Why Choose NC State?

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NC State is a great place to earn your History M.A., Public History M.A., or Public History Ph.D.  When you enter the History Department at NC State, you join a community of scholars and practitioners who are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and bringing the insights of history to the public. Graduate students work closely with our award-winning faculty of scholars and teachers in a collaborative and supportive environment. Each new class of graduate students is typically less than 25 students per year, and class sizes are small, averaging only 10 to 20 students.

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Funding Your Graduate Education

We understand that graduate education can be a significant financial investment. Tuition rates make NC State an affordable option. In North Carolina, out-of-state students may apply for in-state residency after one year. In addition, the History Department offers financial assistance to students to support graduate student education, research, professional development, and travel. 

Relocating - Residency and Housing

Residency for Tuition Purposes

An applicant’s tuition residency status is typically determined based on responses he or she provides as part of their admissions application. According to the North Carolina General Assembly (North Carolina General Statutes Secion (G.S.) 116-143.1(b)), a student qualifies as a resident for tuition purposes if he or she has:

  • an established legal residency (domicile) in North Carolina
  • maintained that legal residence for at least 12 continuous months prior to being considered for in-state residency

You can find more information about establishing residency on the Graduate School website.

Housing Guide

  • Let's Room Together - find other graduate students to room with
  • NCSU Graduate Student Housing – On and off-campus housing for graduate students
  • Walkscore
  • Apartments.com
  • Zillow
  • Gorman Place Apartments
  • Sunfish Properties
    • 900 Gorman is one of Sunfish Properties rentals; it is a boarding house; basically, a studio apartment but with four tenants sharing a living room and kitchen. For $400/month, each resident gets a private bedroom and a bathroom with utilities, internet, laundry, HVAC, and garbage pickup all included. The building abuts campus and is a 30-minute walk to Withers Hall. And if you have a bike/scooter or can rent one, you can be at Withers in no time flat.


Think And Do

History Today

Exhibit Opening 

Students in History 591 (Museum Studies) create exhibit honoring Wolfpack Women’s Basketball

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Graduate students at the NC State Department of History don’t just sit in lectures, they go beyond the classroom by putting history into practice. Our students research historical questions, present at academic conferences and symposia, gain valuable experience through internships, design museum exhibits, and more.  Graduate students in the History Department have the opportunity to work with faculty on research and engagement in a variety of venues, including:

  • Local, county, and state institutions such as the City of Raleigh Museum, Mordecai Historic Park, Preservation Chapel Hill, and the North Carolina Museum of History. 
  • Brick by Brick – an online blog for graduate students, faculty and alumni to share ongoing research, exchange ideas and resources, and explore topics through the research of their peers. 
  • The Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, which researches, preserves and publicizes the history of the Lebanese-American community in North Carolina.


The most rewarding part of the public history program? The hands on research. I have developed content for a digital history website, an exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History and an on-campus exhibit on Mr. Wuf. I also interned at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Rachel Moore, M.A. in Public History '14


Careers and Life After Grad School

What can you do with a graduate degree in History or Public History? NC State History programs emphasize excellence in research, writing, interpretation, communication--ideal skills in a competitive job market. Our History M.A. graduates have continued on to excellent Ph.D. programs such as those at Yale, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University among others and now have graduate students of their own.  Other History M.A. graduates have entered jobs in teaching, publishing, and administration.

My M.A. studies provided me with a solid foundation for further work at the doctoral level.

Dean Bruno, MAs in History and Public History '08
Ph.D. Candidate, Vanderbilt

Most of our Public History M.A. students enter careers in archives, libraries, historic sites and parks, museums, and other cultural institutions as well as government and private corporations. With over 87% employment rate in the field, our alumni have worked in the National Park system, the Smithsonian museums, the National Archives, presidential libraries, state museums and archives, university special collections, and hundreds of local public history venues.

The Public History Ph.D. program is designed for public history professionals who want to advance their career opportunities with doctoral degrees and for students who wish to pursue public history careers in universities or leadership positions in public history venues.