The AHA Council has been hearing from department chairs and directors of graduate studies about prospective graduate students being pressured to accept funding packages earlier than the national deadline of April 15. This practice puts pressure on both students and departments, and the AHA, along with the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), strongly urges departments to abide by the April deadline. The CGS reaffirmed its support for this deadline in an April 2014 resolution, endorsed by a very large number of its affiliate members.
In response to recent reports of the persistence of this practice, the AHA Council gave its unanimous support to the statement below.
Approved by AHA Council, September 26, 2014
The American Historical Association Council reaffirms the importance of the Council of Graduate Schools’ resolution regarding deadlines for accepting offers of admission to graduate programs, which state that students are under no obligation to respond to offers of admission and financial support prior to April 15, and that imposing earlier deadlines for the acceptance of such offers violates the Council’s and the Association’s principles.