College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: gradsec@indiana.edu

Departmental URL: https://history.indiana.edu/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts, Master of Arts for Teachers, a dual M.A. in Jewish History and Jewish Studies, dual Master of Arts and Master of Library Science (jointly with the Department of Information and Library Science), and Doctor of Philosophy

Program Information

The graduate program in history at Indiana University includes formal course work and opportunities for independent study in nearly all recognized fields, both chronological and geographical. Moreover, the department is strongly committed to interdisciplinary programs, and it works closely with area studies programs, journals, and historical organizations. The graduate program is designed to help students in the development of their knowledge and of their critical and analytical skills. Courses and programs in the Department of History prepare students for work as professional historians in a variety of settings: in public history, editing, librarianship, and government service, as well as in historical research and teaching at all levels.

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Master of Arts Degree

The department offers several options:

Master of Arts with

• the intent of pursuing the Ph.D. in the following fields of history: African, Ancient, British, Early Modern European, Asian, East European, Latin American, Medieval European, Middle Eastern, Modern European, Russian, United States, and World, as well as thematic major fields: African Diaspora, Jewish History, and History of Gender and Sexuality.

Terminal M.A. tracks in

• Ancient History and Language Acquisition, Russian or East European History, United States History, and a dual M.A. in Jewish History and Jewish Studies.

Admission Requirements

(1) Bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution, an overall undergraduate B (3.0) average, a superior record in history, and preferably 24 or more undergraduate credit hours in history;  (2) three letters of recommendation; (3) a personal statement concerning intellectual interests and professional aspirations; and (4) a sample of written work, such as a term paper, thesis, or any other piece of writing that indicates ability to communicate well in nonfiction prose. Ideally, a writing sample should also demonstrate the applicant’s ability to conduct historical research. The History department discourages applicants who wish to pursue terminal M.A. degrees except in the case of the M.A./M.L.S, program, and students wishing to pursue one of the department's terminal M.A. tracks:  Ancient History and Language Acquisition, dual M.A. in Jewish History and Jewish Studies, Russian or East European History, United States History.

Grades

No grade below B (3.0) in history courses will be counted toward this degree.

Course Requirements

The content of individual History courses frequently encompasses more than one major field. Students work closely with their faculty advisors to choose courses that fulfill degree requirements.

A total of 30 credit hours; at least 20 of these credit hours must be in the Department of History. Students are required to complete H601 and at least one seminar and two colloquia; the remaining credit hours in history must be completed in graduate colloquia, seminars, or readings courses. When colloquia and seminars are unavailable, a student may substitute the readings course, H575. Graduate students will be allowed to receive credit for undergraduate courses only in special cases (such as in the study of fields not commonly available at the undergraduate level, or in small fields).

For the Masters in Ancient History and Language Acquisition track: 4 of the required 20 credit hours in the Department of History may come from ancient language courses that are approved by their advisor in History.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading proficiency in one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, ancient Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Spanish, Turkish, or another language appropriate to the student’s program of study, if approved by the University Graduate School.

Students may demonstrate proficiency by any of the methods normally sanctioned by the University Graduate School or by passing a reading examination prepared by members of the history department faculty. The examination includes two texts of approximately 400 words each, one drawn from primary historical sources and the other typically drawn from historiographical sources. A student will be expected to translate the first text and answer critical questions about the second.

For the Masters in Ancient History and Language Acquisition track: By the end of their second year, students must demonstrate proficiency in an ancient language of the student's choice. Students may demonstrate proficiency by any of the methods normally sanctioned by the University Graduate School, or by passing a translation examination prepared by members of the History Department faculty.

Field Review

M.A. candidates wishing to enter the Ph.D. program and those terminating their program with the master’s degree must be recommended for the M.A. degree by the appropriate field committee. Graduate students who enter with an M.A. from another institution will be reviewed a year after pursuing graduate work at IU.

Dual M.A. in Jewish Studies and History

The combined program will have a total of 52 credit hours, instead of the 62 hours required to attain the two degrees separately. Students will take 5 courses counting towards Jewish Studies and 5 courses counting towards History, as well as 12 credits of electives.

Admission Requirements

Bachelor’s degree with evidence of superior ability and completion of the Graduate Record Examination. Second-year proficiency of Hebrew or another relevant language is desirable but not a requirement for admission. Students will have to meet admission requirements in the Department of History (refer to the University Graduate School Bulletin).

