose their own committee, based on their interests and on those of the faculty. Together with their committee, students plan a program to give both breadth and depth to their understanding of the past.

The Setting

San Francisco State University is located in the heart of the Bay Area, the fifth largest metropolitan region in the nation. The City contains important cultural institutions, including world-class opera, ballet, and symphony companies. Its art museums have hosted important touring exhibitions in recent years and contain impressive collections of their own. The City has a diversity of social and ethnic groups and is known for its toleration of this diversity.

The Bay Area is rich in library and other academic resources. The campus library houses more than two million items. The Frank V. de Bellis Collection is a library-museum of classical and Italian authors and subjects representing the civilizations of ancient, Renaissance, and modern Italy . The Labor Archives houses important collections for the study of labor in the American west. The Sutro Library, a branch of the California State Library located on the campus, contains a wide range of materials from the fifteenth century to the present. Major repositories located within a half-hour's travel time from the San Francisco State campus include the University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University, Palo Alto; the California Historical Society, San Francisco; the National Archives, Pacific Sierra Branch, in San Bruno; the San Francisco Public Library; and several law libraries. The Bay Area also contains many historical agencies where students can obtain on-site experience through an internship; possibilities include archives, historical museums, and agencies for architectural preservation.

 

Last Updated: August 17, 2008