History

Department of History

Chairperson: Julie K. deGraffenried
Graduate Program Director: Andrea L. Turpin

The Department of History offers:

Competitive funding (full tuition and stipend available)
Collegial graduate community
Small seminars
Teaching opportunities and professional training
Support for publication, research, and conference presentation
Faculty committed to research, publication, and hands-on mentoring

Outstanding Faculty

Baylor’s Graduate Faculty in History is a uniquely distinctive community of scholars specializing in religious history. We understand the significant role played by faculty and especially the advisor in professional academic training. We engage students as junior colleagues, teaching students to follow in the Baylor tradition of excellent teaching and preparing students for success in research, writing, and publishing (academic as well as for the more general public). Faculty excellence in scholarship combined with our serious commitment to faith manifests in our focus on forming historians as whole people who live balanced lives and thoughtfully bring their own ethical commitments to their vocations.

Doctoral Program

The Doctoral Program in History, stemming from the more than 75-year-old Master’s Program in History, has made great strides since its inception in 2011. With its distinctive emphasis on religion and culture, its concentration of leading scholars in American, British, and Global history, and its successful record of student publications, awards, and job placement, the Baylor History Doctoral Program is shaping the next generation of religious historians.

Master's Program

The Master’s Program in History at Baylor University has flourished for more than 75 years, launching students into top-ranked Ph.D. programs and furthering their careers in education, law, business, and politics. Our MA students benefit from the concentration of leading scholars in religious history at Baylor while still receiving broad-based training in American, European, and Global history. Students enjoy the benefits of a full-tuition funded program and the ability to apply for stipends through on-campus assistantships.

History (HIS)

HIS 5320 Seminar in European History (3)

May be taken five times provided topics change.

HIS 5348 Independent Study in European History (3)

Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of instructor

A tutorial course for M.A. and Ph.D. students in history. The course is designed for intensive study of a period or topic in European history. The student and professor in the student's field of interest will jointly develop a student program. Students may take up to fifteen hours provided topics change.

HIS 5350 Seminar in Latin American History (3)

Emphasizes critical reading skills using topics and literature related to Latin American history. May be taken up to two times for credit toward the master's degree provided different topics are examined.

HIS 5360 Seminar in United States History (3)

Cross-listed as AMS 5360

May be taken five times provided topics change.

HIS 5365 Seminar in Public History (3)

Cross-listed as AMS 5365

Field of public history, with emphasis on practical applications of historical methodology and the work of historians outside academia.

HIS 5367 Seminar in Oral History (3)

Cross-listed as AMS 5367

Literature and methods of recent United States oral history, with emphasis on the philosophy behind the oral history movement and the personal involvement of the student in the gathering of oral memoirs.

HIS 5369 The Historian's Craft (3)

Introduction to the history profession focusing on the philosophy of history, the methodology of history, and the craft of writing and teaching history.

HIS 5370 Advanced Graduate Research and Writing (3)

Cross-listed as AMS 5370

Seminar for first-year students focusing on historical research skills, independent learning, critical thinking, and effective paper presentations.

HIS 5371 Religion in the American South (3)

Cross-listed as AMS 5371

Religion in the American South from the colonial period to the present, with emphasis on readings and primary research.

HIS 5388 Independent Study in American History (3)

Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing and consent of instructor

A tutorial course for M.A. and Ph.D. students in history. The course is designed for intensive study of a period or topic in American history. The student and professor in the student's field of interest will jointly develop a study program. Students may take as many as five times, provided topics change.

HIS 5390 Archival Research in History (3)

This course prepares advanced graduate students to work as professional historians in the archives, including the mechanics of the archives (applications, finding resources, paleography), grant writing, introduction to digital research, and production of a thesis or dissertation prospectus or chapter based on archival work.

HIS 5391 History Pedagogy (3)

Prepares graduate students to teach world and U.S. history survey courses at the college level, to deal with students effectively, and to enhance their understanding of their calling as teachers of history.

HIS 5393 Seminar in Global History (3)

Pre-requisite(s): Graduate Standing

Global history is defined as the history of the non-western world, including Latin America. The seminar will focus on a Global topic--i.e. Latin America, the Muslim world, Asia, Africa, or any other specific non-western area. The course will consist of readings and research within one of the Global fields of history. May be taken five times provided topics change.

HIS 5V99 Thesis (1-6)

hrs.

HIS 6V85 Preliminary Readings (1-6)

Pre-requisite(s): Completion of course work for the Ph.D

Independent readings for Ph.D. preliminary qualifying examinations. Preliminary exams allow a student to move to candidacy. A student may repeat this course up to four times.

HIS 6V99 Dissertation (1-12)

Pre-requisite(s): HIS 6V85 and completion of course work for Ph.D

Supervised research for doctoral dissertation.

2024-2025 Academic Catalog