Norwich University was established in 1819 as the first private military college in the United States.  It was the birthplace of the ROTC, and it currently offers Bachelor's degrees with either a civilian or military emphasis.  Undergraduate degrees are offered only to students who attend the physical campus.  Master's degree programs at Norwich are entirely online, except for a one-week residency at the end of the program. Norwich University has a very organized system for online learning.  The MMH program is divided up into six sections, called seminars.  The seminar topics are Introduction to Military History, The Western Way of War, Military Thought and Theory, The Non-Western Way of War, U.S. Military History, and Race and Gender in Military History.  When I completed the program, the last two seminar topics were both included, but now it appears that students choose one or the other as Seminar 5.  Seminar 6 consists of writing a Capstone Paper of about 50 pages on an approved topic of the student's choice.  Each seminar explores a variety of topics, such as Asian military history, World War II, ancient military history, etc. In each seminar, writing is very important.  Every week, students are given two discussion questions, which they must answer based on the reading assignments.  They must then post their answer to the discussion board, where all the students and the professor will respond to others' posts and discuss them.  Students also write two or three papers per seminar on topics of their choosing. Although the seminars are online, Norwich University also requires a one-week Residency on the University's campus in Vermont.  Students give PowerPoint presentations on their Capstone papers, discuss military history topics with knowledgeable professors and other students, and enjoy meeting and socializing with some of the people they have been in touch with online.  This is especially nice because the same group of students (called a cohort) goes through the program together.The MMH program has four start dates per year: March, June, September, and December.  Graduation is in June, at the end of Residency Week.  Depending on the start date, the program takes anywhere from 18-24 months. The staff and professors in the MMH program are wonderful, caring people.  If a student has problems keeping up with the work, they are there to help and encourage him or her.  For example, during one seminar I had a series of bad things happen in my life that prevented me from getting my homework done.  The program director allowed me to drop the seminar and re-take it when it began again about a month later.  His understanding and encouragement helped me to complete the program in spite of the problems I experienced. I highly recommend the MMH program at Norwich University to anyone who wants to obtain a Master's Degree in Military History online.  The student should be prepared to work hard and must be able to discipline himself/herself to study, because the classes are not at set times like those in a traditional school.  But if the student is truly committed to the program, he or she will have a wonderful experience and gain a great deal of knowledge.  The cost of the program is probably more than that of a local university, but the high quality of the education in this program is well worth the cost.  

froglady99

Cody, WY