The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies produces innovative and distinguished research on subjects such as morality, rationality and ethics; race, citizenship and immigration; and the role of religion in public life. SHPRS faculty educate thousands of students every year and share knowledge with millions of people beyond the university through accessible media. SHPRS enables students and the public to make sense of complex issues that are of critical importance to Arizona, the United States and the world.
World War II Studies MA Program
ASU faculty, historians of the National WWII Museum and unique archival resources provide you with an in-depth understanding of the effects of World War II on current and future world events. This first-of-its-kind program is a unique partnership between ASU and the National WWII Museum and is taught online.
Through advanced interdisciplinary study of World War II, students in the MA program in World War II studies explore the causes and effects of World War II, the global nature of the conflict, the evolution of governance and political systems, and human responses to conflict, violence and genocide. Program coursework also helps students contextualize current events through study of the war's historical, political and cultural legacies.
Degree Requirements
Required Core (12 credit hours)
WWS 561 Decision Points I (3)
WWS 562 Decision Points II (3)
WWS 563 The Lived Experience of World War II (3)
WWS 566 World War II Today (3)
Electives or Research (9 credit hours)
Other Requirements (6 credit hours)
HST 454 History of Genocide (3) or WWS 564 The Global War (3)
WWS 460 World War II (3) or HST 460 World War II (3)
Culminating Experience (3 credit hours)
WWS 597 Capstone (3)
Continuing Education
The WWII continuing education track provides a rich sequence of online courses that will allow WWII experts and educators to learn at their own pace, while gaining premier knowledge that can be used in their professional careers. Learners of all backgrounds will be able to increase their knowledge of the war, as well as their critical thinking skills, while achieving quality personal growth and intellectual development through the vanguard coursework.
The continuing education program aims at the student who is less concerned with grading and accumulation of academic credit hours, and more interested in the satisfaction and intellectual stimulation of lifelong learning. Continuing education courses will be briefer and more concise, while still drawing upon the combined resources and personnel of The National WWII Museum and Arizona State University.
Continuing education courses will also take participants “behind the lines” at the Museum, allowing them to see artifacts and documents that are not displayed as part of the regular exhibits. Without assignments, papers, or exams, the continuing education experience amounts to education for the purest reason of all: the challenge of learning.
WWII: Holocaust - Origins WWII: Stalingrad - Chaos on the Volga
Special Events
Educator’s Conference on the Holocaust & Genocide
Murray and Sabina Zemel Educator’s Conference on the Holocaust & Genocide
"For a New Generation: Teaching the Holocaust in Arizona Classrooms Today"
October 25, 2022 | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. | ASU Tempe Campus
The Murray and Sabina Zemel z"l Educators Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide aims to aid Arizona teachers in building programs, developing curricula and sharing best practices in educating on the Holocaust and other genocides.
The first 50 teachers will receive funding for a substitute teacher.
Genocide Awareness Week
Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation Genocide Awareness Week (GAW) is a week-long event seeking to address how we, as a global society, confront violent actions and current and ongoing threats of genocide and related mass atrocity crimes, throughout the world, while also looking to the past for guidance and to honor those affected by genocide.
Date: April 17-21, 2023
Location: Tempe Campus