Course Requirements

20 credit hours in Jewish Studies, including JSTU-H 520 (4 cr.) and 16 credits (at least four courses) taught by Jewish Studies faculty; 20 credit hours in History, including HIST-H 601 and 16 credits of course work in the Department of History, with a minimum of one seminar and two colloquia; 12 credits (at least three courses) of electives. Courses taken to fulfill requirements in the Department of History can include courses on Jewish history but cannot be identical with the courses counted towards fulfillment of the Jewish Studies requirements.

Grades

Only History courses that receive a grade of B or higher and Jewish Studies courses that receive a grade of B- or higher will count towards fulfillment of the course requirements. Students must retain an overall average in courses fulfilling the course requirements of B (3.0) or higher.

Language Requirement

Second-year reading proficiency in one language relevant to the student’s research interest, normally Modern Hebrew, Yiddish, or Biblical Hebrew, is required for completion of the degree. Language courses in a language relevant for the student’s research interest, normally Modern Hebrew, Yiddish, or Biblical Hebrew, can be counted to fulfill the elective credit requirement.

M.A. Thesis and History Field Review

To complete the Jewish Studies component of the dual M.A., students will write an M.A. thesis (not to exceed 40 pages or 12,000 words). Students will register for 3 credits under JSTU-J 699 and will complete an oral examination on the thesis by a committee of three faculty members, at least two of whom must be Jewish Studies faculty. In order to complete the History component of the M.A., students will undergo a field review in the Department of History, for which they will submit two papers written for a History course, at least one of which was written in a seminar. Field review papers may not be substantially similar to the thesis.

Dual Master of Arts and Master of Library Science Degrees

Study for these two degrees can be combined for a total of 51 credit hours rather than the 66 credit hours required for the two degrees taken separately. Students take 21-26 credit hours in history and 30 credit hours of library science. For the history credit hours, at least 21 must be in the Department of History; the remaining 5 are electives that may be fulfilled with further history courses (for a total of 26 history credits) or with library science courses (for a total of 21 history credits), including those counting for requirements in the library science program. Students are required to complete H601 and at least one seminar and two colloquia. Graduate students will be allowed to receive credit for undergraduate courses only in special cases (such as in the study of fields not commonly available at the undergraduate level, or in small fields). For specific library science requirements, see the entry for the Department of Information and Library Science in the Indiana University Graduate Bulletin. Admission to each of the two areas of study is approved separately on the same basis as for other applicants not in the dual program.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading proficiency in one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, ancient Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Spanish, Turkish, or another language appropriate to the student's program of study, if approved by the University Graduate School. Students may demonstrate proficiency by any of the methods normally sanctioned by the University Graduate School or by passing a reading examination prepared by members of the history department faculty. The examination includes two texts of approximately 400 words each, one drawn from primary historical sources and the other typically drawn from historiographical sources. A student will be expected to translate the first text and answer critical questions about the second. 

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Admission Requirements

(1) Completion of the M.A. degree at Indiana University or another recognized institution, (2) a superior record in history, (3) certification in at least one foreign language, and (4) review and approval by a field committee consisting of faculty in the student’s major field. For students with an M.A. degree from Indiana University, this review must take place by the end of a student’s third semester of full-time graduate study; for other students, this review is done by a subcommittee prior to admission. For those with M.A. degrees from another institution, a writing sample, a personal statement and three letters of recommendation are required.

Grades

No grade below B (3.0) in history courses will be counted toward this degree.

Course Requirements

The content of individual History courses frequently encompasses more than one major or minor field. Students work closely with their faculty advisors to choose courses that fulfill degree requirements and prepare them for qualifying examinations.

The minimum course requirements for the Ph.D. degree are six colloquia (courses H600-H699) distributed in two or more fields, two seminars (courses H700-H799) taught by different instructors, one of which must be in the major field; H601 Introduction to the Professional Study of History during the first semester at IU; H602 The Historical Profession during the second semester at IU, and courses to complete the outside minor. Doctoral students are also required to take one 3 credit course from the list of options below.  The list was developed with the help of doctoral alumni and is designed to reflect the kinds of competencies history PhDs use in both academic and non-academic employment. 

