Department of History

History (MA, PhD)

History (MA, PhD)
Telephone: (302) 831-8226
http://www.udel.edu/History/graduate.html
Faculty Listing: http://www.udel.edu/History/faculty.html

Program Overview

The Department of History offers MA and PhD programs in American history, European history and more limited graduate study in Ancient, African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern history. In addition, we sponsor interdisciplinary doctoral programs in the History of American Civilization and the Hagley Program in Capitalism, Technology, and Culture. The Department partners with the Departments of Africana Studies, English, and Art History in offering interdisciplinary graduate study in African American Public Humanities. The Department maintains close ties with the University’s Center for Material Culture Studies and houses the nationally recognized Museum Studies Program, which offers a 12-credit certificate program available to any fully matriculated graduate student at the University of Delaware.  Founded in 1972, the Museum Studies Program prepares both Master of Arts and Doctoral students for careers in museums, archives, historic sites and other institutions supporting public arts and culture.  

The University of Delaware - Hagley Program in Capitalism, Technology, and Culture

The Hagley Program in Capitalism, Technology, and Culture in the University of Delaware’s History Department trains M.A. and Ph.D. level students in the history of  industrialization, capitalism, technology, consumption, business, labor, and the environment. For more than fifty years, the program has been offering students an enriched graduate education including a range of resources and opportunities not normally available in the university setting. A large number of our students develop an expertise in the study of material culture, and many earn certificates in Museum Studies. Our alumni include more than 150 distinguished historians, museum professionals, archivists, and others.

History of American Civilization

The Department of History in cooperation with the Winterthur Museum and numerous departments across the campus, sponsors a PhD program in the History of American Civilization. Based on the multidisciplinary study of American social and cultural history, the Program is distinguished by its emphasis on American material culture.

Museum Studies

An MA or PhD candidate from any of the History graduate programs may qualify for a certificate in Museum Studies upon satisfactory completion of the required twelve credits in the Museum Studies Program. The University of Delaware is a recognized leader in education for museum careers; its graduates now staff scores of museums and historical/archival agencies across the country.

Access to Special Resources

Students who do not seek admission to the Hagley or American Civilization programs may still take the courses that these programs feature. All history programs are enriched by the University’s affiliation with the Hagley and Winterthur museums and by the proximity of museums and archival collections nearby in the mid-Atlantic region.

Courses in historical editing, archaeology, archival management, and visual approaches to history are offered on a regular basis.

Requirements for Admission

Programs are offered at both the MA and PhD levels are offered. Master’s Degree applicants should have a combined verbal and quantitative GRE score of at least 300, an overall undergraduate average of 3.0, an undergraduate history average of 3.0, and must submit three letters of recommendation and a history seminar paper or its equivalent. PhD track applicants should have a combined GRE score of 312, an overall undergraduate/graduate average of 3.0, an undergraduate/graduate history average of 3.5, and must submit three letters of recommendation and a history seminar paper or its equivalent. Applicants should note that the admissions committee will evaluate this writing sample closely and it should represent the applicant’s preparedness to do rigorous graduate work. Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated academic requirements are not guaranteed admission nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission, if they offer other appropriate strengths. The History Department normally admits students to all History programs to begin in the fall semester only. The deadline for application is January 5, but early application is strongly encouraged. Students considering graduate work in history should consult “Guidelines to Graduate Programs in History” at http://www.udel.edu/History/graduate.html.

Financial Aid

Teaching Assistantships, Stewart Fellowships, Graduate Assistantships, tuition scholarships, and University Fellowships are available to graduate students at the MA and PhD levels.

Programs

• History (MA)

• History (PhD)

• Museum Studies Certificate