Graduate

History graduate student Samantha Schwarz gives a 3-minute presentation about the significance of veterans’ photograph collections.

The Department of History offers MA and PhD programs that prepare students for careers in historical research, in teaching, and in archives, museums, historical societies, historic preservation agencies, libraries, and government.

I finished my degree in 1988. For me, attending UWM for grad school has been the most important professional decision I've ever made - and the smartest. I started working the week after finishing my degree and have never been idle. My grad school internship took me right into my first job at the Milwaukee County Historical Society and then to directorships in Mercer, Pennsylvania, Kenosha, Springfield, Ohio, back to Wisconsin again (Superior), and now to North Dakota. UWM helped me realize the answer to my crabby old neighbor's sarcastic question, 'What can you do with a History degree?' If he were still alive I'd tell him, 'Whatever I choose to make of it.' Thanks again for your contribution to my success. - Alumnus Bob Fuhrman, '88. Public History/Museum Studies.

At the Master’s level, the Department offers four options:

  • a general degree in History;
  • a specialization in Public History, for those interested in areas such as museum work, archival administration, and historic preservation, with an intensive multi-disciplinary option in historic preservation;
  • a coordinated Master’s program (MA/MLIS) in History and in Library and Information Science; and
  • a specialization in Urban Historical Studies for students who intend to pursue a PhD in Urban Studies.

The PhD program prepares students to enter the highest levels of the discipline, as well as related fields of knowledge and practice. The Department also participates in interdisciplinary Master’s and doctoral programs in Urban Studies.

Graduate Students in the department have their own independent organization, the UWM History Graduate Students Association (HGSA), which sponsors speakers, workshops, presentations of research, and social events.

UWM History Graduate Students Association on Facebook

For information on grants/awards and teaching assistantships available to graduate students in the History Department, please consult the information on this website under Financial Support/Awards.

The UWM Graduate School’s website provides more information on the department’s Graduate Programs.

For more information about admissions please contact the Graduate Advisor:

Graduate Director
Rebecca Shumway
Holton Hall, Room 342
shumwayr@uwm.edu