Master of Education
Teaching History
Stand Out in your calling.
NEXT START
May 12
Classes begin every 8 weeks
FLEXIBLE
Finish in just 2 years
Take one course every 8 weeks to finish in 6 semesters
ONLINE
100% online coursework
Learn on your schedule, wherever you are
AFFORDABLE
$360 per credit
Affordable tuition + 33 credit program
Expertise Enhancement
Expertise Enhancement
Expertise Enhancement
Prepare for opportunities to teach college-level history courses through dual/concurrent enrollment or with a community college. Northwestern College's online Master’s in Teaching History program will deepen your content knowledge while refining your skills to effectively teach history to K–12 or community college students.
Designed for teachers, this program lets you explore a historical topic and time period of interest to develop new ways to make history more relevant for your students. With 18 credits in history, this program meets most regional accreditor and department of education requirements to teach dual enrollment, PSEO, or community college courses. You'll deepen your content knowledge, sharpen your teaching skills, and build on what you already do—guiding students to explore the past, recognize patterns, evaluate sources, and connect history to the present.
Earning a graduate degree doesn't have to cost you time away from your other responsibilities. Log into class each week and complete your coursework, whenever it's most convenient for you. Take one online 8 week class at a time, completing two classes each semester, and you'll finish your M.Ed. in 2 years or less and be eligible for financial aid.
Only want to complete 18 credits in history or already have your master's in education?
Add your certificate!
Graduate Certificate in Teaching History
Find out how
"The program has strengthened my resilience, adaptability, and sense of purpose as I balance professional aspirations with a commitment to continuous learning and improvement."
-Jenni, M.Ed. Student
"The program has strengthened my resilience, adaptability, and sense of purpose as I balance professional aspirations with a commitment to continuous learning and improvement."
-Jenni, M.Ed. Student
"The program has strengthened my resilience, adaptability, and sense of purpose as I balance professional aspirations with a commitment to continuous learning and improvement."
-Jenni, M.Ed. Student
Tuition + fees
Continuing your education is more than a time investment. Learn more about our tuition, fees, and financial aid resources and discover resources that may help you finance your bachelor's degree, master's degree, endorsement or certificate with Northwestern College. We strive to offer our quality programs at an affordable cost.
Financial aid information
Alumni Grant
The Education Alumni Grant is available to Northwestern College alumni who completed their undergraduate education degree through Northwestern. Alumni wishing to pursue their Master of Education degree online at NWC will receive their first class tuition-free. Students can choose from any of the M.Ed. program track offerings and are eligible if they meet the following criteria:
- Graduated from Northwestern College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in early childhood, elementary education or a secondary education endorsement.
- Pursuing a Master of Education degree (graduate-level endorsement programs or individual courses do not qualify).
TEACH Grant
The TEACH Grant may be available to help pay for your master's if you teach or plan to become a teacher in a high-need field in a low-income area. For more information visit the TEACH Grant website.
TEACH Grant
Additional resources
Click the link below to access a variety of additional resources designed to support your educational journey. Here, you'll find helpful tools to provide further assistance as you move forward.
Additional Resources
Click the link below to access frequently asked questions.
M.Ed. FAQs
Accredited through the Iowa Department of Education.
Continuing your education is more than a time investment. Learn more about our tuition, fees, and financial aid resources and discover resources that may help you finance your bachelor's degree, master's degree, endorsement or certificate with Northwestern College. We strive to offer our quality programs at an affordable cost.
Financial aid information
The Education Alumni Grant is available to Northwestern College alumni who completed their undergraduate education degree through Northwestern. Alumni wishing to pursue their Master of Education degree online at NWC will receive their first class tuition-free. Students can choose from any of the M.Ed. program track offerings and are eligible if they meet the following criteria:
- Graduated from Northwestern College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in early childhood, elementary education or a secondary education endorsement.
- Pursuing a Master of Education degree (graduate-level endorsement programs or individual courses do not qualify).
The TEACH Grant may be available to help pay for your master's if you teach or plan to become a teacher in a high-need field in a low-income area. For more information visit the TEACH Grant website.
TEACH Grant
Click the link below to access a variety of additional resources designed to support your educational journey. Here, you'll find helpful tools to provide further assistance as you move forward.
Additional Resources
Application Requirements
Application Requirements
Application Requirements
No GRE required. No application fee.
No GRE required. No application fee.
No GRE required. No application fee.
Application materials reviewed on a rolling basis. They will be evaluated as they are received.
Official transcripts showing a degree from an accredited institution.
- Official transcripts are needed from your bachelor's degree institution.
- No undergraduate transcripts are required of NWC alumni.
