AHA Directory of History Departments and Organizations

Institution Details


University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota Dept. of History
1110 Heller Hall
271 19th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0406
Phone: 612.624.2800
Fax: 612.624.7096
Email: history@umn.edu
Website: https://cla.umn.edu/history


By pushing the boundaries of the human story across time, space, cultures, and media, we reveal the interconnected narrative threads and patterns of our individual and collective lives.


Chair: Sarah Chambers
Director of Graduate Studies: Helena Pohlandt-McCormick
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Howard Louthan
Degrees Offered: BA,MA,PHD
Academic Year System: SEM
Areas of Specialization: Africa, Asia, Atlantic, comparative, Environment, Europe, Latin America, US
Undergraduate Tuition (per academic year):
   In-state: $15148
   Out-of-state: $36296
Graduate Tuition (per academic year):
   In-state: $19980
   Out-of-state: $31212

Enrollment 2024-25:
Undergraduate Majors: 314
Students in Program: 0
New Graduate Students: 7
Full-time Graduate Students: 67
Part-time Graduate Students: 0
Degrees in History: 0 AA 79 BA 0 BS 0 MA 0 MS 13 PhD
Students in Undergrad. Courses: 0
Students in Undergrad. Intro Courses: 0
% of Online-Only Courses: 0
Undergraduate Addresses:
   Admissions: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/academics-admissions
   Financial Aid: https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/cost-aid/cost-aid-and-scholarships
Graduate Addresses:
   Admissions: https://cla.umn.edu/history/graduate
   Financial Aid: https://grad.umn.edu/funding

Areas of Specialization: Africa, Asia, Atlantic, comparative, Environment, Europe, Latin America, US

Not applicable


Doctoral Program Information

A. Program Description. The PhD program at the University of Minnesota trains scholars and teachers in the following fields: US (early and modern), Europe (medieval, early modern, and modern), Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Ancient, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Comparative Early Modern. We admit only to the PhD program, although students may obtain an MA along the way if they wish.

B. Special Programs. The Department participates actively in several research Centers (those marked with an asterisk are directed by a member of the Department): *Center for Austrian Studies, *Center for Early Modern History, Center for German and European Studies, *Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Center for Medieval Studies, *Immigration History Research Center, *Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, *Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, *Minnesota Population Center, *Modern Greek Studies. The University offers a number of archival collections including that of the Immigration History Research Center and the Social Welfare Archives. Among the special collections in the University Library is the James Ford Bell library, focusing on the history of world commerce from the time of Marco Polo until the end of the eighteenth century. The University participates in the Preparing Future Faculty program.

C. Financial Aid. All admitted students are offered a multi-¬year funding package consisting of a mix of fellowship, teaching assistantship, and research assistantship funding. Tuition and health insurance are included. The Department nominates incoming students for Graduate School Fellowships and Diversity of Views and Experiences fellowships from the Graduate School, MacArthur Fellowships from the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, and FLAS Fellowships from the Institute for Global Studies.

D. Degree Requirements. The PhD requires ten courses in History, including History 8015 (Scope and Methods), a research seminar in the first year, and two courses in a comparative area of History. There are additional requirements for core courses in particular areas of study. It also requires four courses in a minor or supporting program outside of History. The Preliminary Examination consists of written exams in a General Area, Sub-Area, and Comparative Area within History, and an oral examination including the presentation of a dissertation prospectus.

Directory of History Dissertations

Doctoral Program Statistics 2024-25:
PhD students currently enrolled: 74
PhD applications received: 86
New PhD students: 6
% of students receiving tuition waivers: 0
% of students receiving stipends: 61


