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10 Best Online Master’s of Humanities Graduate Schools

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Updated: March 11, 2024, Reading time: 26 minutes

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The misconception that those with a degree in Humanities or the Liberal Arts are disadvantaged in career options is inaccurate. Bill Gates believed the same while rival Steve Jobs believed otherwise.

As technologies and devices attempt to become more intuitive in imitating and anticipating human behavior, responses, and expectations, the need for professionals with a solid background in the Liberal Arts—especially the Humanities—is more palpable.

Overview:
The field of Humanities is broad; therefore, can be a very beneficial degree for all who earn it. Today’s technological advancements demand the skills and knowledge needed to pursue future endeavors to help us change with the times. With a degree that promotes human thought… the sky’s the limit!

Quick audio summary:

Their expertise in understanding human behavior, communication, and imagery is paramount in creating an elegant technological solution, and more importantly, marketing it to consumers. Steve Jobs couldn’t have said it better when he unveiled the iPad 2 in 2011:

“It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the result that makes our heart sing, and nowhere is that more true than in these post-PC devices.”

Bill Gates now believes this as well.

Whereas engineers, scientists, and programmers are after the mechanics and efficiency of innovation, experts in liberal arts like the humanities add a personal human touch through design, ergonomics, and language that engages customers and key users. It, therefore, creates an itch, a desire to have that new smartphone or self-driving car, and the urge to keep wanting more advancements and be the first to experience them.

Grad School Center is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

The Power of the Humanities

It understands human beings’ desire to acquire, be above everybody else, and be the first. The marriage of Humanities with AI and machine learning results in all these things we use and have depended on – smartphones, wireless technology, streaming, cashless payments, going paperless, and even online or remote learning.

Master’s of Humanities Degree

An online Master’s of Humanities is a graduate-level study that can be taken by any professional with a bachelor’s degree in any field. It encompasses a more in-depth exposition of human thought, behavior, and creativity and how they evolved through time.

The analyses of the various facets of human character – motivations, pursuits, emotions – are done by examining literature, philosophies, artwork, history, and various theologies that form the umbrella of thought that is the Humanities. As long as it concerns the human way of thinking and feeling, it is under the discipline of the Humanities.

A Master of Humanities degree can sometimes be offered through a more specific pathway or concentration. For example, some universities may have a Department of Humanities that doesn’t offer an MA in Humanities per se, but rather master’s degrees in different concentrations of Humanities such as:

All variations of a Master of Humanities degree have curricula that are inspired or based on the Great Books Tradition.

Courses under the Master of Humanities degree path can be taken on-campus or online. Although, since the pandemic, most universities have offered the program through purely online delivery, while others offer it through a blended learning modality.

Methodology

Advancing to a master’s degree demands dedication to excel and move further up in the field. By enrolling in a highly reputable online Master of Humanities degree program, students emerge as dedicated and competent professionals who excel in their field of discipline in the industry they choose.

Our choices for the Best Online Master of Humanities Graduate Schools were put together to help students decide on a quality graduate school. These factors were considered:

Best Online Master’s of Humanities Graduate Schools

Best Online Master's of Humanities Graduate Schools

American Public University

humanities

Charles Town, WV

Online Master of Arts in Humanities

Founded by a retired Marine Corps officer in 1991, American Public University initially aimed to offer quality yet affordable remote education for individuals in the service; it says so on its website: “a proud heritage of educating those who serve.

Today, it caters to providing education to servicemen, women, and students from all around the world, with more than 200 academic programs. 

Standout Features:

There are so many things that make APU’s MA in Humanities stand out. As mentioned, servicemembers can avail of huge discounts and free perks should they enroll in the program (which applies to other APU programs).

The eligibility for transfer credits is lenient and generous, which is also limited to acceptance of courses already taken in other universities; working experience, professional certifications and training, and military experience are also valued at APU and may count towards credits for a degree. The feature that stands out is that courses start monthly, thus accelerating a two-year program to just 8 to 16 weeks.

The 30-year-old APU System has a proactive role in the virtual space in providing its students and even non-students with free resources for various topics and endless learning, especially during the pandemic.

In April, it launched more than 200 podcasts addressing economic and social issues, while in March, it launched about 60 courses to help entrepreneurs and their businesses get back on track.

Arizona State University – ASU Online

humanities

Tempe, AZ

Online Master of Arts in English

Whether it’s undergraduate or graduate, Arizona State University comes to mind when it comes to online degrees. Hailed by the US News & World Report as the top school in the US for innovation, ASU Online offers more than 200 programs in different disciplines.

From more generalized specializations like Computer Science, Communication, and MBA, to highly specialized degrees such as Biomedicine, Clinical Management, Cybersecurity, English, or History, whatever the interest or passion, ASU Online has it. 

Standout Features:

The faculty for the MA in English program consists of distinguished experts in the field, with many of them being Nobel Laureates and fellows of the American Academy, Guggenheim Foundation, and Macarthur Foundation, among many others.

ASU has recently entered into a partnership with Starbucks to launch the Starbucks College Achievement Plan. Through this initiative, Starbucks employees can pursue an undergraduate degree through ASU Online. The tuition fee is fully covered through reimbursement with no commitment whatsoever from the student.

Faulkner University

humanities

Montgomery, AL

Online Master of Arts in Humanities

Faulkner University is a Christian university with four physical campuses in Alabama – Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile – and an online campus that offers undergraduate and graduate levels. Faulkner offers 12 online programs at the master’s level, including the Online Master of Arts in Humanities program.

Standout Features:

Unlike other Master’s in Humanities programs, Faulkner’s is one of the few, if not the only one that allows time – 12 units at that – for a one-on-one tutorial for a better and a much deeper understanding of the various concepts in Humanities.

The independent tutorial sessions comprise four courses in the curriculum, and students may choose four subject areas from the following: Humanities, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Religion. 

Almost half of Faulkner’s student demographic is from the minority population, while international students have also made a dent in the student demographic, especially for the online degree demographic. 

University of Massachusetts – Boston

humanities

Boston, MA

Online Master of Arts in History

University of Massachusetts Boston’s Online offerings are one of the top-rated in the country. Its courses, which are based on the Instructional Design method, are delivered by the members of the UMB academe themselves, and its curation is a joint effort by its academe, expert IT staff, and curriculum designers.

Students are asked for feedback which means that curricula and program offerings are constantly being assessed and checked for clarity, quality, resonance, and relevance.

Standout Features:

Any bachelor’s degree will be considered for application into the MA in History program, with or without a major in History. However, if the applicant has significant work experience in museums, libraries, archives, or even worked as a tour guide, albeit being a non-history undergraduate major, these will be favorably taken into account during the application process.

The University of Massachusetts is a publicly funded research university. For the fiscal year 2019, the university raised $62 million for research on various subject matters such as sustainability, STEM, health and life sciences, social, cultural, and community studies, and neuroscience.

Tiffin University

humanities

Tiffin, OH

Online Master of Humanities – Art & Visual Media

Tiffin University’s Online Master of Humanities program offers five specialties that allow students to deep dive and concentrate on areas that appeal to their interest or passion – Communication, Creative Writing, English, Film Studies, and Art & Visual Media job-ready across industries. 

Standout Features:

With the Art & Visual Media graduate course being one of the five specializations under the Master of Humanities umbrella, students can expect that its curriculum is not solely concentrated on the various facets of the visual medium.

The curriculum balances this with a strong foundation of literature and humanities courses, thus birthing the perfect communicator who is well-versed visually and verbally and capable of profound analysis and interpretation. 

Tiffin University recently launched a free two-week online course entitled “Diversity in Education,” which explores the subject matter and serves as a free trial for the university’s online learning modality, which will most benefit those with second thoughts on online learning works.

The trial course will require student participants to complete assignments and interact with Tiffin faculty and fellow students, similar to how it would be in a typical online class.

Adams State University Colorado

humanities

Alamosa, CO

Online Master of Arts in Humanities

Nestled in the geological wonders of San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Zapata Falls, Penitente Canyon, and mountain ranges is the Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, a public university founded in 1921.

It currently has course offerings in various disciplines – from Agriculture to Kinesiology to Latino studies to Water Studies to the conventional disciplines like Business, Education, Humanities, Health Science, and Computer Science.

Standout Features:

While it’s common among other universities to offer History, Communication, Literature, or even Philosophy tracks for its MA in Humanities program, only ASU offers very distinct concentrations under this graduate program, specifically the Cultural Resource Management path.

Adams State University in Colorado is the first educational institution in the state, with a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) granted in 1998. This distinction is awarded to universities with a Hispanic enrollment of at least 25% of their total student population.

The University of Memphis

humanities

Memphis, TN

Online Master of Arts in History

The University of Memphis is a leading research institution founded in 1912. It currently offers more than 200 programs in various areas and levels of learning. The university also has another campus, UoM Lambuth, located in Jackson, TN.

Like the main campus at Memphis, it also offers a wide array of undergraduate and graduate studies, with scientific and creative research opportunities.

Standout Features:

Online Master of Arts in History students at the University of Memphis are eligible for assistantship positions. MA students must submit their applications before the start of the new academic year.

The University of Memphis houses the FedEx Institute of Technology (FIT), a partnership with the forwarding giant to bring research on emerging technologies to the forefront of industry applications. It brings together business and technology through research, training, and strategies.

Among the technologies and concepts explored in FIT are blockchain, change management, Agile training, business architecture and integration, design thinking, and data science.

Ohio University

humanities

Athens, OH

Online Master of Arts in English

Ohio University is the state’s first public university, founded in 1804. It is hailed as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation, boasting more than 250 patents all across the globe. Aside from the main campus in Athens, it has ten other campuses and an online campus. 

Standout Features:

Students looking to transfer to OU’s MA in English Program can have up to 12 credit hours credited towards the degree, provided that the courses in question were attained with at least a B grade and were taken within the last five years.

