Develop a Faith-Based Approach to the Study of History with a BA and MA in History from Liberty University
Robert Heinlein once wrote, “A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” Studying history encompasses a wide array of topics and intriguing events, helping to sharpen your mind and inspire innovative solutions for the future. Liberty’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History and Master of Arts (MA) in History can help you gain the research and critical thinking skills to interpret what has happened in the past and determine how that may affect the future.
If you’re pursuing a career in politics, education, or communications, a Bachelor of Arts in History can provide a strong foundation for helping you work toward your goals. Alongside gaining knowledge in U.S. and world history, you can develop valuable research, data analysis, and archival skills applicable across various fields. After gaining a firm foundation in the fundamentals of history and the skills involved, you can deepen your knowledge and further your research and writing abilities in the Master of Arts in History.
This residential dual degree offers foundational and advanced courses to help you develop and refine your historical skills. Studying history cultivates cultural awareness and human empathy and can have implications for current military and strategic decisions. Our professors emphasize essential aspects of historical thought to help prepare you to make a meaningful impact for Christ. Our goal is to provide you with a thorough understanding of history, equipping you for history-related careers or further doctoral studies.
Award-Winning Campus
At Liberty, you’ll find an affordable, high-quality education that equips students like you for the real world. Our commitment to excellence helped us rank as the #4 Best College Campus in America by Niche.com. Earning your degree from a nonprofit university with state-of-the-art resources like ours can help set you apart from your peers.
Why Choose Liberty’s Dual History BA MA Program?
Located in beautiful Central Virginia, Liberty University offers easy access to numerous historical sites within a 4-hour radius of campus. Enjoy day trips to explore Natural Bridge, Lexington, Va., the National D-Day Memorial, and Appomattox. For weekend adventures, visit Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, or Washington, D.C.
Explore significant historical locations like Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and his Lynchburg home, Poplar Forest, as well as Liberty University’s own Mead’s Tavern. These sites provide firsthand access to documents, architecture, and artifacts from American history. Additionally, our Scriptorium holds a collection of historical books and artifacts for further exploration.
Pursuing a history degree here also opens the opportunity to join Phi Alpha Theta, an honor society dedicated to recognizing and encouraging academic excellence. Not only that, but this dual degree program can give you the opportunity to move seamlessly from undergraduate to graduate studies. You’ll take 2 graduate classes that will count both as undergraduate and graduate credits – giving you a head start in your graduate studies.
What Will You Learn in Our BA to MA Dual History Degree?
Throughout our BA in History degree, you will study the foundations of Western civilization and explore how the modern world was shaped by past events. As a historian, gathering evidence and formulating ideas about the past is crucial for creating a framework through which history can be taught. You’ll receive training in U.S. history and world history, which can help prepare you to confidently teach history and provide expertise in research.
Our Bachelor of Arts in History also offers the opportunity to study an ancient language like Hebrew or Greek or a modern language like Spanish or French. This language requirement distinguishes the BA from the BS in History.
As you enter the graduate portion of your studies, you’ll study essential skills, such as writing proper footnotes and conducting oral history interviews, while examining cultural assumptions and methodological limitations that may have influenced historians in the past. Additionally, you will explore Christian perspectives on history and develop a Christian and biblical approach to researching, writing, and teaching history.
At Liberty, our faculty are some of our best resources. Our professors are dedicated to your success and aim to partner with you as you grow as a historian, helping to fulfill our mission of Training Champions for Christ. This dual degree program includes an in-depth exploration of how American Christianity has influenced social, political, and cultural development. You will also have the opportunity to study a wide range of topics, such as the: demographic, industrial, and social changes in Europe that shaped warfare; modern European military history; and the evolution of U.S. policy and culture from the end of World War II to the late 20th century. These courses are designed to sharpen your research and writing skills, preparing you to defend your opinions in both written and oral forms.
Review the Degree Completion Plan and check out our featured courses below to learn more about what you’ll be studying!
Featured Courses
HIST 300 – Historical Methodology
HIST 501 – Historical Methods
HIUS 221 – Survey of American History I
HIUS 530 – American Christian Heritage
Highlights of Our History Dual BA – MA Program
- This dual degree program allows you to expedite your education process through an accelerated learning format.
- Enjoy studying in an area that is rich in history. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and Poplar Forest are nearby, and we are close enough to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Washington, D.C., for a historical weekend getaway!
- Mead’s Tavern, built in 1763 and now owned by Liberty, serves as an onsite laboratory for hands-on training in history, archaeology, and more!
- A key focus in the senior capstone seminar is connecting you to Career Services for job searches, mock interviews, and other useful resources.
- Three history majors won the Provost Award for Excellence in Research in 2018.
Bachelor of Arts in History and Master of Arts in History Program Information
- Residential
- 150 total credit hours
- Transfer in up to 75% of the credits for the BA in History and up to 50% of the credits for the MA in History
- This program falls under the College of Arts and Sciences
- View the Degree Completion Plan
- View our course catalog
Potential Career Opportunities for Graduates of Our BA/MA History Degree Program
- Anthropologist
- Archaeologist
- Archivist
- Book conservator
- Book editor
- College professor
- Congressional aide
- Cultural adviser
- Documentary filmmaker
- Museum teacher
- FBI agent
- Foreign correspondent
- Foreign service officer
- Historian
- Intelligence officer
- Journalist
- Librarian
- Linguist
- Lobbyist
- Magazine editor
- Military leader
- Museum curator
- Newspaper editor
- Political scientist
- Research assistant
Additional qualifications to achieve these career opportunities depend on the career. History is a popular pre-law degree that may help pave the way to law school. College professors would typically need a PhD, but not necessarily. Military leaders would need further training in a military setting, etc.
Admission Requirements for Undergraduate Degrees
Every application is reviewed by the admission committee on a case-by-case basis, meaning there are no set minimums for acceptance. However, all applicants must submit the following documents* for admission:
- Admission application
- Official high school transcripts
- Official college transcripts (if applicable)
- Results from the CLT, SAT, or ACT are not required for admission, but may be used in consideration for merit-based aid.
- Admission essay
*Note that additional documentation may be requested by the admission committee after your application has been received.
Completion of the undergraduate portion of this program with a 3.0 GPA is required to move into the graduate portion.
