History

The graduate program in history is designed to provide professional training in history, with the expectation that most of its Ph.D. graduates will take teaching positions in colleges and universities. In recent years our graduates have accepted appointments at Brown, Cornell, Duke, Princeton, Rutgers, Texas, Utah, the University of Wisconsin, Yale, and the University of Michigan, as well as at smaller colleges such as Davidson, Reed, Kenyon, William and Mary, and Williams and at regional universities such as Alabama, Florida State, North Carolina at Greensboro, and Texas A&M. Some of our graduates take non-academic positions: in recent years these jobs have included positions in banking and business firms, university libraries, government agencies, congressional staffs, and the Foreign Service. The department has a Placement Officer who helps Ph.D. candidates secure academic positions and cooperates with University Career Services to direct graduates to opportunities in other fields.

The Corcoran Department of History offers courses of study leading to the Ph.D. degree.  Students typically earn M.A. degrees after the second year en route to the Ph.D.  The department does not offer a stand-alone M.A. program.  In addition, the department offers, in collaboration with the University of Virginia School of Law, a joint J.D./M.A.program in legal history.  Approximately forty history graduate students are in residence in Charlottesville each year, of whom ten to twelve are in their first year of graduate work. 

• HIAF 7002 - The History and Historiography of Africa Credits: 3
• HIAF 7031 - History and Historiography of North Africa, ca. 1800-Present Credits: 3
• HIEA 5151 - Mao and the Chinese Revolution Credits: 3
• HIEA 7031 - Modern East Asian History Credits: 3
• HIEA 7041 - Modern East Asian History Credits: 3
• HIEA 8011 - East Asian History Credits: 3
• HIEA 8111 - Traditional Chinese History Credits: 3
• HIEA 8211 - Japanese History Credits: 3
• HIEA 9021 - Tutorial in “China in Hot and Cold Wars in Modern Times”… Credits: 3
• HIEA 9022 - Tutorial in “Making of the 'Chinese Nation'”… Credits: 3
• HIEA 9023 - Tutorial in Modern Japanese Thought, Culture, & Politics Credits: 3
• HIEU 5001 - Dark Age Greece Credits: 3
• HIEU 5011 - Late Archaic Greece Credits: 3
• HIEU 5013 - The Early Medieval Mediterranean Credits: 3
• HIEU 5021 - Greece in the Fifth Century Credits: 3
• HIEU 5031 - Greece in the Fourth Century Credits: 3
• HIEU 5051 - Roman Empire Credits: 3
• HIEU 5061 - Roman Imperialism Credits: 3
• HIEU 5062 - Philosophy and Theory of History Credits: 3
• HIEU 5082 - Modernity and History Credits: 3
• HIEU 5141 - Thucydides Credits: 3
• HIEU 5302 - Nationality, Ethnicity, and Race in Modern Europe Credits: 3
• HIEU 5312 - Era of the World Wars, 1914-1945 Credits: 3
• HIEU 5352 - The British Economy Since 1850 Credits: 3
• HIEU 5662 - Nineteenth-Century Russian Intellectual History Credits: 3
• HIEU 5871 - Early Modern Europe Seminar Credits: 3
• HIEU 5882 - Modern Europe, 1750-1890 Credits: 3
• HIEU 5892 - Europe since 1890 Credits: 3
• HIEU 7001 - Colloquium in Medieval European History Credits: 3
• HIEU 7002 - Colloquium in Early Modern European History Credits: 3
• HIEU 7003 - Colloquium in Modern European History I Credits: 3
• HIEU 7013 - Anthropology of Ancient Greece Credits: 3
• HIEU 7014 - Ancient History Credits: 3
• HIEU 7071 - Fragmentary Roman Historians Credits: 3
• HIEU 7211 - The Renaissance Credits: 3
• HIEU 7261 - Early Modern England Credits: 3
• HIEU 7301 - History of Science Credits: 3
• HIEU 7471 - European Economic History Credits: 3
• HIEU 7782 - History of Human Rights Credits: 3
• HIEU 8011 - Ancient History Credits: 3
• HIEU 8452 - Twentieth Century Europe Credits: 3
• HIEU 8461 - Twentieth-Century Europe and Russia Credits: 3
• HIEU 8642 - Soviet Domestic and Foreign Policy Credits: 3
• HIEU 9021 - Philosophy and Theory of History Credits: 3
• HIEU 9022 - History of Ideas-Intellectual History: Modern Europe Credits: 3
• HIEU 9023 - Tutorial in the History of the Modern British Empire Credits: 3
• HIEU 9024 - Tutorial in the History of Modern Britain Credits: 3
• HIEU 9025 - Tutorial in the Late Roman Republic Credits: 3
• HIEU 9026 - Tutorial in Early Modern British History Credits: 3
• HIEU 9027 - Tutorial in English Legal History Credits: 3
• HIEU 9028 - Tutorial in British Legal and Political Thought Credits: 3
• HIEU 9029 - Tutorial in the History of Reformation Europe Credits: 3
• HIEU 9030 - Tutorial in the History of Early Modern Europe Credits: 3
• HIEU 9031 - Tutorial in Anglo-Saxon History Credits: 3
• HILA 7001 - Colonial Latin America Credits: 3
• HIME 5052 - World War I in the Middle East Credits: 3
• HIME 5053 - Slavery in the Middle East and Ottoman Empire Credits: 3
• HIME 7011 - History and Historiography of the Middle East, ca. 570-1500 Credits: 3
• HIME 7021 - History and Historiography of the Middle East, ca. 1500-Present Credits: 3
• HIME 7031 - Colonialism and Nation-Building in the Arab World Credits: 3
• HIME 9023 - Tutorial in the History of the Medieval Middle East and North Africa Credits: 3.00
• HIME 9024 - Tutorial in Ottoman History Credits: 3
• HISA 5021 - Historiography of Early Modern South Asia Credits: 3
• HISA 5101 - Economic History of India Credits: 3
• HISA 7111 - Peasant Movements in Modern India Credits: 3
• HISA 8061 - Social History of Modern India Credits: 3
• HISA 8111 - Peasant Movements in Modern Indian History Credits: 3
• HIST 5002 - Global History Credits: 3
• HIST 5031 - Quantitative Analysis of Historical Data Credits: 3
• HIST 5062 - Commerce, Culture, and Consumption in World History Credits: 3
• HIST 5063 - Theory and/of History: Recent Perspectives Credits: 3
• HIST 5077 - Pius XII, Hitler, the US and World War II Credits: 3
• HIST 5092 - Multiculturalism in the Ottoman Empire Credits: 3
• HIST 5111 - Slavery in World History Credits: 3
• HIST 5621 - Genocide Credits: 3
• HIST 5920 - History of Documentary Photography Credits: 3
• HIST 7001 - Approaches to Historical Study Credits: 3
• HIST 7002 - Graduate Colloquium on World History Credits: 3
• HIST 7011 - Atlantic World Credits: 3
• HIST 7021 - History and Historiography of Empire Credits: 3
• HIST 7051 - Economic History Credits: 3
• HIST 7061 - Comparative Readings in British America and Latin America Before 1800 Credits: 3
• HIST 7071 - Methods in Social History Credits: 3
• HIST 7161 - Forced Migration, Genocide, and Human Rights: A Transnational History Credits: 3
• HIST 7162 - Cultures of War: Readings in War and Society Credits: 3
• HIST 7191 - History of Technology: Theory and Methods Credits: 3
• HIST 7231 - Topics in Environmental History Credits: 3
• HIST 8001 - Master's Essay Writing Credits: 3
• HIST 8011 - Summer Research Seminar Credits: 3
• HIST 8021 - Research Seminar in History Credits: 3
• HIST 8211 - English Legal Thought Credits: 3
• HIST 8212 - English Legal History Credits: 3
• HIST 8240 - Law: Comparative Contexts, to 1850 Credits: 3
• HIST 8331 - Research Seminar in the History of Gender and Sexuality Credits: 3
• HIST 8451 - Twentieth-Century History: Europe and America Credits: 3
• HIST 8501 - Forced Migration in the Modern World Credits: 3
• HIST 8998 - Non-Topical Research, Preparation for Research Credits: 1 to 12
• HIST 8999 - Non-Topical Research Credits: 1 to 12
• HIST 9011 - The Practice of History Credits: 3
• HIST 9012 - Dissertation Prospectus Credits: 3

