
With some 130 graduate students and over 60 faculty members, the Department of History is home to one of the oldest, most distinguished, and most comprehensive graduate programs in the U.S., renowned for its long and valued tradition of collegiality and openness. We offer separate graduate degrees in History and in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. Our internationally recognized faculty has been mentoring distinguished historians since 1893.
The degree program in History is designed to meet the needs of the PhD candidate, and we offer funding only to students who intend to pursue the PhD. However, we also welcome applications from students who wish to earn only the MA if they have external funding.
Graduate training in the History degree program is organized by primary fields of study. Although most of our students are trained in a single field of study, students whose research interests span more than one field have the option to craft an individual plan of study.
We offer the following primary fields in the History degree program:
- African History
- East Asian History
- European History—Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern
- Latin American and Caribbean History
- Middle East and North African History
- South Asian History
- Southeast Asian History
- U.S./North American History
Within their primary field, students also have the opportunity to organize their studies thematically. The faculty’s thematic strengths are in the following areas:
- Borderlands and diasporas
- Environmental history
- Gender and Women’s History
- History of Science, Medicine, and Technology
- Intellectual and cultural history
- Jewish History
- Labor and political economy
- Race, ethnicity, and indigeneity
- Religion and ritual
- War in Society and Culture
Our faculty train resourceful researchers, committed teachers, and engaged public intellectuals. We offer a rigorous course of study that combines independent and collaborative work and emphasizes scholarly and intellectual connectedness. The department strongly supports the Wisconsin Idea, the principle that education should influence and improve people's lives beyond the university classroom. For more than 100 years, this idea has guided the university's work. Students pursue a variety of careers, both inside and outside the academy.
Other degree options include:
Bridge Program with UW–Madison's Department of African-American Studies
This academic partnership allows students to complete the MA in African American Studies and the PhD in History. It enables African American Studies students who specialize in History to meet the basic requirements of the History MA while completing a degree in African American Studies. Students may apply simultaneously to the two departments or may apply to the Department of History after they begin their graduate program in the Department of African American Studies, usually in the fall of the first or second MA year.
For details, see The Bridge Program or contact the Graduate Program Manager.
Admissions
Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.
Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.
Fall Deadline | December 1 |
Spring Deadline | This program does not admit in the spring. |
Summer Deadline | This program does not admit in the summer. |
GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) | Not required. |
English Proficiency Test | Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Requirements for Admission policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1241. |
Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT) | n/a |
Letters of Recommendation Required | 3 |
Application Materials
To apply, applicants must submit or declare the following in the online application:
History Supplemental Application
This section of the application asks applicants to provide information about your research interests, declare your preferred faculty advisors, and outline your prior language preparation (if any).
Writing Sample
Provide a sample that best illustrates the quality of applicant's written work (optimally no more than 50 pages, double-spaced; maximum file size 6 MB).
Transcripts
Upload an unofficial copy of transcript from all institutions attended, showing any undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded. If recommended for admisison, the Graduate School will ask for official transcripts from each institution.
CV or Resumé
This should highlight an applicant's accomplishments and qualifications including academic honors or distinctions; professional, research, and/or teaching experience; and any publications.
Letters of Recommendation
Provide contact information for the three individuals who will furnish recommendations on an applicant's behalf (they will receive an upload link by email). Letter writers need not be historians, but they should be able to speak to an applicant's academic preparation to pursue historical studies at the graduate level.
Statement of Purpose
The Statement of Purpose (2-3 pages, double-spaced, pdf file format) explains an applicant's reasons for graduate study. It may be the hardest part of the application to write, but it is also the most important. While an applicant will likely include some autobiographical information, its primary purpose is to acquaint us with how an applicant's mind works. We want to know, for example, what kinds of intellectual problems and issues interest an applicant, whose stories intrigue them, what sorts of analytical or narrative approaches they like to pursue, which historical writings they admire—and the reasons for these various preferences. Please help us understand the applicant's decision to enter the historical profession and how the applicant sees their own role in it. Applicants can feel free to explain how their background and life experiences, including cultural, geographical, financial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges have motivated their decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There is no single right way to approach this part of the application, but we suggest that applicants bear in mind the usual cautions for personal writing: speak straightforwardly, in their own voice, and write as well as they know how.
International Applicants
All international applicants must also meet the English Proficiency requirements set forth by the Graduate School.
For additional details about the admissions process, please visit the Prospective Student pages on our website.
