PhD History at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Programme overview

The Department of History offers graduate courses leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree, complete details of which may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the department's web site. Students are not admitted to a terminal master's degree program. Admission Applicants should have a minimum of 20 semester hours of undergraduate work in history and cognate disciplines with an overall GPA of 3.25 in the last two years.

Faculty: College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Study mode: full-time | Location: Champaign, IL, United States

What you will study

Required courses listed include HIST 591 History and Social Theory; HIST 597 Reading Course (Oral History); HIST 599 Thesis Research (32 max applied toward degree ); HIST 599 Thesis Research (32 max applied toward degree).

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Applicants should have a minimum of 20 semester hours of undergraduate work in history and cognate disciplines with an overall GPA of 3.25 in the last two years. Applicants who have a master's degree should have a grade point average of 3.5 for previous graduate-level work. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal, writing, and quantitative are mandatory; history is optional) are now optional. All applicants are required to submit a writing sample. Language preparation may be weighted heavily, depending upon the field of specialization. International applicants from non-English-speaking countries must submit proof of English proficiency to be eligible for admission. The department is not currently admitting to the Teaching of Social Studies program. For additional details see our website . Graduate Teaching Experience Although teaching is not a general Graduate College

Domestic applicants: USD 14,908 a year (2026-27). Illinois resident rate. Tuition only for new and continuing graduate students, Fall 2026-Spring 2027 at full-time (12 credit hours per term). Non-Illinois U.S. resident tuition for this programme: $32,204. Excludes campus and mandatory fees, health insura Source

International applicants: USD 32,204 a year (2026-27). International rate. Tuition only for new and continuing graduate students, Fall 2026-Spring 2027 at full-time (12 credit hours per term). Excludes campus and mandatory fees, health insurance, housing and other expenses as the source states them separately Source

Not all graduate programmes offer admission in all terms; term availability is set by each programme of study.

Graduate applicants apply online through the Graduate College application; deadlines and term availability are set by each programme. Medicine, law and veterinary medicine applicants apply directly to their colleges.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.illinois.edu/admissions/apply

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