INTRODUCTION
Table
of
Contents
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pplying to graduate school for history (or any discipline) is a long and, sometimes, complicated process. This timeline is designed to not only tell you when you should be doing something related to the application process, but also why and how you should be doing it. Whether pursuing an advanced degree in history makes sense is up to you, but you should pay close attention to the thoughts and opinions of your mentor/advisor on this subject. After all, they know what is required to earn a doctoral degree and they also know your work. However, if you have made an informed decision regarding graduate school, this timeline will, hopefully, make the application process, and all its little quirks, a bit less mysterious while also giving you enough direction to not feel overwhelmed from the start. The keys to the process are organization and preparation. The earlier you start, the better. Throughout, I also give tips on organizing your process. I cannot stress enough how much easier the process will be if you develop a way to see at-a-glance information about prospective schools, their application requirements, and, while youre applying, what materials have been requested, sent, and received. In addition to the timeline, I have included a page of internet resources followed by some sample materials.
Introduction
A 500-1000 word essay about your academic interests, previous research experience, specific topic of interest, and fit with each specific department to which you are applying. Generally, a 15 to 25-page research essay based on primary sources and engaged with secondary sources. Three letters written by the professors most familiar with your work.
Writing Sample
The standard graduate school entrance test administered by ETS. It is not the most important aspect of your application, but not doing well can preclude you from fellowships and other sources of internal funding. Most applications will require transcripts from every post-secondary institution you have attended. Basically, a resume of your academic achievements.
Undergraduate Transcripts
Curriculum Vitae
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2
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ow does graduate school differ from the average undergraduate experience? Well, for starters, classes generally meet once a week for anywhere from one-hour and forty- five minutes to three hours. The two main types of graduate courses are reading seminars and research seminars. The average reading load for a reading seminar, the most common graduate course, is one book per week sometimes accompanied by a journal article or two. Most graduate programs require students to take at least three, if not four, classes per semester. This means that you will be expected to read three to four books per week along with a similar number of journal articles and to discuss them intelligently for two or more hours each per week. You will also likely be required to produce a number of scholarly book reviews throughout the semester. In most seminars, a historiographical essay of around twenty pages is also required. A research seminar has a similar reading load, which usually lightens a bit as the semester goes on because you will be required to produce a research paper of publishable quality by the end of the semester. If this sounds like an impossible workload to you, perhaps you need to speak to your mentor about your expectations concerning graduate study. This type of coursework can last anywhere from two to three years in most programs. After you have completed your course requirements, you will also be expected to pass the required language exams. Usually these usually consist of a one or two-page selection that must be translated in a specified amount of time with the aid of a dictionary. Then, you are ready to prepare for your exams or comps. The format differs from school to school. Some have an oral examination administered by a committee (usually, three professors) and lasting around two hours. Some have a written exam. Some have both. In order to prepare, a list of books is drawn up in consultation with your committee, which can be anywhere from fifty to over one hundred books. You will then have a specific number of months to cover this material on your own. The exams usually test your primary field and either one or two other secondary fields. Once you have completed this rite of passage, you will be advanced to candidacy or A.B.D. (all but the dissertation) status. From there on out, your main task will be to complete your dissertation. How long this takes you will be determined by any number of factors, e.g. how much funding do you have? How many research trips will you need to take? How many courses are you teaching? If you do finish the dissertation, you will be expected to defend it before your dissertation committee before receiving your degree. Graduate school is unlike your undergraduate experience in many ways. Your workload will be heavier. You will be solely responsible for your own progress and work. Your relationships with your professors will be different than they were during your undergraduate days. Faculty will treat you like a junior colleague, but, in return, they will expect you to behave and produce like a junior colleague. If much of what I have written of here was unfamiliar to you, I suggest you talk about these things with your advisor/mentor and your other professors.
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3
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Sophomore
Year
1.
Develop
relationships
with
professors.
Try
to
take
multiple
classes
with
the
same
professors.
You
will
need
3
letters
of
recommendation
and
the
better
a
professor
knows
you,
the
better
letter
they
can
write.
