Wsu graduate school statement of purpose

Please note that MA and PhD applicants wishing to be considered for a teaching assistantship must submit applications prior to January 10. The application file must be complete by that time. Those simply wishing admission into our graduate program must submit their materials by March 1.

The department admits students separately to the MA and PhD programs. It is understood that some students may choose not to continue beyond the MA, and that others may not be permitted to do so. MA candidates who do not intend to continue on to the doctoral program may want to consider the department’s non-thesis option at the MA level. The aim of the thesis option at the MA level is to provide students with research training leading to degree candidacy in the doctoral program.

Applicants to the graduate program in history are expected to show high potential for engaging in advanced historical research and analysis. Applicants must meet general university requirements for admission to graduate standing and are advised to have completed an undergraduate major in history. The department strongly recommends that applicants to the MA program have a minimum of 12 upper-division credits of undergraduate history. Applicants to the PhD program must have at least 15 graduate credits in history. Both MA and PhD applicants are strongly urged to have at least 2 years of foreign language study or equivalent competence.

As of Fall 2020 the department of history has decided that GRE scores are no longer required for consideration of admission into the program. Students may submit scores if they have scores to submit. Applications with and without scores will be reviewed equally.

Applicants must submit the following to the Graduate School:

• • A copy of the Graduate School Application form.
  • Official transcripts from all universities attended.
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores, if applicable.
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation addressing the applicant’s academic qualifications for graduate work in history.
  • A statement of purpose (see Writing Your Statement of Purpose).
  • A writing sample, preferably in the field of history.

  To ensure prompt processing of your admissions application, please send an email to Claudia Mickas, Graduate Program Coordinator, at Claudia.Mickas@wsu.edu to tell her that you have submitted your application.

  (Field of Study and Language Background forms can be submitted directly to the Department of History at Claudia.Mickas@wsu.edu)

  Forms

  Please see Guide to Fields of Study and Major Professors and fill out the following forms when applying to the graduate program in history. These must be included in your application packet.

  • PhD Preferred Fields of Study Form
  • MA Preferred Fields of Study Form
  • Language Background Form
  • All history applications must include a generic application to the WSU Graduate School.

  Admission Requirements: Master of Arts in History

  Applicants admitted to the Graduate School as either regular or provisional students may be admitted to the program for the master of arts in history if they meet the following qualifications:

  1. Application materials must be received by January 10 for those seeking eligibility for financial assistance. Materials must be received by March 1 for admission to commence the following academic year.
  2. A baccalaureate degree.
  3. A minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.3 in the applicant’s undergraduate major.
  4. A complete application file (see above).

  Applicants to the MA program must be accepted by a major professor with whom they wish to work in their primary field of study. Please contact the appropriate faculty member before the application deadline (see Guide to Fields of Study and Major Professors).

  Admission Requirements: Doctor of Philosophy in History

  Applicants admitted to the Graduate School as regular students may be admitted to the Ph.D. program in history if they meet the following requirements:

  1. Application materials must be received by January 10 for those seeking eligibility for financial assistance. Materials must be received by March 1 for admission to commence the following academic year.
  2. Admission is contingent upon the completion of a master of arts degree by the beginning of the semester in which graduate studies begin. A master of arts degree in history is preferred. Applicants who hold a master’s degree in fields other than history and who have been admitted to the Graduate School as regular students must have completed at least 15 graduate credits in history.
  3. A minimum graduate GPA of 3.5.
  4. Evidence of competence in at least one (1) foreign language demonstrated either through the completion of at least 2 years of university course work, appropriate non-academic experience, or passage of a 2-hour examination in which the applicant will translate into smooth idiomatic English approximately 600 words (or the lexical equivalent) from a foreign language.
  5. A complete application file (see above).

  Applicants to the Ph.D. program must be accepted by a major professor with whom they wish to work in their primary field of study. Please contact the appropriate faculty member before the application deadline (see Guide to Fields of Study and Major Professors).

  PhD Admission Requirements for WSU Master’s Students

  Students completing a master’s degree in history at WSU and requesting admission to the PhD program must meet the admission requirements for all applicants to the PhD program and must submit the following:

  • A new statement of purpose (see Writing Your Statement of Purpose).
  • An unofficial WSU transcript.
  • A new writing sample.
  • Three (3) new letters of recommendation, one (1) of which must be from the student’s major professor in the master’s program.
  • A new PhD Preferred Fields of Study Form.
  • A new Master’s Preferred Fields of Study Form.
  • A new Language Background Form.

  Students seeking eligibility for financial support must submit all materials by the January 10 deadline. Financial support as a teaching or research assistant will be determined on a competitive basis in conjunction with all students entering the graduate program.

  It should be stressed that admission to the MA and PhD programs is competitive. Satisfying these minimum requirements does not, by itself, guarantee admission. At the same time, the decision to admit is based on consideration of the entire file, and promising applicants in unusual circumstances whose records fall below the minimum requirements should not be discouraged from applying.