HISTORY

Chair of the Department: Peter A. Fritzsche

Director of Graduate Studies: Frederick E. Hoxie

Correspondence and Admission Information: Department of History, 309 Gregory Hall, 810 South Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801; (217) 244-2591; E-mail: judyp@uiuc.edu

URL: www.history.uiuc.edu

GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

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, which is available on the department's Web site. Students are not normally admitted to a terminal master's degree program.

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 religion and pre-modern society; history of women and gender; "race," ethnic identity formation, and hybridity; and history of nationalism. Topical fields may also be arranged with the consent of the graduate advisers.

ADMISSION

Applicants should have a minimum of 20 semester hours of undergraduate work in history and cognate disciplines with an overall GPA of 3.25 in the last two years. Applicants who have a mas ter's degree should have a grade point average of 3.5 for previous graduate-level work. All applicants are required to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal, analytical, and quantitative are mandatory; history is optional). 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% and/or TOEFL scores of over 630 (260 computer). Only in exceptional circumstances are students admitted for the spring term.

GRADUATE TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience in this program.

human and community development

MASTER OF ARTS

Stu dents enrolled in the Ph.D. program can usually earn a Master of Arts in History within three semesters. A minimum of eight units is required, four of which must be at the 400 level. At least one research seminar with a grade of B or better must be included, and the candidate must demonstrate ability to read one foreign language related to his or her field of interest as approved by the graduate advisers.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree needs a minimum of 24 units (including those offered for the master's degree), of which eight may be for thesis research (HIST 499). For students who enter the graduate program without a master's degree in history, these must include three research seminars, two "methods" courses, and three additional courses at the 400 level (not 499). For students entering the graduate program with a master's degree in history, these must include two research seminars, HIST 496, either HIST 490 or HIST 491, and two additional courses at the 4 00 level (not including HIST 499). A candidate must demonstrate ability to read two foreign languages related to his or her field of interest, as approved by the graduate advisers; students in American history need only one foreign language. In certain circumstances, a student in 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. To fulfill the minimum requirement of 24 units, four units in disciplines other than history may be applied.

MEDICAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM

The department participates in the Medical Scholars Progr am, which enables students to combine the study of medicine leading to the M.D. with the attainment of a Ph.D. in History. Our strength in the history of science and medicine provides a supportive academic environment for these students. For more details about this joint program, and admission requirements, see the entry for the Medical Scholars Program.

CONCENTRATION IN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION

The Department of History in the past administered an interdisciplinary doctoral program in American civilization; this is currently under review. 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.

CONCENTRATION IN SCIENCE, technology, information, and medicine (STIM)

A special area of concentration in science, technology, information, and medicine (STIM) is offered by the Departments of History, Philosophy, and Sociology, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, the College of Medicine, and the Institute for Communications Research. The STIM program supports 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. STIM students enroll in and receive their master's and doctoral degrees from either the history, philosophy, or 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 strong science backgrounds, but only weak training in history, philosophy, or sociology, will be considered for admission. The admission procedures and requirements are the same as those stated for each of the three departments. For students in this special concentration, the normal department al requirements for the master's and doctoral degrees are modified. Further information is available from the Department of History.

minor in cultural studies and interpretive research

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 de
partments. History students may include a four-unit minor in their doctoral programs.

FACILITIES

The extraordinary University Library is the department's main research facility; within it, the History Library, the Rare Book Room, and the area studies libraries (Slavic, Africana, Latin American, Asian Libraries) all serve faculty and students with expert bibliographers and focused collections. Among other special collections much used by historians are Af ro-Americana and Women's Studies; the library is also a major repository for government documents. The department has its own computer laboratory open exclusively to history graduate and undergraduate students.

FINANCIAL AID

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.

Both University and department endowment fellowships are available to entering students and to advanced doctoral students embarked on their research or the writing of their dissertations. Foreign Language and Area Studies (NDEA VI) Fellowships support first- and second-year students who have special interests in foreign area studies. Entering students from underrepresented groups may be awarded one- to three-year Graduate College Fellowships. The Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunity Program (ICEOP) offers renewable fellowship s to underrepresented minority students who are Illinois residents and plan academic careers within the state.

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 usually a third, year.