Auburn Bulletin 2024-2025

History — Graduate Certificate, MA, PhD

Degree Programs

Graduate Certificate

The Department of History offers two graduate programs: the Master of Arts in History and the PhD in History. Additionally, the department offers a Graduate Certificate in Public History. The graduate programs prepare students for careers in teaching, public history, government, and research. More information is available at https://cla.auburn.edu/history/current-students/graduate/.

MA in History

Admission Requirements

For admission to the MA program, the student must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. For more information about the Department of History’s expectations for admission, see https://cla.auburn.edu/history/future-students/graduate/how-to-apply/. Applications must be approved by the department’s graduate committee. Applicants lacking course requirements must make up deficiencies before or after admission to the degree program. The committee's decisions are based on a review of all application materials.

Applicants will submit the following materials for consideration:
  • Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions
  • A writing sample
  • A statement of purpose
  • An application for an assistantship (for those who wish to be considered for funding—note earlier application deadline for assistantships)
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation

January 15 is the due date for those applicants who also wish to apply for a graduate assistantship. March 15 is the deadline for all other applications.

MA Requirements

The MA requires a minimum of 31 hours and a culminating project. Of the 31 hours, 13 are in required courses, 15 hours are in elective courses, and 3 hours are in thesis research. In addition to possible concentrations in United States history, European history, and the history of technology, the MA program offers a specialization in public history, including practical training (a 3-hour required internship). The Department does not admit students to pursue non-thesis MA degrees, but a MA degree (non-thesis) can be awarded to students in the doctoral program who have not previously earned the master’s upon passing the general examination for admission to candidacy for the PhD.

There is no language requirement for the MA degree.

PhD in History

Admission Requirements

For admission to the PhD program, the student must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. For more information about the Department of History’s expectations for admission, see https://cla.auburn.edu/history/future-students/graduate/how-to-apply/. Applications must be approved by the department’s graduate committee. The committee's decisions on admission are based on a review of all application materials. 

Applicants will submit the following materials for consideration:
  • Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions
  • A writing sample
  • A statement of purpose
  • An application for an assistantship (for those who wish to be considered for funding—note earlier application deadline for assistantships)
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation

January 15 is the due date for those applicants who also wish to apply for a graduate assistantship. March 15 is the deadline for all other applications.

PhD Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 66 semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, written comprehensive examinations, an oral defense of a written dissertation prospectus, and the dissertation, in addition to demonstrated reading knowledge of at least one foreign language. Of the 66 hours, 26 hours are in required courses, 30 hours are in elective courses, and 10 hours are in Research and Dissertation credit.

Ten courses are required. Seven courses are required for all students regardless of concentration. They are:
Students focusing on U.S. history are required to take:
Students focusing on European history are required to take:
  • HIST 7480 Debates in European History (repeat for 6 credits)
And choose one of:

Students must also take at least one history seminar in a non-U.S. or non-European geographic area.

Fields of Study

Students choose a primary field of study which is typically reflected in their elective coursework, as well as choosing two other fields. Together, these comprise the student’s three fields for the comprehensive examinations. Each exam field has a different advisor, one of whom is the student’s primary advisor. Exam fields include (but are not limited to):

  • African American History
  • Colonial/Indigenous North America
  • Early American History
  • Early Modern Europe
  • History of Technology
  • History of Medicine
  • History of Women/Gender/Sexuality
  • Labor History
  • Military History
  • Modern American History
  • Modern Europe
  • Public History
  • Race, Rights, and Inequalities
  • Southern History
  • War and Society
  • World History
  • Other fields as approved by the Graduate Committee

To advance to candidacy, students must demonstrate competence in three fields through written examinations and successfully defend a written dissertation prospectus in an oral defense. Examinations begin in the last semester of coursework (Fall) and conclude the following Spring semester.

The prospectus is defended in an oral examination no more than four months after passage of the last comprehensive examination.

Following a successful defense of the prospectus, doctoral candidates have four years to present the written dissertation and defend it in an oral examination before their major professor and advisory committee. If the oral examination is judged unsatisfactory or not submitted in a timely manner, the general rules of the Graduate School on retests and extension will apply.

The PhD requires a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language as determined by the student’s doctoral committee. Language competency should be demonstrated before the student begins the comprehensive examinations process.

Graduate Certificate in Public History

In most circumstances, only students enrolled in a degree program in history or those who have completed an MA in History may enter the graduate certificate non-degree program in history. However, applicants who have completed a master's degree in an allied field may be eligible for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Public History.

Admission Requirements

If applicants are not simultaneously seeking to matriculate into the MA or PhD program, they must have a MA in History or a related field. Applications must be approved by the Public History program officer and by the department’s graduate committee.

Applicants will submit the following materials for consideration:
  • Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions
  • A writing sample
  • A statement of purpose
  • Three confidential letters of recommendation

If applicants are not also seeking admission into the MA or PhD program, materials for admission to the Public History Graduate Certificate program may be submitted at any point during the academic year. The program officer and the department's graduate committee will determine the academic term of admission. 

If applicants are also seeking admission to the MA or PhD program, applications for the graduate certificate should be received by March 15.

Graduate Certificate in Public History

Students are required to complete 12 credit hours in public history, including HIST 6810 Fundamentals of Public History, HIST 7910 Public History Internship, and at least two other graduate Public History courses to receive the Graduate Certificate in Public History.