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School of Arts, Humanities & Education

World War II Studies

Online Graduate Certificate in World War II Studies

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$0 Application Fee
$0 Transfer Credit Evaluation

72%Have Graduated with No APUS-incurred Student Loan Debt2

About This Program

American Military University (AMU) offers a World War II certificate at the graduate level that probes the strategy, tactics, leaders, and lessons learned from various theaters of war.

AMU’s World War II studies program evaluates the leadership and decision making involving amphibious, airdrop, and river crossing operations during the war. Coursework studies the politics, leadership, and diplomacy that inspired the Axis and Allied powers.

The program covers:

  • The blitzkrieg into France
  • Conflicts waged in the Balkans and Soviet Union
  • Campaigns in North Africa and Italy
  • Fighting in the Pacific
  • The Allied victory in Europe and the Pacific

What You Will Do

  1. Assess the strategies, tactics, leaders, and lessons learned during the fighting in Asia, the Pacific, the Balkans, Soviet Union, North Africa, and the blitzkriegs into France
  2. Explain the Allied victory in Europe including decisions concerning the amphibious invasions, airdrops, and the crossing of the Rhine
  3. Discuss the politics, leadership, and diplomacy in Germany, Japan, and Italy that enabled the rise of the Axis leadership during World War II
  4. Understand the political leadership that defined the Allied powers of the U.S., Great Britain, and Russia

Program at a Glance

Number of Credits
18
Transfer up to 9 credits1
Cost Per Credit
$425 | $250*
$382.50**
*with Preferred Military Rate
**with Veteran Grant
Courses Start Monthly
Online
and vary from 8 to 16 weeks

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Program Requirements Printable Catalog Version

Must take all courses for this section.

Course ID: 3277

|
This course is a global history of the Second World War. Emphasis is on the theaters of war and related events in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast and Southwest Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America in relation to their impact on the national and military objectives. In this context, students compare and contrast the economies, industry, society, and culture of the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Germany as major participants during the war. The role of diplomacy and strategy, the impact of war upon society, and the fighting on land, at sea, and in the air are also examined in terms of modern warfare.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/31/23 - 12/29/23 01/01/24 - 02/25/24 Winter 2024 Session B 8 Week session
10/30/23 - 03/29/24 04/01/24 - 05/26/24 Spring 2024 Session B 8 Week session

Course ID: 3252

|
This course examines the military heritage of the United States from the colonial period to the present time. Through an in-depth study of the extensive literature in American military history, students assess the key individuals, military policies, postures, organizations, strategies, campaigns, tactics, and battles that define the American military experience.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
05/29/23 - 11/03/23 11/06/23 - 12/31/23 Fall 2023 Session I 8 Week session
06/26/23 - 12/01/23 12/04/23 - 01/28/24 Fall 2023 Session D 8 Week session
07/31/23 - 12/29/23 01/01/24 - 02/25/24 Winter 2024 Session B 8 Week session
08/28/23 - 02/02/24 02/05/24 - 03/31/24 Winter 2024 Session I 8 Week session
09/25/23 - 03/01/24 03/04/24 - 04/28/24 Winter 2024 Session D 8 Week session
10/30/23 - 03/29/24 04/01/24 - 05/26/24 Spring 2024 Session B 8 Week session

Course ID: 3417

|
This course examines the Allied victory in Europe in World War II. Students assess how the American Army, trained for speed and mobility, performed during campaigns in Italy, France and Germany. The focus is on Eisenhower's generals and their decisions concerning amphibious invasions (e.g., Sicily, Salerno, Anzio and Omaha Beach), airdrops (e.g., Italy and Holland), the race across France and slogging through Italy (e.g., the Gothic siege line and the Huertgen Forest), as well as counter strokes such as Monte Cassino and the Ardennes Bulge.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/31/23 - 12/29/23 01/01/24 - 02/25/24 Winter 2024 Session B 8 Week session
10/30/23 - 03/29/24 04/01/24 - 05/26/24 Spring 2024 Session B 8 Week session

Course ID: 3254

|
This course is a comprehensive analysis of the fighting during World War II in the China-Burma-India Theater, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Aleutians, and the Philippines. Students assess the amphibious campaigns in the central Pacific theatre and evaluate the impact of one of the most massive movements of men and arms in history. Primary focus is on land warfare, its strategies, tactics, leaders and lessons learned.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
05/29/23 - 11/03/23 11/06/23 - 12/31/23 Fall 2023 Session I 8 Week session
08/28/23 - 02/02/24 02/05/24 - 03/31/24 Winter 2024 Session I 8 Week session

Course ID: 4493

|
This course is an in-depth study of the politics, political leadership, and diplomacy that defined the Axis and Allied Powers during World War II. Topics address the factors that facilitated their rise to power; the key political structures, relations, and personalities; the inter-Axis relations among political elites versus the Allied powers; and the diplomatic efforts employed by the Axis powers as they postured against the Allies and the rest of the world during the war.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
06/26/23 - 12/01/23 12/04/23 - 01/28/24 Fall 2023 Session D 8 Week session
09/25/23 - 03/01/24 03/04/24 - 04/28/24 Winter 2024 Session D 8 Week session

Course ID: 4513

|
This course is an analysis of the German-Soviet campaign during World War II. Students will examine the three major phases of this conflict that begins with the Wehrmacht invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, urban warfare in Stalingrad in the fall of 1942, and history’s largest tank battle at Prohorovka in 1943. Finally, this course will detail the Soviet counterattack across the Vistula and Oder Rivers that ended with the die Gotterdammerung in Berlin.
Registration Dates Course Dates Session Weeks
07/31/23 - 12/29/23 01/01/24 - 02/25/24 Winter 2024 Session B 8 Week session
10/30/23 - 03/29/24 04/01/24 - 05/26/24 Spring 2024 Session B 8 Week session

Courses Start Monthly

Next Courses Start Jan 6
Register by Jan 3
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Admission Requirements

  • All AMU master's degree/graduate certificate programs require a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an institution whose accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA®).
  • Please read all graduate admission requirements before applying to this program and be prepared to submit the required documentation.
  • There is no fee to complete the AMU admission application for this program. View steps to apply.

CHEA® is a registered trademark of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 

Materials Cost

Technology fee: $85 per course 

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Consumer Information

Disclosures

Maryland Residents learn more about costs, completion rates, median debt, and more.

1The University reserves the right to accept or deny credits according to policies outlined on our University website. Please see the University’s transfer credit policy webpage for complete information. 

2Alumni Graduated with No APUS-incurred Student Loan Debt As of December 31, 2021

Includes alumni who graduated with an associate, bachelor's, or master's degree from APUS. Student loan debt is defined as student loans and private education loans used for tuition, fees, living expenses, and book costs associated with courses taken at APUS. Many APUS students receive military tuition assistance and veterans education benefits, which are not student loan debt.

*Cost Per Credit Hour

AMU's Preferred Military Rate is $250 per credit hour for all undergraduate and master's-level courses. This rate is available to all U.S. active-duty servicemembers, National Guard members, Reservists, and military families, including parents, spouses, legal partners, siblings, and dependents.
See all military student benefits.

Cost of Attendance

Learn more about AMU’s cost components and full cost of attendance.