Ph.D. in History

APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1 (for Spring term) and December 1 (for Fall term)

The Department of History welcomes student applications with the following materials. To gain admission to the doctoral program, an applicant must have earned an M.A. in History or its equivalent and have demonstrated distinct promise of success in advanced graduate study. Additional details about the application process are found on the department website.

1. Complete the Graduate School’s Online Application.
2. Pay the application fee ($60).
3. Submit official transcripts.
4. International applicants whose first language is not English may be required to submit scores from an acceptable English language proficiency test.
5. Upload Supplemental Application materials for the Department of History to the link provided in the online application.

• Statement of purpose: a 2-page document describing your intellectual background and preparation, proposed research plans, and which faculty you are interested in working with;
• Three letters of recommendation: provide contact information for three recommenders; and
• Writing sample: email a sample directly to the Chair of the Graduate Advisory Committee, Rebecca Marchiel.

Students in the Ph.D. in History complete 54 credit hours.

• Hst 602. Professionalization and Colloquium II
• 12 hours in a major field
• 6 hours in each of two minor fields
• 6 hours of 600-level courses
• 6 hours of graduate courses in each of the minor fields
• 3 hours of 700-level research seminar

The major fields are Africa, Atlantic World, Early Modern Europe, Modern Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Late Antiquity, Medieval Europe, United States History through Reconstruction, and United States History since the Civil War.

Minor fields include the ten major fields as well as African-American, East Asian, Gender, Middle Eastern, U.S. South, and Twentieth-Century World history. Other minor fields inside or outside the department may be selected. Students must have coursework outside of their geographical field of expertise.

Students may take 3 to 12 hours of graduate-level courses related to one or more of their fields from outside the department. Up to 12 hours of such outside coursework may be taken in one discipline to constitute a minor field outside the department.

Foreign Language Requirement: Students must meet a minimum requirement of proficiency in one foreign language. 

Comprehensive Examination: Students take a combination of written and oral examination in their major field and at least one of their two minor fields. 

Dissertation: There is a final oral examination of the dissertation. 

The concentration in Gender Studies, in conjunction with the Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, is designed to provide doctoral students in history with a rigorous grounding in gender studies methods and theory. Students complete 18 credit hours in gender/sexuality including

• G St 600: Graduate Practicum in Public History
• G St 601: Professionalization and Colloquium I
• G St 605: Readings - US through Reconstruction
• G St 641: Readings in Global History: Gender 

The comprehensive exam will include material related to gender studies, and the dissertation must have a significant focus on gender/sexuality.

The Department of History offers several graduate assistantships every year; each pays as much as $20,000 per year and automatically includes a full tuition scholarship worth about $42,000 a year for out of state students. The assistantships are competitive and based on merit, and all applicants to our program are automatically considered for these assistantships. Students with a graduate assistantship also receive subsidized health insurance.

The Graduate School’s financial aid webpage lists a variety of funding possibilities, including summer support and a recruiting fellowship program that promotes academic excellence and access to graduate education to groups who are historically underrepresented.