Resources for history graduate students at Wayne State University
Frequently Asked Questions
What advice do you have for balancing the graduate student workload?
The history graduate program is an intense process that oftentimes causes a large amount of stress. For this reason, the Counseling and Psychological Services Center is designed to help alleviate the stress of graduate school while also providing different workshops that teach management and accountability skills. Wayne also offers events such as graduate student Writing Retreats, which is a designated time for both faculty and grad students to work in an academic space, distraction-free.
How does Wayne prepare you for a career once you graduate?
There are multiple resources that Wayne offers to grow your resume and network tailored to your career path. Career Service’s Handshake is a great place for resume and network building that provides updates to internships and employment that is available in your field. The graduate school Professional Development center offers a wide variety of events covering all topics. Professional Development events allow for you to connect with your fellow peers both inside and outside of your department, introduce you to new career paths, as well as build a network with professionals in your field. The HGSA is another resource. They host numerous social and professional events which introduce you to the professional world while building a community with your peers.
What resources does Wayne provide for GTAs?
The Office of Teaching and Learning is a great place for GTAs to find support, training, and advice. The OTL is available to both faculty and staff and provides multiple workshops events, consultations, and seminars. The OTL is also tailored towards GTAs, offering different programs and clubs where GTAs can connect with others in their community. GTAs and their working conditions are also represented by the GEOC, Graduate Employment Organizing Committee.
Do I have to learn a foreign language in order to earn a MA or Ph.D. in history?
The Master’s program does not require you to learn a foreign language, no matter the program, certificate, or area of interest. The PH.D. program is different, it requires Skill Area Competency, which demonstrates abilities in three areas outside of traditional history academia. The three skills are decided by both you and your advisor and should be relevant to your research and career goals. For Europeanists, however, you are required to learn a foreign language, this is done by passing an exam conducted by the Department of Classical and Modern Languages, Literature, and Culture (CMLLC). Passing the foreign language exam completes one of the three skill area requirements. The Skill Area Competency section should be completed and approved following the completion of the qualifying exam.
Do I have to earn a MA before enrolling in a Ph.D. program?
A Master’s degree is not necessary to enroll in a Ph.D. program. An intending student should have already accomplished at least one substantive research project before they will be prepared for a Ph.D. program, which often means a Master’s Essay or Master’s Thesis. Students who completed a large research project in their undergraduate program or as part of a professional or extracurricular assignment can apply directly for the Ph.D. program. Students who are accepted directly into the Ph.D. program without having already earned a Master’s degree will be provided the option to pursue a Master’s degree during their studies at Wayne State University. This only requires an additional Master’s Essay or Master’s Thesis at the two-year mark during the completion of the total coursework requirement. Graduate coursework credit hours are transferable between graduate degrees.
Can I apply for Graduate Assistantship positions as a MA or MAPH?
A graduate student must be a Ph.D. candidate to apply for GA positions with Wayne State University. There are other scholarship opportunities made available to all students in the History graduate programs, but GA positions are reserved for Ph.D. candidates because of the obligation the University has in providing funding for Ph.D. programs and the difference in length the students will be with the University. Students interested in pursuing teaching or research opportunities with the University while enrolled as a MA graduate student are encouraged to apply for the Ph.D. program and earn their Master’s degree in tandem with those pursuits.
How do I go about finding people to sit on my Essay/Thesis/Dissertation committee? Any tips for asking a faculty member that you have never had a course with?
The best way to find professors to sit on your Essay/Thesis/Dissertation committee is to ask your advisor which subject matter experts are most valuable to your project. Professors often know the interests of their colleagues and can make informed recommendations that will ease the committee-forming process. Once you have a list of interested parties who may help you with your committee, the next step is to simply ask them. Writing a thoughtful and appreciative e-mail to the professors you want on your committee will be well received. Each of these professors has been in your place when they were a graduate student and they will be happy to help if they believe they would be a good addition to your committee. Essay and Thesis committees will be easier because your committee is your advisor and a second reader who you may or may not have had a class with. Dissertation committees will more likely require reaching out to professors who you have not had a formal relationship with yet. In these cases, an inquiry should be made of those professors with the reason you believe that they will be valuable to your committee and an offering to make yourself readily available for a meeting to see if you will have a strong working relationship. Again, these professors were all graduate students before and understand the stress and pressure of the committee-forming process. Your advisor is involved to help you succeed, so if you are struggling with your committee selection, they are the first person you should go to.
Must I work with the advisor I am assigned upon acceptance into my graduate program?
There are many reasons why the advisor you are assigned upon enrollment in your graduate program is not the right person to help you on your journey through coursework and completion of your final research project. A professor can be retiring, going on sabbatical, have a poor working relationship with you, or have a difference in interest subject matter that makes a working relationship untenable. For these reasons, you have the opportunity to request a change of advisor with the department. Your requested advisor must be aware and accepting of you as an advisee and be prepared to immediately begin assisting with your graduation materials and administrative documents. Much like any other environment, professors and graduate students are people who have similarities and differences, students are encouraged to make the most productive environment for themselves which includes the person they look to for advice and assistance.
What other career options exist outside of the university?
There are a multitude of career options available to history graduates, despite public misconceptions. Aside from the more common K-12 museum, library, and archival positions, the history degree offers a diverse career path. Our “Career Resources” page provides further information, but as historians, we have access to careers in politics, private consulting, union organizing, and administrative work that otherwise would not be possible with another degree.
What are the options for field diversification and interdisciplinary study as I earn my degree?
The history graduate handbook provides information on the ways that you can apply credits in your degree to fields you may be interested in. You may consider applying elective credits in fields you are interested in to your skills acquisition process, however, even outside of your degree, the department encourages students to engage with relative fields when possible. History is almost never a static field, and disciplines such as sociology, economics, anthropology, foreign language, and philosophy often intersect with the historical discipline.
