With some 130 graduate students and nearly 60 faculty members, the Department of History is home to one of the oldest, most distinguished, and most comprehensive graduate programs in the U.S., renowned for its long and valued tradition of collegiality and openness. We offer separate graduate degrees in History and in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. All told, our internationally recognized faculty has been mentoring distinguished historians since 1893.

Our degree program in History is designed to meet the needs of the PhD candidate, and we offer funding only to students who intend to pursue the PhD. However, we also welcome applications from students who wish to earn only the MA if they have external funding or are self-funded.

Graduate training in the History degree program is organized by primary fields of study. Although most of our students are trained in a single field of study, students whose research interests span more than one field have the option to craft an individual plan of study.

We offer the following primary fields of study in the History degree program:

• African History
• East Asian History
• European History—Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern
• Latin American and Caribbean History
• Middle East and North African History
• South Asian History
• Southeast Asian History
• U.S./North American History

Within their primary field of study, students also have the opportunity to organize their studies thematically. Our faculty’s special thematic strengths are in:

• Borderlands and diasporas
• Environmental history
• Gender and Women’s History, Program in
• History of Science, Medicine, and Technology 
• Intellectual and cultural history
• Jewish History, Program in
• Labor and political economy
• Race, ethnicity, and indigeneity
• Religion and ritual
• War in Society and Culture Program 

Our faculty train resourceful researchers, committed teachers, and engaged public intellectuals. We offer a rigorous course of study that combines independent and collaborative work and that emphasizes scholarly and intellectual connectedness. The department strongly supports the Wisconsin Idea, the principle that education should influence and improve people's lives beyond the university classroom. For more than 100 years, this idea has guided the university's work. Students pursue a variety of careers, both inside and outside the academy.

Other degree options include:

Bridge Program with UW–Madison's Department of African-American Studies

This academic partnership is designed to allow students to complete the MA in the Department of African American Studies and the PhD in History. It enables the African American Studies student who specializes in the History area to meet the basic requirements of the History MA while completing a degree in African American Studies. Students may apply simultaneously to the two departments or may apply to the Department of History after they begin their program in the Department of African American Studies, usually in the fall of the first or second MA year.

For details, see the Bridge Program or contact the Graduate Program Manager.

Admissions

Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.

Application Materials

To apply, applicants must submit or declare the following in the online application:

History Supplemental Application

This section of the application asks you to provide information about your research interests, declare your preferred faculty advisors, and outline your prior language preparation (if any). 

Writing Sample

Provide a sample that best illustrates the quality of your written work (optimally no more than 50 pages, double-spaced; maximum file size 6 MB).

Transcripts

Upload an unofficial copy of your transcript from all institutions attended, showing any undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded. If accepted, the Graduate School will ask for official transcripts from each institution.

CV or Resumé

This should highlight your accomplishments and qualifications including academic honors or distinctions; professional, research, and/or teaching experience; and any publications.

Letters of Recommendation

Provide contact information for the three individuals who will furnish recommendations on your behalf. (They will receive an upload link by email.) Your letter writers need not be historians, but they should be able to speak to your academic preparation to pursue historical studies at the graduate level.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose (2–3 pages, double-spaced) explains your reasons for graduate study. It may be the hardest part of the application to write, but it is also the most important. While you will likely include some autobiographical information, its primary purpose is to acquaint us with how your mind works. We want to know, for example, what kinds of intellectual problems and issues interest you, whose stories intrigue you, what sorts of analytical or narrative approaches you like to pursue, which historical writings you admire—and your reasons for these various preferences. Please help us understand your decision to enter the historical profession, especially at a time when the academic job market is in decline, and how you see your own role in it. There is no single right way to approach this part of the application, but we suggest that you bear in mind the usual cautions for personal writing: speak straightforwardly, in your own voice, and write as well as you know how.

International Applicants

All international applicants must also meet the English Proficiency requirements set forth by the Graduate School.

For additional detail about the admissions process, please visit the Prospective Student pages on our website.

