History (HIST)

Abstract

The Department of History offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. In conjunction with the College of Information Studies, the Department of History also offers a dual-degree Master of Arts in History and Library Science.

Major fields of concentration for the MA and PhD programs are: Ancient Mediterranean, Britain, Early Modern Europe, East Asia, International & Diplomacy, Jewish, Latin America, Medieval Europe, Modern Economic, Modern Europe, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Science & Technology, the United States, and Women & Gender. MA-only fields are: Africa, the Middle East, and Military.

The graduate program, which includes forty-eight regular faculty and approximately 150 degree-seeking students, has been nationally-ranked in the following subfields: African American, Latin America, US Colonial, and US Cultural. Other areas of established strength are Central/Eastern European/Russian history, the history of Western Europe, and women & gender. Fields under development include Atlantic history, the African diaspora, Middle Eastern/Islamic history, and international/transnational history.

The students in our three degree programs come from across the nation, from small liberal arts colleges and major research institutions, as well as from the Balkans, Canada, East Asia, Eurasia, the European Union, and Latin America. In 2006-07, History students have won a number of major external fellowships includng the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies Dissertation Fellowship, the Foundation for the Research and Study of the East German Dictatorship Fellowship, the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Research Fellowship, the Fulbright-IIE Student Grant, the Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship, the International Research & Exchanges Board Fellowship, the Mary Savage Snouffer Dissertation Fellowship, the Maryland Historical Society Lord Baltimore Research Fellowship, the Massachusetts Historical Society Research Fellowship, and the Mellon Fellowship for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, and the Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies Dissertation Award.

Recent graduates have started postdoctoral fellowships or tenure-track jobs at institutions that include the Albright Institute for Archeological Research, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, King's College London, Morgan State University, the Smithsonian Institution, the State University of New York, and the University of South Florida. The members of our extended alumni community, numbering over three hundred master of arts and doctoral recipients, work as professional historians throughout the State of Maryland, in a number of United States Government agencies, and at institutions of higher education and historical research across the United States and the globe.

Admissions Information

As a demonstration of our commitment to excellence in historical scholarship and education, admission to our degree programs is highly competitive. It is important that each applicant clearly articulate his/her academic preparation and qualifications for graduate study at Maryland. All prospective applicants are encouraged to make contact with the faculty in the area(s) of interest. Faculty play an important role in the admissions decision. Prospective applicants are also encouraged to make contact with current graduate students to learn more about their experiences. The History Graduate Student Association can facilitate communications with current students.

Applicants are required to submit a sample of written work of historical scholarship, such as a research paper or thesis, as well as a statement of purpose, a personal statement, transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and GRE scores. Additional materials may be requested.

Although there are exceptions, the minimum overall grade point average for admission to a master's degree program is 3.25 and 3.50 for admission to the doctoral program. The admissions committee would typically expect a higher grade point average in past coursework in history and related disciplines. Successful applicants usually score above the 80th percentile in the analytical writing and verbal reasoning portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test. The Department does not require a GRE Subject Test.

There are no general language or special skill requirements for admission, but the command of one or more relevant languages may bear upon an applicant's chances for admission in certain fields of study.

The admissions process is sensitive to variations in GRE scores among applicants whose primary language is not English. However, the University requires that all admitted students demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English.

Application Deadlines

Fall

Spring

Domestic Applicants:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Domestic Applicant Deadlines

Applications must be received by December 15 .

This program does not accept applications for this semester.

International Applicants:
Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials

IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.

Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas

February 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1

June 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants

May 1
If Domestic Deadline is after May 1

October 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials

May 15
If Domestic Deadline is after May 15

October 31
If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Application Requirements

Statements of Goals & Research Interests and Experiences
Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
A Writing Sample that demonstrates historical analysis, such as a research paper or master's thesis
Resume or Curriculum Vitae
Transcripts
GRE General

	Fall	Spring
Domestic Applicants: U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
Domestic Applicant Deadlines	Applications must be received by December 15 .	This program does not accept applications for this semester.

International Applicants: Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.
Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas	February 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1	June 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants	May 1 If Domestic Deadline is after May 1	October 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials	May 15 If Domestic Deadline is after May 15	October 31 If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Organized in the 1920s, the Master of Arts in History program at the University of Maryland provides broad and intensive instruction in bibliography, research, and writing in various fields of historical study. The MA degree may constitute a step toward doctoral research or preparation for a variety of other fields, such as archives administration, museum scholarship and exhibitions, public history, primary or secondary school teaching, law, or international relations.

Admission to the Master of Arts program is offered to highly qualified applicants holding at least a bachelor's degree, normally in history or a related discipline. Application and admissions procedures are described on the Department's website.

The MA degree program requires a total of thirty (30) semester hours of course work and research credits and the submission of two original research papers. In addition, MA students must successfully defend a thesis (the Degree-by-Thesis option) or pass a written examination (the Degree-by-Examination, or "non-thesis" option).

