Graduate Program
Students enrolled in the graduate program can earn either a Masters of Arts (M.A.) or a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Both M.A. and Ph.D. students often elect to pursue a concentration in one of the following fields.
The Atlantic World, 1500-1900
Since Gipson's day, Lehigh has been particularly strong in the history of British North America. With faculty who specialize and publish extensively in colonial Spanish America, colonial British America, the French Atlantic, 19th-century United States, Great Britain, Europe, and Africa, Lehigh offers study in the Atlantic World, 1500-1900. This broad area offers a comparative and integrative approach to exploring the development of nations, economic systems and trade, colonization, and cultural encounters among the people of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The Lehigh libraries contain an extensive collection of rare books and published primary materials relevant to early American history and British history from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. The Bethlehem area is itself a rich resource and Lehigh has close working relationships with nearby libraries and museums.
Industrial America
In modern industrial societies, technology and science have been major forces for change. Lehigh University’s graduate program emphasizes the process of American industrialization in a comparative framework and within the context of intellectual, social, cultural, business, labor, and political history. The history of technology itself is also an important area of study within the larger field of Industrial America. Because of Lehigh's strengths in the sciences, engineering, and business, there are many faculty with interests allied to the history of technology who participate in program events and teach related courses. This field is also closely linked to Lehigh's Building and Architectural Technology Institute and its Science, Technology, and Society program, which has gained a national reputation for its curriculum and for the symposia and publications of its Technology Studies Resource Center.
Public History
Students may earn an M.A. in History with a concentration in Public History by completing a total of 36 hours of approved course work, including a minimum of 10 credits and maximum of 12 credits in approved Public History courses. Students who elect this program may follow either Plan I or Plan II (see above).
Hist 305 Public History (3), required
Hist 306 Internship in Public History (3), required but may be waived for equivalent experience
Hist 336 Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley (3)
Hist/Anth 370 Historical Archeology (3)
Art 370 Special Topics in Museum Studies (1-4)
EdT 405 Website and Resource Development (3)
Hist 438 Techniques in Public History (2 credits, may be repeated for up to 8 credits) This course will focus on one of the following topics each term: archival management, documentary film, exhibit design, historical editing, material culture, oral history.
Hist 3xx/4xx Managing Nonprofit Organizations (3)