Graduate study is not for everyone, since it demands a major commitment in time, money and effort. Before applying, prospective students should consider their goals and their passion for the field. We also strongly encourage applicants to examine in detail our department's particular strengths, in order to ensure they match the applicant's interests. Since earning an advanced degree involves close and sustained contact with faculty mentors, it is important to choose a graduate program whose faculty expertise corresponds to the students' areas of interest.

The UC-Riverside History department continues to grow and expand its offerings, including our new fields in the American West and Ancient Mediterranean History, and our growing involvement in Southeast Asian History. Our deep commitment to graduate training inspires us to produce highly qualified professional historians with exceptionally strong research and teaching skills, a breadth of historical knowledge, and an understanding the variety of methods and approaches that historians employ.

No single approach to history prevails among the faculty. Research activity and interests cluster in ways that cross traditional fields defined by places and time. Our faculty strengths include cultural history; ethnicity inside and beyond the United States; family history, gender studies and sexuality; material culture; political discourse; the social history of knowledge, and world history. The department also participates in systemwide programs of the University of California system, which include:

• World History Workshop Multi-Campus Research Program
• Tri-Campus Classics Program
• Multi-Campus Research Program in Late Antiquity

Successful applicants to the graduate program generally have a clear idea of the program of study they intend to pursue when they apply for admission. Individual faculty with whom applicants wish to study take part in the admission process.

TIME: Most students entering the M.A. program should expect to spend two full academic years completing work for the degree. Students entering the Ph.D. program should expect to spend at least two and one-half years of course work in preparation for the Ph.D. comprehensive examinations. The time for completing the dissertation varies depending on the student's interest and ability to devote all of his or her time to the project.

MONEY: The department makes every effort to support qualified students. The University offers a limited number of multi-year fellowships for exceptional students. UCR in general and the department in particular is especially committed to training diverse students in both academic and public history and offers a variety of financial awards that specifically target these students. The department rarely awards teaching assistantships in the first year of graduate study, and only the most promising entering students receive fellowship support.

COURSES: Graduate study involves mastering fields of study, not simply taking courses. Students are therefore encouraged to identify their major interests early in their graduate career.

The Department offers four kinds of graduate courses: lectures, reading seminars, directed studies, and research seminars. Each course normally carries four credits per quarter.

• Reading seminars, called "materials" courses, are small, one-quarter (4 unit) courses that introduce students to the basic historical literature of a period, such as Early America or Early Modern Europe, or a field, such as American Economic History. These are intensive, demanding courses centered around weekly three-hour discussions that involve substantial amounts of reading and writing.
  
• Research seminars are two-quarter (8 unit) courses designed to train graduate students to do professional historical research. These are extremely demanding courses involving a major research paper. Students normally take a research seminar only after having taken reading seminars in that field.
  
• Directed studies (History 290) consist of individually directed reading and discussion; these generally supplement material seminars.
  
• Lecture courses are one quarter upper-division undergraduate (4 unit) courses that can be taken by graduate students for credit. This usually involves additional assignments for graduate students.

Application Details: Applications for admission along with requests for financial aid, are due January 5 for those wishing to enroll the following fall. The Department does not accept applications for entry in the winter or spring quarters. Applications received after January 5 will be considered on a space-available basis. The absolute deadline for admissions applications is May 1. International students must have their application in by February 1.

To complete your application, the following items will need to be completed:

Main online application with all required materials.

A writing sample (such as an undergraduate or MA-level paper) sent directly to the History Department.

We encourage you to complete the Preliminary Information Form. The Preliminary Information goes only to the History Department and allows us to consider your interests and qualifications before we receive the official Graduate Division application (which usually takes longer to complete).

APPLICANTS MUST APPLY ONLINE TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION.