Weeklong Summer Courses

A Complete Courses in Just One Week

Join an academic community of scholars who share a passion for teaching and an interest in the history and government of the United States. Offered in during the months of June and July, the program’s intensive summer courses are complete two semester credit hour courses offered in a convenient weeklong format.

Convenient Weeklong Schedule

Each course begins on a Sunday afternoon with an introductory session in which you meet your professors and your classmates. Following that session, students, faculty, and staff break for our Sunday evening welcome dinner. To conclude the day, the students and faculty convene for our weekly Sunday Evening Lecture, in which a member of the program faculty will lead a discussion on their recent scholarship. Classes meet three times daily the rest of the week, concluding around 3:30 pm Friday.

To help ensure your success, the course professors and the MA program staff provide a course syllabus, a list of required books, and a documentary reading packet several months prior to the start of the course. Successful students then secure their books and set up a reading schedule so they are prepared before arriving on campus.

Required assignments are published with the course syllabus. A typical course may feature a written in-class or take-home examination, a research or seminar paper, or a combination of items. Typically, research assignments will be due one or more weeks after the conclusion of the course, giving you additional time to produce

A Community of Scholars

During the summer, students and faculty form an academic community — living, dining, and learning together — as peers. Conversations between students and faculty naturally leap from the classroom to meals. Our professors are open and accessible, and truly enjoy interacting with their students each week in class, at meals, and during our daily afternoon social hour.

Focus on Your Studies

To allow you to fully immerse yourself in your studies, the MA program staff will take care of the logistics of your stay on campus. The Room and Board package includes:

• A double-occupancy air conditioned room with private bath in one of our modern on-campus apartments. Each apartment has a common living room, dining room, patio, and full kitchen shared by two bedrooms.
• All meals each week, from dinner Sunday evening through lunch on Friday, catered by the university’s award-winning student dining service.

For students traveling to campus by air, a complimentary airport shuttle service is available between the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the university.

Campus Services

MA students have access to the Ashland University Library, including its 300,000 volume collection, online resources, and the 50 million volume OhioLINK consortium. All campus classroom and residential facilities are equipped with wireless internet access and a computer lab is available 24 hours daily. While on campus, MA students also have full access to the university’s Recreation and Sports Sciences Center.

Take Your First Summer Course Tuition-Free

The best way to determine if the MA program is right for you is to experience it first-hand as a student. Newly admitted degree-seeking students receive their first summer course at our main campus in Ashland, Ohio tuition-free. We believe that once you meet our faculty, experience the lively discussions that take place in our classrooms, and interact with fellow students from around the nation who share your passion for teaching American history and government, you will continue in the program. In addition to this tuition-free course, you are welcome to take additional courses at the regular tuition rate. Learn more about this offer at our Financial Aid page.