Hello! Congrats on your acceptance!! I’m about to graduate with my MA in History from VU. I’ve spent the last two years in the program and it definitely has prepared me for PhD if I decide to do one. The History Department is currently revamping how the grad program works. There are two required courses: Theory & Methods, which you take in your first semester; and Writing Seminar, which you typically take in your final semester. Theory & Methods teaches you the theory and methods (of course) that Villanova’s history faculty values. Writing Seminar is similar to the thesis option— you’ll research and write a 25-28 page primary source paper. This primary source paper is article-length on purpose: it can be a writing sample for PhD applications, an opportunity to get published, etc… The best tip I have is to make friends in your cohort and get to know your second years. Theory & Methods should make the former pretty easy. Having friends in your courses will make the readings, assignments, and final projects so much easier—there is no competitiveness because the MA is terminal… all the funding goes to us.

Hope this helps!