in person

History

PhD in History

The PhD program in History offers a broad-based, humanistic education that equips you with the research, analytical, and communication skills critical for meaningful careers in the field of History.

The PhD program in History enables you to conduct research at the highest level and begin your career as an academic historian or prepare for a wide range of academic and professional careers. You’ll work alongside CGU faculty-scholars who specialize in U.S. and European history and draw on expert faculty from the highly ranked Claremont Colleges as well. With abundant opportunities to traverse disciplines and bring diverse ideas together, you will engage in first-rate historical scholarship. The result: an in-depth education in history with a breadth of expertise and an instructional environment unmatched by most larger universities.

Program Highlights
  • The Libraries of the Claremont Colleges are among the largest collections in California, and the Huntington Library, one of the world’s finest research libraries for English and American history, is nearby.
  • You can pursue a PhD in History in conjunction with another degree program at CGU. You receive a diploma for each degree and “double count” some units from one program to the other to decrease your required total units.

Program At-a-glance

  • 72 units

    required units

  • PhD in History

    degree awarded

  • In Person

    modality

  • Spring, Fall

    program start

  • 4 years | full time*

    estimated completion time

    7 years | part time

    estimated completion time

Areas of Concentration

  • American Studies

    The American Studies concentration takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of United States culture, society, civilization, and identity through the curricular lenses of history, literature, critical theory, and more.

  • Early Modern Studies

    The Early Modern Studies concentration undertakes interdisciplinary examination of history, culture, politics, and society within the transitional and transformative period that stretched between Medieval and modern societies, marked especially by the advent of print, Christian confessional war, and the rise of the modern state.

  • Hemispheric & Transnational Studies

    A comparative analysis of culture in the Americas, the concentration in Hemispheric & Transnational Studies explores how scholarship on the Atlantic, borderlands, and diaspora have reshaped U.S. American Studies, Caribbean Studies, and Latin American Studies, emphasizing the topics of empire, race, religion, and revolution.

  • Media Studies

    Situated at the bustling intersection of cultural studies, new media, critical theory, and popular culture, the burgeoning field of Media Studies examines the creative and critical practices of media consumers, producers, artists, and scholars, focusing on questions of representation, power, technology, politics, and economy.

  • Museum Studies

    The Museum Studies concentration investigates the history and political role of museums in society, the interpretation and display of a wide variety of cultural productions, and topics of special concern to museums as cultural organizations, using a multidisciplinary, practice-based approach to understand the historical development of this evolving field.

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Faculty

  • Matthew Bowman

    Matthew Bowman

    Associate Professor of Religion and History
    Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies

    Research Interests

    Mormonism, new religious movements, evangelicalism, religion and American politics

  • Portrait of Joshua Goode

    Joshua Goode

    Professor of Cultural Studies and History
    Chair, Cultural Studies Department

    Research Interests

    Modern Spain, 19th- and 20th-century Europe, Genocide and racial thought, Museums and commemoration, Memory

  • Romeo Guzman

    Romeo Guzmán

    Assistant Professor of History

    Research Interests

    Citizenship, Migration, Sport, Public history, Digital humanities

  • Portrait of JoAnna Poblete

    JoAnna Poblete

    Professor of History
    John D. and Lillian Maguire Distinguished Professor in the Humanities
    Chair, History Department

    Research Interests

    Colonialism and empire, unincorporated territories, migration and labor, comparative ethnic studies, Asian-American and Pacific Islander studies, 20th-century United States, indigenous issues, environmental history, oral history, U.S. expansionism

Extended Faculty

  • Shane Bjornlie

    Claremont McKenna College

    Research Interests

    Late Antique history, Roman history

  • Myriam Chancy

    Scripps College

    Research Interests

    African diaspora with specialization in its literature

  • Alfred Flores

    Harvey Mudd College

    Research Interests

    U.S. empire in Oceania with an emphasis on diaspora, labor, indigeneity, militarization, oral history and settler colonialism in Guåhan

  • Lily Geismer

    Claremont McKenna College

    Research Interests

    20th century liberalism in the United States, Fair housing, Liberal religion and politics

  • George Gorse

    Pomona College

    Research Interests

    Italian Renaissance art and architecture; Italian Baroque art and architecture; Medieval art history; history of cities, palaces, villas, and gardens; history of Genoa

  • Vivien Hamilton

    Harvey Mudd College

    Research Interests

    Medical technologies, including x-rays, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

  • Daniel Livesay

    Claremont McKenna College

    Research Interests

    Early American and Atlantic history; Race, family, and slavery in North America and the Caribbean

