Department of History
Elizabeth and Kevin Marsh

Meet Our Students

Kathryn Edgerton
Assistant Professor, San Diego State University more >

Placement Services

Practical Support and Workshops

The department offers several placement-related services for doctoral students. Each year the Director of Graduate Studies leads a placement workshop series for students on the job market, and provides sessions on letters of application, cv's, teaching portfolios, interviewing, and job talks. Faculty also provide interested students with simulated or practice interviews, and we arrange public practices of student job talks.

Dossier Service

The Admissions/Placement Secretary also administers a placement file service. A dossier of confidential letters of reference is forwarded on the student's behalf. Students can ask faculty and other referees to submit confidential letters of reference, and the Admissions/Placement Secretary sends copies of these letters to prospective employers identified by the students. This free service is available for up to five years after graduation. For information contact the Admissions/Placement Secretary at or via phone at (812) 855-8233.

Positions Accepted

After graduation our students take a variety of jobs across the country and indeed across the world. These include tenure-track positions at research universities, other large public and private universities, and small liberal arts colleges as well as non-tenure track teaching positions. Students also take jobs in public history and in higher-education administration. It is quite common for students to spend one to three years in non-tenure track teaching or postdoctoral research positions before taking tenure-track employment, and even students with tenure-track employment often seek new opportunities for family or professional reasons.

The Department recently completed a study of the forty students who received doctorates between 2003 and 2005. By June of 2006 19 or 45% had accepted tenure-track employment, 10 or 25% had other college teaching positions, 5 or 12.5% had administrative positions in higher education, and 4 or 10% were working in public history. We were unable to locate 2 students.

Tenure-Track Teaching Positions

University of Pennsylvania
University of Kansas
Seoul National University
Northern Illinois University
Penn State Erie
University of Wisconsin
Fox Valley
Hanover College
Nazareth College
Millikin College
University of Oklahoma
University of Helsinki
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
University of Texas at Brownsville
Penn State Hazleton
Wabash College
Xavier University
Misericordia University
University of Portland

Non-Tenure Track Teaching Positions

Michigan State University
University of Texas at Dallas
Elon University
Stetson University
University of New Haven
University of Central Arkansas
Bryn Mawr
Hendrix College
Adrian College

Administrative positions

Indiana University
Minnesota Campus Compact
Kentucky Higher Education Authority
Macalester College

Public history

Tennessee State Museum
Indiana State Supreme Court
US State Department
freelance museum research & consultant in the Netherlands

In several cases more than one of our graduates took jobs at the same institution.

Other institutions where alumni who received doctorates within the last fifteen years are employed include:

Research Universities

Auburn University
University of Colorado
Notre Dame University
Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon
University of Buffalo
University of Maryland

San Diego State University
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
University of Alaska
University of Illinois at Chicago
Universidad de Costa Rica

Other Large Private or State Institutions

Wichita State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Ball State University
DePaul University
Sacramento State University
State University of New York-New Paltz
University of Georgia
University of Louisiana--Lafayette
University of Nevada Reno
University of Michigan-Dearborn
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg
University of Texas--Brownsville
Univeristy of Texas--El Paso

Grand Valley State University
Arizona State West
Brigham Young University
Gainesville State College
Grand Rapids Community College
Long Beach City College
St. Louis University
Texas Tech University
University of California-San Francisco
University of Nebraska-Omaha
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Liberal Arts Colleges

Berry College
Butler University
Coe College
Colorado College
Franklin College
Hampton University
Marquette University
Vassar College
Wofford College
Albion College
Cabrini College
College of Saint Benedict Saint John's
Ft. Lewis College
Ithaca College
St. Lawrence University
Warren Wilson College
Wake Forest University
York College

Secondary Schools

Archmere Academy Bush School

Public History

National Council on Public History
Newbery Library
U.S. Small Business Administration
Minnesota Historical Society
Organization of American Historians
WSOC-TV (ABC)