Go
to
their
office
hours
a
few
times
during
the
semester
to
talk
about
your
interests
and
the
possibility
of
applying
to
graduate
school.
Let
them
know
youre
available
if
they
or
someone
they
know
needs
a
research
assistant.
2.
If
you
have
not
already,
begin
language
study
as
soon
as
possible.
If
you
plan
to
apply
for
a
field
outside
of
American
history,
your
language
preparation
will
be
a
significant
factor
in
your
application.
For
example,
if
you
are
planning
to
study
French
history,
you
should
be
able
to
read
French
easily
before
applying.
Medievalists
will
be
expected
to
have
two
ready
languages
at
least
upon
applying
out
of
the
required
French,
German,
Latin,
and
Ancient
Greek.
Ancient
historians,
like
classicists,
will
be
expected
to
have
more
than
2
years
of
both
Latin
and
Ancient
Greek.
The
top
programs
will
expect
at
least
one,
if
not
two,
languages
even
for
Americanists.
1. Talk to your mentor/advisor about possible graduate programs. Your professors will know the reputations of programs and likely will have had personal and/or professional interaction with historians at other programs. Generally, it is not considered a good idea to pursue a graduate degree at the same school at which you received your undergraduate degree. Dont ask why . . . Thats just how it is. 2. Write a research paper that can be used as a writing sample. Remember to pick a manageable topic. This includes a topic for which you will have access to sources and wont require more time than you will have to complete the essay. Check your librarys archives and manuscript division to see what kind of primary sources are easily available. If you live in a metropolitan area, check the large public libraries nearby to see what they have in their collections. 3. Begin researching possible schools to which you might apply. Fit cannot be underestimated. The schools you choose should be based, in large part, on their faculty. No program will admit even the best student if no one on the faculty has similar interests. Your choice of schools should be a combination of fit, rank, and personal preference, in that order. Limiting your search geographically will seriously hamper your chances. The life of a professor can be a nomadic one and the state of the job market requires professors to be geographically mobile. Similarly, in choosing a graduate program, you must be willing to go to the best program to which you are accepted in order to maximize your future employability. This is definitely something worth discussing with your mentor/advisor. You should begin browsing the department websites at schools you might consider. You can start by browsing through them to get a feel for the department. Read their mission statements, look at current and previous graduate courses, look at their requirements for earning the degree (download their graduate student handbook, if available), and, most importantly, read the faculty bios and CVs. You would likely be surprised at the number of people who apply to schools without even having browsed through the departments websites in a thorough manner. You should not only look at the departments website, but also that of the graduate school as well. Pay special attention to the degree structure, i.e., How many courses does one need to take before exams? Are there tutorial courses for exams and/or dissertation prospectuses? When does the program expect students to take their exams? Are the exams oral, written, or both? By when must language exams be passed?
- 5 -
Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline 4. Schedule an appointment to take the GRE for sometime in the summer. The GRE can be taken only once each calendar month. It is not uncommon to take the test twice, so try to schedule it toward the end of July, if possible. This way, if you do not do as well as you hoped, you can take it again in a few weeks before your senior year begins. Remember, you are advised to take the test no later than October to ensure your scores arrive in time.
Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline will apply nailed down, since they let you specify 4 schools to send the results to at no charge. After those four, each one costs an additional fee ($23 as of December 31, 2010). 5. Begin drafting your personal statement or statement of purpose (or SOP). It is extremely important that you do not put this off until the last minute. It is the norm for even the best writers to go through many, many drafts before the statement is ready. Remember, this is not like an undergraduate admissions essay. Most schools will have specific things they would like you to address, but, in general, you will be expected to be specific about your field of interest, why you are interested in that field, what issues within the field you are most interested in, your previous research experience, and why you think you fit well with the department. To begin, just get a draft down on paper. You might want to treat each individual aspect above separately at first just to get your ideas down on paper. Do not write anything like, Ever since I was a little kid, I have always loved history... Ask your mentor/advisor and another professor who is familiar with your work if they would be willing to read your drafts and give feedback. The key to a good personal statement is that it is written clearly and concisely. Most schools will give you no more than 1000 words (or around 4 double-spaced pages) and some will limit you to less than 500. If you are applying to 10 programs, you likely do not need to write 10 different statements. However, at the very least, you should have a fit paragraph which addresses how your interests fit with the department and faculty for each school. For the fit paragraph (see Sample Materials), mention specific professors whose interests are similar to your own. Do the schools libraries have specific archival collections related to your field? If so, mention that. Does the department have colloquia, seminars, or centers related to your field? Mention them. Are there are other large archival repositories or professional organizations relevant to your field located nearby? Mention them. You want to show the department, if possible, that the Universitys resources will prove useful to you. Also, look at the way the degree is structured. Does anything about it strike you? If so, include that. You can also mention opportunities for teaching, if you are interested in pursuing an academic career. 6. Polish your writing sample. Many programs will have a maximum of 25-30 pages. So if your research paper goes over that, you will need to edit it down to an acceptable length.
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Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline Some programs will have even smaller page limits, such as 10 or 15 pages. So you many need to prepare 2-3 different length writing samples. It is important that your writing sample is formatted correctly in Chicago style. If you are not already familiar with this formatting style, get a copy of A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate Turabian. Formatting your paper and citations correctly shows that you are conscientious, pay attention to small details, and are aware of the standards of the field. Simply put, it makes you look more professional. 7. Begin preparing a Curriculum Vitae (or CV). A CV (see Sample Materials) is your academic resume. Include sections for academic-related employment only, schooling/degrees, Honors/Awards, Research Interests, and References. Also include publications or conference presentations, if any. 8. Have your working list of schools. Before the summer is over, you should pretty much have your list of schools. It may not be the absolute final list, but you should start bookmarking the sites of the departments to which you will be applying. Also bookmark their application pages, since you will refer to them often. It is best to get this out of the way before the fall semester begins. Once again, ask your mentor/advisor if they will look at your writing sample and give you feedback.
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Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline letter will actually harm your application. This is why it is important to develop relationships with professors starting as early as possible. 2. Begin contacting potential advisors (or POIs, persons of interest) in early September. Send a very brief email (see Sample Materials) in which you: introduce yourself, school, and advisor in one sentence, mention your research interest in one sentence, inquire as to whether they will be accepting new students, describe your research paper thesis in one sentence, and reference work of theirs that is similar to yours. The pretense of your email will be to ask if they are accepting new students, though it does not hurt to get your name in front of them. Though this may seem a bit forward to some, it really has become standard practice. Not everyone does it, but most do. Of course, it is important to not overdo it. Emailing potential advisors is the final step in finalizing your list of schools. Some may already have too many students. Some may be retiring soon and unable to take on new students. DO NOT attach anything to the email such as your writing sample or CV. Like most people, professors will not open emails with attachments from unknown senders. Simply use re: Prospective Student as your subject line. Some professors may ask if youd like to speak over the phone. Others will ask you for more information or if you have any questions. DO NOT ask professors general questions the answers to which can be found on the website.
October
3.
Begin
filling
out
the
online
applications
as
soon
as
they
become
available,
usually
in
early
October.
Make
sure
to
start
early
since
the
online
applications
will
ask
you
to
submit
your
recommenders
email
addresses
and
you
want
to
give
them
as
much
time
as
possible.
Most
systems
will
send
them
an
email
with
instructions
for
logging
in
and
uploading
the
letter.
Most
will
also
send
you
an
email
to
let
you
know
that
a
letter
has
been
uploaded
by
your
recommender.
Even
if
your
personal
statement
and
writing
sample
are
not
done
yet,
begin
filling
out
all
your
personal
information
for
all
the
applications.
Keep
a
spreadsheet
so
you
can
see
what
you
have
submitted
for
each
application.
Make
columns
for
School,
Application
Fee,
GRE,
LORs,
SOP.
4.
Order
transcripts
from
your
Registrars
office.