Funding
Graduate School Resources
The Bursar’s Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Program Resources
We offer funding only to students who intend to pursue the PhD—an application for admission to our PhD program, therefore, is an application for funding. We also welcome applications from students who have external funding or are self-funded, including those pursuing the MA only.*
Multi-year funding package
If you apply to the History PhD degree program without external or self-funding and are accepted, you will be offered a multiyear support package, which begins in your first year. The details of our support guarantees may vary by funding source, field of study, and other circumstances, and the guarantee is, of course, contingent on satisfactory progress and performance. Most of our support packages offer five years of support and begin with a fellowship year from the UW–Madison Graduate School, generously funded by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Our most distinguished packages include two years of fellowships and may also include summer support:
- Graduate Research Scholar fellowships for underrepresented students or first-generation college students—offered annually
- George L. Mosse fellowships in modern Jewish history, European cultural history, or LGBTQ history—offered annually or as endowment income permits
- Julie A. and Peter M. Weil Fellowship in American Jewish history and select U.S. history fields—offered annually or as endowment income permits
- William J. Courtenay Fellowship in Medieval history—offered as funds permit
- Gerda Lerner Fellowship in women’s history—offered as funds permit
Additional years of guaranteed funding will come from employment as teaching assistants or project assistants or additional fellowships.
Competing for additional support
All students in good standing can apply for writing prizes, conference travel awards, and supplements to external awards. Once graduate students have passed their preliminary examination and advanced to candidacy, they may apply for various departmental fellowships and research travel funding.
For students who have reached the advanced stages of dissertation writing, further funding opportunities are available. Our advanced dissertators may apply for teaching fellowships that give them the opportunity to design and teach an undergraduate course—the Merle Curti Teaching Fellowship (any field of study), the George L. Mosse Teaching Fellowship in European History, and the William J. Courtenay Teaching Fellowship in ancient, medieval, or early modern European history. (These fellowships are offered as often as endowment income permits.) Thanks to funding provided by the Doris G. Quinn Foundation, we are also pleased to offer a dissertator fellowship, which provides financial support for the final year of dissertation writing in any field.
In addition, UW–Madison offers a wealth of other opportunities to compete for funding offered, for example, by the International Division, the Institute for Research in the Humanities, and the UW Graduate School (research and conference travel awards).
More details on our funding for current/continuing students are available here.
* If you wish to apply only for the History MA (also known as the terminal MA), please describe your sources of support on the History Supplemental Application. For information on the cost of graduate study at UW–Madison, see this link.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
Mode of Instruction
Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.
Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.
Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.
Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information.
Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.
Curricular Requirements
Minimum Credit Requirement | 30 credits |
Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 24 credits |
Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 22 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244. |
Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.00 (3.25 after 4th semester of full-time study) |
Other Grade Requirements | n/a |
Assessments and Examinations | In order to receive the Master's Degree in History, students must pass the Second-Year Review (SYR). A passing review requires that students: complete an article-length research paper, fulfill one language requirement, clear all incompletes, fulfill any additional requirements for their specific field of study, submit a list of prelim fields along with a timeline for completing prelims, and receive a positive endorsement from the three faculty members on the review committee. |
Language Requirements | All students must demonstrate, at a minimum, reading knowledge of at least one language other than English. Each field of study determines which languages may be used to satisfy the language requirement; see below for details. |
Required Courses
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Core | ||
HISTORY 701 | History in a Global Perspective | 1 |
HISTORY 800 | Research Seminar in History (or an equivalent research seminar in the student's field of study) 1 | 3 |
Electives | ||
Work with advisor to complete 26 credits of graduate-level courses | 26 | |
Total Credits | 30 |
- 1
Alternative course options: HISTORY 855 Seminar in Japanese History for students studying East Asian History, HISTORY 861 Seminar-The History of Africa for students studying African History.
Additional MA Requirements by Fields of Study1
- 1
These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.
African History
Course Requirements: Each student must enroll in a seminar or proseminar (if available) every semester of residence. In their first year, they may enroll in History lecture courses in their area of specialization. Undergraduate lecture courses may not be taken for credit after the first year of graduate study. With approval, students can take African Cultural Studies (AFRICAN) courses.
Language Requirements: Students must fulfill their MA language requirement with an African language.
Central Asian History
No special field requirements. Students should choose courses in consultation with their advisor in History (HISTORY) numbered 300 or above and with the "Grad 50%" attribute. The language requirement varies according to the student's research interest.
