General
Information about the Graduate Program
The Department of History offers both the M.A.
and the Ph.D. in history, emphasizing its two focused
Ph.D. programs, in Social History & Policy (SHP)
and in the History of Science, Technology, Environment
& Medicine (STEM). In practice, these two programs
are closely related. The department also joins with
the Law School to offer an M.A. in history/J.D.
double degree program. Informally, students can
also combine graduate study in History with the
certificate or degree programs of the Mandel Center
for Nonprofit Organizations.
All applicants for graduate degrees in history
must submit the application form, official transcripts
from all post-secondary institutions attended, scores
on the GRE or a comparable standardized test, three
letters of recommendation, and a writing sample
(e.g., a previously written college essay or term
paper). In addition, we ask for a short essay on
the following question: What work of history has
impressed you the most, and why? (This should be
a book by a serious historian.) All of these items
must be in our hands no later than March 1 for the
applicant to be considered for financial aid for
matriculation in August; only complete applications
can be considered for admission or financial aid.
The department recommends, but does not require,
an undergraduate major in history.
The M.A. in history at CWRU requires 27 hours of
course work, including 6 hours of carefully supervised
work on a master's thesis (a work of original research
based on primary sources). It is possible to earn
an M.A. in African, Asian, European, U.S., or world
history; the strengths of the department are in
U.S. and European history. For the joint J.D./M.A.
program, students must be admitted to both the history
graduate and law schools, and they can complete
their degrees in either three and one-half years
or three years and two summers of study, completing
a total of 106 hours (including double credits of
up to nine hours).
Students are admitted into the History Department's
graduate programs with or without a master's or
professional degree. Students who do not have a
master's degree in history may be required to complete
that degree in the department before moving on to
the Ph.D.; those who have earned graduate or professional
degrees closely related to their Ph.D. programs
may petition for direct admission to the Ph.D. program.
Students who first complete their M.A. in history
at Case Western Reserve must complete an additional
18 hours of course work, pass the qualifying exams
required by their program of study, and prepare
a Ph.D. dissertation while enrolling in at least
18 hours of supervised dissertation-writing work.
Students who have completed their master's-level
work before coming to CWRU must complete at least
18 hours of course work before taking their qualifying
exams.
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Financial
Support
Fellowships & Scholarships The Case Western Reserve University Department of History is committed to providing graduate students with as much financial support as possible. In most cases, the Department is able to provide scholarships sufficient to cover tuition for the course work required for a student's degree. The Department is also usually able to offer fellowship support as well as research assistant and teaching assistant positions that enable students to cover basic living costs. The most highly qualified applicants are considered for awards of full tuition support and stipends of $10,000 for the first two years of their study.
Generally, the Department does not offer teaching assistantships until a student has completed Comprehensive Examination and begun work on a dissertation. From time to time the College of Arts and Sciences and Case Western Reserve University offer substantial dissertation-writing fellowships; History Ph.D. students have been quite successful in competing for these fellowships.
We are very glad to acknowledge the following funds and their generous donors: these funds make it possible for us to offer graduate fellowships in history. Entering students need only mark the appropriate box on the application; there is no need to apply for a specific fellowship.
The Henri Pell Junod Jr. Fellowship for Ph.D. students studying industrial history.
The Bernadotte E. Schmitt Fund for outstanding candidates for an advanced degree in History.
The Julia Edwards Fund for outstanding candidates for the M.A. or Ph.D. in History.
The Elizabeth Magee Fund for Ph.D. candidates in Social History and Policy.
The Ralph J. Besse Fellowship for Regional History.
History Associates Fellowships for Ph.D. students in the later stages of writing their dissertations.
Work Opportunities
Case Western Reserve University also offers a wide variety of work opportunities. Information concerning employment on campus, resident adviser positions, etc., is available from the Graduate Office, 6 th Floor of Nord Hall, Cleveland , Ohio 44106 .
Graduate students in History find other work opportunities in schools, museums, archives, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, law firms, etc., in the extraordinary University Circle area adjacent to the Case campus, in the downtown district just a bus ride away, and throughout Northeast Ohio.
Research & Travel Aid
The Department of History offers limited grants for research travel and conference attendance; it also has a very good record of helping graduate students obtain travel funds from other sources, both at Case and elsewhere.
