The M.A. degree in History requires 30 credits, or 10 courses of 3 credits each.
Classes consist of seminars, advanced topics discussion courses, tutorials, and independent study.
Students declare a primary concentration in U.S. or European History and a minor concentration in another field within the History Department or in another department such as English, Spanish, Education, Marine Affairs, Political Science, Labor and Industrial Relations, and Psychology. Students may also take up to six credits of graduate work in History at Rhode Island College, and graduate students at Rhode Island College may take up to six credits of graduate work at the University of Rhode Island. Students may pursue a joint program in Library and Information Studies and History which leads to master's degrees in both fields. The joint program requires 60 credits, whereas the two degrees if earned separately would require 72 credits. There are thesis and non-thesis options within the History graduate program.