Pay
attention
to
instructions
on
both
the
graduate
school
and
individual
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Applying to Graduate School: A Guide and Timeline departments websites. Some will ask that you have two copies sent, one to the Graduate School and one to the department. Also, some may not require that they be official transcripts. Remember that you will be required to send transcripts from each post- secondary school you have attended so factor that into your cost and time preparations. Also, remember that receipt of the transcripts is your responsibility, NOT that of your colleges Registrar. Always get a receipt and mark down the day you requested the transcripts. Follow up by checking your online application status to make sure they have been received.
November/December
5.
Finish
applications.
Upload
your
SOPs
and
writing
samples
carefully
naming
each
file
with
the
proper
school
name.
Double-check
this,
then
double-check
it
again.
Pay
your
application
fees.
Many
schools
offer
fee
waivers
requiring
either
your
most
recent
tax
return
or
a
letter
from
your
schools
Financial
Aid
Office.
Be
sure
to
search
websites
carefully
for
this
information
since
many
do
not
make
it
easy
to
find.
Throughout
December
and
into
January
you
should
be
checking
the
online
applications
regularly
to
make
sure
they
received
your
GRE
scores
and
transcripts,
and
that
your
professors
have
uploaded
all
your
LORs.
If
the
end
of
November
is
coming
and
one
of
your
professors
has
not
uploaded
their
letter
yet,
send
them
a
very
polite
email
or
stop
by
their
office
to
remind
them
about
the
letter
and
offer
to
have
the
online
application
send
them
another
email
(since
they
do
so
sometimes
get
caught
by
spam/junk
filters).
6.
Submit
applications.
For
most
schools,
you
do
not
have
to
wait
for
all
your
materials
to
arrive
before
actually
submitting
your
application.
LORs,
transcripts,
and
GRE
scores
can
arrive
after
the
application
has
been
officially
submitted.
As
soon
as
you
have
completed
the
application
and
uploaded
your
own
supplementary
materials,
you
may
press
SUBMIT.
However,
double-
check
and
triple-check
the
application
and
your
supplementary
materials,
because
these
will
be
unchangeable
after
you
press,
SUBMIT.
Depending
on
the
tone
of
your
email
conversations
with
specific
professors,
you
may
want
to
send
them
a
very
brief
email
just
after
the
deadline
to
say
that
you
have
submitted
your
application
and
thank
them
for
their
assistance.
7.
Continue
checking
your
application
status
at
each
school
through
the
winter
break.
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s
a
potential
applicant,
the
decision
process
can
seem
a
bit
mysterious.
In
fact,
many
schools
and
their
admission
committees
go
about
different
parts
of
the
process
in
different
ways.
However,
the
process,
in
general,
is
pretty
standard.
Many
of
the
top
programs
will
receive
upwards
of
400
applications
and
even
the
biggest
of
these
admits
only
around
20
students
in
any
given
year.
Less
prestigious
programs
can
receive
anywhere
from
100
to
300
applications
per
year
and
admit
5
to
15
students.
Remember,
what
follows
is
only
a
generalization
to
give
you
an
idea
of
the
process.
Generally,
many
admissions
committees
have
unwritten
(and,
perhaps,
even
unspoken)
cut-offs
designed
to
cut
the
pile
of
applications
down
to
a
manageable
size.
For
example,
they
may
pull
out
all
applications
with
GRE
Verbal
scores
below
550
and/or
GPAs
under
3.0
(these
numbers
will
vary
according
to
the
reputation
of
the
program).
Not
all
admissions
committees
do
this,
but
many
do.
Once
they
have
a
smaller
pile,
applications
are
divided
among
committee
members
to
be
read.
Many
committees
have
each
application
read
by
more
than
one
member.
At
that
point,
applications
are
flagged
as
either
rejects
or
possible
admits
and
the
latter
are
ranked
in
some
way.
They
may
then
be
sent
to
the
POI
mentioned
in
the
application
for
further
review.
This
is
why
contacting
POIs
in
advance
can
be
beneficial.
The
committees
usually
meet
sometime
in
late
January
and
early
February.