Kohlstedt, Sally Gregory (PHD, Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1972; ; prof.; Prog. in the Hist. of Sci., Tech., and Medicine) science, nature study movement; sgk@umn.edu
Matar, Nabil (PHD, Cambridge, 1976; ; prof.; English) modern Europe, cultural; matar010@umn.edu
Von Dassow, Eva (PHD, NYU, 1997; ; prof.; Classics and Near Eastern Studies) ancient Near East, Egypt; vonda001@umn.edu
Blumenthal, Susanna (PHD, Yale, 2001; ; prof.; Law School) American legal, 19th-century US cultural and intellectual; blume047@umn.edu
Chambers, Sarah C. (PHD, Wisconsin-Madison, 1992; ; prof. and chair) colonial Latin America, women, gender; chambers@umn.edu
Chang, David A. (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 2001; ; prof.) US West, African American, Indian since Civil War; dchang@umn.edu
Clark, Anna K. (PHD, Rutgers, 1987; ; prof.) modern Europe, Britain; clark106@umn.edu
Deckrow, Andre Kobayashi (PHD, Columbia, 2019; ; asst, prof.) Brazil, Japan, public; adeckrow@umn.edu
Deutsch, Tracey Ann (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) 20th-century US political/business/social; tdeutsch@umn.edu
Fischer, Kirsten (PHD, Duke, 1994; ; prof.) colonial America, social; kfischer@umn.edu
Gallia, Andrew B. (PHD, Pennsylvania, 2003; ; prof.; Classical and Near Eastern Studies) Rome and ancient Mediterranean; abgallia@umn.edu
Ganor, Sheer (PHD, California, Berkeley, 2019; ; asst. prof.) Europe, Jewish, human rights, Holocaust and genocide; sganor@umn.edu
Gerbner, Katharine (PHD, Harvard, 2013; ; assoc. prof.) Atlantic world, early America, early modern; kgerbner@umn.edu
Hacker, J. David (PHD, Minnesota, 1999; ; prof.; Minnesota Population Center) demographic, quantitative, American Civil War; hacke010@umn.edu
Hall, Aaron Roy (PHD, California, Berkeley, 2019; ; asst. prof.) early America, constitutional, slavery; arhall@umn.edu
Isaacman, Allen F. (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1970; ; Regents’ Prof.) central and southern Africa; isaac001@umn.edu
Isett, Christopher M. (PHD, UCLA, 1997; ; prof.) modern China, economic, social; isett003@umn.edu
Jones, William P. (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2000; ; prof. and assoc. chair) US, civil rights, African American; wpjones@umn.edu
Lee, Mai Na M. (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 2005; ; assoc. prof.) Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian diaspora; mainalee@umn.edu
Lindquist, Malinda Alaine (PHD, Princeton, 2004; ; assoc. prof.; assoc. dean, diversity, equity, and inclusion, Coll. of Liberal Arts) US, African American, gender; lindqust@umn.edu
Louthan, Howard (PHD, Princeton, 1994; ; prof. and dir., undergrad. studies) central Europe, Austria, religion; hlouthan@umn.edu
Mathieu, Saje (PHD, Yale, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) 20th-century American social/political/labor, African American, comparative race/ethnicity/immigration; smathieu@umn.edu
McNamara, Patrick J. (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1999; ; assoc. prof.) colonial and modern Latin America, Mexico; pjm@umn.edu
Mizuno, Hiromi (PHD, UCLA, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) modern Japan; mizuno@umn.edu
Mohamed, Iman (PHD, Harvard, 2024; ; postdoc. fellow) ; moha0489@umn.edu
Murphy, Kevin P. (PHD, NYU, 2001; ; prof.) US urban/political/intellectual/cultural, sexuality and masculinity; kpmurphy@umn.edu
O'Brien, Jean M. (PHD, Chicago, 1990; ; Regents' Prof.) colonial America, Native American; obrie002@umn.edu
Oh, Joo-hyeon (PHD, Harvard, 2023; ; asst. prof.) cultural, intellectual, China; ohj@umn.edu
Pehlivan, Zozan (PhD, Queen's, Can., 2016; ; assoc. prof.) environmental, Ottoman; zozan@umn.edu
Pohlandt-McCormick, Helena (PHD, Minnesota, 1999; ; assoc. prof. and dir., grad. studies) Africa; pohla001@umn.edu
Reyerson, Kathryn L. (PHD, Yale, 1974; ; prof.) France, medieval social, economic; reyer001@umn.edu