Degrees from colleges accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education [ABHE] or affiliated with the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges & Universities [TRACS] will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Send official transcripts to onlineadmissions@nwciowa.edu or Northwestern College, Graduate & Professional Studies, 101 7th St SW, Orange City, IA 51041.
Minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Applicants with a GPA under 3.0 may be eligible for conditional admission on a case-by-case basis.
Documentation of endorsement in history or social studies and a valid teaching license.
- A digital or scanned copy from your state's Department of Education website is sufficient.
Applicants without a history or social studies endorsement may be considered on a case-by-base basis.
Program Specifics
Program Specifics
Program Specifics
33 credit program
33 credit program
33 credit program
Core curriculum:
The required 11 courses below provide a comprehensive foundation in strengthening your skills as a historian as well as an educator (33 credits):
Core curriculum:
The required 11 courses below provide a comprehensive foundation in strengthening your skills as a historian as well as an educator (33 credits):
Core curriculum:
The required 11 courses below provide a comprehensive foundation in strengthening your skills as a historian as well as an educator (33 credits):
EDU555 - Trends and Issues in K-12 Education
(3 credits) Teachers and schools must continually examine current
practices in PreK-12 education in search of better solutions to increase
student
achievement and to thoroughly prepare children for the world in which
they will live and work. In this course students will study current
social, political and academic trends and issues affecting children,
teachers and schools. Students will define their personal positions
based on facts and experience, and will collaborate with others to
advocate for solutions that improve education for PreK-12 grade students.
Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education.
EDU565 - Instructional strategies for Diverse Students and Settings
(3 credits) This course is intended for experienced teachers, and will
focus on
building off of prior knowledge and experience to improve student
learning. Research-based instructional strategies will be studied, with
particular emphasis on adapting and employing strategies to fit students'
cognitive abilities, motivation, interest, cultural background and other
unique characteristics in diverse settings. Students in this class will
apply new instructional strategies in their practice to positively impact
learning in the PreK-12 classroom.
Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education.
EDU570 - Teaching and Learning with Technology
(3 credits) Technology integration in the K-12 setting can enhance
learning, improve motivation and engagement, increase accessibility,
individualize instruction, differentiate assessment and improve
communication with parents and stakeholders. In this course students
will broaden their understanding of the technology available to them in
the PreK-12 classroom and improve their ability to leverage specific
technology to improve teaching and learning.
Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education.
HIS500 - Play, Games and Athletics: The History of Sport in America
This course explores perceptions of sport and how sport has changed, with a
focus on race, gender, class and ethnicity. We will examine the history of
sport in the United States from the colonial period to the present. We will
consider how sports reflected and often shaped ideas about race, gender,
ethnicity, class, amateurism, professionalization, international politics
and governmental policies and laws. The class will focus on the ways that
Christians perceived and embraced certain forms of sport and the ways that
Christians influenced sport and were influenced by sport. In addition, the
course traces the development of sports, investigate the ways in which
spontaneous games played by Americans in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries evolved into highly formalized and popular activities that now
comprise a multi-billion dollar industry. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's
degree in education. (3 credits)
HIS510 - Magic, Science and Religion in the Middle Ages
[The Wolfsthurn Handbook] ?recommends taking the leaves of a particular
plant as a remedy for "fever of all sorts"; this in itself would count as
science, or as folk medicine, rather than magic. Before using these leaves,
one is supposed to write certain Latin words on them to invoke the power of
the Holy Trinity...; this in itself would count as religion. There is no
scientific or religious reason, however, for repeating this procedure before
sunrise on three consecutive mornings. By adding this requirement, the
[medieval] author enhances the power of science and religion with that of
magic."
This course explores two interconnected historical problems: (1) the nature
of magic as a theoretical and practical world view that was dominant in the
pre-modern Mediterranean world and Europe, and (2) the origin and
development of science from ancient and medieval natural philosophy. Both
the history of magic and the history of science must be understood in
tandem. A historical treatment of the origin of modern science at the end of
the Middle Ages that does not discuss medieval magic would be incomplete;
similarly, it would be impossible to discuss medieval magic without also
discussing medieval natural philosophy (i.e. what we would call today
science).
Further, both of these phenomena are inseparable from religion, and
consequently the course also attends carefully to how the Christian church
responded to both magic and science. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's
degree in education. (3 credits)
HIS520 - By the Bomb's Early Light: The Atomic Bomb and Nuclear Culture in America
Despite some recent progress toward disarmament, we still exist in a world
in which two nations, each possessing thousands of nuclear warheads, have
the capacity to destroy all of the planet's major cities, not to mention
much of the territory in between, many times over. At least seven other
nations have control of sufficient nuclear explosives to utterly destroy
their immediate neighbors.1 This course explores how this situation came
about and how perceptions of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy have
changed. The course focuses on scientific culture, American culture during
the Cold War, religious responses to the bomb, and the broader implications
of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.