Generally
speaking,
the
committees
top
choices
will
be
notified
first.
Then
straight
rejections
are
notified
followed
by
other
admits
and
waitlists.
Some
top
programs
notify
their
top
choices
in
the
second
week
of
February,
but
the
majority
of
applicants
will
be
notified
between
late-February
and
late-March.
Possible Decisions 1. Admitted with full funding For PhD programs, this generally means the student is awarded full tuition remission, a living stipend, and, usually, health insurance. Generally, the first year or two is covered by a fellowship while the remaining years are covered by teaching and/or research assistantships. 2. Admitted with partial funding This type of offer is more common in mid-ranked PhD programs. It usually offers full or partial tuition remission and the possibility of a research or teaching assistantship. 3. Admitted with no funding Only you can make the choice, but it is usually not a smart financial decision to take out loans for a PhD in the Humanities due to the incredibly tough job market that awaits graduates. Some schools will give you a chance to earn future funding depending on your performance in the first year. However, it is important that you seriously discuss the possibility of accepting an admission with no funding with your mentor/advisor. 4. Waitlisted You may be admitted later if enough people do not accept offers. 5. Rejected Because the competition gets increasingly tough with each year, there no shame in not receiving admission offers. Many good candidates have been forced to re-apply the next year. Take that time to strengthen your application by improving your language proficiency or producing a better writing sample.
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Resources
his is just a collection of resources which I found especially helpful during the application process. Of course, there are hundreds of websites devoted to applying to graduate school from personal blogs to university and department pages. It is worth spending some time browsing through these sites as well as finding others. 1. Gregory Colon Semenza, Graduate Study in the Twenty-First Century The best book, by far, on what it is like to be a graduate student. This book should be required reading for anyone even considering applying to graduate school in the Humanities. It has replaced the outdated but still useful, Getting What You Came For: The Smart Students Guide to Earning an MA or PhD by Robert Peters. It does not contain application advice. Rather, it lets you know exactly what to expect as a graduate student and even includes a fantastic appendix with samples of documents useful for all graduate students like a CV, teaching statement, conference proposal, etc. 2. American Historical Association (http://historians.org/grads/index.cfm) The AHA website has many informative articles on all aspects of graduate education from the application process to writing a dissertation. It also collects information about all the doctoral programs in history in the country at: http://historians.org/projects/cge/PhD/intro.cfm. 3. The Grad Caf (http://thegradcafe.com) The Grad Caf hosts many blogs by fellow students applying to graduate school and a very helpful forum in which you can find many thoughtful answers to any questions which might arise during the process. They also host a Results page on which you can see when specific programs began notifying students in previous years and keep track of which programs are sending out notifications in the current application season. 4. Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com) CHE is the foremost magazine and news source regarding academia in general. They also host a forum populated by professors. There are many interesting stories and threads about life in academia. 5. Graduate School Tips (http://www.gradschooltips.com/) This is a general site that breaks down the process. 6. Graduate School Application Advice (http://sites.google.com/site/gradappadvice/home) A very informative site, though, it is over five years old. If there is conflicting advice between this guide and the website, I suggest you follow this guide.
- 12 -
Sample Materials
hese materials are just samples. Their purpose is to give you an idea of the proper forms for these types of documents and communications. It is not necessary, or even advisable, that you copy them word for word.
2.
Curriculum
Vitae.
The
purpose
of
the
CV
is
to
show
your
accomplishments
and
qualifications
in
a
simple
format.
The
most
important
feature
of
a
CV
is
its
readability.
DO
NOT
use
non-standard
or
fancy
fonts
or
layouts.
DO
NOT
use
any
graphics.
The
simplest
is
best.
Also,
DO
NOT
try
to
pad
your
CV
if
it
seems
somewhat
bare.
Remember,
you
are
still
an
undergraduate
and
no
program
will
be
expecting
you
to
have
publications,
conference
presentations,
or
a
long
string
of
awards
just
yet.