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Graduate
Program in Social History and Policy
The Program in Social History and Policy (SHP)
provides an opportunity to apply the perspectives
and insights of modern social history to the formation
of policy. The program is particularly directed
to such fields as social welfare, nonprofit organizations,
environmental reform, public health, aging, law,
labor relations, family life, education, and museum
and cultural policy. A Ph.D. degree in Social History
and Policy offers the option of combining academic
study with policy-making experience: it prepares
students for careers in college and university teaching,
as well as a variety of other fields, including
nonprofit management, health and welfare planning,
education administration, and museum work.
Begun in 1983 with help from a major grant from
the National Endowment for the Humanities, the program
in Social History and Policy had graduated twenty-two
Ph.D.'s by May 1998. Graduates of the SHP program
teach at the University of Michigan, Kent State
University, Beloit College, Cleveland State University,
the University of Texas, and other colleges and
universities, and are employed at a variety of policy-oriented
nonprofit organizations; one graduate is executive
director of National History Day.
The Course of Study in SHP
Students can begin the Social History and Policy
Ph.D. program with a B.A., an M.A., or an appropriate
professional degree. Twenty-seven credits are required
for the M.A., including a course in historiography.
Ph.D. students take a set of intensive seminars
on social history (HSTY 476 and 477), as well as
studies in the interpretation and methodology of
history (HSTY 470 and 611). Most students select
U.S. history as their major field, but we also encourage
applications from students interested in modern
European history or modern world history. Elective
courses may be selected not only from the History
Department's offerings, but also from the University's
professional schools of law, medicine, management,
and social work. After completing the course work
requirements and demonstrating proficiency in relevant
research skills, students take the Ph.D. qualifying
examination. An optional internship year may be
taken in the second year of study. During the internship,
students enroll for at least six hours of course
credit and maintain close contact with an advisor
and with the regular colloquium in social history
and policy. At the end of the internship, the student
submits a written report on his or her experiences.
In recent years, students have been offered internships
with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the Sisters
of Charity Health and Hospitals Corporation, the
Cleveland Federation for Community Planning, the
Interchurch Council of Greater Cleveland, Womenspace,
the Cleveland Children's Museum, etc.
Requirements for Admission to SHP
The Department of History encourages applications
from college graduates who intend to pursue the
M.A. and then go on to a Ph.D. in social history
and policy. Those who have already earned an M.A.
in history or a related discipline (including, when
appropriate, a degree in law, social work, or another
professional field) may apply for direct admission
to the Social History and Policy doctoral program.
An undergraduate major in history is not required,
but advanced work in history or a social science
field is strongly recommended, and deficiencies
in historical preparation may require additional
course work at the faculty's discretion. Each applicant
must submit transcripts of previous college and
university work, scores on the Graduate Record Examination
or comparable standardized test, three letters of
recommendation, and a brief but substantive writing
sample (such as a book review).
Opportunities for Research and Study in SHP
Case Western Reserve University provides an extraordinarily
rich environment for a graduate program in social
history and policy. In addition to its own distinguished
professional schools of applied social sciences,
dentistry, engineering, law, management, medicine,
and nursing, the University is adjacent to two major
medical centers, University Hospitals of Cleveland
and the Cleveland Clinic. The University's Mandel
Center for Nonprofit Organizations, the Public Policy
Program, and the Center for Biomedical Ethics sponsor
many interdisciplinary forums and seminars. Nearby
are the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, facilities
for the aged, and other social service agencies.
Altogether, the University Circle area contains
more than 43 social service, medical, educational,
and cultural institutions. Cleveland has played
a nationally prominent role in the development of
social services, under both private and public auspices,
for nearly one hundred years. Federated Charities,
the Community Chest and United Way Movements, Blue
Cross, the Community Foundations movement, public
housing, and many other innovative programs were
all started and developed here. Extensive records
for many of these activities are housed in the Western
Reserve Historical Society's large new library and
archive building adjacent to the CWRU campus. The
Society's excellent and extensive collection of
books on policy-related social history of the United
States as well as of Ohio and the Greater Cleveland
region supplements the University's own extensive
collections. Other nearby libraries and archives,
notably the Cleveland Health Sciences Library, the
Cleveland Public Library, and the Cuyahoga County
Archives, provide significant additional research
resources.