The anticipated period for completion is two (2) years of full-time study. The degree must be completed in five (5) years.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

First awarded in 1937, the Doctorate in History at the University of Maryland is conferred for superior achievement in historical study and research. The major portion of the degree is the dissertation, an original and noteworthy contribution to historical knowledge. In anticipation of this research, students must master bibliographic tools, research and writing methods, and general, minor, and special (or dissertation) fields of study. Competence in these preliminary steps will be measured by successful completion of course work and by examinations.

Unless they have taken comparable courses elsewhere, students must complete the general seminar(s) in their major field, History 601 (Contemporary Theory), a minimum of nine hours of reading courses and six hours of research seminars, and nine hours in a minor field.

Depending on the field of study, doctoral students may be required to demonstrate competence in one or more foreign languages and/or special skills.

Within six semesters for students who enter with a bachelor's degree and no later than five semesters for those entering with an master's degree in history or related disciplines, students must sit for a set of written and oral comprehensive examinations. Upon successful completion of all examinations, doctoral students have up to nine months to prepare and dissertation prospectus and advance to doctoral candidacy. Upon completion of the dissertation research and writing, candidates defend the dissertation in an oral examination.

The requirements for the doctoral degree are intended to be completed in four-to-seven years.

Facilities and Special Resources

In addition to the field concentrations described above, the Department of History offers several forms of specialized training, including certificate programs in Museum Scholarship & Material Culture, cosponsored by the Department of American Studies, and Historic Preservation, cosponsored by the School of Architecture.

The Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies, housed within the Department, promotes both research and graduate training by sponsoring seminars and colloquia, major scholarly conferences, and visiting professors who teach graduate courses. Typically, the Center's activities each year concentrate on a historical theme of surpassing interests that cuts across the usual chronological and cultural boundaries.

The University of Maryland is home to a number of important archives, special collections, and historical editing projects, including the Freedmen and Southern Society Project and the Samuel Gompers Papers, the Library of American Broadcasting, the Gordon W. Prange Collection, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Library. The Combined Caesarea Expeditions, an amphibious research project that joins excavation of the terrestrial remains of Caesarea Maritima with underwater investigation of the site's ancient harbor, are coordinated at Maryland.

The University sponsors a number of significant scholarly publications of interest to historians, including The Maryland Historian, the oldest continuously-published graduate-student-run history journal in the country; the Hispanic American Historical Review, the flagship English-language journal in Latin American history; Kritika, a journal dedicated to critical inquiry into the history and culture of Russia and Eurasia; and Feminist Studies, a pioneer in women's history and gender studies.

Finally, the College Park campus is located within the Washington-Baltimore corridor, one of the nation's most dynamic regions for historical research. Francis Scott Key Hall, home to the Department of History, sits less than thirty minutes from downtown Washington, D.C., a city of unparalleled cultural resources and unique opportunities for historical research. Annapolis and Baltimore, home to significant archival holdings related to the history and cultures of the State of Maryland, the greater Chesapeake Bay region, and the Atlantic world, can be reached in less than forty-five minutes.

Financial Assistance

The Department of History administers several forms of financial assistance for graduate students, including fellowships, teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, research assistantships, and research grants. All fellowships, assistantships, and grants are awarded on the basis of merit, as determined by the Graduate Committee, upon the recommendation of faculty and the Director of Graduate Studies.

The majority of financial assistance is made available to students in the doctoral program. However, students in the Master of Arts program may request support, typically in the form of teaching assistantships, as departmental needs permit.

Since Fall 2004, the majority of new students to the doctoral program have been offered a multiyear funding package. Such packages usually include multiyear guarantees of tuition remission and a health benefits option, subject to satisfactory progress towards the fulfillment of program requirements. It is the Department's goal to adjust admissions procedures, budgeting, and program size to ensure that all qualified full-time doctoral students have continuous funding for the majority of their graduate studies.

For the 2006-07 academic year, teaching, graduate, and research assistantships will range between $14,500 and $15,500 and include tuition remission and a health benefits option. Variations in stipend amounts are due to a number of factors, including the type of appointment, international student status, previous appointments, and advancement to candidacy.

Additional funding is available through the semiannual Research and Travel Grant competition, the summerterm Prospectus Development Grant competition, matching funds for travel to academic conferences, and various cross-campus funding competitions. All doctoral students are expected to seek outside funding for pre-dissertation and dissertation field research, as appropriate.

History graduate students may seek grants and fellowships, assistantships, hourly employment, and other forms of self-support offered by non-departmental sources.

Contact Information

For complete description of programs and requirements, please contact:

Director of Graduate Studies
2115 Francis Scott Key Hall
Department of History
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-7315 USA
TEL: (301) 405-4268
FAX: (301) 314-9399

see also:
Studies Leading to the Certificate in Historic Preservation
(See entry under Certificate Programs)

History/Library & Information Systems (HILS) dual degree program resulting in an M.A. in History and an M.L.S. in Library Science.

Dr. Daryle Williams, Director of Graduate Studies
2115 Francis Scott Key Hall
University of Maryland
College Park 20742-7315
Telephone: (301) 405-4268
Fax: (301) 314-9399
hist-grad@deans.umd.edu

http://www.history.umd.edu/graduate.html">http://www.history.umd.edu/graduate.html