• H585 History and the Digital World
• ILS-Z657 Introduction to Digital Humanities
• ILS-Z586: Digital Curation
• ILS-Z639: Social Media Mining
• LING-L545: Computation and Linguistic Analysis
• MSCH-J502: Data Analysis for Journalists
• H697 History of Collections and Museums
• H542 Public History
• Folk F730 FOLK-F 730 Museums and Material Culture
• Folk F731 Curatorship
• GEOG-G440 Social & Historical GIS
• SPEA Y525 Museum Management
• SPEA Y506 Curating in Galleries and Museums
• HIST-H 580 The Teaching of College History
• HIST-H 591 Teaching World History
• HIST-H 593 Teaching United States History
• EDUC-C 565 Introduction to College and University Administration
• EDUC-U 546 Diverse Students on the College Campus
• EDUC-U 548 Student Development Theory and Research

This requirement can also be satisfied by serving two years as an editorial assistant at the American Historical Review, Journal of American History, or Indiana Magazine of History.  3 hours of course credit will be applied in one semester by registering for H542 Practicum in Public History.

When colloquia and seminars are unavailable, a student may substitute the readings course, H575. For those students transferring M.A. credits, a minimum of four colloquia and one seminar must be completed on the IU Bloomington campus. Students may take dissertation credits (H899) to fulfill the 90 credit hours required by the University Graduate School to complete the Ph.D. Students enrolled in the dual concentration program in cultural history must complete H680 and H780 in addition to the requirements listed above.

Foreign Language Requirement

The number and type of languages required will be determined by the student’s major field of study. All students, regardless of field, must demonstrate proficiency in at least one foreign language. Several fields require students to demonstrate proficiency in additional languages; students should consult their advisors or the appropriate field chair for guidance. Students may demonstrate proficiency in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, ancient Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Spanish, Turkish, or others appropriate to the student’s program of study, if approved by the University Graduate School. Proficiency may be demonstrated by the means indicated under the heading “Foreign Language Requirement” in the section on the M.A. degree.

Field Review: Graduate students who enter with an M.A. from another institution will be reviewed after completion of the first year of graduate work at IU. The student will at the end of her/his first year at IU present two papers, one from a seminar, and at least one of them written at IU, to the field committee or advisory committee. The field or advisory committee will review the student's papers and overall record, meet with the student to discuss past performance and future plans, and recommend whether the student should be invited to continue in the Ph.D. program. (The department anticipates that the answer will be "yes" in almost all cases).

Fields: A student selects two historical fields--a major and minor--from the following list. Alternatively, students may elect to pursue the dual concentrations in Cultural History and one of the major fields listed below; students enrolled in this program do not complete an inside minor. As stated above, students may substitute a thematic field tailored to her or his individual interests for the inside minor field.

Geographic Major Fields:

• Africa
• Asia
• Middle East
• Early Modern Europe (1350-1800)
• Russia
• United States
• Eastern Europe
• Ancient
• Britain
• Latin America
• Medieval Europe (200-1450)
• Modern Europe (1750 to the present)

Thematic Major Fields:

• African Diaspora History
• History of Gender & Sexuality
• Jewish History
• Cultural History- (available for double major)

Thematic Minors:

• Family History
• World History
• Cultural History
• History of Medicine
• History of Philanthropy
• African Diaspora History
• History of Gender & Sexuality
• Jewish History
• Historical Teaching & Practice

The major field is central to a student's Ph.D. work. His or her advisor is drawn from that field. The student must meet the field's language requirements and, ultimately, pass qualifying examinations constructed by the field.

Colloquia, Seminars, Pedagogy Courses, and Reading Courses: The emphasis in graduate work, particularly as the student embarks on the Ph.D. program, is placed on colloquia, seminars, and other graduate level courses. A colloquium covers a broad sweep of the historiography of one of the seventeen Ph.D. fields. It establishes a dialogue between the student and the instructor on the range and types of historical problems in this field. Assignments may include short papers or reports on specific aspects of the bibliography in the field, but normally a colloquium does not entail examinations or research papers. A seminar brings the student into direct contact with the tools of research and the writing of monographic history. Depth is stressed, and normally the student will prepare a research paper based on primary as well as secondary sources. Pedagogy courses (Teaching College History, Teaching World History, and Teaching U.S History) introduce students to the scholarship of teaching and learning and prepare students to teach at the college or university level. While pedagogy courses are not required for the Ph. D. degree, students are advised to complete at least one. Applicants for the Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship offered by the University Graduate School must have completed a pedagogy course; the History department gives preference to applicants who have completed a pedagogy course when it hires advanced graduate students to teach summer courses. Last but not least, students who have completed at least one pedagogy course will be better prepared for the academic job market.

