M.A. in Holocaust & Genocide Studies
The MAHG program is committed to innovative and challenging research and teaching on the Holocaust, other genocides, the prevention of mass atrocities, and the promotion of human rights.
The MAHG faculty guide students in developing and completing original capstone projects such as MA theses, internships, and special projects that prepare them for success in professional advancement. Furthermore, the significant public engagement opportunities that the MAHG program offers support Stockton University’s mission to develop engaged and effective citizens, both locally and globally."
Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 June 2020 - "New leader named for N.J. Holocaust education"
New executive director of N.J. Holocaust Education Commission makes history as its first non-Jewish leader
Doug Cervi, Adjunct Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University and MAHG graduate (2002), is named Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education. Professor Cervi was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Read the full article here.
About the Program
The Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHG) at Stockton University, founded in 1998 as the first program of its kind in the country, offers a rigorous interdisciplinary and wide-ranging education on genocide and mass violence. Through face-to-face and online courses taught by internationally renowned faculty, the program prepares its graduates for employment in education, museums, and organizations that aim to stop and prevent mass atrocities. The MAHG program’s diverse and growing faculty ---with expertise in history, political science, communication studies, criminal justice, and education --- work to ensure the success of our students. We also host a distinguished senior visiting scholar every year.
Message from the Coordinator
The challenges that MAHG faculty and anyone working in this field face are immense. Genocidal violence is currently unfolding in a number of places around the world. The government in Myanmar has been conducting a campaign of destruction against Rohingya Muslims since 2012, which has pushed more than 900,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh where they languish, unwanted, in refugee camps. More than 5.6 million people have fled the civil war and mass violence in Syria since 2011, with almost half a million people dead and destruction of unprecedented dimensions. Rohingya Muslim and Syrian refugees count among almost 80 million refugees today; around half of them are under the age of 18.
The MAHG program is designed to help students explore and understand central historical processes in the making of this reality—our world in which the post-Holocaust cry of “never again” has remained an empty slogan, certainly for these tens of millions of refugees. We strive to fill these words with meaning. To this end, we study the Holocaust as an integral part of modern genocide and mass violence—before, during, and after World War II. Students read and learn about European empire building, settler colonialism, and destruction of indigenous societies around the world; the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the US; the rise of exclusionary nationalism and the nation-state system in the twentieth century, including post-colonial states in the Global South; and the threat of nuclear weapons. And they discuss issues and questions that intersect with the dynamics of genocide, including human-induced environmental destruction, sexual violence, human security, and genocide prevention. Indeed, the program includes the first university-based Genocide Prevention Certificate Program in the world, a 15-credit online program founded by Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey and taught by the best minds in the field. The Certificate can be taken on its own or as part of the MA program. The Certificate program has allowed us to offer the option of completing the entire MA program online.
The MAHG program emphasizes excellence in scholarship, teaching, and student learning. We are proud of our small classes, our seminars designed to meet student interests and needs, our generous fellowships and scholarships, our partnerships with university programs and organizations across the globe, and the diverse learning experiences we offer, which include internships with institutes throughout the United States and beyond, independent studies, lecture series and workshops at Stockton University, study tours, and research opportunities.
I invite you to contact my office at 609-652-4542 or e-mail Raz.Segal@stockton.edu for further information and with any questions.
Sincerely,
Raz Segal, Ph.D.
Director, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHG)
Assistant Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Endowed Professor in the Study of Modern Genocide
School of General Studies
Stockton University
Curriculum
The MAHG degree requires the completion of 35 credits and the submission of a master's thesis or capstone project: one 3-credit core courses (Introduction to Holocaust and Genocide Studies), two 1-credit required courses (Introduction to Graduate Studies and Thesis/Capstone Proposal), one 3-credit methods course (Research Methods in Holocaust and Genocide Studies), one or two 3-credit thesis or capstone courses, and eight or seven 3-credit elective courses. All the online courses in the Genocide Prevention Certificate (GPC) program count as MAHG electives and are open to MAHG students. Please refer to the GPC website.