• A completed application form, including the Statement of Academic Interests (called the "Personal Statement" in the on-line application form).
• Unofficial transcripts of all previous undergraduate or graduate coursework.  (Official transcripts will later be required of all admitted applicants.  Please do not send official transcripts in advance of receiving an offer of admission.)
• Three confidential letters of recommendation.
• Results of the GRE 3-part general test and the subject test in English literature.
• Results of the TOEFL for international applicants whose native language is not English.
• A writing sample of 15-25 pages (including notes). The writing sample should be in a 12-point font, preferably Times New Roman.
• The $85 non-refundable application fee.
• International applicants, if accepted, must submit the international applicant financial statement. Students admitted to the PhD program may submit the University's letter offering financial aid as documentation along with the form.

Scholarships

Dissertation Completion Fellowships

To assist doctoral students who are poised to complete distinguished dissertations and enter the job market during their sixth year of study, the Graduate School awards dissertation completion fellowships that provide $20,000 in living support and an opportunity for independent teaching, as well as full remission of tuition, fees and the single student health insurance premium. Details regarding the nomination process are announced annually in late February.

Dissertation Research Grants

In collaboration with the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Affairs and the University of Virginia’s Society of Fellows, the Graduate School awards grants of up to $5,000 to doctoral students in the arts, humanities and social sciences to support preliminary dissertation research during the summer months.  These grants fund research travel to archives, collections and field sites that will enable the student to determine the feasibility of prospective dissertation projects, survey available sources and clarify the research focus, thus better positioning the student to apply for support from external funding agencies to support the advanced stage of research and writing.  Details regarding the application process are announced annually in late February.