To narrow my interest, specifically I am interested in the reign of terror and the role of the press in the French Revolution, but a method or tool for finding programs would be more helpful than a suggested program because others could benefit as well.

In looking for a master's program, your first consideration is where you can get the best funding; your second is the quality of the program and a good match with the professors.

For a PhD program, funding is the sine qua non--do not accept an offer to a program that is not fully funded (tuition remission + stipend) for 5 or more years.

At that point, it is a question of finding the best program you can with the best professor for your research interests. To find the latter: look at what scholars' work most reflects your own. Which of them are teaching at US (or UK, if you are British) universities that offer PhD programs in history? Which of those are really really good history programs in general?

Grad school admissions are really tough, since there are so many qualified people; it comes down to luck in a lot of cases. Making sure that you match with the right professor to be your advisor is crucial for your work, but also for acceptance in the first place.

And it's always worth saying: when you go for a graduate degree in the humanities, have and love your Plan A, B, C, and D of what to do afterwards. The academic job market is a torture chamber that eats people alive, and from what I hear, even the junior-level professorships that "successful" candidates win are becoming worse and worse deals in many cases. (Welcome to the modern American economy, I suppose). You can want to teach college, that's fine, but be sure you also want to do B, C, D, and Omega, and be sure that a PhD helps you get there in some way.

Or that it's the best way to feed your obsession for 5-10 years and it's worth the setbacks in the rest of your life and all the beans and rice and disrespect. That's cool, too. :D

I believe this may be more appropriate for /r/askacademia

Don't be afraid to ask the admissions at the university or look at their faculty pages. When it comes to new students universities are more than happy to help.

You would have to decide which degree you were going for first, it is quite unlikely you will find a taught MA which focuses solely on the French Revolution so that is something you will have to take into account.

You could do a research Masters instead however extensive prior knowledge of the topic is recommended.

Some universities also have sub-campuses in Paris, this would certainly be something to take into account. My uni offered a Paris campus and several French history modules to taught MA students if they wanted to go down that route.

Taught MA is probably the way to go, once you contact the uni they should give you a prospectus, with the modules in and research areas. University history departments are divided into several chunks reflecting the focus of the department e.g. 17th century English ecclesiastical history, Britain in WW1, African colonial history ect. ect.

Also check where modern historians of the French revolution work, they might even be in a teaching role at a university!

I am not sure where in the world you are from or what level you achieved in your BA so can't really give any more detail than that.

The best method is to find books and articles you admire and then see where their authors teach. Then, email that professor and say you're interested in their school, and read the school's history website and see how the program looks in general.