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Required Courses |
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MAHG 5064 Introduction to Holocaust and Genocide Studies (3 credits; core course, offered every fall semester) MAHG 5014 Introduction to Graduate Studies (1 credit; offered every semester) MAHG 5052 Research Methods in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (3 credits; offered once every two years in the spring semester) |
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Capstone Courses |
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A student may choose either to complete a master’s thesis (6 credits) or a capstone project (3 credits). In either case, students are required to choose an advisor and take a 1-credit thesis/capstone proposal course with them, preferably in their second semester and no later than their third semester in the program. Once a student's thesis/capstone proposal is approved by their advisor and the program, they will need to schedule either one 3-credit independent study or internship capstone project course or two 3-credit thesis courses with their advisor(s). |
MAHG 5054 Thesis/Capstone Proposal (1 credit) MAHG 5880 Thesis (3 credits) MAHG 5850 Independent Study Capstone Project (3 credits) MAHG 5900 Internship Capstone Project (3 credits) |
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Elective Courses (3 credits each) Students could pursue 1 independent study course (MAHG 5800 Independent Study) on a specific topic or enroll in 1 graduate course at Stockton outside the MAHG program only if approved by an advisor and the program. In exceptional cases and pending approval by an advisor and the program, a student could pursue 1 additional independent study course or 1 additional graduate course at Stockton outside the MAHG program. In addition, the program will recognize one advanced language course as a 3-credit MAHG elective, if approved by an advisor and the program. |
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Students must take at least 2 courses from the following list: MAHG 5000 The History of the Holocaust MAHG 5002 Rescuers and Bystanders MAHG 5013 Art and Propaganda under National Socialism MAHG 5017 Women during the Holocaust MAHG 5019 The Holocaust in Literature and Film MAHG 5021 Modern German History and the Holocaust MAHG 5022 Study Seminar to the Sites MAHG 5027 Germany and the Holocaust after 1945 MAHG 5036 Holocaust, Memory, and Commemoration MAHG 5049 New Directions in Holocaust Scholarship |
The MAHG program also offers the following elective courses: MAHG 5007 Selected Topics with the Ida E. King Distinguished Scholar MAHG 5010 Gender, War, and Genocide MAHG 5028 Genocide: Special Topics MAHG 5030 The Armenian Genocide MAHG 5041 Human Security Seminar MAHG 5042 Theories of Genocide MAHG 5065 International Human Rights Seminar MAHG 5056 The Fall of Yugoslavia and the War in Bosnia MAHG 5059 Slavery and Civil Rights in US History MAHG 5521 Borders and Displacement
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GPC online courses count as MAHG elective courses and are open to MAHG students: GPC 5037 Perpetrator Behavior and Genocide Prevention GPC 5039 Transitional Justice and Collective Memory GPC 5040 Religion and Genocide Prevention GPC 5058 Genocide, International Tribunals and Courts GPC 5060 Transitional Justice and Regime Change GPC 5063 Genocide and State Violence in Latin America |
Admissions Criteria
Application Deadline
Summer 2020: March 15, 2020
Fall 2020: July 1, 2020
Spring 2021: November 19, 2020
To be considered for admission to the Master of Arts in Holocaust & Genocide Studies Program, applicant must submit the following:
- Discover Stockton Online Application (you must create a Discover Stockton Account)
- If you are a recent Stockton graduate, check to see if you qualify for the Direct Entry Option.
- Application Fee: $50 (non-refundable), submitted with your online application
- Graduate application essay
- Three current letters of recommendation sent electronically via the Discover Stockton Application
- Resume
- Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended (including Stockton) showing a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher mailed or dropped off directly to the Office of Graduate Studies.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, however, applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. If you are a recent Stockton graduate, you may qualify for the Direct Entry Option.
No standardized tests are required.
Yes, the program can be completed as a part-time student.
Students with additional questions are encouraged to call the Office of Graduate Studies at 609-626-3640 or email gradschool@stockton.edu.
Listing of Program Faculty and Staff
Core Faculty
Dr. Raz Segal, Program Coordinator, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHG) & Assistant Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Affiliated Faculty and Staff
Dr. Christina Morus, Associate Professor of Communication & Genocide Studies
Dr. Lauren Balasco, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Dr. Mary Johnson, Adjunct Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Dr. Jess Bonnan-White, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice
Morgan Everman , Program Assistant, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHG)
Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Scholar: Spring 2020
The Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Holocaust and Genocide Studies brings
to Stockton on a rotating basis, for one or two semesters each year, scholars of international
renown to teach about the Holocaust and other genocides and to pursue scholarly work
in their field. Faculty who teach in the area of Holocaust and Genocide Studies come
from a variety of disciplines and from various schools of their universities.
