Applying to PhD programs in the humanities can be a bewildering process.  Unlike professional schools, which have more standardized application processes as well as advising programs that support applicants, potential PhD students often find themselves alone as they examine the various ways that graduate programs are organized. It is with this experience in mind that we have prepared this section.

Applications to the graduate program should be submitted using WashU’s online application system. For more information, visit the admissions page for the Office of Graduate Studies. After receiving and processing applications, the OGS then turns the applications over to the History Department for review. The Department recommends applicants for admission, and the OGS admits them.

The Department admits students who are able to demonstrate that they have a good sense of what it takes to produce original historical scholarship. These applicants show that they have, or are in the process of acquiring, the skills that are necessary for successful scholarly work. Many History PhD students arrive with an undergraduate degree in History, although that is not a prerequisite. People who studied other topics in college, from foreign languages to anthropology to political science to chemistry, have become successful historians. Nevertheless, applicants who submit a writing sample consisting of a senior honors thesis or similar that is based on historical sources and that asks and answers a productive historical question have an advantage during the admissions process.

Potential applicants should consider discussing their plans to apply to graduate school with instructors from their previous institutions. Most college professors hold PhDs and can provide advice on whether and where to go to graduate school. (Keep in mind that applicants need three letters of recommendation from faculty; Asking for advice as well as letters can be informative.)

Once students have decided to pursue a PhD in history, they should strive to find an appropriate program and advisor. At WashU, we train students in fields ranging from early America to the history of medicine and world migration. Applicants should read our faculty biographies to discover the depth of our program and faculty expertise. Once applicants have identified a potential advisor via shared research interests, they should read some of that faculty member's scholarship. This will help determine whether faculty and student interests are truly aligned. Students should consider writing to potential advisors to share a brief summary of interests and ask whether they are accepting students.

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Applications to the graduate program should be submitted using WashU’s online application system.

Applications are accepted for the fall term beginning September 1 through December 1.  Applicants should complete and submit the application, as well as all supplemental materials, by the deadline.

• For US citizens – A personal statement of purpose, a writing sample, three letters of recommendation, official GRE scores*, official transcripts**
• For international applicants/non-US citizens – A personal statement of purpose, a writing sample, three letters of recommendation, official GRE scores*, official transcripts**, and official TOEFL scores***

*GRE scores are an optional part of the application.  If you do choose to submit your scores, you should upload the unofficial scores to the application and then, have ETS send them directly to the department.

**At the time of the application, you will need to upload unofficial copies of your transcripts to the application. If you accept an offer of admission from us, then official transcripts must be submitted directly from the degree-granting institution.

***TOEFL scores should be uploaded to the application and then, official scores must be submitted to the department.

At WashU, students are admitted directly into the Department of History's PhD program. Students earn an MA on the way to the PhD, but there is no stand-alone MA program. The PhD program requires students to devote themselves to full-time and continuous study, for a program length of five years. It is not possible to attend part-time. Students who already hold an MA from another institution are encouraged to apply. It is possible, although not always recommended, to receive credit for past work. This can be addressed after admission.

Working with the Office of Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, the History department strives to provide funding to all of its PhD students for a maximum of five years. Students are granted tuition remission, meaning they do not have to pay tuition for the courses they take. Students receive a yearly stipend to cover living expenses and subsidized health insurance. They are required to live in St. Louis for at least the first three years of the program and attend classes in person. 

Applicants should craft their statement as they see fit, but here are some of the questions the reader may be asking:

• Does the applicant know how to ask and answer a historical question?
• Do they have a sense of how historical questions might be answered?
• Are they engaged with current historical debates in the field?
• Do they relate their life history, ranging from special challenges or unorthodox work experiences, to their plans for future study?
• Do they have a realistic sense of what must and can be accomplished during a five-year program?
• Do they have the skills and drive to eventually complete a dissertation?
• Who would be their primary advisor?
• Why are they applying to the program at WUSTL?
• Applicants in non-U.S. history should provide evidence as to competency in relevant languages, and, if applicable, living or travel experience in the region of interest.

Ideally it will show strong analytical writing ability as well as historical thinking and research abilities. Good choices of writing samples include:

• senior theses
• capstone projects
• an MA thesis in History or a related discipline

It should be a polished piece of writing that showcases the applicant’s abilities.  In many cases, the best writing sample is not necessarily on a subject related to an area the applicant plans to study in graduate school.  For example, a long paper rooted in  primary sources written for an advanced undergraduate seminar may better demonstrate research and writing skills than a short paper based on secondary sources for a large survey course, even if that survey course is in the field the applicant plans to study.

The most valuable letters usually come from recommenders who hold a PhD in History and who teach and research about the past. Letters from professors in other disciplines can also be helpful if they attest to the academic abilities and work ethic of the applicant.

People who have been out of school for some time may submit a letter from a supervisor, especially if the letter highlights skills and habits that may be helpful in a demanding five-year program. Applicants returning to school after a long absence may want to take a history course on a non-degree basis as a way of testing the waters and becoming acquainted with an instructor who may be able to write a letter.

Letters of recommendation must be submitted electronically through the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences application process.

Historians need to be able to read the languages used in the time and place of their object of study. Students applying to write about places that use languages other than English need to know those languages or have plans for mastering them before beginning to research the dissertation. As an example, students aspiring to write about the history of Germany should be able to read German or be in the process of learning to do so. Foreign language abilities need to be documented with transcripts and/or proficiency exams. In their writing samples, students should also demonstrate strong analytical writing skills in English.