Ohio University lives up to its designation as a High Research Activity Institution by housing several centers focused on cross-industry research and initiatives. Among these is the Russ Research Center, a full-scale industrial zone that houses several industries and research centers focused on engineering, aerospace, manufacturing, technology, IT, and the life sciences.

Wilson College

humanities

Chambersburg, PA

Online Master of Arts in Humanities

Wilson College was founded in 1869 through a charter granted to Sarah Wilson, the first American woman to provide a learning institution for women, after whom the college was named.  The institution’s main focus was to provide learning in literature, the arts, and the sciences for women.

Today, it has evolved through decades to include male enrollees as well as minority enrollees. 

Standout Features:

The program’s curriculum offers a unique course that is rarely offered in other universities: Postnatural Humanities.

While other courses under this discipline offer insights into works and ages of the past, this particular course draws inspiration and basis from the various disciplines of art, literature, humanities, and social sciences to analyze the evolution of the human character and predict human behavior in an advanced or modern era.

Apart from the Humanities program, other well-esteemed programs at Wilson College include Nursing, Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, and Biology. It is regarded as one the best colleges by students with children and single parents.

University of Dallas – Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts

humanities

Irving, Texas

Online Master of Humanities and Online MA in Humanities

The University of Dallas is a Catholic learning institution founded in 1910 by the Vincentian priesthood sect. It currently enrolls more than 3,000 students all across the globe through its undergraduate and graduate offerings, which are offered both on-campus and online.

Standout Features:

Students can tailor their MH or MAH curriculum according to their interests or passions as long as they enroll in three of the four Great Works courses mandated by the program.

Students can expand their horizons by enrolling in courses that focus on the following: Period Literature, Theology, Philosophy, Classical Education, American Studies, Psychology, Politics, History, Economics, Foreign Languages, Art, and Drama.

The Princeton Review recently hailed the University of Dallas as one of the top universities where students are the happiest. The Happiest Students list is one of Princeton’s 386 rankings in its annual review. UD ranked 5th among the 20 universities on the list.

Milligan University

humanities

Milligan, TN

Master of Arts in Humanities (Blended)

Originally founded in 1866, Milligan University has undergone several transformations from its name to its physical structure. It was named after Biblical Studies professor Robert Milligan, whose teachings on Christian discipleship through intellectual learning and development formed its core values.

Standout Features:

Students looking to transfer to the MAH program can have a maximum of 9 credit hours credited towards the degree. The courses may be taken at the undergraduate or grad levels.

The Humanities discipline forms part and parcel of the university’s core values. Humanities courses are offered and required to be taken by all Milligan University students, regardless of the field of study.

The university places paramount importance on the value of Humanities as a degree, a concentration, or a course as it believes that a Humanities education will set its students up for a career and, overall, a life filled not only with learning but also with opportunities. 

Why pursue an online Master's in Humanities? What are the career advantages?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why pursue an online Master’s in Humanities? What are the career advantages?

Literary works of the olden times serve as a good foundation for analyzing the literature and various personalities and facets of humanity. It helps one to understand nuances in human attitudes and character. It helps one answer questions such as “What drives humans to act or think a certain way?” or “Are humans mentally driven or emotionally driven creatures?”

So, what’s the use of analyzing the behavior and motivations of the human race? Its application is endless. From a career in law, communication arts, journalism, governance, research, or even education, to a career in the business sector, whether in the technology sector or financial sector, or even manufacturing, there will always be a place and need for a professional with a degree in the Humanities.

A degree in the Humanities imparts critical thinking abilities to its graduates and effectively communicates – written and verbally – and collaborates across workstreams and industries. The ability to rationalize, explain, or convey meaning through words or imagery is also something that a Humanities graduate is expected to have.

Experts understand this (except for Bill Gates in 2011), even George Lucas, the brains behind the Star Wars franchise, has a grasp on the importance of the Humanities not only in the empirical sector like technology and finance but also in our everyday lives:

“The sciences are the ‘how,’ and the humanities are the ‘why’—why are we here, why do we believe in the things we believe in? I don’t think you can have the ‘how’ without the ‘why.'”

So, whoever said that a degree in the Humanities is nothing but a fancy degree or a non-thinking degree, think again because its broadness can open more doors in various sectors and industries than other highly specialized degrees. In fact, today’s tech firms are spearheaded not by engineers or programmers but by those with a degree in Humanities or Liberal Arts.

What is the difference between the Humanities disciplines and the Liberal Arts?

Humanities is a subset of the Liberal Arts. The Liberal Arts encompass the following subsets:

What are the job prospects for Humanities graduates?

According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, graduates of the Humanities can be employed as historians or human resource managers. Job portal Indeed also includes job prospects in the field of:

Of course, the job prospects aren’t limited to these. Those with Art concentrations can also work in museums as curators, in advertising, or in mass media. Those with concentrations in Literature, English, or Communications may work as corporate strategists, corporate communications heads, and journalists, with a significant number moving into higher administrative, business operations, or managerial positions.

Key Takeaways

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