Applications for admission are reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies and the department's Graduate Committee.

Minimum Requirements: The department requires applicants to have a minimum undergraduate grade point of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and to have been a History major or to have taken twenty-four hours of History coursework (preferably at the junior and senior level). The department usually considers courses in Classics and similar fields as coursework in History.

Admission and Funding Decisions: Applicants are evaluated individually and in terms of the overall quality of the pool of applications. Those applicants who are admitted -- and particularly those who are funded -- have usually earned a 3.5 GPA or higher as an undergraduate and have an even higher grade point in history courses. The department prefers to admit students to its doctoral program only if it is able to offer them funding. It generally admits students to fields requiring a command of foreign languages only if the applicant has had significant training in one or more languages. The department has waived GRE scores as a condition of admission for the 2024-2025 admission year. 

Deadlines:  The department maintains two application deadlines.

1)    Applicants who wish to be considered for fellowships, assistantships, or other forms of funding must apply by January 07.  Please note that there is no additional application necessary to complete in order to be considered for funding.

2)    Applicants who are interested in being considered for admission without funding must apply by February 15.

Fall Admission: usually the department limits admission to the Fall semester.

Full-time Status: The department prefers to admit students who wish to pursue graduate study on a full-time basis. (A full-time load is usually nine hours a semester.) This is particularly important for doctoral students. The department realizes, however, that there may be compelling reasons for a student to seek a degree on a part-time basis. Applicants who wish to do this should indicate that they will not be full-time students in the Statement of Purpose. They should also explain to the Director of Graduate Studies why part-time status is necessary.

M.A. to Ph.D.:  Students who earn the M.A. degree in History at UK and wish to continue in the graduate program to earn the doctoral degree must apply to the Graduate Committee for admission to the Ph.D. program and must be formally admitted to the Ph.D. program by the Graduate School.