Ruggles, Steven (PHD, Pennsylvania, 1984; ; Regents' Prof.; dir., Minnesota Population Center) American demographic and social; ruggles@umn.edu
Shank, J. B. (PHD, Stanford, 2000; ; prof.; dir., Center for Early Modern Hist., Consortium of the Premodern World) early modern France, European intellectual; jbshank@umn.edu
Skaria, Ajay (PHD, Cambridge, 1992; ; prof.; Inst. for Global Studies) South Asia; skari002@umn.edu
Stavrou, Theofanis G. (PHD, Indiana, 1961; ; prof.; dir., Modern Greek Studies) modern Russia, Balkans, modern Greece; stavr001@umn.edu
Sterk, Andrea L. (PHD, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1994; ; assoc. prof.) medieval Europe, religious studies; sterk@umn.edu
Suriel, Yalile (PHD, Stony Brook, SUNY, 2021; ; asst. prof.) policing/prisons/surveillance, higher education, African American and Latinx; ysuriel@umn.edu
Tchoukarine, Igor (PHD, EHESS, 2010; ; asst. prof.) modern Europe, tourism, transnational, migration; itchouka@umn.edu
Waltner, Ann (PHD, California, Berkeley, 1981; ; prof.; dean, Coll. of Liberal Arts) traditional China; waltn001@umn.edu
Welke, Barbara Young (PHD, Chicago, 1995; ; prof.) 20th-century US, legal and constitutional; welke004@umn.edu
Wolfe, Thomas Cox (PHD, Michigan, 1997; ; assoc. prof.; Inst. for Global Studies) modern Europe, contemporary Russia; wolfe023@umn.edu
Bashiri, Iraj (PHD, Michigan, 1972; ; prof. emeritus) Islamic intellectual; bashi001@umn.edu
Cohen, Gary B. (PHD, Princeton, 1975; ; prof. emeritus) modern European social, Austria and Germany, Czechoslovakia since 1790; gcohen@umn.edu
Coifman, Victoria Bomba (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1969; ; asst. prof. emeritus; African American & African Studies) comparative tropical; coifm@umn.edu
Evans, John K. (PHD, McMaster, 1974; ; prof. emeritus) ancient, Rome; evans002@umn.edu
Evans, Sara M. (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1976; ; Regents’ Prof. emeritus) 20th-century US social, American women; s-evan@umn.edu
Farmer, Edward L. (PHD, Harvard, 1968; ; prof. emeritus) modern China, comparative early modern, world; efarmer@umn.edu
Good, David F. (PHD, Pennsylvania, 1972; ; prof. emeritus) European economic, Austria; goodx001@umn.edu
Green, George D. (PHD, Stanford, 1968; ; assoc. prof. emeritus) American economic and business; green007@umn.edu
Hakim, Carol D. (DPHIL, Oxford, 1998; ; assoc. prof. emeritus) modern Middle East, Arab world; hakimc@umn.edu
Lorcin, Patricia M. E. (PHD, Columbia, 1992; ; prof. emeritus) modern Europe; plorcin@umn.edu
Marshall, Byron K. (PHD, Stanford, 1966; ; prof. emeritus) modern Japan, social, education; marsh004@umn.edu
May, Elaine Tyler (PHD, UCLA, 1975; ; Regents' Prof. emeritus; American Studies) US, US women; mayxx002@umn.edu
May, Lary (PHD, UCLA, 1976; ; prof. emeritus) US, film and popular culture; mayxx001@umn.edu
Maynes, MaryJo (PHD, Michigan, 1977; ; prof. emeritus) modern Germany, European social, women; mayne001@umn.edu
McCaa, Robert E., Jr. (PHD, UCLA, 1978; ; prof. emeritus) modern Latin America, population; rmccaa@umn.edu
Norling, Lisa A (PHD, Rutgers, 1992; ; assoc. prof. emeritus) American Revolution and 19th-century social, women and gender, maritime; norli001@umn.edu
Phillips, Carla Rahn (PHD, NYU, 1972; ; prof. emeritus) early modern Europe, social and economic, Spain; phill002@umn.edu
Phillips, William D., Jr. (PHD, NYU, 1971; ; prof. emeritus) medieval and early modern Europe, Mediterranean, Spain; phill004@umn.edu
Schroeter, Daniel J. (PHD, Manchester, 1984; ; prof. emeritus) Jewish, modern Middle East and North Africa; schro800@umn.edu
Thayer, John A. (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1960; ; prof. emeritus) European intellectual, Italy; thaye001@umn.edu
Tracy, James D. (PHD, Princeton, 1967; ; prof. emeritus) Renaissance and Reformation, 16th-century Europe; tracy001@umn.edu
Wang, Liping (PHD, California, San Diego, 1997; ; assoc. prof. emeritus) modern China, social, cultural; lipin003@umn.edu

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