Announcing the Gettysburg College-Gilder Lehrman MA in American History

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Gettysburg College have partnered to offer the new Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History, an affordable, fully online master’s degree program, led by renowned, award-winning historians, that brings together the leading non-profit American history organization and one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges.

The Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History is open to K–12 educators, librarians, district supervisors, National Park Service employees, and museum professionals. Beginning September 2022, a full slate of 3-credit graduate courses will be offered each fall, spring, and summer semester.

Courses will cover a range of topics spanning the founding era to the present day. Courses in the 2022–2023 academic year will include

• America’s First Civil Rights Movement: 1776–1877 led by Kate Masur (Northwestern University)
• Presidential Leadership at Historic Crossroads: From the Founding to Current Challenges led by Barbara Perry (University of Virginia)
• American Indian History since 1900 led by Don Fixico (Arizona State University)
• The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. led by Peniel Joseph (The University of Texas at Austin)
• The Vietnam War led by Fredrik Logevall (Harvard University)

When the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Gettysburg College got together to create this program, affordability was of paramount importance. The Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History offers one of the lowest cost MA programs in the country at just $750 for each 3-credit course. Students who successfully complete ten courses will be awarded a master’s degree from Gettysburg College.

“This master’s degree program is designed to give teachers access to the highest-quality professors—Pulitzer Prize and other award winners—at a price they can afford while teaching. For educators everywhere, it is potentially transformative both personally and professionally,” said Gilder Lehrman Institute President James Basker.

Said Gettysburg College President Robert Iuliano, “We are honored to expand our deep and longstanding relationship with the Gilder Lehrman Institute. Recognizing that more than 60,000 K–12 teachers in the U.S. are supported by the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Affiliate School Program—and these teachers engage with nearly 8 million students every year—our new master’s program presents us with a unique opportunity to advance Gettysburg’s mission and to strengthen American democracy for the better.”

Gettysburg’s connection to the Gilder Lehrman Institute dates back to 1990, when the College first partnered with Institute co-founders Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman to create the Lincoln Prize, an annual $50,000 award given for excellence in scholarly work on Abraham Lincoln, the American Civil War soldier, or the American Civil War era. In 2018, the Institute co-founders, in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), established the Gilder Lehrman NEH Professorship of Civil War Era Studies and History at Gettysburg, currently held by Professor Jim Downs.

“No other MA program in the world offers students an opportunity to study US history with so many leading historians,” said Professor Downs. “The Gilder Lehrman Institute and Gettysburg College have brought together the leading experts on a range of crucial subjects to provide MA students with the most comprehensive training in US history.”

Registration for the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History will open in May 2022. Visit gilderlehrman.org/Gettysburg to learn more and sign-up for updates.