Graduate School from Start to Finish
Contents
- Admissions & Acceptance
- Course Work
- Foreign Language Study
- Master's Degree
- Preparing for Comprehensive Exams: Oral and Written
- Funding/Grant Writing
- Conceptualizing a Dissertation
- Conducting Research
- Organizing & Writing a Dissertation
- Networking
- Teaching
- Publishing
- Leave Policies at Major Universities
Admissions & Acceptance
Application and Decision Process
Navigating the Graduate Admissions Process by Michael H. Creswell (December 2009)
Course Work
Coursework (PDF), prepared by the Committee for Graduate Students
Foreign Language Study
Guide to Foreign Language Study for Graduate Students, prepared by Erica Heinsen-Roach for the Graduate and Early Career Committee in February 2017
Master's Degree
Retrieving the Master’s Degree from the Dustbin of History, prepared by Philip M. Katz for the AHA's Committee on Committee on the Master’s Degree in History.
Issues in Graduate Education: Forum on the Master's Degree
- Function of the Master’s Degree in Teaching History by Helen Grady
- The MA and a Career in Historic Preservation by Daniel Vivian
Preparing for Comprehensive Exams: Oral and Written
Preparation Tips for Comprehensive Exams (PDF), prepared by the Committee for Graduate Students (June 2007)
Funding/Grant Writing
Guide to Preparing Fellowship Applications by Aaron Hale-Dorrell and Jennifer Schaefer; approved by GECC September 21, 2016
Calendar - Opportunities for Research Grants and Fellowships
- The Albert J. Beveridge Grant for Research in the Western Hemisphere
- The Michael Kraus Research Grant in colonial American history
- The Littleton-Griswold Grant in U.S. legal history and the field of law and society
- The Bernadotte Schmitt Grants support research in the history of Europe, Asia, and Africa
Conceptualizing a Dissertation
Searchable database of Doctoral History Dissertations at Canadian and U.S. History Programs
Dissertation Proposal Stages(PDF), prepared by the Committee for Graduate Students (June 2007)
Conducting Research
AHA Guide to Archival Research: approved by GECC September 21, 2016; adapted by Elizabeth Lundeen and Adam J. Pratt from:
- "A Survival Guide to Archival Research" by Barbara Heck, Elizabeth Preston, and Bill Svec (Perspectives, Dec. 2004)
- Some Tips and Suggestions for your Research Trip (PDF), by the Committee for Graduate Students
Taking a Byte Out of the Archives: Making Technology Work for You by Kirklin Bateman, Sheila Brennan, Douglas Mudd, and Paula Petrik (Perspectives, Jan. 2005)
ArchivesWiki, a clearinghouse of information about archival resources throughout the world
Zotero: Social and Semantic Computing for Historical Scholarship by Daniel J. Cohen
Center for New Media: Research and Tools
Organizing and Writing a Dissertation
From Concept to Completion: A Dissertation-Writing Guide for History Students by the AHA Graduate and Early Career Committee
Practical Advice for Writing Your Dissertation, Book, or Article by Liena Vayzman (Perspectives, Dec. 2006)
Dissertation writing blog: "Ask the Dissertation Diva"
From Notes to Narrative: The Art of Crafting a Dissertation or Monograph
- Introduction by Elise Lipkowitz
- Managing the Terror by Brad S. Gregory
- Finding the Story by Deborah E. Harkness
- On Taking Notes by Judith Walkowitz
Statement on Electronic Publication of Theses and Dissertations (2012)
Statement on Policies Regarding the Option to Embargo Completed History PhD Dissertations (2013)
Guidelines for the Dissertation Process (2016)
Networking
Planning a Graduate Student Conference by Andrew L. Johns and Kenneth A Osgood (Perspectives, March 1999)
Guide to Getting the Most Out of Conferences and Professional Meetings (PDF)
Conference Rules by Linda Kerber
- Conference Rules, 1: Everything You Need to Know about Presenting a Scholarly Paper in Public
- Conference Rules, 2: Everything you need to know about introducing speakers and running a panel discussion
- Conference Rules, 3: Everything you need to know about your role as a commentator or member of the audience
Teaching
Syllabus Finder from George Mason University's Center for History and New Media
"'We Shall Teach'": Preparing History Graduate Students for the Classroom by Terry Seip
Teaching History at a Community College by Emily Sohmer Tai (Perspectives, Feb. 2004)
Getting Started by Terry Seip
A Recipe for a Successful Lecture by Peter Filene
Teaching in High-Intensity Mode by Rudolph M. Bell
Publishing
Publishing History (Perspectives, May 2002)
- Getting Published by a University Press by Elaine Maisne
- Your Name in This Space: The Mysteries of Scholarly Publishing by Christopher Tomlins
Directory of History Journals, links to English-language journals that publish in various fields of history
Mentoring
Advisory Committee on Disability Mentoring Program
- Introduction by Aaron Marrs
- Learning the Craft: The Role of Graduate Mentors by John D. French
- Graduate Student Mentoring by Ronald Walters
- Mentoring: Teaching Assistants and Other Issues by Terry L. Seip
Career Diversity Resources
Are you a graduate student in history? Dissertating? Recently finished? Or even just considering enrolling in a history PhD program? Find resources to help you think about the usefulness of historical training in a variety of career paths at any stage of your graduate education.
Check out Career Contacts, What I Do, and Career Paths to learn about the individual careers of different historians. Read "The Many Careers of the History PhD" to learn about career outcomes for the discipline as a whole.
Check back soon as we continue to add new resources.