Applications

Application Item

Notes

How Submit

Graduate School Admission Application

A complete Admission Application means you will be considered for admission AND departmental funding. You do not need to submit a separate funding application.

On-line submission through ApplyYourself (AY)

Statement #1 Research Statement

The admissions committee seeks to admit a cohort of first year students who are excited by ideas and the prospect of deepening their knowledge and capacities in sustained conversation with a wide range of teachers and colleagues. In a statement of approximately 500 words, describe your development as an historian and intellectual and explain why a PhD in history is the right avenue to further your personal growth. In addition to identifying your interests within the field of history, please give us an idea of the historical problems you want to explore and analyze during your time at Minnesota, as well as the fields both within and beyond history that you hope will add to your formation as a teacher and scholar.

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Writing Sample

Please provide the committee with a writing sample that gives us insight into your intellectual curiosity and your analytic and creative abilities. It must be in English and no more than 25 pages in length, and could be part of an undergraduate project, a section or two from a senior or Master’s thesis, or a piece of published writing. Your sample should show how you work with primary sources to make historical arguments. If you are planning on working with a research language other than English, your writing sample should ideally display your facility with that language. If you are applying from another discipline, then choose a piece of writing that displays your skills as a researcher, and that will suggest to the committee how your previous education provides a solid foundation for your future historical work. Feel free to include as part of the sample a page or two that contextualizes its contents within a class or larger project.

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Letters of Recommendation

Three letters are necessary. Please use the online system through the Graduate School application to identify your recommenders. We prefer that recommenders submit online, but recommenders also have the option of mailing the recommendation by placing the letter in an envelope with a signed Recommendation Waiver Form (through The Graduate School online recommendation system), then seal and sign across the seal. We prefer letters from academic references over letters from nonacademic employers.

Request Online (AY) or Mail Directly to Department (must come from letter writer, not prospective student)

Transcripts

Unofficial transcript from each college/university attended.

Upload Online (AY)

GRE Scores

Official scores required.

Sent Directly from ETS; ALSO self-report scores online (AY)

TOEFL Scores

Required of all international applicants whose native language is not English; official scores required.

Sent Directly from ETS if applicable; ALSO self-report scores online (AY)

Statement #2
Diversity Statement

If you believe you qualify for the DOVE (Diversity Of Views and Experiences) Fellowship or one of the ICGC (Interdisciplinary Center for Global Change) Fellowships and would like to be considered for nomination, please submit a statement explaining your candidacy.  Please label it Diversity Fellowship Statement or Interdisciplinary Fellowship Statement

DOVE Fellowship
ICGC Fellowships

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"Statements" #2 (AY), addressing applicable fellowships if you feel you qualify