-
13
-
SAMPLE
CV
Firstname Lastname 123 Main Street Anywhere, NY 10101 Email: student@college.edu Phone: (212) 555-1212 Education Bachelor of Arts in History, City College of New York, June 2011 (expected). Associate of Arts, LaGuardia Community College, June 2009. Employment Research Assistant to Professor Firstname Lastname, City College of New York, Summer 2010. Library Assistant, City College of New York, Summer 2009. Intern, Museum of the City of New York, Summer 2008. Honors Deans List, City College of New York, Fall 2010. Joe Q. Smith Essay Award, History Department, City College of New York, Spring 2009. Deans List, City College of New York, Spring 2009. Phi Alpha Theta, Spring 2009. Deans List, City College of New York, Fall 2008. Phi Theta Kappa, Spring 2008. Research Interests 20th-century American history, political history, social history, World War II, radicalism, gender studies, intellectual history, political culture. References 1. Firstname Lastname, Professor of History, College, professorX@college.edu. 2. Firstname Lastname, Assistant Professor of History, College, professorY@college.edu. 3. Firstname Lastname, Associate Professor of History, College, professorZ@college.edu.
CV
Tips
1.
Only
include
academic-related
positions
under
the
Employment
heading.
2.
Generally,
your
research
interests
should
not
be
more
than
two
lines.
3.
Only
include
academic
honors
or
service
under
the
Honors
heading.
For
example,
do
not
include
non-academic
volunteer
positions
or
clubs
of
which
you
were
a
member.
At
your
own
discretion,
you
may
include
your
schools
history
club
if
you
were
an
officer
and
that
section
is
a
bit
bare.
4.
Your
three
references
are
likely
to
be
the
writers
of
your
LORs.
- 14 -
f
course,
this
is
just
a
sample
fit
paragraph.
Do
not
copy
it
word
for
word.
This
sample
is
meant
to
give
you
an
idea
of
what
may
be
included
in
a
fit
paragraph
as
well
as
one
possible
way
to
structure
it.
To
write
an
effective
fit
paragraph,
you
must
be
very
familiar
with
the
faculty
in
and
around
your
field
and
their
work.
You
should
also
be
familiar
with
specific
centers
or
seminars
in
and
around
your
field
that
are
sponsored
by
the
department.
Finally,
if
the
school
is
in
or
near
a
big
city,
you
should
be
aware
of
its
available
academic
resources
such
as
large
public
libraries
or
academic
societies
and
their
holdings.
Researching
these
things
and
including
them
in
your
fit
paragraph
is
important
because
it
shows
the
admissions
committee
that
you
have
thoroughly
researched
their
school
and
city
and
that
you
have
taken
your
school
selection
very
seriously.
I firmly believe the department at [school] would be an excellent fit for me. I have been in contact with [POI], who confirmed the similarity of our interests. Also, while I would plan to work primarily with [POI], the presence of numerous other scholars such as [Firstname Lastname] and [Firstname Lastname] would be highly beneficial as well. [Professor Lastnames Book or Article] influenced my approach to [specific topic], as reflected in my honors essay, and [Professor Lastnames Book or Article] introduced the concept of [specific topic], which I would like to pursue going forward. The Universitys location provides the added benefit of access to the many resources of [big city], such as the [society or library] and the [society or library]. Also, I would look forward to taking advantage of the departments valuable relationships with such external organizations as the [department-affiliated Center]. I am also attracted by the structure of the PhD curriculum, in which courses such as [specific exam or dissertation prospectus course] encourage and provide significant interaction between students and their advisors. I believe [school] has the resources, in both faculty and material, to allow me to achieve my maximum potential.
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16
As of the writing of this guide, I am an entering first-year PhD student in History at Yale University. I received my B.A. in History from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies via The City College of New York. I began preparing to apply to graduate school in my second year by gathering as much information as I could about the process. I read books and dozens of websites and garnered a lot of information from fellow students and faculty who had recently gone through the process. I also experienced a fair amount of trial-and-error during my own application season. This guide is the result. I hope this information will prove as useful to you as it did to me.
- 17 -