Graduate study in history gives students the intellectual fulfillment that comes from exploring new concepts and doing original research. Students have an opportunity to uncover and present history in the seminars they take and when they are engaged in researching and writing master's theses or doctoral dissertations. They may pursue programs of study in United States, European, East Asian, Latin American, and African history.
For more information about the program, please contact Dr. Kay Carr, the Director of Graduate Studies for the History Department. She can be reached by phone at (618) 453-7877 or by e-mail at kjcarr@siu.edu.
Why Study History at SIUC?
Among the benefits of choosing SIUC for graduate study in history are:
- a faculty committed to high-quality teaching and scholarship--many are award winning teachers and scholars. They are particularly strong in national and ethnic identity studies; local and regional studies; business and labor history; and gender and women's history.
- the opportunity to work with faculty trained in the interdisciplinary field of American studies, both within the history department and across the College of Liberal Arts
- a cooperative Ph.D. program with SIU at Edwardsville that provides increased and complementary faculty resources
- a very favorable ratio of faculty to graduate students, allowing for close working relationships between the two
- special attention to teacher preparation, including in the area of world history; teaching assistants are not simply graders, but typically teach discussion sections
- an excellent research library, with more than 1/4 of its holdings in history or related areas; special collections holds many rare books and manuscripts and contains especially strong collections of research materials in Irish studies, first amendment freedoms, theater history, and Illinois history; SIUC also houses the papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Victoria Woodhull, and John Dewey
- opportunities for internships that prepare students for a variety of professional positions
- very good record of placement of graduate students in academia and other jobs
- departmental support for publishing and traveling to conferences
- a very active History Graduate Student Association that provides a sense of community and a foundation for organizing activities involving students and faculty