Funding

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

We offer funding only to students who intend to pursue the PhD—an application for admission to our PhD program, therefore, is an application for funding. We also welcome applications from students who have external funding or are self-funded, including those pursuing the MA only.*

Multi-year funding package

If you apply to the History PhD degree program without external or self-funding and are accepted, you will be offered a multiyear support package, which begins in your first year. The details of our support guarantees may vary by funding source, field of study, and other circumstances, and the guarantee is, of course, contingent on satisfactory progress and performance. Most of our support packages offer five years of support and begin with a fellowship year from the UW–Madison Graduate School, generously funded by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Our most distinguished packages include two years of fellowships and may also include summer support:

• Graduate Research Scholar fellowships for underrepresented students or first-generation college students—offered annually
• George L. Mosse fellowships in modern Jewish history, European cultural history, or LGBTQ history—offered annually or as endowment income permits
• Julie A. and Peter M. Weil Fellowship in American Jewish history and select U.S. history fields—offered annually or as endowment income permits
• William J. Courtenay Fellowship in Medieval history—offered as funds permit
• Gerda Lerner Fellowship in women’s history—offered as funds permit

Additional years of guaranteed funding will come from employment as teaching assistants or project assistants or additional fellowships. 

Competing for additional support

All students in good standing can apply for writing prizes, conference travel awards, and supplements to external awards. Once graduate students have passed their preliminary examination and advanced to candidacy, they may apply for various departmental fellowships and research travel funding.

For students who have reached the advanced stages of dissertation writing, further funding opportunities are available. Our advanced dissertators may apply for teaching fellowships that give them the opportunity to design and teach an undergraduate course—the Merle Curti Teaching Fellowship (any field of study), the George L. Mosse Teaching Fellowship in European History, and the William J. Courtenay Teaching Fellowship in ancient, medieval, or early modern European history. (These fellowships are offered as often as endowment income permits.) Thanks to funding provided by the Doris G. Quinn Foundation, we are also pleased to offer a dissertator fellowship, which provides financial support for the final year of dissertation writing in any field.

In addition, UW–Madison offers a wealth of other opportunities to compete for funding offered, for example, by the International Division, the Institute for Research in the Humanities, and the UW Graduate School (research and conference travel awards).

More details on our funding for current/continuing students are available here.

* If you wish to apply only for the History MA (also known as the terminal MA), please describe your sources of support on the History Supplemental Application. For information on the cost of graduate study at UW–Madison, see this link.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements, in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Major Requirements

Mode of Instruction

Mode of Instruction Definitions

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.

Evening/Weekend: ​Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules.  Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.  Contact the program for more specific information.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online.  Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

Curricular Requirements

Required Courses

¹

Alternative course options: HISTORY 855 Seminar in Japanese History for students studying East Asian History, HISTORY 861 Seminar-The History of Africa for students studying African History.

Additional MA Requirements by Fields of Study¹

¹

These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.

African History

Course Requirements: Each student must enroll in a seminar or proseminar (if available) every semester of residence. In their first year, they may enroll in History lecture courses in their area of specialization. Undergraduate lecture courses may not be taken for credit after the first year of graduate study. With approval, students can take African Cultural Studies (AFRICAN) courses.

Language Requirements: Students must fulfill their MA language requirement with an African language.

Central Asian History

No special field requirements. Students should choose courses in consultation with their advisor in History (HISTORY) numbered 300 or above and with the "Grad 50%" attribute. The language requirement varies according to the student's research interest.

East Asian History

Course Requirements: Students must complete four graduate courses in East Asian history. These can be upper-division lecture courses or graduate seminars/colloquia (taken for a minimum of 12 credits). At least two of these courses should be in the major field, and at least one should be outside the major field. NOTE: Students should also begin fulfilling the course requirements that must be completed prior to taking preliminary examination. They are required to take one semester each of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history. They may fulfill this requirement by taking a graduate seminar or an upper-division lecture course. They may also fulfill the requirement by serving as a TA in either an introductory or upper-division course. Students are also required to take HISTORY 703 History and Theory.

Language Requirements: Students must complete the eighth semester in their main language (Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) by the time they either undergo the Second-Year Review or complete their fourth semester of coursework.

European History

Language Requirements: Students in Medieval History must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages, usually one medieval and one modern.

Latin American and Caribbean History

Course Requirements: Each student must enroll in a seminar or proseminar (if available) every semester of residence. Other courses will include History (HISTORY) graduate seminars or similar courses in the culture area of specialization. Undergraduate lecture courses may not be taken for credit unless a faculty advisor or co-advisor approves.

Middle East and North African History

Proficiency in two languages, at least one of which must be a language of the Middle East or North Africa, is required. There are no other specific special field requirements; students choose courses in consultation with their advisor.