East Asian History
Course Requirements: Students must complete four graduate courses in East Asian history. These can be upper-division lecture courses or graduate seminars/colloquia (taken for a minimum of 12 credits). At least two of these courses should be in the major field, and at least one should be outside the major field. NOTE: Students should also begin fulfilling the course requirements that must be completed prior to taking preliminary examination. They are required to take one semester each of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history. They may fulfill this requirement by taking a graduate seminar or an upper-division lecture course. They may also fulfill the requirement by serving as a TA in either an introductory or upper-division course. Students are also required to take HISTORY 703 History and Theory.
Language Requirements: Students must complete the eighth semester in their main language (Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) by the time they either undergo the Second-Year Review or complete their fourth semester of coursework.
European History
Language Requirements: Students in Medieval History must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages, usually one medieval and one modern.
Latin American and Caribbean History
Course Requirements: Each student must enroll in a seminar or proseminar (if available) every semester of residence. Other courses will include History (HISTORY) graduate seminars or similar courses in the culture area of specialization. Undergraduate lecture courses may not be taken for credit unless a faculty advisor or co-advisor approves.
Middle East and North African History
Proficiency in two languages, at least one of which must be a language of the Middle East or North Africa, is required. There are no other specific special field requirements; students choose courses in consultation with their advisor.
South Asian History
Course Requirements: Each student must enroll in a seminar or proseminar (if available) every semester of residence. In lieu of a History graduate course, they may substitute an independent study in History or a graduate seminar in another department. In their first year, they may enroll in History lecture courses in their area of specialization. Undergraduate lecture courses may not be taken for credit after the first year of graduate study.
Language Requirements: Students must complete two years of study in one South Asian language (or demonstrate equivalent proficiency by examination).
Southeast Asian History
Course Requirements: MA students shall take six credits of graduate seminar in Southeast Asian history each academic year or, if not available, substitute credits of independent study with a faculty specialist in Southeast Asian history.
Language Requirements: Students must complete two years of study (or demonstrate equivalent proficiency by examination) in a Southeast Asian language or, with the approval of the Southeast Asian faculty, in a relevant colonial/imperial language.
United States History
Course Requirements: Students must take:
- The core seminar, HISTORY 900 Introduction to History for U.S. Historians, in the fall semester of their first year. This seminar introduces students to the U.S. History faculty and their fields of research and teaches students the core skills of professional historians.
- Three three-credit seminars that cover a significant portion of the seventeenth and/or eighteenth centuries, the nineteenth century, and the twentieth century, respectively. If a seminar falls into more than one category, the student may choose the single category for which they will receive credit.
In exceptional circumstances, student may, with the consent of their advisor, take up to six credits in upper-level undergraduate courses. The instructors of such courses have the prerogative to refuse admission to graduate students.
Note that prior to completing their preliminary examination, students may use no more than six credits of HISTORY 999 Independent Work to meet the requirements of the major field. Students will probably find it useful to preserve most, if not all, of their six credits of HISTORY 999 for preliminary examination preparation.
Program in Gender and Women's History Concentration
Course Requirements: Students must meet the requirements of their primary field of study; take HISTORY 752 Seminar in Transnational Gender History; and take at least two additional History graduate seminars that are gender-specific, i.e., that have at least a 50% focus on issues and analyses of gender, women, or sexuality.
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures serve as the official document of record for Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures and are updated continuously. Note some policies redirect to entries in the official UW-Madison Policy Library. Programs may set more stringent policies than the Graduate School. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers)
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Credits Earned as a University Special student at UW–Madison
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Probation
Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy.
Advisor / Committee
Refer to the Graduate School: Advisor and Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA) policies.
Credits Per Term Allowed
15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy.
Time Limits
Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy.
Grievances and Appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
L&S Policy for Graduate Student Academic Appeals
Graduate students have the right to appeal an academic decision related to an L&S graduate program if the student believes that the decision is inconsistent with published policy.
Academic decisions that may be appealed include:
- Dismissal from the graduate program
- Failure to pass a qualifying or preliminary examination
- Failure to achieve satisfactory academic progress
- Academic disciplinary action related to failure to meet professional conduct standards
Issues such as the following cannot be appealed using this process:
- A faculty member declining to serve as a graduate student’s advisor.
- Decisions regarding the student’s disciplinary knowledge, evaluation of the quality of work, or similar judgements. These are the domain of the department faculty.
- Course grades. These can be appealed instead using the L&S Policy for Grade Appeal.
