Global Reputation. Global Education.

What We Offer

The Department of History offers degrees in History at both the master’s and doctoral levels. We train students interested in African, American, Asian and European history. Among the department’s thematic and methodological strengths are political, social, cultural, intellectual, environmental, transnational, and diplomatic history.

Making Connections

Boston and its environs offer an engaging and resource-rich setting for graduate work. There are numerous archives, libraries, and historical organizations in the area. On campus, the department has a special relationship with the American and New England Studies Program, which provides a range of supplementary courses, workshops, and other venues for scholarly exchange. For Africanists, the highly regarded African Studies Center facilitates interdisciplinary approaches, encompassing anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology, as well as history. There are also the world renown Center for the Study of Europe as well as the Center for the Study of Asia, which each offer a rich catalogue of events and trainings and are staffed by faculty from a variety of disciplines who specialize in the region.  Ongoing lectures, conferences, and other events are also organized by the American Political History Institute and the International History Institute, and they provide graduate students with further opportunities to engage with visiting scholars and learn about new work in the field.

Boston University is a member of the Boston-area Consortia, which includes Boston College, Brandeis University, Tufts University, and Hebrew College. The consortium makes it possible for graduate students to take courses at these schools and share library resources. Students are also encouraged to take full advantage of the libraries, archives, and research collections located at BU and in the Boston area, such as the Boston University Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, the Boston Public Library, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and the Massachusetts Historical Institute.

Related Links

Graduate Program Administrators

Alexis Peri

Director of Graduate Studies; Associate Professor of History

alexisp4@bu.edu

Cady Steinberg

Department Administrator

cady8590@bu.edu