South Asian History

Course Requirements: Each student must enroll in a seminar or proseminar (if available) every semester of residence. In lieu of a History graduate course, they may substitute an independent study in History or a graduate seminar in another department. In their first year, they may enroll in History lecture courses in their area of specialization. Undergraduate lecture courses may not be taken for credit after the first year of graduate study.

Language Requirements: Students must complete two years of study in one South Asian language (or demonstrate equivalent proficiency by examination).

Southeast Asian History

Course Requirements: MA students shall take six credits of graduate seminar in Southeast Asian history each academic year or, if not available, substitute credits of independent study with a faculty specialist in Southeast Asian history.

Language Requirements: Students must complete two years of study (or demonstrate equivalent proficiency by examination) in a Southeast Asian language or, with the approval of the Southeast Asian faculty, in a relevant colonial/imperial language.

United States History

Course Requirements: Students must take:

• The core seminar, HISTORY 900 Introduction to History for U.S. Historians, in the fall semester of their first year. This seminar introduces students to the U.S. History faculty and their fields of research and teaches students the core skills of professional historians.
• Three three-credit seminars that cover a significant portion of the seventeenth and/or eighteenth centuries, the nineteenth century, and the twentieth century, respectively. If a seminar falls into more than one category, the student may choose the single category for which they will receive credit.

In exceptional circumstances, student may, with the consent of their advisor, take up to six credits in upper-level undergraduate courses. The instructors of such courses have the prerogative to refuse admission to graduate students.

Note that prior to completing their preliminary examination, students may use no more than six credits of HISTORY 999 Independent Work to meet the requirements of the major field. Students will probably find it useful to preserve most, if not all, of their six credits of HISTORY 999 for preliminary examination preparation.

Program in Gender and Women's History Concentration

Course Requirements: Students must meet the requirements of their primary field of study; take HISTORY 752 Seminar in Transnational Gender History; and take at least two additional History graduate seminars that are gender-specific, i.e., that have at least a 50% focus on issues and analyses of gender, women, or sexuality.

Graduate School Policies

The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior Coursework

Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions

With program approval, students are allowed to transfer up to 6 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions.

Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison

Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.

Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers)

Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.

Credits Earned as a University Special student at UW–Madison

Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.

Probation

Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy.

Advisor / Committee

Refer to the Graduate School: Advisor and Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA) policies.

Credits Per Term Allowed

15 credits

Time Limits

Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy.

Grievances and Appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting  
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
  • Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances. They may also contact the L&S Academic Divisional Associate Deans, the L&S Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Administration, or the L&S Director of Human Resources.

Other

n/a

Professional Development

Graduate School Resources

Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

Program Resources

The Department of History is committed to training our students to develop skills required for a variety of careers both in and outside the academy. Although a large network of our alumni teach at colleges and universities in the U.S. and across the world, a number of our PhDs have enjoyed considerable success outside the academy. They include recent graduates who are currently a museum curator, teachers at prestigious preparatory academies, a historian with the U.S. Secretary of Defense's POW/Missing Persons Agency, a CEO of an investment firm, an analyst for a defense contractor, an editor at a small press, and consultants working with non-profits in the human services, education, and public policy fields. In recent years we have undertaken a number of initiatives, detailed below, to broaden the training of our students for a wide array of careers.

Much of the preparation for the job market occurs informally and over the course of the student's graduate career—in the mentoring relationship between faculty advisor and student, in the presentation of student research in department venues, in the student's participation in professional conferences, and in early forms of professional publication. Coursework, such as for the minor requirement or certificates, can be an avenue to expanded competencies. The Center for Humanities, for example, offers a Public Humanities certificate. Be sure to explore the Graduate School's resources such as "The Versatile PhD" and its Professional Development pages.

Whatever career paths interest you, we encourage you to plan ahead and discuss your options—early and often—with your faculty advisor(s), with the Director of Graduate Studies, or with the Graduate Coordinator.

Professional Development Seminars (HISTORY 710)

Learning Outcomes

1. Articulates and critiques the theories, research methods, and approaches to historical inquiry in the student's primary field of study.
2. Demonstrates understanding of the primary field of study in a historical and global context.
3. Is able to identify and make appropriate use of relevant historical sources.
4. Demonstrates the ability to evaluate and synthesize large bodies of scholarship or evidence.
5. Is able to construct a significant and persuasive historical argument that makes an original contribution to historical knowledge.
6. Communicates complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner.
7. Recognizes and applies established principles of ethical and professional conduct.

People

See the History department webpage for a full directory of faculty.

Also see our faculty affiliate and teaching associate profiles.