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 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.

Joint PhD in History and History of Science

Students who wish to obtain a joint PhD in History and the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology are initially admitted to one of the degree programs, and should indicate interest in the joint PhD program at that time. After completion of a master’s degree in History or History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, the student applies for admission to the other degree program and, at the same time, to a standing committee of the two programs for admission to the joint program.

Having been admitted to the other degree program and to the joint PhD program, the student then applies to the Graduate School for approval of the joint PhD (See the Graduate School's academic policy regarding joint degrees for more information and deadlines.) The student’s application to the standing committee should take the same form as required by the Graduate School and should be prepared in close consultation with department faculty/staff.

Students in the joint PhD program are assigned a home degree program and follow the regulations of that degree program with regard to seminar requirements, language requirements, financial aid, and regulations for satisfactory progress. Since the joint PhD meets the doctoral minor requirement of the Graduate School, no minor is required for students receiving a joint PhD. However, students who wish to have a minor field recorded on the transcript may complete a regular Option A or Option B minor, or the internal minor of the department.

The joint PhD student’s work is supervised by a committee consisting of three faculty members (two from the home degree program). The preliminary examinations test the student’s competence in both history and history of science, medicine, and technology, balancing the material and fields between the two departments (e.g. two in each, or three in one and two in the other).  The number of prelim fields must equal the number required of students majoring exclusively in History or in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, plus one. Preparation of the PhD dissertation is guided by the student's supervising committee. Satisfactory completion and defense of the dissertation constitute the final requirements for the joint PhD degree.

Joint PhD with other degree programs

History students who wish to pursue a joint PhD (one degree, two majors) with another degree program must first be admitted to the other degree program. The proposal for the degree must be approved by the Department of History's Graduate Council before it is submitted to the Graduate School. Students admitted to a joint PhD will satisfy all the normal requirements of their field in History except the minor requirement.

For more information on joint PhD options, please contact the graduate program coordinator.

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.

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 research interests, declare preferred faculty advisors, and outline 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 admission, the Graduate School will ask for 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 the applicant, whose stories intrigue them, what sorts of analytical or narrative approaches they'd like to pursue, which historical writings the applicant admires—and their reasons for these various preferences. Please help us understand the applicant's decision to enter the historical profession and how they see 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 the applicant bears 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 detail 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 multi-year 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:

• George L. Mosse fellowships in modern Jewish history, European cultural history, or LGBTQ history—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, click here.

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

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

Required Courses

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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.

Recommended Courses

Students are also recommended to take HISTORY 999 Independent Work and HISTORY 710 Professional Development Seminar.

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

With program approval, students are allowed to transfer up to 12 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions.

Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison

On a case-by-case basis, 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)

On a case-by-case basis, refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.

Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UW-Madison

On a case-by-case basis, 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
  • Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
   1. 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.
   2. 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. 
   3. The Assistant Dean and Academic Associate Dean will provide a written decision within 20 business days.
4. 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

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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. 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)

Learning Outcomes

1. Articulates research problems clearly and understands the limits of current theories, knowledge, or practices in the discipline of history.
2. Pushes the boundaries of current historical knowledge in formulating research questions, in the selection or use of primary sources, or in interpreting evidence.
3. Demonstrates breadth of historical and cultural knowledge.
4. Is able to articulate the broader significance of their work to scholars in other fields or disciplines and to the broader public.
5. Is able to design and teach courses at the undergraduate or graduate level.
6. Fosters ethical and professional conduct.