Ashbrook Expands Master's Program through Online Courses

The Ashbrook Center’s Master of Arts in American History and Government (MAHG) program is expanding course offerings to reach even more teachers nationwide. MAHG is the only graduate program of its kind, offering weeklong intensive seminars in the summer months focused on the study and interpretation of original historical documents. Beginning this fall Ashbrook is offering the next generation of online learning through its MAHG Live Online courses. These high quality interactive online seminars will not only accommodate teachers studying in the graduate program who are interested in continuing their studies outside of our weeklong summer courses, but will also provide options for educators seeking professional development and continuing education credits.

An important aspect of the MAHG program is the emphasis on discussion and debate of original historical texts in the classroom. In order to preserve this interactive learning environment outside the traditional classroom setting, Ashbrook is using state of the art web conferencing technology. With a standard web browser and webcam students and professors are able to meet live in a virtual classroom together once a week.

“We wanted to offer a completely different type of online course,” Chris Pascarella, Director of the MAHG program explains. “Other universities offer online courses, but they lack the interaction and Socratic discussions that are the hallmark of MAHG. We have created an environment online that is almost identical to the learning environment our students receive when they are attending classes here on campus.”

The faculty of MAHG Live Online courses features many of the same scholars who teach our summer semester courses, including fulltime faculty from Ashland University as well as noted and widely published visiting history and political science faculty from other intuitions across the country, such as John Hopkins University, Miami University, and University of Houston.

With the inclusion of online courses, it is now possible for social studies teachers to obtain a Master of Arts in American History and Government in as few as 15 months. Even after just one class, educators are taking the information that they have mastered in MAHG and are returning to the classrooms reinvigorated and better equipped to teach history and civics courses in high school and middle school classrooms across the country.

Classes begin August 20 and will include courses on The American Revolution, The American Founding, The American Presidency, among others. A full listing of course offerings is available here.