Oral History M.A. Program

Last Updated: March 2, 2022

61 Claremont Avenue

New York, NY 10027

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Director(s)

Program Director

Amy Starecheski, [email protected], 212-851-4395

Program Manager

Rebecca McGilveray, [email protected]

Program Introduction

Established in 2008, Columbia University’s Oral History M.A. (OHMA) program welcomes a diverse cohort of students each year, with academic backgrounds ranging from history to literature and professional careers spanning social work to human rights. The program offers graduate-level coursework in oral history, with training in fieldwork, theory, methodology, and multidisciplinary applications. Nearly 200 students have graduated from OHMA since its founding, with job placement in archives, museums, historical societies, and opportunities for advancement in independent consulting and doctoral programs. The only graduate program of its kind in the United States, OHMA offers one of a kind specialized training for public historians.

Degrees Offered

  • Other

Program Strengths

  • Digital Media
  • Editing
  • Local/Community History
  • Oral History
  • Publishing

Credit Hour Requirements

30

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

MA12-18

MAs produced last year

15

Deadline To Apply

Priority Deadline: March 1; Final Deadline: June 1

Job Placement Assistance

We offer career services, individual counseling, job listings, and internships.

Job Placement Percentage Within One Year

90%

Employers Who Have Hired Graduates from this Program within the Past Five Years

  • 1947 Partition Archive
  • African Look Book
  • Apollo Theater
  • Brafton
  • Brooklyn Historical Society
  • California State University, Monterrey Bay
  • California State University, Fresno
  • Child Mind Institute
  • Christensen Fund
  • Columbia University Center for Oral History Research
  • Columbia University School of Social Work
  • Corner News Media
  • Council of Smaller Enterprise
  • David J. Sencer Center for Disease Control Museum
  • Center for Disease Control Museum
  • Ditmas Park Corner
  • Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
  • Groundswell: Oral History for Social Change
  • Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics
  • Just Place: Organizing Stories
  • Kentucky Oral History Commission
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • Moving Stories
  • Museum of Modern Art
  • Nantucket Historical Association
  • Oral History Collective
  • Open Society Foundations
  • Rural Organizing Project
  • Stanford Historical Society
  • St. Luke’s Hospital
  • Temple University Institute on Disabilities
  • The Museum On Site
  • The New School for Drama
  • Towards Independent Living and Learning
  • University of California, Berkeley Oral History Center
  • University of California, Riverside
  • University of California, Santa Cruz Regional History Project
  • Whitney Museum
  • Wisconsin Veterans Museum
  • World Vision International
  • West Point Center for Oral History