The department offers a Ph.D. degree as well as several specialized terminal MA tracks, the M.A.T. (Master of Arts and Education) and a joint M.A. with the School of Library and Information Sciences.

Our reputation is based on the top-rated research of our faculty, internationally recognized for its high quality. In small seminars and colloquia and in one-on-one supervision in a variety of settings, our faculty train you to become excellent researchers and first-rate teachers. This is a broad as well as strong department, allowing for the study of most regions and periods of history. We also have strong offerings, independent of regions or chronology, devoted to themes such as the History of Gender & Sexuality, History and Memory, Historical Teaching and Practice, Cultural History, and Family History.

Indiana University is one of the leaders in area studies, among them‚ African Studies‚ East Asian Studies‚ Jewish Studies‚ Latin American and Caribbean Studies‚ Polish Studies‚ Russian and East European Studies‚ Central Eurasian Studies, and European Studies. These programs offer an unprecedented opportunity to broaden your training by their interest in the languages, cultures, politics, and economics of these areas. Many provide assistantships and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships for students studying foreign languages.

Our department is the home of four prestigious journals:

• The American Historical Review is the journal of the major professional organization in the U.S. devoted to the study of history, the American Historical Association
• The Journal of American History is the journal of the Organization of American Historians, the major professional organization devoted to the history of the U.S.
• Diplomatic History, which moved to Indiana University in 2014, is the journal of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, an organization that includes scholars in U.S. history, world history, international relations, and area studies.
• The Indiana Magazine of History is widely recognized as one of the best journals devoted to local and regional history.

All four journals hire their staff from among our graduate students. Such employment provides assistantships, usually with fee remissions, as well as excellent training in historical writing and acquaintance with the latest trends in historical scholarship. These professional opportunities are only available to graduate students at IUB.

Indiana University is also the home of the Center for Documentary Research and Practice, a pioneering center which has helped shape the practice of oral history. The Center also has a number of assistantships and provides unique training in the field.

The department offers various opportunities for funding such as Associate Instructorships and Course Assistantships. The University and History Department have a number of fellowships and grant-in-aid funds to help with dissertation research and writing. Our graduate students have recently been supported by fellowships from major national foundations such as Andrew W. Mellon/ACLS, Fulbright, Chateaubriand, the Ford Foundation, German Academic Exchange, the International Research and Exchanges Board, the Social Science Research Council, and the Spencer Foundation. 

Our students' success in winning these, and other prestigious, nationally competitive, awards has facilitated the writing of award-winning dissertations and prize-winning books.

Entrance into the department is highly competitive. Our faculty admission committees consider the excellence of applicants' academic records, the strength of their letters of recommendation, and the fit between applicants' research interests and those of Indiana University faculty. In addition, some fields require entering students to possess substantial language preparation. Potential applicants are advised to consult with faculty members in their fields of interest. For more information, see our list of faculty members by field.

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program generally receive multi-year fellowship packages.