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University of Washington

Dept. of History
Smith 315
Box 353560
Seattle, WA 98195-3560

Phone 206.543.5790
Fax 206.543.9451
E-mail: histmain@uw.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Europe, Russia, and U.S.

Program Description

Graduate students pursue M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in fields ranging from ancient to modern times and touching on nearly all parts of the world. There are nine major divisions of study (e.g. United States, Russia and Central Asia, Europe, History of Science, etc.) and numerous areas of specialization within these divisions. Graduate students can take courses in a host of affiliated programs as well. The Department is embracing more global and comparative history and graduate students can now pursue supporting fields of study in comparative gender, comparative colonialisms, comparative ethnicity and nationalism, and historiography.

Special Programs or Resources

The UW library system ranks among the top 10 largest in North America with over 5 million volumes as well as very large microform holdings. In addition to the large collections in Suzzallo and Allen libraries, graduate students can also access research materials held in specialized collections such as: East Asia, Near East, Slavic and East European, South East Asia, Pacific Northwest, etc. The History Department sponsors the Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest and partners with Political Science as co-sponsors of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. Both Centers support graduate students and undertake public programs. History has strong ties to many other units including the Jackson School of International Studies, American Indian Studies, American Ethnic Studies, Women Studies, Philosophy, Astronomy, Classics, English, and Near Eastern Languages and Civilization.

Financial Aid

A recent survey of the History graduate student body found that approximately 75% of students were receiving full funding for the academic year, while another 25% were receiving partial funding through a combination of private and public resources. The Department uses a substantial part of its funding to recruit graduate applicants. Some fellowships can be used to recruit students in any field and some are restricted by the donor to students in particular fields, for example, ancient history, labor history, and Pacific Northwest history. About three quarters of our entering M.A. and Ph.D. students each year are funded through a combination of departmental and University monies, usually in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. All applicants for admission are considered for any departmental aid for which they are eligible.

Degree Requirements

The Department of History requires students to have an M.A. in History in order to be eligible to apply for the Ph.D. program. Consequently, students who hold an M.A. in a field other than History or a B.A. degree must apply for the M.A. program.

A student normally completes the M.A. program in one year. During this period the student must complete 36 graduate credits consisting of field courses, special topics courses, independent study and other History content courses to prepare the two graduate fields of specialization required for the M.A. In addition, the student must complete a research seminar paper (usually through a two-quarter research seminar), fulfill the foreign language requirement, and successfully pass a one-hour oral examination covering the two M.A. fields and the seminar paper. All requirements for the M.A. degree must be completed within six years.

A doctoral student normally takes two years to get to the Ph.D. General Examination and achieve candidacy (one year of Masters work and one year of Ph.D. work for students admitted to the M.A. program; two of Ph.D. work for students admitted to the Ph.D. program). Prior to the General Examination, the student must complete 60 graduate credits consisting of field courses, special topics courses, independent study and other History content courses to prepare the four graduate fields of specialization required for the Ph.D. In addition, the student must complete a research seminar paper (usually through a two-quarter research seminar), fulfill the foreign language requirement, and pass the written and oral examinations covering the four fields of specialization. After achieving candidacy, the student must present a dissertation prospectus to the faculty and graduate students of the History Department. The student then focuses on researching and writing the dissertation and preparing it for the Ph.D. Final Examination (dissertation defense). During this time, the student must complete a minimum of 30 credits of doctoral dissertation credits. All requirements for the UW Ph.D. degree or the UW M.A. and Ph.D. degrees must be completed within ten years.



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: 37

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

 

Student Demographics (Fall 2011):

Number of Doctoral Students in Program: 60

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: 4

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: -1%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 96

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

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1922

History PhDs conferred to Date: 136

Number of PhDs Conferred (2011–12): 7

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred: Large [Explain]

Current Dissertations in Progress

PhDs Conferred by Department

 

 

Last Updated: October 19, 2012