A. Program Description. The Department of History at the University of Alabama specializes in the training of professional historians, and offers both the MA and PhD in History. Our faculty are nationally known and regarded in their fields. They are committed to research and teaching as well as to the training of the next generation of historians. They have published extensively, are strong participants in professional activities in national historical organizations, and are active in the life of the University.

B. Special Programs. As a department, we have created the Summersell Center for the Study of the South, publish the graduate journal the Southern Historian, have a growing initiative in Public History, have participated in the College of Arts and Sciences Cuba Initiative with the University of Havana, and have engaged in outreach efforts with area public school teachers who teach history. The Department of History offers a vibrant intellectual community in which to engage in graduate work.

C. Financial Aid. The Department of History awards twenty-six graduate teaching assistantships. In 2022-23 these awards included a stipend of approximately $20,500 plus a full tuition waiver and student health insurance.

The Graduate School also awards non-teaching research fellowships for outstanding students. For 2022-23 these awards included a stipend of $20,000 plus a full tuition waiver and student health insurance. History graduate students have traditionally been awarded a significant share of Graduate School Fellowships.

D. Degree Requirements. The PhD in History requires 54 credit hours. Of the 54 credit hours, at least 48 credit hours must be in History. Six credit hours may be in a related field. Eight credit hours must be in seminar courses, and no more than four credit hours may be in individual directed readings. Also required is a dissertation, and reading proficiency in one or two foreign languages (depending on specialty). Successful written and oral examinations in four fields of study qualify the student to proceed to the dissertation.

The department offers graduate instruction in the following fields:
United States History to 1877
United States History since 1877
History of the American South
European History to 1815
European History since 1815
Latin American History
Military and Naval History
History of Race
Women’s and Gender History
Religious History

PhD students may also create their own thematic fields, the exact boundaries of which will be settled in consultation with the Graduate Committee, provided that there is faculty expertise in the department in that area.