History
The History Department offers both undergraduate and graduate programs leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy.
Contact
Stevens Hall, Room 255
Orono, ME 04469
About
The History Department offers a wide variety of chronological, geographical, and thematic courses that enhance individuals’ understanding of themselves and the contemporary world by expanding their experiences to include the experiences of other peoples, both past and present. These courses range from ancient times to the present, cover most geographical regions of the world, and allow topical specialties ranging from women’s and environmental history to military and intellectual history.
History graduates find employment in a wide range of occupations. Traditionally, they have gone into teaching and education careers in primary and secondary schools and, with appropriate graduate-level training, colleges and universities. More recently, increasing numbers of history graduates are finding their way into private and public non-profit organizations and agencies, such as museums, archives and libraries, research and service institutions, legislative bodies, and planning agencies. Others find career opportunities in the private sector, including publishing, journalism and broadcasting, and law firms; in fact, history is an ideal pre-law major.
Undergraduate Studies
The History Department offers a wide variety of chronological, geographical, and thematic courses that enhance individuals’ understanding of themselves and the contemporary world by expanding their experience to include the experiences of other peoples, both past and present. These courses range from the ancient and medieval periods to the modern era, cover most geographical regions of the globe, and allow topical specialties ranging from women’s history to environmental history to digital and spatial history to military history.
Graduate Studies
The UMaine History Department has four graduate degree programs (listed below), and we pride ourselves on offering the only PhD program in the humanities in the state of Maine. Our Department has a lively and engaged sense of community. Collegial bonds between faculty and graduate students are fostered through regular events like lectures, workshops, conferences, and social gatherings. All our graduate seminars are taught on a hybrid platform that allows remote participation in real-time with in-person faculty and students.
The four graduate degree programs in History are:
· 4+1 Program: Allows exceptionally qualified UMaine undergraduate History majors to earn a BA and a non-thesis MA in a total of five years.
· MA Program (non-thesis): An MA through graduate coursework (30 credit hours normally taken over two years).
· MA Program (thesis): An MA through graduate coursework (30 credit hours, 6 of which can be for thesis-writing credit) and successfully defending an original thesis. Thesis research and writing can extend MA completion beyond two years. Our faculty supervise a wide array of research topics at the MA level. Thesis students (and applicants) should discuss potential research topics with faculty at an early date. See individual profiles to learn more about our faculty and their areas of expertise.
· Doctoral Program: A PhD through graduate coursework (30 credit hours, 6 of which can be for thesis-writing credit) and researching and writing a dissertation. Faculty strength is best able to support doctoral-level research in the following areas: North American history (including Canada), Maine and the Northeast Borderlands, environmental history, women’s and gender history, war and society, digital/public history, Atlantic history in the long eighteenth century, and Indigenous (especially Wabanaki) history.
History club
Welcome to the University of Maine History Club! We meet Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 in the Digital History Lab!
We are an undergraduate student club dedicated to fostering a community of students who share a passion and interest in the study of the past. Through engaging events and educational opportunities, we seek to further enrich our members’ interest in history while promoting dialogue and critical thinking.
As a member of the University of Maine History Club, you will have access to a variety of events and activities, peer networking, and local history excursions. There will be history movie nights, trivia nights, guest speaker nights, and much more.
You can reach our President, Jeremy Collamore, at jeremy.collamore@maine.edu if you have any questions!
Events:
Maine National History Day
Maine National History Day (NHD) is an annual event for teachers and students in grades 6-12 that promotes critical thinking skills through project-based learning.
A list of important dates, access to the new rule book and evaluation sheets, instructions and templates for virtual submission, links to registration sites, and more, is available on the Maine National History Day website.