  • Charles Lofgren

    Claremont McKenna College

    Research Interests

    American Constitutionalism, American founding, Constitutional law, Military history, War and foreign relations

  • Char Miller

    Pomona College

    Research Interests

    U.S. environmental policy, U.S. public-lands management, Western water politics, Immigration and border security, Urban politics and development, U.S. intellectual and cultural history

  • Harmony O’Rourke

    Pitzer College

    Research Interests

    Cultural and social history of early modern and modern Africa, Global diasporas, Gender and sexuality, West Africa, Slavery, Colonialism, Oral history

  • Albert Park

    Claremont McKenna College

    Research Interests

    Design & architecture, East Asian history & political economy, Korean history, Modern Japanese history

  • Ralph Rossum

    Claremont McKenna College

    Research Interests

    American Constitutionalism, American Founding, Constitutional Law, Crime and Criminal Justice, Indian Gaming Issues, Redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights

  • Victor Silvermam

    Pomona College

    Research Interests

    U.S. History, Alcohol and Drug Studies, History of Sexual/Gender Minorities, The Cold War, Labor Unions, International Labor Movements, U.S. and Britain, San Francisco Bay Area History, California History, Sustainable Development Policy

Curriculum

Courses

  • History 300 (4 units)
  • One Transdisciplinary course (4 units)
  • Ten History elective courses (40 units)
  • Six elective courses (24 units)

Up to 24 units transfer credit from previous graduate work in History may be substituted for the elective coursework requirements.

Research Tools Requirement

  • Two foreign languages (or one foreign language and one research tool)

Research Papers

  • Two substantive research papers

PhD Completion

  • PhD qualifying exams
  • Dissertation proposal
  • Written dissertation and oral defense

Oral History Program

Inaugurated in 1962, the Claremont Graduate University Oral History Program has amassed an impressive collection of interviews with persons whose life experiences merited preservation and special projects, such as China Missionaries Oral History Project, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. It is a premier resource for research into the history of The Claremont Colleges and California state government and politics.

Application Guidelines

University Requirements
Application Fee

$80 (fee is non-refundable)

Official Transcripts

Undergraduate/graduate

Applicants must submit a sealed, official transcript from every undergraduate and graduate institution that has granted the applicant a degree. Electronic transcripts sent to admissions@cgu.edu are also accepted. For undergraduate coursework, applicants are required to submit proof of a completed bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted for review purposes, but official copies will be required upon admission.

Applicants currently earning a degree that will be completed prior to attending CGU are required to submit a transcript showing work in progress for evaluation purposes. Once the degree has been granted, a final official transcript documenting the degree conferred must be submitted to CGU.

International applicants are advised to review the International Transcript Guidelines for additional information on submitting international transcripts.

English Proficiency Exam

Required (international applicants only)

A valid score on one of the following examinations TOEFL, IELTS, Pearson PTE, Duolingo English Test is required of all non-native English-speaking applicants. The examination is not required for the following applicants:

  • Citizens or permanent residents of countries where English is the sole official language of instruction, e.g., Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada (except Quebec), England, Ghana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Tobago, Uganda, and Wales (see the CGU Bulletin for a complete list of accepted countries).
  • Applicants who hold an undergraduate or advanced degree, or will have earned such a degree prior to enrolling at CGU, from an institution in the US or in countries where English is the sole official language of instruction (see above).
  • Applicants who have successfully completed an academic English pre-master’s or intensive graduate bridge program from a nationally recognized, regionally accredited four-year college or university in the United States in the last two years, with submitted evidence of successful completion, and subject to curriculum approval.
  • CGU allows for an English proficiency waiver if the applicant has received, or will receive prior to enrollment at CGU, an undergraduate or advanced degree from an institution where English is one of the primary languages of instruction for the majority of courses in the student’s program. To receive the waiver, documentation must be provided by the applicant to show that English is the language of instruction at their university/college.

CGU’s school code for the TOEFL exam is 4053.

International applicants are encouraged to visit our International Applicants page for more information, including score requirements.

Resume

Applicants must submit an up-to-date copy of their resume.

Program Requirements
Statement of Purpose

Please submit a 2-3 page statement of purpose that details your academic and/or professional achievements, your specific areas of research interest within your desired field of study, why you are a strong candidate for graduate studies at CGU, and your career goals.

