Graduate Admissions FAQs

A. Do not sent materials to the History Department. Send all supplementary application materials to:

Admissions Office
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Boston University
705 Commonwealth Avenue
Suite 112
Boston, MA 02215

A. One of the most commonly overlooked sections of the application is the request for information on your knowledge of foreign languages. The department staff records whatever information you provide, but it does not have the time to search your transcript or résumé for language proficiency. The department requires that you submit a separate sheet describing your foreign language competence (beginning, intermediate, advanced level) and including a list of language courses taken. Please upload this page to the application under “Department-Requested Document.”

A. The department does not have a minimum required GRE score, since the admissions committee looks at many other factors, such as letters of recommendation and transcripts.

A. Yes, it is. Please upload it with the online application. No writing sample may be longer than 40 pages.

A. Yes. The admissions committee is not looking a for a lot of personal information, although a little bit of that can be effective in introducing yourself. The committee wants to see a statement of your general historical interests, and what kinds of scholarly questions and topics you want to explore. Make sure these questions are grounded in an understanding of your intended field of study. Do not propose to study only one specific thing; it is OK if you have a specific dissertation or thesis topic in mind, but the committee is looking for people with a slightly broader set of interests and a flexible attitude about learning. It is OK to speak about career ambitions if you are interested in pursuing non-academic jobs, but do not tell the committee you’ve always wanted to be a professor. Describe the historical questions that spark your passions!

A. All applicants whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Duolingo. Applicants are not required to submit English proficiency scores if they are a citizen of a country or territory where English is the sole official or de facto language, or, if they have or will have completed their undergraduate or graduate studies in such a country or territory. International applicants are encouraged to enclose in their application materials a short statement of how and why they have met these conditions, which exempt them from submitting test scores that demonstrate their proficiency in English.

The minimum TOEFL score requirement is: 100 Overall Score (25 recommended in each section). Internet-based Test (iBT) only. We do not accept “MyBest Scores.”

In addition to the TOEFL, the IELTS is also accepted as proof of English proficiency. The band score of 7.0 is required for admission to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

For more information please visit http://www.bu.edu/cas/prospective-students/graduate-admissions/international-students/.

A. Yes, this is a good idea, but it is not required. Take time to review the faculty roster and to learn about the professors’ areas of research before reaching out to introduce yourself to a potential advisor. Please do not request phone calls or Zoom meetings; email exchanges, often extended, work well for these initial introductions.

Please also take note that the admissions committee reviews all of the applications and makes the final decisions across all fields. No advisor has a say in the final admissions decisions.

A. Beginning in January, the admissions committee meets every two or three weeks to consider all complete applications. The committee will inform applicants who are admitted of its recommendation after the entire review process is completed. Those who are not accepted will generally receive official notification from the Graduate School shortly after that. Consideration of your application may be delayed if any credentials are missing.

A. The number of offers made by the department each year is set by the Graduate School. In 2020/2021, the department received 118 applications to the PhD program. It made a total of 9 offers and 6 PhD students began their studies in Fall 2021. MA applications are fewer, and the process less competitive.

A. All students admitted to the Ph.D. program receive a financial aid package.

A. A deadline will be stated in the letter offering admission.

A. You will receive a welcome e-mail from the Graduate School confirming the fact that your acceptance has been processed. In early summer the department’s Director of Graduate Studies will be in touch with more details regarding orientation and registration.