We will examine how atomic energy was first conceived and how it was
eventually harnessed. This new source of destructive power decisively
changed the socio-political role of the physicist, altered the nature of
war, and introduced global suicide as strategic policy. The focus of the
class will be to think about the network and recourses necessary to produce
a technical object like the atom bomb, as well as the socio-cultural impact
of the introduction of a new technology. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's
degree in education. (3 credits)
HIS530 - Historical Tales Without a Historian: Novels, Movies, and Comic Books
This course concentrates on the most popular forms of historical narrative
outside the classroom: novels, movies, and comic books. How do artists
recall, organize, and perhaps most
importantly, make relevant to us today, various pasts stories? For teachers
as well as students, movies, novels and comic books make big impressions.
Through carefully selected examples of each students will learn how
historical narrative works, about distinctive genres of historical narrative
(the Western, combat, dystopian stories) make a particular past seem
relevant, and how to think historically about such stories. We'll conclude
the class by considering conspiracy theories as particular and fascinating
forms of historical storytelling. Overall, we will work on thinking
carefully and well about popular culture's various takes on the past, and
finding some ways to help our students do so. Prerequisite: completed
bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)
HIS540 - European History and Politics Since 1945
This course examines major political issues in Europe since 1945. Topics
covered include the emergence of a politically divided Europe, ideological
debates in post-war European politics, the project of European integration,
the breakup of the communist bloc and its aftermath, religion and European
politics, and current issues in Europe. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's
degree in education. (3 credits)
HIS550 - That Godless Court? The Supreme Court and Religious Issues in the United States
This course provides an introduction to some of the key Constitutional
issues swirling around the first sixteen words of the First Amendment: the
religion clause (or in the estimation of some the two religion clauses).
Consequently, to begin the semester we will spend a fair amount of time
reading about the founding fathers and their view(s) of religious liberty as
well as read some of what these framers wrote themselves about this
cherished freedom. We will also consider how this historical background and
context informs various church-state stances today as well as briefly review
the basic procedures and principles of the Supreme Court. Having set the
broad boundaries of our examination, we will then look more closely at the
key Supreme Court cases that have largely defined our current understanding
of both the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses. Prerequisite: completed
bachelor's degree in education. (3 credits)
Choose from the research methods and capstone pathways below:
Choose from the research methods and capstone pathways below:
Choose from the research methods and capstone pathways below:
EDU610 - Educational Research Methods and Design
(3 credits) This course will provide an overview of research methodology
employed for studies in the field of education. Topics include basic
research methodology, interpretation of findings, and application of
research in educational settings. Students will develop their ability to
critically evaluate educational research and to judiciously apply
findings in their professional settings. By the conclusion of the course
students will be able to identify a potential topic for future research
and outline the basic methodology needed to conduct the study.
Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in education.
(3 credits) In this course students will apply the cumulative knowledge and
skills learned in their master's program. The research focus may be related to student learning, teacher effectiveness,
school quality, school policy, or other area by approval. The project will be
proposed, approved, designed, and implemented prior to the
student's graduation with a master's degree in education from Northwestern
College. Students who do not have a finished capstone approved by the
M.Ed. Director at the conclusion of EDU635 will repeat the
course for credit.
Prerequisite: EDU610.
Note: Graded on a pass/no pass basis.
HIS610 - Historical Research and Methodologies
The English word "history" comes from the Greek word historia, which means
"inquiry." This course is an overview of the historical method in research
and teaching historical inquiry in a classroom setting. This course will
provide an overview of historical research and investigate the best
practices of historical inquiry in a variety of classroom settings. Topics
include historical questions and historiography, finding appropriate and
trustworthy sources of primary and secondary evidence, analysis of evidence,
and ways to implement historical research skills in the K-12 classroom
setting. Students will develop their ability to critically evaluate
historical research and to judiciously apply findings in their professional
settings. By the conclusion of the course students will be able to identify
a potential topic for future research and outline the basic methodology
needed to conduct the study. Prerequisite: completed bachelor's degree in
education. (3 credits)
The English word "history" comes from the Greek word "historia," which means
"inquiry." This course gives students the opportunity to apply the
cumulative knowledge and skills of historical inquiry learned in the
masters' program by writing and presenting an original historical argument
supported by primary document and secondary research. The project will be
proposed, approved, designed, and presented prior to the students'
graduation with a masters degree in education from Northwestern College.
Prerequisite: HIS610. (3 credits)