Graduate students are strongly encouraged to take colloquia, seminars, and pedagogy courses whenever possible. When colloquia and seminars are unavailable, a student may substitute the readings course, H575. In order to set up such an independent class, a student should enter into an explicit agreement with a faculty member about reading, written assignments and total credits for course work. That agreement must be filed with the Graduate Secretary at the start of the semester. Graduate students may receive History credit for undergraduate courses, or graduate courses from other departments/programs, only in special cases (such as in the study of fields not commonly available at the undergraduate level, or in small fields).

Advisory Committee: At least six months prior to the qualifying exam, a student, in consultation with her/his advisor, should form an Advisory Committee whose purpose is to help her or him prepare for qualifying examinations in both the major and minor fields and to administer the qualifying examination. Each field has its own requirements regarding the composition of the advisory committee which may be found on the History Department’s webpages in the Student Portal. Before registering for the qualifying examination, a "Nomination of Advisory Committee" form must be comleted electronicallyand approved by the committee members, the Director of Graduate Studies, and by the Graduate Division of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Graduate Secretary initiates this electronic approval process.

Thematic Minor: Students may substitute an individually tailored thematic field with the approval of the advisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies for the inside minor field. An individually designed thematic field cannot duplicate other fields, and it must involve substantial work outside the major field. At least two faculty members must represent the thematic minor at the student's qualifying examinations.

Qualifying Examination

(1) A rigorous oral examination of no longer than three hours will be required. The purpose of the examination is to demonstrate general command of the major and minor fields of study. The examination should assess students’ scholarly preparation to teach courses in their fields through the demonstration of the ability to discuss key issues and problems in these areas. At least two representatives of the student’s major field and at least one representative of his/her inside minor field must be present at the examination. The faculty representative for the student’s outside minor has the option of participating or waiving participation. Students enrolled in the dual concentration in a time/place field and cultural history should have at least two representatives from the time/place field and two from the cultural history field on their examination committees. (2) There will be a public defense (open to all faculty and graduate students) of the student’s dissertation prospectus, which the student’s exam committee will preside over. The defense can take place as early as one week, but no later than six months, after the student passes the oral examination. Because the prospectus defense is meant to be an open forum, providing feedback from colleagues as well as the exam committee, then these defenses should normally be held during the academic year (fall and spring semesters) when the majority of faculty and students are available to participate. The prospectus will be distributed at least one week in advance of the defense. It should be substantial and should take the form of a grant proposal. It should explain the potential significance of the proposed dissertation project and place it in historiographical context. Students must receive passing grades on both parts of the examination in order to advance to Ph.D. candidacy. The student’s examination committee grades both parts of the examination.

Termination of Enrollment in the Doctoral Program

If a doctoral student fails the oral qualifying examination two times, falls below a 3.0 (B) grade point average, fails to meet the language requirement by the time 30 credit hours of post-M.A. credit have been earned, or fails to complete the oral qualifying examinations by the end of the approved length of time, the director of graduate studies, in consultation with the advisory committee, can initiate steps to terminate the student’s enrollment in the program. The student, however, may make a formal appeal to be given a third chance to pass the qualifying examinations or to be given additional time to raise the grade point average or to complete the qualifying examination. If the appeal is denied, the director of graduate studies will recommend to the deans of the College of Arts & Sciences and the University Graduate School that the student’s enrollment in the doctoral program be terminated.

Final Examination

Oral defense of dissertation.

Ph.D. Minor in History

Students in other departments may minor in history by completing, with a grade point average no lower than B (3.0), at least 12 credit hours of course work in history, including one colloquium. When colloquia and seminars are unavailable, a student may substitute the readings course, H575. No more than 6 credit hours of work transferred from another university may be applied toward this requirement, and such credit must be approved by the director of graduate studies in the Department of History.

Upon completion of the course work, the student should ask the director of graduate studies to attest to the successful completion of the outside minor.

Further information regarding departmental regulations governing advanced degree programs may be found in A Guide to Graduate Studies in History, available on the department’s graduate Web page: https://history.indiana.edu/student_portal/index.html.