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Graduate
Program in the History of Science, Technology, Environment,
and Medicine
At the time of its birth four decades ago, the
graduate program in the History of Science and Technology
shared space and personnel at CWRU with the newly
formed Society for the History of Technology (SHOT)
and its journal, Technology and Culture. In the
years since, graduates and faculty in the program
have served as secretaries of both SHOT and the
History of Science Society, edited Technology and
Culture, served as President of SHOT and President
of the International Committee for the History of
Technology (ICOHTEC), and won the Dexter Prize,
the da Vinci Prize and many other honors in both
the history of technology and the history of science.
An integral part of the CWRU Department of History,
the program in the History of Science, Technology,
Environment, and Medicine (STEM) provides areas
of particular strength in the social and cultural
history of technology and science policy, environmental
history and policy, the history of the physical
sciences since the Renaissance, gender issues in
technology and science, and the history of medicine.
The Course of Study in STEM
Graduate students in the History of Science, Technology,
Environment, and Medicine elect to specialize in
one of these four areas, but course work emphasizes
integrating materials from all of them. The M.A.
degree in the STEM program requires 27 hours of
course credit, including a selection from the following
seminars: HSTY 402 (the literature of the history
of science), HSTY 451 and 452 (the literature of
the history of technology), HSTY 378 (environmental
history), and HSTY 395 (history of medicine); HSTY
611 (historiography) is also required, as is completion
of a master's thesis. The Ph.D. requirements include:
the M.A. course requirements, HSTY 470 (historical
methods), written and oral qualifying examinations,
and a dissertation.
Graduate students in the STEM program can work
closely with the university's professional schools,
especially those of Law, Management, and Medicine,
and with other academic departments, including Anthropology,
which is especially strong in medical anthropology.
Other intellectual assets on campus are contained
in three interdepartmental undergraduate majors:
Environmental Studies, American Studies, and Women's
Studies. Close ties are maintained with the Western
Reserve Historical Society and the Dittrick Medical
History Center, both of which are located in University
Circle.
Requirements for Admission to STEM
The Program in the History of Science, Technology,
Environment, and Medicine encourages applications
from college graduates who intend to pursue the
M.A. or Ph.D. degree. An undergraduate major in
history is not required for admission to the M.A.
program, but additional preparation in the field
may be required at the discretion of the faculty.
Each applicant must submit transcripts of all previous
college and university work, scores on the Graduate
Record Examination or a comparable standardized
test, three letters of recommendation, and a brief
but substantive writing sample (such as a book review).
For admission directly to the Ph.D program, an M.A.
or M.S. degree is required, either from CWRU or
another university.
Opportunities for Research and Study in STEM
Case Western Reserve University offers an exceptionally
endowed and historically appropriate setting for
a graduate program in the History of Science, Technology,
Environment, and Medicine. Collections in the University's
libraries date back to the founding of Western Reserve
College in 1826, and a new facility, the Kelvin
Smith Library opened in fall 1996. Acquisitions
of historical materials in science, technology,
and medicine have been emphasized since the program
began in 1961 and now constitute a particularly
strong part of the university library's holdings.
The Cleveland Health Sciences Library has one of
the country's largest and most valuable collections
of books and serials in the history of medicine,
public health, and the biological sciences. The
Western Reserve Historical Society, adjacent to
the university, has a superb library containing
many manuscript collections as well as published
materials, and the Cleveland Public Library has
the third largest research collection of any city
library in the nation, with particularly strong
holdings in technology and business.
Additionally, the city of Cleveland itself is a
virtual living museum of technology and industrial
history, with links to the migrations and other
social changes that mark the history of the past
150 years. The Cleveland Inventory of Historic Engineering
and Industrial Sites, conducted by the Historic
American Engineering Record in 1975 and 1976, lists
over a hundred important sites and structures.
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Other
Specializations
The Department of History also offers a Ph.D. program
in which other specializations are considered. For
this program, which does not admit students every
year, an M.A. in history is very strongly recommended.
This program requires 18 hours of course work beyond
the M.A., comprehensive oral examinations in the
general field (U.S. history from the colonial period
to the present), in a major field (a period or subfield
of U.S. history), and in two cognate fields, at
least one of which is in a field other than U.S.
history.
For Further Information . . .
The Department's graduate director is Professor
David Hammack, to whom inquiries should be directed.
A downloadable application for graduate study is
available by clicking the "Admissions"
button of this website.
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