History (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

Program Overview

The Department of History has earned an outstanding reputation for both the quality of its teaching and the high standards of its scholarship, The department is nationally and internationally recognized as a center for the study of the American South and the Civil War. It also has graduate students and faculty working in a host of other areas of American history, including the cultural history of the 20th century. It has particular strengths in Women’s history, British history, the Middle Ages and Renaissance studies, and modern European history. In addition, it has faculty members who publish in and teach the history of the ancient world, Latin America, Africa, as well as South and East Asia. To support the research of the department’s graduate students, the University boasts an excellent library and many digital research resources.

Administration

Admission

Students applying for entrance to the Graduate School must submit an application for admission. This must be submitted on-line (gradapply.lsu.edu). The History Department does not require a GRE score for admission to either the MA or PhD programs. In addition, official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work, a statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample of approximately 10-20 pages should be submitted online as supporting materials. Those applying for the Ph.D. program should include a portion of their Master’s thesis as a writing sample. For admission or advancement to the Ph.D. program, an M.A. in History is required. Decisions are made only after receipt of all credentials. The entire application, including all supporting materials, must be submitted via the LSU Graduate School’s online application website (gradapply.lsu.edu). Hard copies of official transcripts should be submitted directly to the LSU Office of Graduate Admissions.

To be considered for fellowships and assistantships for the fall semester, completed applications must be submitted by JANUARY 15, although completed applications submitted after that date but before MARCH 1 may also be considered. The department does not accept applications for spring admission.

Financial Assistance

All completed applications for admission to the M.A. and Ph.D. programs received by January 15 will be considered for teaching assistantships currently valued at approximately $23,000 for the nine-month academic year, renewable for up to four years (for a total of five years of funding).  Students with assistantships also are exempt from tuition payments, although they must still pay required university fees. A recent schedule of university fees can be found on the Budget and Planning Fee Schedule website.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here)

Asiya Alam • South Asia
John Bardes  • 19th century US, slavery, incarceration 
Gibril R. Cole  • Africa
Maribel Dietz  • Medieval, Late Antiquity 
Jonathan H. Earle  • Early Republic, slavery, antebellum U.S. 
Susan Grunewald  • Modern Europe 
Zevi Gutfreund  • 20th century U.S., immigration, education 
Julia F. Irwin • U.S. foreign relations, 20th century world, humanitarianism and human rights
Zach Isenhower • Native American history, Borderlands
Catherine O. Jacquet  • 20th century U.S., gender, sexuality, incarceration
Sherri Franks Johnson  • Medieval, women
Christine J. Kooi  • Renaissance, Reformation, early modern Netherlands 
Alecia P. Long  • Louisiana, U.S. gender, sexuality 
Suzanne L. Marchand  • Germany/Austria, European intellectual 
Michael Pasquier  • U.S. religion, Louisiana 
K. Stephen Prince • 19th century U.S., Southern history, Popular culture
Kodi Roberts  • U.S., African-American 
Aaron C. Sheehan-Dean • Civil War, U.S. South 
Charles J. Shindo  • 20th century U.S., cultural, Asian American
Victor Stater  • Tudor-Stuart England, early modern Europe 
Leslie Tuttle • Early modern France, France, gender, cultural 
Meredith Veldman • Modern Britain, 20th century Europe 
Jason Wolfe • World history, Modern Europe, German colonialism
Margherita Zanasi • Modern China, nationalism, identity, economic thought

Programs

• History, M.A.

• Joint Degree: M.A./M.L.I.S.

• History, Ph.D.