The Department of History offers graduate courses leading to the master of arts and the doctor of philosophy degrees, complete details of which may be found in the department's brochure on graduate study in history. The master of arts degree is normally the first stage of preparation for the degree of doctor of philosophy.

Approved areas of specialization are ancient Greece; Middle Ages; Renaissance and Reformation; Europe and dependencies, 1648-1815; Europe and dependencies since 1789; Russia; Eastern or Southeastern Europe; British Isles to 1688; England and the Empire-Commonwealth since 1688; Near East and Middle East; Africa; China; Japan; South Asia; Colonial North America and Early United States to 1830; United States since 1815; Latin America; history of science; cultural/intellectual history; colonialism and post-colonialism; military history; African-American history; history of medicine; history of nationalism; history of women; "race," ethnic identity formation, and hybridity; and social welfare development in comparative perspective. Topical fields may also be arranged with the consent of the graduate advisers.

For the M.A. program: a grade point average of 3.25 (A = 4.0) during the last two years of undergraduate work, a reasonable amount of course work in history, and Graduate Record Examination scores (verbal, analytical, and quantitative mandatory; history optional). For the Ph.D. program: a grade point average of 3.5 for previous graduate-level work and Graduate Record Examination scores (as above). Language preparation may be weighted heavily, depending upon the field of specialization. Foreign students whose native language is not English need a paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 600 (250 on the computer-based test). Most successful applicants have GRE verbal scores of over 80%. Only in exceptional circumstances are students admitted for the spring term.

Candidates are expected to take at least two units in each of two of the fields of specialization listed above. A minimum of eight units is required, four of which must be at the 400 level (excluding History 498). At least one research seminar with a grade of B or better must be included. Students may elect to write a master's thesis, but the thesis does not replace the seminar requirement and may carry no more than two units of credit. A candidate must demonstrate ability to read one foreign language related to his or her field of interest as approved by the graduate advisers.

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree needs a minimum of 24 units (including those offered for the M.A. degree), of which eight may be for thesis research (History 499). For students who enter the graduate program without an M.A. in history, these must include three research seminars, History 496, either History 490 or History 491, and three additional courses at the 400 level (not including History 499). For students entering the graduate program with an M.A. in history, these must include two research seminars, History 496, either History 490 or History 491, and two additional courses at the 400 level (not including History 499). History 498, while required for students serving as teaching assistants, cannot be counted toward fulfilling these requirements. A candidate must demonstrate ability to read two foreign languages related to his or her field of interest, as approved by the graduate advisers. In certain circumstances, a student in American or British history may substitute courses in quantitative skills for the second language. For the preliminary examination, the candidate customarily offers three fields in history, of which one must involve a period of time before 1815. At least two geographical areas must also be represented by the fields offered for the examination. One of the three fields, however, may be in a specialization outside the Department of History or may be a field of history specially designed by the candidate in consultation with the major adviser (e.g., United States intellectual or European economic history). To fulfill the minimum requirement of 24 units, four units in disciplines other than history may be applied.

The Department of History administers an interdisciplinary doctoral program in American civilization, which is currently being reorganized. Courses relevant to the field are currently offered in the history department, including offerings in popular culture, regional studies, film, women's studies, and minority cultures.

The Departments of History, Philosophy, Sociology, and Library and Information Science, as well as the College of Medicine and the Institute for Communications Research, jointly offer-for work toward the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees-a special area of concentration in science, technology, information, and medicine (STIM). The STIM program exists to support interdisciplinary graduate training and research at the forefront of work in the social sciences and humanities addressed to questions about the relationship of science, technology, and culture. Students interested in this program enroll in and receive their degrees from either the history, the philosophy, or the sociology department, depending on the focus of their interests. Undergraduate background requirements for admission to the program are flexible. Although an undergraduate concentration in history, philosophy, or sociology is usually desirable, so also is a strong background in science. Students with such backgrounds, but only weak training in history, philosophy, or sociology, will be considered for admission. The admission procedure is the same as that stated for each of the three departments, as is the information to be submitted with each application for admission. For students in this special concentration, the normal departmental requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are modified. Further information is available from the Department of History.

Cultural Studies and Interpretive Research is an interdisciplinary, intercollege concentration of eight units or minor of four units. It is open to Ph.D. students in affiliated programs who wish to obtain expertise in cultural studies, social theory, and interpretive research while completing their degree requirements within their home departments. History students may include a four-unit minor in their doctoral programss. Contact Norman Denzin, Program Chair, Institute of Communications Research, University of Illinois, 222b Armory, 505 East Armory Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820.

Financial aid is almost always awarded on an academic-year basis. Applications by incoming students are considered with admission applications. All fellowships and assistantships include a stipend plus tuition and service fee waiver.

Available fellowships include University fellowships for entering M.A. students and for Ph.D. students at the dissertation-writing stage; Babcock, Crawford, and Krueger Fellowships for dissertation-level students; Foreign Language and Area Studies (NDEA VI) Fellowships for those who have special interests in foreign area studies; and Graduate College fellowships for beginning students who have disadvantaged backgrounds.

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience in this program. Half-time teaching assistantships are the department's primary form of financial aid for graduate students in the Ph.D. program. Students who progress satisfactorily toward their degrees and demonstrate effective teaching will have their teaching assistantships renewed for a second, and, in many cases, a third year.