Dr. Dienke Hondius, Assistant Professor of History at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Advisor and Staff Member for International Education Projects at the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Previous Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Scholars
- Dr. Franklin H. Littell, 1990 - 1991, 1996 - 1998
- Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, 1992
- Dr. Hubert Locke, 0000
- Dr. Henry Huttenbach, 1993-1994
- Dr. Carol Rittner, R.S.M. 1994-1995
- Dr. Yehuda Bauer, 1995 - 1996, Spring 2002
- Dr. Dan Bar-On, 1998 - 1999, 2002 -2003
- Dr. Michael Berenbaum, 1999 - 2000
- Dr. Paul Mojzes, Fall 2003
- Dr. Elizabeth R. Baer, Fall 2004, 2016 - 2017
- Dr. Myrna Goldenberg, 2005 - 2006
- Dr. Michael Phayer, 2006 - 2007
- Dr. Dalia Ofer, Spring 2008
- Dr. Joyce Apsel, Spring 2009
- Dr. Samuel Totten, 2009 - 2010
- Dr. Nili Keren, Spring 2011, 2012 - 2013, Spring 2015
- Dr. Paul Bartrop, 2011 - 2012
- Dr. Patrick Henry, 2013 - 2014
- Dr. Robert Skloot, Fall 2014
- Dr. Lawrence Baron, Fall 2015
- Dr. Alex Alvarez, 2017 - 2018
- Dr. Ann Millin, 2018 - 2019
Alumni Spotlight
College Educators/Higher Education
Michael Dickerman (2011) – Michael Dickerman is a scholar of the Holocaust and genocide. He teaches
at Stockton University, Galloway, New Jersey, covering a range of courses relating
to such topics as the Holocaust in comparative perspective, the Armenian Genocide,
and moral and ethical aspects of the Holocaust. He also teaches graduate courses in
Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College, Pennsylvania. He was educated at
Temple University, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the Richard Stockton
College of New Jersey, Galloway.
He has presented papers at professional conferences, including the Annual Scholars’ Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, the Midwest Jewish Studies Association, the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, and the Annual Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide at Millersville University, Pennsylvania. He has contributed articles to The Reconstructionist: A Journal of Contemporary Jewish Thought & Practice, and Mercywords: A E-Journal. Michael worked with Dr. Paul Bartrop as co-editor of the four-volume The Holocaust: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection published in September 2017. Link: https://www.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A4908C
Steven Marcus (2002) – Steven taught history and Holocaust and genocide studies at Egg Harbor Township
High School for thirty years. He is currently the Coordinator of the Dual Credit High
School Consortium for Holocaust and Genocide Studies as well as an adjunct professor
in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University.
PhD and beyond
- Matthew Hone (2001) – After the MAHG program Matthew Hone had a six month internship as a press
assistant with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
at The Hauge, The Netherlands. He served in the U.S. Army for 5 years as a Serbian
Croatian linguist and an Intelligence Analyst. He earned an MA at Arcadia University
in International Peace and Conflicts Studies to include a semester abroad in Castellon,
Spain at the University Jaime II. Finally, he completed his Ph.D. at the Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City in Latin American Studies. The focus
of his investigation was an analysis of the U.S. counterinsurgency in El Salvador
in the 1980s during the Salvadoran civil war. Furthermore, he did a 6 month investigation
in El Salvador.
Cyanne E. Loyle, Ph.D. (2004) – Cyanne Loyle is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Indiana University.
Dr. Loyle’s current research focuses on transitional justice adopted both during and
after armed conflict and the strategic use of justice processes in Rwanda and Uganda.
She is an East African specialist and has done field work in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi,
the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Nepal, Northern Ireland and Turkey. Dr.
Loyle received her M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Stockton University
and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Maryland. In 2014,
she was a Fulbright scholar at the Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) and from
2009-2011 she was a visiting researcher at the Kroc Institute for International Peace
Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Loyle is the Co-Director of the Northern
Ireland Research Initiative and co-creator of the Post-Conflict Justice (PCJ) and
During-Conflict Justice (DCJ) databases. From 2016-2017, Dr. Loyle served as the Leonard
and Sophie Davis Fellow for the Prevention of Genocide at the Simon-Skjodt Center
for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Loyle’s
work on during-conflict justice has been funded by the National Science Foundation
and the US Institute of Peace. Her research has been published with the Social Science
Research Council, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Journal of Human Rights, Journal of Peace Research, International Journal of Conflict and Violence, International Interactions, Genocide Studies and Prevention and Global Public Health. Additional information
can be found on her website: cyanneloyle.com or on Indiana University’s website.
Holocaust Museums and Centers
- Trinity Johnson (2008) – Since graduating from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey's (now University)
MAHG program in 2008, Trinity Johnson has worked in education, except for a brief
period where she was a fashion merchandiser. She taught adult GED and Citizenship
courses for Kettering's Adult Basic Literacy Education Center. She currently works
at The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education (CHHE) as their Education Coordinator.
CHHE impacts 100,000 students and community members each year through innovative programs
and partnerships which seek to challenge injustice, inhumanity and prejudice, and
foster understanding, inclusion and engaged citizenship. Her responsibilities include
coordinating CHHE's permanent exhibit, Mapping Our Tears, tour program for student
and community groups, as well as overseeing the Speakers' Bureau and Traveling Exhibits
programs. She also is a facilitator for their adult education programs and works closely
with the Director of Education to create other educational programming for students
and community organizations, designing education guides, and exhibits. Trinity became
a Jewish Foundation for the Righteous Alfred Lerner Fellow in 2015. Link: http://www.holocaustandhumanity.org
- Jessica Hulten (2013) – Jessica Hulten started interning at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education
Center in September 2013 and was hired a year later as the Education Outreach Coordinator.
