Master of Arts in History Education (MAHE)
Overview of the Program
The Master of Arts degree in History Education (MAHE) is a new collaborative program offered by the History Department and the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Its purpose is to combine graduate study in history with professional training and certification in secondary education. A rigorous two-year program, the MAHE will better prepare History and Social Studies teachers to begin their careers on a solid intellectual and pedagogical footing, adjust to changing curricular demands, and remain engaged in their profession.
Graduates of the MAHE program should be highly competitive when they seek positions in secondary education. They will be better grounded in the study of history because of their additional year of course-work in the History Department. Graduates will also be more conversant in new approaches to teaching history, such as transnational and world history, which are central to the department’s graduate program. (See http://www.pitt.edu/~pitthist/graduate/index.html) Graduates will develop strong identities within the discipline and ties to academic historians as part of their teacher-training program.
During their first year in the program, students will take courses alongside other students in the History Department’s graduate program. In their second year, they will enroll in courses in the School of Education’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and Professional Year (PY) programs.
Successful completion of this degree will testify to two important accomplishments. First is that the graduate has acquired the expertise in History required of a traditional Master of Arts in History. Second, the graduate will have earned the Instructional I certification in Secondary Social Studies Education, which is required to teach History and/or the Social Studies in Pennsylvania public schools. In addition to the prescribed academic course work, in order to receive a MAHE degree, students must pass the PRAXIS I General Knowledge test as a condition of admission to the program as well as the PRAXIS II Content Knowledge test (normally during the second summer of their program) in order to obtain the Internship Certificate. The MAHE program also provides stipends from school districts where the internship takes place after the receipt of the Intern Certificate. Internships involve a maximum 4.5 days per week in a local school district from September through June of a student’s second year in the program
MAHE Admissions Process
Applications for admission to the MAHE can be found on the History Department’s website (http://www.pitt.edu/~pitthist/graduate/) and on the School of Education’s website (http://www.education.pitt.edu). The deadline for applications is 15 January. Applications for the MAHE will be reviewed by both the History Department’s Graduate Admission Committee and the Social Studies Education Program in the School of Education. Applicants will be informed about the status of their application sometime in March. Those admitted to the MAHE program will receive two letters (sent jointly), one from History and one from Education, with each addressing the respective program concerns. Those letters will note that the applicant has been recommended for admission. Formal notifications of admission come from the offices of the appropriate deans. Those admitted to the program will not normally be eligible for financial aid (in the form of teaching assistantships or departmental funding) during their first year in the program. Funding may be provided during the second year of the program through stipends provided for teaching internships in area schools where students are placed for a full public school academic year.
MAHE Admissions Criteria
As this is a joint degree program, the requirements for admission comprise those currently in use in the Department of History (SAS) and the Department of Instruction and Learning (EDUC). The ideal candidate will hold an undergraduate degree in History with a minimum QPA of 3.0. Applicants who do not have a History degree will have to explain why they have the requisite academic background to be considered for the MAHE. The admission requirements and are as follows:
1. A resume
2. A thoughtful, clearly written career statement
3. Three letters of recommendation
4. Official transcripts from all institutions attended
5. GRE scores
6. A writing sample (e.g. a research paper done in a college course)
7. Evidence of passing scores on the PRAXIS I test series (reading, writing, and mathematics)
8. Completion of the appropriate number of prerequisite credit hours as follows:
| 3 credits | English Composition |
| 3 credits | American and/or British Literature |
| 6 credits | College Math |
| 3 credits | Educational Psychology |
24 credits across the other six Social Sciences to include the following distribution:
| 3 credits | Anthropology |
| 3 credits | Economics |
| 3 credits | Geography |
| 3 credits | Political Science |
| 3 credits | Psychology (these may overlap with the 3 credits in Educational Psychology) |
| 3 credits | Sociology |
For detailed information regarding these credits and their acceptable equivalents, contact the Student Service Center in the School of Education.
9. Preferred but not required: Demonstrated capability in a foreign language (through SAT II or 3 credits of intermediate-level College or University Language Instruction).
MAHE Curriculum
Year 1: Fall and Spring Semesters (24 credits)
Students will be required to take seven courses (21 credits) in History. These include the Historiography/Methodology seminar (3 credits), the Writing Seminar (HIST 2011, 3 credits), a thematic/transnational seminar in History (3 credits), a regional seminar in History (3 credits), two additional seminars or upper-level courses in History (6 credits; one of these can be History of U.S. Education (APS 2306/EDUC 2102)), and an Independent Study in History to complete the M.A. research paper (3 credits). Each incoming student will be assigned an advisor upon admission. The advisor will work with him/her to place the student in a seminar or upper-level course in the Fall semester that will offer the context for the student’s MA paper. The student is expected to define a research question and to begin developing an approach to the material during that semester. Ideally, the student will continue to work with the instructor of that seminar/upper-level course on the MA paper during the Spring semester, while taking the Writing Seminar (HIST 2011), and finish paper before or during the Summer.
Please note that a graduate student pays the same tuition for 9–15 credits. Therefore, a student should register for the Independent Study in the second semester and, if necessary, receive an incomplete for that term and finish the Independent Study (by completing the MA research paper) during the summer without incurring additional tuition costs.
Students will also take Introduction to Social Studies Education (I&L 2260, 3 credits) during the Spring semester of the first year.
Year 1: Summer Semester (6 credits)
a) History:
1. Fulfillment of the Independent Study in History by completion of MA research paper and defense before a committee. The MA paper will be an argument-driven research or readings paper requiring use of primary sources; such papers will be approximately 40 pages in length.
2. Completion of a research tool will be met either by testing in a foreign language or by completion of a course in pedagogy in the School of Education.
b) School of Education:
1. Coursework: Teaching Laboratory—Social Studies (I&L 2728, 3 credits) (Summer II session); Special Topics Studies (I&L 2269, 3 credits) (Summer II session)
Year 2: Fall Semester II (12 credits)
| I&L 2262 | Curriculum in Social Studies | 3 credits |
| I&L 2263 | Instruction in Social Studies | 3 credits |
| I&L 2883 | Internship—Social Studies | 6 credits |
Year 2: Spring Semester II (9 credits)
| I&L 2502 | Students with Disabilities in Secondary Classrooms January term | 3 credits |
| I&L 2883 | Internship—Social Studies | 6 credits |
Year 2: Summer I Term (3 credits)
| I&L 2883 | Internship—Social Studies | 3 credits |
Summary of credits required by History and the School of Education
Total number of credits in History: 24 (which includes 3 credits earned outside the Department of History satisfied through the School of Education requirement for the 3 credit Introduction to Social Studies Education course).
Total number of credits in Education: 30-33 (which includes 15-18 credits of academic coursework (depending on when the 3 credit Introduction to Social Science Education course is taken) and 15 credits of field experience during the Internship.
