1. Is financial support available? There are a number of graduate assistantships both on and off campus that are available on a competitive basis. Applications are available on the School of Graduate Studies web page. In exchange for nineteen hours of work a week for fifteen weeks, graduate assistants receive $2500 a semester plus tuition. Assistantships on campus include clerical work, aiding professors in research projects and class preparation, and in a variety of other areas. Off campus assistantships currently include doing research and oral history for a local military organization and projects at various local museums. Every student who wanted a graduate assistantship in 2007-2008 received one.
Once students begin work on their theses or internship projects, they are eligible to apply for the Roger K. Warlick Graduate Fellowship. Named in honor of a long time head of the History Department, the fellowship awards $2000 to a student working on a terminal project. The fellowship is given once a year and is awarded on a competitive basis. There are no restrictions on the use of the money.
Money for student research and travel is available on application to the Graduate Student Association.
2. What size is the program? We are a small program and the number of students varies from term to term. In the Spring 2008 term we have thirty-one students enrolled in various stages of their program. In the 2006-07 academic year, nine students completed their Masters Degrees.
3. Do I have to take the GRE? Yes. However, it is possible to be admitted into the program on a limited basis, which would allow you to take up to two classes. GRE scores must be no more than five years old.
4. Do I have to have majored in history as an undergraduate? We accept students who majored in areas other than history, as long as they are appropriate to the student’s program of study. In the past we have accepted students who majored in political science, art history, and anthropology. If the student has taken only a few history courses, we might ask them to take one or two classes before admitting them into the program. Non-history majors are evaluated on case-by-case basis.
5. May I transfer classes from other institutions? We accept two classes from other accredited institutions as long as the student earned at least a B. A student may appeal to have additional classes accepted.
6. What kind of jobs do your students do after their degrees? A number of our students are involved in public history fields, including working as museum administrators up and down the east coast, primarily the Southeast. Many students are teachers who earned their Masters Degrees to gain a substantial raise. Several of our students have gone on to doctoral programs at schools including the University of Florida, the University of South Carolina, the University of Illinois, and the University of the Bahamas, Cave Hill.
Last revised: January 30, 2008