Picking a masters program as a History/Social Studies Educator - Part II
Exploring alternatives to the MA in History
This essay is Part II of a series on graduate education for history and social studies educators. You can read Part I here. In this part, I’ll discuss some alternatives to history graduate programs generally. In Part III, I’ll make some recommendations for each category of graduate programs.
As I stated in Part I, it is important to first identify your goals before choosing a graduate program. While I am an historian, I am also a big advocate for the Social Studies more generally. I am also a big believer in the idea that the average social studies teacher will benefit greatly from a graduate degree in one of the disciplines that make up the social studies. If you want to develop excellent content knowledge in a field you teach, or in a related area, a cognate degree in either online or in-person modality is the way to go. If you want to develop your research and writing skills in a cognate discipline, or if you think you might be interested in trying to make the leap from high school teacher to college professor in your field, then I cannot recommend an in-person cognate program highly enough.
Additionally, history and social studies teachers will also benefit from studying disciplines closely related to the academic cognates of the social studies, such as ethnic studies (and its cognates, such as Native American Studies), gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, art history, music history, film studies, religious studies, and other social sciences and humanities disciplines. These types of programs will provide valuable content knowledge that will enhance your teaching practice and allow you to build connections across disciplines.
Finally, some teachers will benefit from graduate programs in education, such as in Curriculum and Instruction, focused on History Education or Social Studies Education. These graduate degrees normally provide for either a general course of study, or specializations in pre-service teacher education, research on pedagogy in history and social studies education, and curriculum studies in history and the social studies. Another option is to major in the Social Foundations of Education (i.e. philosophy of education, history of education, sociology of education, political science and education, and anthropology of education). This degree is in many ways in the social studies of the social studies. For instance, you could study the history of history and social studies education, the politicization and polarization of history education, or philosophies regarding why studying history is important. You could study for a degree in Leadership and Policy Studies (broadly, or focused on social studies education policy or the supervision of social studies curriculum and teachers). You can even study for a degree in educational technology, focused on integrating technology into the study of history. There are many possibilities, and you should select carefully, based upon your goals and personal interests.
In Part III, I’ll make some recommendations both positive and negative regarding some specific graduate programs, both in-person and online.