History Degrees in Maryland

More Americans were killed or wounded on September 17, 1862 than on any other day in the country’s history. The fighting at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg lasted about twelve hours and produced more than 22,000 combined casualties. The battle settled very little tactically, but it stopped Lee’s advance north, and five days later Lincoln used the opening to issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. A day that resolved almost nothing on the field changed what the war was being fought about, which is the sort of distinction the subject exists to make. Maryland is also one of the few states where making that distinction professionally pays well.

Maryland has 24 colleges and universities offering history degrees, with 46 programs among them: 32 bachelor’s degrees, 8 master’s degrees, and 6 doctorates.

Maryland also employs more archivists than all but two states, and pays every history occupation above the national median.

Top History Schools in Maryland

We scored all 24 Maryland schools on the four factors we use in every state: history degree offerings and program variety (40%), student outcomes (25%), reputation (20%), and affordability (15%). College Park and Johns Hopkins tie for depth at 7 programs each. Outcomes go to Hopkins at 94% and College Park at 89% completing in four years. Reputation rests on three R1 universities. Affordability is what puts College Park first and Hopkins second, since one charges $11,809 in state and the other $65,230. Here are Maryland’s best history degrees.

Most Affordable History Degrees in Maryland

Most affordable history degrees in Maryland

Rank	School	Program	Tuition per year
1	Coppin State University	Bachelor's in History	$7,100
2	University of Maryland Global Campus	Bachelor's in History	$8,136
3	Morgan State University	B.A. in History	$8,229
4	University of Maryland Eastern Shore	B.A. in History	$9,076
5	Bowie State University	B.A. or B.S. in History	$9,218
6	University of Baltimore	B.A. in History	$9,992
7	Frostburg State University	Bachelor's in History	$10,220
8	Salisbury University	B.A. in History	$11,084
9	Towson University	B.A. or B.S. in History	$11,728
10	University of Maryland-College Park	B.A. in History	$11,809

Annual in-state tuition and fees. There is no private institution here and nothing above $11,809. The state’s top-ranked department, College Park, appears at tenth, and Morgan State’s history doctorate at third.

History Education in Maryland

Maryland’s public universities are inexpensive and its graduate work is unusually accessible. Every school on the affordability list is public and none charges more than $11,809, and two of the state’s three doctoral history departments appear on it: College Park at tenth and Morgan State at third, with a history Ph.D. at $8,229. Only a handful of doctoral history departments anywhere in the country cost less, and four of those are in Florida.

Public institutions carry 26 of the state’s 45 programs across 13 schools, against 11 private colleges carrying 19. The private side is where the expensive end sits, and Johns Hopkins accounts for most of the graduate depth outside the University System of Maryland.

Art history is unusually prominent. Eleven of Maryland’s 45 programs carry an art history designation, roughly 24%, which ties Minnesota for the highest share of any state. It runs to the top at both College Park, where the field is titled Art History and Archaeology, and Hopkins. Museum training exists at both ends of the ladder: UMBC teaches it in a bachelor’s degree and Hopkins in a master’s.

The most distinctive thing about studying history in Maryland has nothing to do with the universities. The National Archives at College Park, known as Archives II, is a 1.8 million square foot facility holding permanent federal records from the late nineteenth century onward, and it sits in the same town as the state’s top-ranked history department. That proximity shows up in the employment data: Maryland supports 660 archivists, the third-largest count in the country behind California and New York, in a state a fraction of their size.

Transfer information runs through ARTSYS, which is managed jointly by the University System of Maryland, the community colleges, the independent colleges association, Morgan State, and St. Mary’s College. It covers private four-year institutions as well as public ones, which most state articulation systems do not, and it publishes course equivalencies and program guides mapping the recommended first 60 credits. One caution worth stating: ARTSYS is an information system, not a guarantee. It tells you how credit is likely to be treated and directs you to a transfer adviser to confirm it, where Arizona, for instance, guarantees admission outright. Check with the receiving institution instead of assuming. Details are at ARTSYS.

Online provision is thin at 3 programs, all at the bachelor’s level. Our guide to online history degrees covers the wider field.

Becoming a History Teacher in Maryland

Maryland certifies Social Studies 7-12, so the credential covers geography, government, and economics alongside the historical content instead of history by itself.

Two examinations are required: the Principles of Learning and Teaching test for the relevant grade band, and the Praxis Social Studies: Content and Interpretation subject assessment, at Maryland’s own passing scores.

If you want the licensure coursework built into the major, not added alongside it, Salisbury University offers a B.A. in History with a Secondary Education Concentration, which is the most direct undergraduate route in the state.

Confirm current requirements with the Maryland State Department of Education before choosing a program, since passing scores are revised periodically.

History Careers in Maryland

History Careers in Maryland

Occupation	Maryland jobs	Maryland median	vs. U.S. median
Secondary school teachers	16,640	$78,670	+9%
Postsecondary history teachers	310	$97,830	+17%
Curators	170	$63,750	+0.5%
Archivists	660	$76,440	+18%
Historians	50	$120,580	+57%

Employment and wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

Every occupation in this table pays above the national median, which only a handful of states manage, and two of the figures are exceptional.

Historians earn a median $120,580, 57% above national and the second-highest figure for that occupation anywhere in the country, behind only Massachusetts. Archivists earn 18% above national across 660 positions, the third-largest archivist workforce of any state, behind only California and New York, both of which are many times Maryland’s size.

Both numbers point the same way. The federal government is the largest employer of professional historians and archivists in the United States, and Maryland sits directly against Washington with Archives II inside its borders. Agency historians, records management, contract research, and cultural resource work for federal projects are all concentrated here. For a student whose plan is professional historical work outside a classroom, Maryland is among the best-placed states in the country.

The caveats are size and cost. There are only 50 historian positions counted and 170 curator jobs, so these are competitive markets rather than open ones, and Washington-area housing costs absorb a meaningful share of the premium. As everywhere, the classroom carries the volume: 16,640 secondary teaching posts, paying 9% above national.

History Resources in Maryland

• National Archives at College Park, dedicated in 1994. A 1.8 million square foot facility holding permanent federal records from the late nineteenth century onward, with particular depth in twentieth and twenty-first century material: textual records, maps and architectural drawings, still and motion pictures, sound recordings, and electronic records. It is open to researchers and is one of the most significant working collections in the country.
• Maryland State Archives, Annapolis. The central repository for state records of permanent value, with holdings running back to Maryland’s founding in 1634, covering colonial and state government records, county land and probate records, church and business records, maps, and newspapers.
• Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore. Formerly the Maryland Historical Society, which rebranded under this name in 2020 after its 175th anniversary. It holds roughly 7 million books, documents, manuscripts, and photographs alongside 350,000 objects.

Frequently Asked Questions