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You’ve provided very little useful information, and so unfortunately we can’t do that.</p>
<p>Think carefully about your reasons for applying. MA programs are intense, demanding programs intended to teach students how to research and teach. Graduate school in the US can be extremely stressful and work-intensive, and that your social life will in any way resemble that of an undergraduate is highly unlikely. </p>
<p>MYOS1634 is correct – graduate programs vary tremendously in their strengths and foci. Ohio State is superb for military history, for example, whereas Wisconsin is great for African history. William & Mary has colonial history, Yale has Chinese history, Penn has ancient history, Texas A&M has nautical history, Princeton has Near/Middle Eastern history, Pitt has history of science, and so on. You need to be considering which programs are best for your particular field. Successful applicants are able to state clearly:
[ul][<em>]What it is they want to study<br>
[</em>]Why they need a MA and/or PhD
[li]Why they need to study at that particular university[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Academic “fit” is a key part of the graduate admissions process. If the department does not have at least a couple of people compatible with your interests and are willing to take you, you will be rejected. Period. It doesn’t matter if you’re an amazing applicant. This fit comes in three main categories:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Culture/geographic area - West Africa? China? US? Wales? Soviet Union?
[</em>]Time period - 20th century? 4th century BCE? Early Medieval? Golden Age of Islam? Early Modern?
[li]Topic - Gender history? Political history? History of science/medicine? Diplomatic history? Economic history?[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>History programs are extremely competitive these days. Even some fairly mediocre programs reject 90% of their applicants. Some of the most competitive graduate programs have over 45 applicants per spot. Your chances are best when applying to programs that mesh with what you want to study.</p>
<p>A good starting point is the [AHA</a> directory of PhD programs](<a href=“http://www.historians.org/projects/cge/PhD/Specializations.cfm]AHA”>http://www.historians.org/projects/cge/PhD/Specializations.cfm), which is searchable by specialization. When selecting programs, you also need to consider your preparation.
[ul][<em>]How good are your grades/academic record?
[</em>]Do you have appropriate language preparation? (This is often the thing that immediately knocks students out of the running.)
[li]What research background do you have? [/ul]</p>[/li]
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It really depends on what you want to do. A PhD program is great financially, since they’re nearly all fully funded, and it’s true that most of the top programs expect an applicant to aim for the PhD. </p>
<p>On the other hand, not everyone is sure about continuing to the PhD – or even needs a PhD. Terminal MAs, or feeder MAs, can be a rather nice stepping stone to a job or a good PhD program for someone either with deficiencies in their undergrad record or who simply doesn’t want to commit to a PhD program immediately. Quite a few MA programs come with funding, though you sometimes have to be one of the better students in the department. Many jobs in archives, museums, and public history expect only a MA. </p>
<p>The vast majority of history students do not complete their PhDs in 5-6 years. That is not really the norm for any field except the sciences, which typically have far less strenuous requirements and examinations. The average is currently about 8-9 years from the conferral of the BA to the conferral of the PhD. </p>
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Alabama’s history department is not “very strong.” It’s not terrible, but at best it’s average. Glancing over the department website, African and Middle Eastern history are missing altogether, Asian history seems quite weak, and Latin American history is also pretty small. US and European history are decent, but they have some glaring weaknesses as well. For most fields except perhaps southern history, a strong applicant could do better.</p>
<p>A law school is irrelevant, and there is a seeming connection only because colleges with strong law schools tend to be strong overall. To cite only a few counterexamples, Princeton and Brown have exceptional history programs but no law schools, and USC has a good law school but only an average history program.</p>