- Incidents of bias or hate, hostile and intimidating behavior, or discrimination (Title IX, Office of Compliance). Direct these to the linked campus offices appropriate for the incident(s).
Appeal Process for Graduate Students
A graduate student wishing to appeal an academic decision must follow the process in the order listed below. Note time limits within each step.
- The student should first seek informal resolution, if possible, by discussing the concern with their academic advisor, the department’s Director of Graduate Studies, and/or the department chair.
- If the program has an appeal policy listed in their graduate program handbook, the student should follow the policy as written, including adhering to any indicated deadlines. In the absence of a specific departmental process, the chair or designee will be the reviewer and decision maker, and the student should submit a written appeal to the chair within 15 business days of the academic decision. The chair or designee will notify the student in writing of their decision.
- If the departmental process upholds the original decision, the graduate student may next initiate an appeal to L&S. To do so, the student must submit a written appeal to the L&S Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Academic Affairs within 15 business days of notification of the department’s decision.
- To the fullest extent possible, the written appeal should include, in a single document: a clear and concise statement of the academic decision being appealed, any relevant background on what led to the decision, the specific policies involved, the relief sought, any relevant documentation related to the departmental appeal, and the names and titles of any individuals contributing to or involved in the decision.
- The Assistant Dean will work with the Academic Associate Dean of the appropriate division to consider the appeal. They may seek additional information and/or meetings related to the case.
- The Assistant Dean and Academic Associate Dean will provide a written decision within 20 business days.
- If L&S upholds the original decision, the graduate student may appeal to the Graduate School. More information can be found on their website: Grievances and Appeals (see: Graduate School Appeal Process).
Other
n/a
Professional Development
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Program Resources
The Department of History is committed to training our students to develop skills required for a variety of careers both in and outside the academy. Although a large network of our alumni teach at colleges and universities in the U.S. and across the world, a number of our PhDs have enjoyed considerable success outside the academy. They include recent graduates who are currently a museum curator, teachers at prestigious preparatory academies, a historian with the U.S. Secretary of Defense's POW/Missing Persons Agency, a CEO of an investment firm, an analyst for a defense contractor, an editor at a small press, and consultants working with non-profits in the human services, education, and public policy fields. In recent years we have undertaken a number of initiatives, detailed below, to broaden the training of our students for a wide array of careers.
Much of the preparation for the job market occurs informally and over the course of the student's graduate career—in the mentoring relationship between faculty advisor and student, in the presentation of student research in department venues, in the student's participation in professional conferences, and in early forms of professional publication. Coursework, such as for the minor requirement or certificates, can be an avenue to expanded competencies. The Center for Humanities, for example, offers a Public Humanities certificate. Be sure to explore the Graduate School's resources such as "The Versatile PhD" and its Professional Development pages.
Whatever career paths interest you, we encourage you to plan ahead and discuss your options—early and often—with your faculty advisor(s), with the Director of Graduate Studies, or with the Graduate Coordinator.
Professional Development Seminars (HISTORY 710)
Professional development events
Preliminary Examination Workshop
This offers a discussion of the various requirements for preliminary examinations: how to assemble committees, compiling reading lists, Graduate School requirements, and more.
Curriculum Vitae Workshops
These workshops are designed for students at all levels, ranging from first-year students writing CVs for campus positions to advanced dissertators on the job market.
Mock Interviews
The Graduate Program offers a series of opportunities to practice with a committee of our faculty for AHA interviews and on-campus job talks. They are open to a limited number of students who expect to be actively on the job market in the fall.
Careers in History Workshops
Our program is committed to helping its graduates seek and secure employment following the completion of their PhDs. Since the financial crisis in 2008, the academic job market has softened markedly. While the Graduate Program continues to provide outstanding preparation for academic jobs, we also encourage our students to think more broadly about their career prospects and the transferability of their skills. As funds permit, we occasionally bring to campus History graduates who are working in the non-profit, private, or public sector to meet with current graduate students and share their experiences. We also offer opportunities to learn best practices for post-doctoral fellowship applications.
Learning Outcomes
- Articulates and critiques the theories, research methods, and approaches to historical inquiry in the student's primary field of study.
- Demonstrates understanding of the primary field of study in a historical and global context.
- Is able to identify and make appropriate use of relevant historical sources.
- Demonstrates the ability to evaluate and synthesize large bodies of scholarship or evidence.
- Is able to construct a significant and persuasive historical argument that makes an original contribution to historical knowledge.
- Communicates complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner.
- Recognizes and applies established principles of ethical and professional conduct.