The Department welcomes applications from international students. Students whose primary language of education is not English must submit TOEFL scores. As required by the graduate school, the score should be above thresholds determined by the OGS. We may require that students who are non-native speakers of English attend ESL courses at WashU to improve their academic writing and presentation skills.  The Department has been fortunate to include a growing number of excellent international students in our graduate cohort, and they have had highly successful outcomes from their graduate training.

We take the ability to write and speak in English as a very important determinant of admission. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide us with materials to evaluate their language skills. A TOEFL score is a good and effective way to provide us with the necessary information. All international students, regardless of their country of origin, need to take an oral language test administered by the English Language Programs at Washington University if and when they are admitted to the program. To be eligible for an English proficiency testing waiver, the applicant must have completed at least three years of study toward their degree from a regionally accredited university located in an English-speaking country. In addition, English proficiency testing may be waived for an application if the applicant has completed a full-time bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited university located in the United States. Please also note that the entire length of study must have been completed at the institution.

For further information regarding English Language Proficiency, visit the Office for International Students & Scholars or contact the office at oiss@wustl.edu.

No. Applicants’ files are reviewed as a whole.

For applicants admitted for the 20XX-20XX academic year, the average GRE scores and GPA were as follows:

• Verbal:
• Quantitative:
• Analytic Writing:
• GPA: 

No. The General GRE is the only GRE that should be taken if you choose to include a GRE score as part of your application. 

Applicants should upload complete transcripts of their grades for all work in institutions of higher education. At the time of the application, you will need to upload unofficial copies of your transcripts to the application. If you accept an offer of admission from us, then official transcripts must be submitted directly from the degree-granting institution.

Unofficial copies of transcripts must be uploaded at the time of application for each institution you have attended. Transcripts should include the applicant name, the institution name, and all grades received.

Official transcripts are required by some of our programs for application review. Please check the transcript requirements for your program of interest.

Transcripts from foreign institutions should be translated by the issuing institution and uploaded with the original transcript. Translations must bear an original ink signature and seal.  If your institution does not provide an English translation, we also accept translations of transcripts by services such as WES and ECE. 

After accepting an offer of admission, official transcripts must be submitted from your degree granting institution(s) for all undergraduate and graduate coursework. Transcripts must be in English and list the applicant name, the institution name, and all grades received. Official transcripts should be sent to Washington University in St. Louis – School Code 6929, or mailed directly to the Office of Graduate Studies from the issuing institution, or delivered by hand in a stamped, sealed, institutional envelope by the first day of classes. If your official transcript does not show receipt of the degree earned you must also send a certificate of graduation (with translation if needed). Transcripts may be mailed to:

Washington University in St. Louis
Office of Graduate Studies in Arts & Sciences
MSC 1187-0112-02
One Brookings Drive,
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

If your institution issues electronic transcripts through a secure credentialing service (e.g. CertiFile, Parchment, Safe-Script), the electronic notification should be sent to: artscigradadmissions@wustl.edu

If your coursework is reflected on the transcript from your home academic institution, sending additional transcripts from study abroad/AP credit/summer courses is not required. However, you can upload these to your application if you feel they are beneficial.

Members of the Graduate Studies Committee in History begin reviewing applications soon after the December 1st deadline. Then they consult with relevant members of the Department and colleagues at the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS). The OGS typically sends formal offers of admission to admitted applicants in late February. The OGS will also inform applicants if their applications were unsuccessful. In some cases, applicants will be placed on a waiting list. Offers to applicants on the waiting list can be made at any time between February and the April 15 acceptance deadline. 

The deadline for successful candidates to accept or decline the Graduate School’s offers of admission and financial support is April 15. This is a universal deadline to which all signatories to the Council of Graduate Schools resolution, which includes over 350 institutions in the U.S., have agreed to. If you are considering an offer from another program and are asked to accept an offer of financial support before April 15, it is likely that this deadline was imposed in error or in ignorance of this resolution. You are perfectly within your rights to insist on the April 15 deadline. Concerns about an early deadline from another program should be directed to our department’s Director of Graduate Studies.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the History Department does not typically allow admitted student to defer enrollment.  Applicants who do not accept offers of admission for the upcoming Fall semester, but are interested in entering the program in the future, will be encouraged to reapply without any special guarantee of admission.

Candidates not accepted for admission may reapply in subsequent years. New applications should highlight differences from the previous application, in terms of skills or degrees acquired, or other changed circumstances.

The graduate program at Washington University is an in-person program.  Like most educational programming, we pivoted to remote instruction during COVID, but we returned to in-person instruction in Fall 2021.  Other aspects of graduate occasion are conduct remotely as need be.  Graduate students often meet with faculty rather than in person when that arrangement works better for both.  Remote communication has enabled graduate students to be in regular and direct contact with faculty while conducting research out of St. Louis.  Dissertations have also been conducted online when in-person has not been possible.

If you have questions about the application process or general questions about the graduate program (application deadlines, funding, etc.), you should contact either the Director of Graduate Studies, or the Graduate Program Administrator. Many applicants find it useful to contact faculty with whom they might study to discuss possible areas of interest. This sort of contact is not necessary, but can prove helpful in determining whether to apply.

Yes.  Whenever possible, the Department provides full funding for all entering PhD students, regardless of their own financial resources.  It is therefore important for applicants to complete all financial aid application materials.

Yes. Students regularly take vacations and visit family. But they also attend conferences, conduct archival research, and participate in educational program throughout the U.S. and around the world. The residency requirement is in place so that students are available for classes in person.