Academic Prerequisites

Master’s degree required

Letter of Recommendation

3 letters required

When filling out the online application, please enter references acquainted with your potential for success who will submit a written recommendation on your behalf. In most academic departments, references from faculty members who can speak to your academic ability are preferred; applicants with substantial work experience may request professional references. Please do not enter family members as references.

You will be required to input information for your recommenders (whether they are submitting online or not) in the “Recommendations” section of the online application. Please follow the directions in this section carefully before clicking on “Recommendation Provider List” to input the names and contact information for each recommender. You will have an opportunity to indicate if the reference writer will be submitting online. These reference writers will receive an email from CGU with instructions on submitting an online recommendation.

Recommenders who are indicated as offline will not receive an email from CGU with instructions to submit. These reference writers can submit via traditional mail and should use the supplemental New Student Recommendation Form. Recommenders can also email their letter of recommendation to the Office of Admissions at admissions@cgu.edu.

Download the Recommendation Form

Standardized Test Scores

GRE (optional)

For applicants applying to begin in a 2024 term, standardized test scores are not required for this program. Applicants who have taken the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test are invited to submit scores but are not required to do so.

Applicants who feel that their Grade Point Averages do not adequately represent their ability to succeed in a graduate program may find it helpful to submit GRE scores for consideration.

CGU’s school code:
ETS (GRE and TOEFL) 4053

Writing Sample

All applicants are required to submit a writing sample of previous work in addition to the statement of purpose. You may submit samples of any length you feel indicate your writing ability, but please note that we will be unable to return any items submitted as part of your application (please, no books). Most applicants submit one or two scholarly papers or excerpts of around 10-15 pages. Writing samples should not exceed 30 pages.

Key Dates & Deadlines

CGU operates on a priority deadline cycle. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit complete applications by the priority dates in order to assure maximum consideration for both admission and fellowships.

Once the priority deadlines have passed, the University will continue to review applications for qualified candidates on a competitive, space-available basis. The final deadlines listed are the last date the University can accept an application in order to allow sufficient time to complete the admissions, financial aid, and other enrollment processes.

Spring 2025
Priority Deadline – November 1, 2024
Final Deadline (International) – November 15, 2024
Final Deadline (Domestic) – December 1, 2024
Classes begin – January 21, 2025

Fall 2025
Priority Deadline – February 1, 2025
Final Deadline (International) – July 5, 2025
Final Deadline (Domestic) – August 1, 2025
Classes begin – August 25, 2025

Apply Now

Cost & Aid

ESTIMATED TUITION (CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, NON-RESIDENTS, INTERNATIONAL)
Program 72 units
Tuition per unit* $2,020

*Based on 2024-2025 tuition rates.

 

STUDENT FEES (PER SEMESTER)
$245 Student Fee
$150 Technology Fee
International Student Services Fee*: $661 fall semester, $776 spring semester
**Applies to all international students (F-1 visa only) who are registered in coursework, doctoral study, or continuous registration. The fee is assessed each fall and spring semester for annual ISO accident and sickness plans and administrative fees. Subject to change.

For estimates of room & board, books, etc., please download CGU’s Cost of Attendance 2024-2025.

Review General Costs

Back to the tabs
Interdisciplinary Concentrations

As a student in the School of Arts & Humanities, you have the option of completing one of five interdisciplinary concentrations.

American Studies

The American Studies concentration takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of United States culture, society, civilization, and identity through the curricular lenses of history, literature, critical theory, and more.

View Concentration

Early Modern Studies

The Early Modern Studies concentration undertakes interdisciplinary examination of history, culture, politics, and society within the transitional and transformative period that stretched between Medieval and modern societies, marked especially by the advent of print, Christian confessional war, and the rise of the modern state.

View Concentration

Hemispheric & Transnational Studies

A comparative analysis of culture in the Americas, the concentration in Hemispheric & Transnational Studies explores how scholarship on the Atlantic, borderlands, and diaspora have reshaped U.S. American Studies, Caribbean Studies, and Latin American Studies, emphasizing the topics of empire, race, religion, and revolution.

View Concentration

Media Studies

Situated at the bustling intersection of cultural studies, new media, critical theory, and popular culture, the burgeoning field of Media Studies examines the creative and critical practices of media consumers, producers, artists, and scholars, focusing on questions of representation, power, technology, politics, and economy.

View Concentration

Museum Studies

The Museum Studies concentration investigates the history and political role of museums in society, the interpretation and display of a wide variety of cultural productions, and topics of special concern to museums as cultural organizations, using a multidisciplinary, practice-based approach to understand the historical development of this evolving field.

View Concentration

 


These concentrations are available for students pursuing the following degree programs:

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