Transcript:
Unofficial transcripts are acceptable during the application process. Applicants who are admitted to the program will be required to submit official transcripts prior to matriculation.
Personal Statement:
Overall, give an impression of purpose and self-awareness. Be specific about the intellectual experiences that led you to your proposed areas of study; include courses you have taken, research you have done, books read, methodologies discovered, etc. Note any speacial relevant skills that your possess. Link these to some reasonably specific statement of your research or teaching interests and ultimate career goals. Discuss how these interests and goals can be advanced by pursuing graduate work in a particular graduate program by working with specific professors or by utilizing resources of the school. If you are aware of any weakness in your application, mention your plans to deal with them.
Work hard at perfecting your statement of purpose. Your statement of purpose is an extremely important component of your graduate admission packet. Ask peers, faculty, or advisers to review what you've written, and plan to make multiple drafts.
Recommendation Letter:
Most applications require three letters of recommendation.
Good letters of recommendation are an important component in admission decisions. Request letters of recommendation from faculty members who know you well enough to discuss your work and your potential in detail and can attest to your scholarly abilities. Graduate admission committees need to see letters that speak specifically to your accomplishments as an undergraduate, your potential as a graduate student, and your potential for fitting into and contributing to a community of scholars. It is also important to have the support of a professor whose specialization closely relates to they field that you want to study so that he or she can speak to your potential in that area.
To assist faculty whom you've asked to write recommendations for you, consider providing them with a draft of your statement of purpose or a brief summary of your recent work and accomplishments and your plans. It can also be helpful to them if you're able to provide them with copies of papers you wrote for their courses or other work you completed under their supervision.
Ask for letters well in advance of application deadlines. If possible, collect letters and mail them with the rest of your application materials. Letters should be in sealed envelopes and the professor should sign his or her name across the seal. If it is not possible to send the letters with the rest of your materials, check with your recommenders to be sure that they send the letters directly to the graduate program.
Writing Sample:
Writing Sample
Above all, the writing sample should show your mind at work. The writing sample should be a seminar paper or other research paper written in the general field of History that you intend to pursue at the graduate level. Graduate programs require writing samples of 10-25 pages. The most impressive writing samples demonstrate an ability to conduct research in a variety of sources, to write analytical prose, to construct a reasoned argument based upon evidence, and to create a context for assessing the significance of what has been presented.Your critical writing sample should represent your best work in an area related to the academic interest(s) you want to pursue in your graduate study. Continue to revise and refine. Work with faculty whenever possible on your revisions. Prepare to turn in an clean, polished writing sample that has been edited thoroughly.