Our course offerings introduce students to medieval witches and Samurai warriors, conspiracy cranks and Native American prophets, Chairman Mao and the Black Panthers. Students can take courses on the history of sexuality, or, if that isn’t exciting enough, courses on natural disasters, wars, and plagues. With 35 tenured and tenure-track faculty, the Department of History covers the globe. Training
in historical research, analysis, and writing develops skills that are essential in our information economy, and this preparation is especially useful to students planning to pursue graduate training and careers in law, public policy, business, journalism, education, and a universe of other possibilities, as our recent undergraduate and graduate alumni throughout the world can attest. The Department of History at KU offers an outstanding undergraduate program with approximately 250 majors and an additional group of History minors. These students are taught by faculty who consistently win awards for their teaching as well as their research. Beyond the introductory level, class sizes are small, including two required seminars that are capped at fifteen students each, and the optional Senior Honors Thesis, which features direct one-on-one advising with a faculty mentor. Our graduate program has consistently ranked in the top 25 among public research universities. With an average of 80 graduate students enrolled, we are primarily a doctoral program, granting Ph.D. degrees in standard geographical areas such as the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, as well as in thematic fields such as military, environmental, and gender. Recent Ph.D. recipients have gone on to tenure-track positions at research universities, liberal arts colleges, junior colleges, and a variety of non-academic careers. Finally, faculty in the Department of History are nationally and even internationally known for their research. The books and articles they have published just in the last two years are too numerous to list here, but you can scroll through the faculty page to gain a sense of their significance shaping our knowledge about the world. Their productivity plays an important role in helping KU maintain its position in the prestigious American Association of Universities. Take some time to search through our website. You’ll find information about our programs, our courses, and our prolific faculty, and you can hear the voices of undergraduates and graduate students who have passed through the Department. Please feel free to contact any of the administrative staff and faculty with your questions.