Jessica handles all outreach efforts to educators, manages data collection, and analytics
for the Field Trip Program, Teaching Trunk Program, Group Tours Program, Teacher Professional
Development and leadership programs. Her outreach efforts helped the education department
reach over 100,000 educators and students with the Museum’s education programs in
the 2014-2015 school year. During her time at the Museum, she has facilitated special
exhibition trainings for the Museum’s docents, specifically on the exhibitions, Three
Years, Eight Months, and Twenty Days: The Cambodian Atrocities and the Search for
Justice and Abandoned at Srebrenica: Photographs from the Aftermath. She has aided
in the coordination of education events and special commemoration programs, as well
as co-facilitated teacher trainings for educators in the Chicagoland community. Link:
https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org
- Michael A. Morris (2014) - Michael A. Morris began his career in Washington, DC, in the summer of 2014,
working for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars and later
for the Jewish
Historical Society of Greater Washington (JHSGW). At the JHSGW, his main responsibilities
were leading walking tours and museum education programs. During this time, he completed
another master’s degree at the George Washington University in Experiential Education
and Jewish Cultural Arts. He continued his career in New York City, where he worked
in the Collections and Exhibitions department at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A
Living Memorial to the Holocaust from March 2017 to March 2020, first as the Curatorial
Assistant and later promoted to the position of Curatorial Associate. In addition
to curating the exhibition, Rendering Witness – Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony, some of Michael’s curatorial responsibilities included leading artifact rotations
into the museum’s former Core Exhibition, cataloguing and conducting historical research
on objects in the museum’s collection, and meeting with individuals in the New York
City area who wanted to donate Holocaust-era artifacts, usually from their family’s
history, or artifacts pertaining to Jewish history in Europe or the United States
either immediately before or after World War II.
- Amanda Solomon (2019)–
Amanda Solomon graduated in May 2019, after completing an MA thesis titled “From Warsaw
to Chicago: Escaping Nazi and Contemporary United States Ghettos.” As she writes in
the Introduction, her work traces how “ghettos emerged as a ‘solution’ to an increase
in an unwanted population, and how the targeted group’s collective public identity
as dangerous and criminal prevents or impedes a successful escape. This thesis therefore
aims to challenge our understanding of how ghettos emerge and function as a structure
of oppression, and to demonstrate the need and value of including the Holocaust within
a broader history of mass violence.”
While working on her thesis, Amanda Solomon was offered a position she could not pass on: Manager of Museum and Holocaust Education at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE). What drew Amanda to OJMCHE was their core exhibition, Discrimination and Resistance: An Oregon Primer. This exhibition allowed Amanda to implement an integrative approach and connect the Holocaust to Oregon's history through tools of discrimination and resistance. In October 2018, she relocated to Portland, Oregon and has since worked on developing and overseeing all education programming. This includes tours, student workshops, professional development workshops, book clubs, Speakers' Bureau, and volunteer docent programs.
Within her first week on the job, Amanda was asked to help develop content for a bill that would mandate Holocaust and genocide education in the state of Oregon. On 28 May 2019, the bill unanimously passed its final vote on the House floor, and it will go into effect in the 2020-2021 school year. Amanda will now be collaborating with the Department of Education to develop curriculum and grade-specific content standards.
NGOs and other organizations
Andrea Heymann (2016) – Andrea Heymann worked as the Hillel/Young Leadership Director for the Jewish
Federation of Atlantic and Cape May Counties. She currently serves as Program Director
for the Hillel Graduate Student Network of the Greater Philadelphia area. Link: https://www.jewishgrads.org/
Vincent Rodgers (2016) – Vincent worked as a marketing and communications specialist for Rotor Clip
Co., Inc. He currently serves as the Development and Communications Associate for
Challah for Hunger in Philadelphia. Link: https://challahforhunger.org/
Prospective Students
- Application information
Current Students:
List of Conferences, Workshops, Symposia: Updated Monday, June 8, 2020
List of Employment and other Professional Development Opportunities: Updated Monday, June 15, 2020
Apply today. If you have further questions or would like to Request More Information please call the Office of Graduate Studies at (609) 626-3640 or E-mail gradschool@stockton.edu.
Raz Segal, Ph.D.
Coordinator, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (MAHG)
Assistant Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Endowed Professor in the Study of Modern Genocide
