DEADLINE: December 5th
A complete application consists of the following items:
- Statement of Purpose (two copies). Cover sheet at http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/admissions/forms
- Field of Study Preference Sheet. Download and complete the below form.
Preference Sheet (PDF) Preference Sheet (Word) - One Writing Sample (two for Public History). Submit a sample that best demonstrates your writing and research abilities. Students typically submit a research paper they have done for a class.
- Two Official Transcripts from each school listed on your application
- Supplemental Information Form
ALL OF THE ABOVE MATERIALS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN ONE PACKAGE TO THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT GRADUATE ADMISSIONS SECRETARY. See below for address.
- Three Letters of Recommendation with Coversheets sent directly by the recommender to the department, at the address below. (Coversheet at http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/admissions/forms)
- GRE Scores-Request that the Educational Testing Service submit your score to UCSB, institution code 4835. A Department code is not necessary.
- On-line Application
- Application Fee($60.00) Payable by Visa, Mastercard, check or money order
- TOEFL Scores (foreign students) -- submit to Graduate Division
- Submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Complete the on-line application. If paying by check or money order send to:
- Graduate Division
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2070
All other materials should be correctly addressed and mailed directly to:
- Graduate Admissions Secretary
Department of History
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9410
It usually takes six weeks to process your application after we have received all the materials listed above.
Applicants to the graduate program in History are expected to show high potential for engaging in advanced historical research and analysis. Applicants must meet general university requirements for admission to graduate standing and should have completed an undergraduate major in History or related fields (approximately 40 upper-division quarter units or approximately 24 upper-division semester units). History is a discipline that benefits from training in other fields, so applicants who do not meet these requirements are still encouraged to apply, but are also strongly urged to contact faculty in their proposed field of study for advice. If admitted, applicants who were not History majors may be required to do some additional course work, which must be completed in the first year and does not count in satisfaction of graduate degree unit or course requirements.
The GRE general test (verbal, quantitative and analytical) is required for graduate admission at UCSB. The UCSB History Department does not require the History Subject test. Please plan to take the GRE early (at least by October if you plan to apply for merit-based financial awards) since it takes six to eight weeks for the testing service to process your scores and send them to us.
For admission to the program the department would like to see a verbal score of 85% or above, an analytical writing score of 5.0 or above and a reasonable showing on the quantitative section. Admission is not guaranteed on the basis of meeting these score thresholds, neither do lower scores necessarily disqualify an applicant.
Those students who successfully compete for merit-based financial awards usually have higher scores.
The Graduate Division of the University requires applicants to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the junior and senior years. The average GPA of students admitted to the Graduate History Program is 3.55 for the junior and senior years Those students who successfully compete for merit-based awards usually have higher GPAs.
Please be specific on your statement of purpose. We need to know the fields in which you wish to work. If you are interested in working with a particular professor, please add that name to the statement as well. A major professor will be chosen for you based upon the information you provide in the Statement of Purpose and the Field of Study Preference Sheet. No student will be admitted unless the appropriate professor consents to mentor that student throughout his/her course of study at UCSB.
If you have any further questions please contact the History Graduate Admissions Assistant, Deborah Johnson at (805) 893-2224 between l:00-5:00.