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University of Alabama

Dept. of History
P.O. Box 870212
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0212

Phone 205.348.7100
Fax 205.348.0670
E-mail: kfrederi@as.ua.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

Latin America, Military and Naval History, Modern Europe, U.S., and U.S. South

Program Description

The Department of History at the University of Alabama specializes in the training of professional historians, and offers both the MA and PhD in History. Our faculty are nationally known and regarded in their fields. They are committed to research and teaching as well as to the training of the next generation of historians. They have published extensively, are strong participants in professional activities in national historical organizations, and are active in the life of the University.

Special Programs or Resources

As a department, we have created the Summersell Center for the Study of the South, have participated in the College of Arts and Sciences Cuba Initiative with the University of Havana, and engaged in outreach efforts with area public school teachers who teach history. The History department offers a vibrant intellectual community in which to engage in graduate work.

Financial Aid

The Department of History awards twenty-six graduate teaching assistantships. In 2011-12 these awards included a stipend of $12,000 plus a full tuition waiver and health benefits. These are are renewable for up to five years in the case of Ph.D. students, and two years for M.A. students. The Department also awarded up five research fellowships per year, which also include a stipend of $12,000 plus a full tuition waiver and health benefits. These research fellowships are generally not renewable.

The Graduate School also awards non-teaching research fellowships for outstanding students. In 2011-12 year these awards included a stipend of $15,000 plus a full tuition waiver and health benefits. History graduate students have traditionally been awarded a significant share of Graduate Council Fellowships.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in History requires 54 credit hours. Of the 54 credit hours, at least 48 credit hours must be in History. Six credit hours may be in a related field. Eight credit hours must be in seminar courses, and no more than four credit hours may be in individual directed readings. Also required is a dissertation, and reading proficiency in one or two foreign language (depending on specialty). A special skill may be substituted for one foreign language. Successful written and oral examinations in three fields of study qualify the student to proceed to the dissertation.

Department offers graduate instruction in the following fields:

United States History to 1877
United States History since 1877
History of the American South
British and European History (1485-1815)
British and European History since 1815
Latin American History to 1810
Latin American History since 1810
Military and Naval History.

Ph.D. students may, as their fourth, non-testing field, also create a thematic field, the exact boundaries of which will be settled in consultation with the Graduate Committee, provided that there are a minimum of two professors in the department who specialize in that area. In some cases, concentrations within these fields or in other areas can be established by prior agreement of the student and the Department.



University Information:

Information from Department of Education
(Includes information on the size, location, and general characteristics of faculty and student body)

Information from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
(Includes rating of the institution's rating of the graduate instructional program and size and setting)

 

Faculty Information (Fall 2011):

Full-time Faculty: 25

Relative Size based on Number of Full-time Faculty: Medium [Explain]

 

Student Demographics (Fall 2011):

Number of Doctoral Students in Program: 25

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: 14

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: 44%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 62

Relative Size Based on Graduate Student Enrollment: Medium [Explain]

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1952

History PhDs conferred to Date: 141

Number of PhDs Conferred (2011–12): 4

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred: Medium [Explain]

Current Dissertations in Progress

PhDs Conferred by Department

 

 

Last Updated: October 19, 2012