About PhD Program,
Welcome to Georgetown’s Ph.D. program in History! We are a top-notch program with strengths in multiple fields, and we encourage students with interests that span geographical regions, time periods, and thematic foci. Our doctoral student community numbers roughly 100, with new cohorts of 10-12 fully-funded students each year. Our alumni have gone on to distinguished careers as historians in and out of the academy.
Our Ph.D. program has much to offer. In addition to the attention of a distinguished and award-winning History faculty, our students benefit from Georgetown’s many regional studies programs and intellectual centers, where interdisciplinary activity is prized. Opportunities for language training abound. No city has greater resources for historians than Washington, D.C.: the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the National Library of Medicine, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and many other institutions hold an unparalleled wealth of research material.
Our doctoral program is collegial and collaborative, with a vibrant intellectual life. Outside of class, students participate in seminars and conferences along with faculty, share in the activities of our Institute for Global History, grow through professional development workshops, and socialize with each other when the academic day is over. It’s a fun place to be a serious historian.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
You will be required to self-report the grade point averages (GPA) for undergraduate coursework in the Academic History portion of the application. The GPA represents the combined GPA of all credits applied toward the primary undergraduate degree. Please note that if you attended an institution outside of the U.S. you should not calculate your GPA. Simply report your GPA as CBC (can not be calculated).
If you only attended one U.S. college or university and the GPA is already calculated on a 4.0 scale on that transcript, simply use that GPA. Otherwise, use the steps below to calculate your cumulative GPA.
Georgetown has a highly selective History doctoral program: we accept only 10 percent of those who apply, and incoming classes average about 8-12 students.
General questions about the application process can be referred to Prof. Katie Benton-Cohen, Director of Doctoral Studies, or Carolina Madinaveitia, Graduate Programs Manager.
We strongly encourage applicants to contact their prospective mentor and other faculty members with whom they wish to pursue their doctoral degree, as well as current students in the program, prior to submitting an application, in order to verify whether Georgetown History is a good fit.
PhD Funding Coverage,
The Department offers various types of financial aid to students in the doctoral program. The application for admission serves as the application for financial aid; no separate application for funding is needed. All students admitted to the program are also admitted with a funding package.
- Department Fellowship
- Environmental History Fellowship
- Fellowship in the History of the Early Modern World
- Funding Past the Fith Year
- Evan Armstrong North Graduate Research Award Fund
Application Requirement
- a 500-word, double spaced statement of purpose;
- a substantive sample of work (research papers preferred, maximum of 50 pages; if you are excerpting a larger work, please provide a cover page explaining the selection and larger context);
- unofficial transcripts from any and all college and universities attended (see note below on unofficial transcripts);
- GRE General Test scores (optional);
- TOEFL/IELTS where applicable (see note below on language proficiency);
- and three letters of recommendation.
- A Note on LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: All applicants are required to demonstrate a level of proficiency in the English language sufficient to meet the admission requirement of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Proficiency can be demonstrated by the receipt of a bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education where English is the primary language of instruction. All other applicants must achieve at least a minimum score on either the TOEFL or IELTS test. International students who have been conferred degrees from accredited institutions where English is the primary language of instruction do not need to request a waiver of IELTS/TOEFL as part of the English proficiency confirmation process.
- A Note on UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS:Per the Graduate School Admissions team, “an acceptable transcript upload is a copy of an official transcript produced by the institution. (We consider these uploaded transcripts to be “unofficial” as they are submitted by the applicant). This includes:
-Scanned copies of paper transcripts issued by the institution to the student
-Electronic transcripts issued by the institution to the student (not a download from your institution’s web portal)
-We do not accept screenshots or photos, and we do not accept downloads of the “student’s view” from your institution’s website.” - A Note on SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION MATERIALS:Applicants can submit their statement of purpose, writing sample, unofficial transcripts, and letters of recommendation via the online portal. GRE and/or IELTS/TOEFL scores should be submitted directly to the Graduate School and not the History Department. Please use code 5244 for submission of GRE and TOEFL scores. All materials must be submitted directly to the Graduate School, not the History Department. Submitting materials to the History Department directly slows down the processing of your application.
Application Deadline,
Dec 01, 2024
Application Fee,
Please refer official website
