Ph.D. in History

Welcome to Graduate History at Boston College

Boston College’s graduate programs in history attract talented students from around the world. We offer M.A. and Ph.D. programs with training in a number of regional and thematic specialties; British, medieval, U.S., and modern European history have long been strengths of the department. Emerging areas of faculty expertise and graduate student interest include South Asian, East Asian, and Latin American history. In addition, the department trains in a range of comparative and transnational areas, with a particular interest in the history of religion, empires and legacies, the Atlantic world, urban history, and transnational history.

The Department of History welcomes a small class of new graduate students each September; our program’s size ensures individualized attention and considerable flexibility in designing one’s plan of study. All Ph.D. students are guaranteed funding through their fifth year in the program, assuming successful completion of requirements. Graduate students gain experience teaching in the two-semester core history sequence, first as teaching assistants and later as teaching fellows in charge of their own classes. Faculty and graduate students come together regularly for conversations about the craft of teaching history.

Historians at Boston College benefit from our location in one of the world’s great centers of academic life. A range of neighboring universities, libraries, and cultural institutions enrich our work. In particular, ongoing collaborations with graduate programs at Boston University, Brandeis University, and Tufts University allow our graduate students to tap into a remarkable network of world-class scholars. Several students and faculty also take part in the Center for European Studies, the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and the South Asia Initiative at Harvard, as well as the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies at MIT. Ongoing seminars and lecture series at the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Boston Public Library, and the Museum of Fine Arts bring together lively communities of scholars interested in a range of subfields and other disciplines. In all, Boston College offers an unparalleled site for pursuing advanced study in history. We hope that you will consider joining our thriving intellectual community.

Education with a heart and soul—and the power to transform

Boston College, the first institution of higher education to operate in the city of Boston, is today among the nation’s foremost universities, a leader in the liberal arts, scientific inquiry, and student formation.

Grounded in the ideals that inspired our Jesuit founders, Boston College urges students to look inward but always to reach out—to develop their minds and talents to the fullest and use them in service to others.

About the Morrissey College

The Robert J. Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences fosters the rigorous intellectual development and the religious, ethical, and personal growth of its students. Morrissey College faculty and students directly engage the world’s most pressing problems, using their gifts to enhance the common good.

The Morrissey College offers graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students emerge prepared to thrive in a broad range of careers and ready to serve as capable and passionate leaders, working as a leaven for good in communities around the world.

As the oldest and largest division of Boston College, the Morrissey College embodies the Jesuit, Catholic commitment to the depth of inquiry, academic excellence, and educating the whole person through a formative engagement with the liberal arts.

Why Boston College?

When students enter Boston College, they take the first steps on a journey of discovery—one that stimulates their intellectual, personal, ethical, and spiritual growth. The Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences' programs ask students to learn about themselves, their communities, and the world, to search for truth wherever they go, and to use their talents to improve the lives of others.

Those who seek an education that lasts a lifetime will find the challenge and support to build meaningful and fulfilling futures.

1. A Dynamic Liberal Arts Education

Explore the range of disciplines that shape well-educated people prepared to thrive in the 21st century. A liberal arts education at Boston College develops valuable skills, including critical thinking, ethical decision-making, effective communication, and the capacity to see the human experience from a range of perspectives.

2. Intellectual Rigor

Morrissey College challenges students to discover and achieve their full potential. Renowned faculty, innovative courses, and off-campus opportunities expand students’ knowledge and experience.

3. Jesuit, Catholic Tradition

Intellectual rigor, integrating knowledge, student formation, care for individuals, using our education in service to others—these Jesuit, Catholic values define the Boston College experience.

4. Inquiry Across Disciplines

Here, scholarly collaboration draws research and teaching beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Core Curriculum, the Institute for the Liberal Arts, the Institue for Integrated Science and Society, and a variety of research projects bring together students and faculty from different areas of inquiry.

5. The Benefits of Boston

With more than 50 institutions of higher learning in the metropolitan area, Boston is truly one of the preeminent college towns. It’s also a world-class city full of history, scientific and tech innovators, culture, and internship possibilities.

6. Alumni Network

Students benefit from the connections and support of the tight-knit and loyal network of nearly 180,000 Boston College alumni.