History Doctoral Programs in the United States and Canada

Massachusetts Amherst, Univ. of

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

U.S., Europe, Latin America, public, science

Program Description

The University of Massachusetts Amherst/Five College Graduate Program in History represents an extraordinary collaboration between the faculties of five distinguished campuses -- Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst -- and offers qualified students exceptional resources to pursue advanced study in history. Our goal is to offer a small, high quality program with a low student-faculty ratio and ample opportunity for participation in seminars, lecture courses, and individual instruction.
M.A. and Ph.D. programs are available in a variety of fields, especially in the history of the United States, Latin America, and Europe; among these is the nationally known and highly respected program in Public History. We offer a variety of historiography courses in U.S., European, Latin American, and World History. Featured is the Introduction to History seminar taken by all new students during the fall semester. We also schedule a range of topical courses and research seminars. In recent years, these have explored social and cultural history, the history of work and labor, women's and gender history, public history, and the history of science and technology. Recent additions to the faculty have strengthened resources in the history of China, Pacific Empires, women's history, and the history of science. The graduate program is highly selective.

Special Programs or Resources

Notable is the nationally respected program in Public History that draws on a network of museums, archives, historical societies, and historic preservation agencies, including Historic Deerfield and the Emily Dickinson Museum, with opportunities for both internships and research. Among a rich variety of special collections are the W. E. B. Du Bois and Horace Mann Bond papers and the papers of the Hon. Silvio O. Conte at the University as well as substantial resources for Early America, especially New England, and Latin America. The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals, and other primary sources in women's history. The substantial collections of the American Antiquarian Society are nearby in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Financial Aid

The program is prepared to offer financial aid to a number of qualified incoming graduate students each year. Such aid ordinarily takes the form of renewable teaching assistantships, which currently provide a stipend of $13,870 per year plus a waiver of tuition. In addition, research and travel grants are available to assist dissertation research. In some years, field service assistantships fund students in the Public History program to work for a semester in a local museum.

Degree Requirements

Eight courses are required for the MA; four for the PhD for students entering with an MA. Candidates are expected to prepare a number of fields, sit for exams, prepare dissertations (optional for the MA), and demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language. Other requirements and more detailed descriptions should be checked at the History Department and Graduate School web sites.

University Information:

University Type: Public

Carnegie Institution Ranking: Doctoral/Research Universities—Extensive

Department Demographics:

First PhD conferred: 1965

History PhDs conferred to Date: 151

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred (2000–04): Medium [Explain]

Faculty Mix:
	Full Professor	21
	Associate Professor	7
	Assistant Professor	8
	Instructor/Lecturer
	Joint Appointment
	Emeritus Faculty
	Part-time faculty	12

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

Number of Graduate Students in Program (Fall 2005): 54
(Graduate student counts include those enrolled in terminal Master's degree program)

Proportion of Full-Time Graduate Students: 91%

New Graduate Students Entering Program, Fall 2004: 20

Relative Size Based on Graduate Student Enrollment (2002–04): Medium [Explain]

 

Other Information

     Current Dissertations in Progress

     PhDs Conferred by Department