MA Curriculum

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General Admission Contact
The New School for Social Research
Office of Admission
72 Fifth Avenue, 1st floor
New York, NY 10011
212.229.5600 or 800.523.5411
SocialResearchAdmit@newschool.edu

Admission Liaison
HistStdLiaison@newschool.edu

Committee on Historical Studies
66 Fifth Avenue, 9th floor
New York, NY 10011
212.229.5100 x3385
Fax: 212.229.5929

Chair
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

Department Secretary
Silvina Palacio

Student Advisor
Leah Masci

2026-27 Historical Studies Student Handbook

The 30-credit MA in Historical Studies combines training in history with coursework in the range of disciplines housed at The New School for Social Research. Our practice of interdisciplinarity rigorously engages distinctive ways of understanding the world. Equipped with a robust critical apparatus for thinking about the modern world, our graduates pursue a wide variety of professional and academic careers.

  • DegreeMaster of Arts (MA)
  • Credits30 credits
  • FormatFull-time or part-time, on-campus
  • Duration2 years (full-time)
  • Start TermFall or Spring

Students enrolled in our terminal MA in Historical Studies receive intensive mentoring and collaborate with our faculty on a sustained basis. We prepare our students in the critical assessment of scholarship, the diverse methodologies of historical research, and the imaginative act of relating history to the contemporary world. The program has been particularly attractive to students who wish to become more broadly educated historians or more historically informed social scientists.

Many graduates of the MA program enter PhD programs at The New School for Social Research or in history departments at other top universities. Others pursue teaching, journalism, activism, government service, and other fields.

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