Placement, Financial Assistance + Academic Resources: Graduate Programs: Department of History: Indiana University Bloomington

Placement Services

After graduation our students take a variety of jobs across the country and indeed across the world. These include tenure-track positions at research universities, other large public and private universities, and small liberal arts colleges as well as non-tenure track teaching positions. Students also take jobs in public history and in higher-education administration. It is quite common for students to spend one to three years in non-tenure track teaching or postdoctoral research positions before taking tenure-track employment, and even students with tenure-track employment often seek new opportunities for family or professional reasons.

Of the forty-two students who received doctorates between 2009 and 2012, twenty-one or 50% had accepted tenure-track employment by spring 2013. Seven (17%) had other college teaching positions and four (10%) held postdoctoral appointments. Three were working in public history, three in business positions, and three as independent scholars. One holds an administrative position in higher education.

Explore graduate student placements since 2010

Practical Support + Workshops

The department offers several placement-related services for doctoral students. Each year the Director of Graduate Studies leads a placement workshop series for students on the job market, and provides sessions on letters of application, cv's, teaching portfolios, interviewing, and job talks. Faculty also provide interested students with simulated or practice interviews, and we arrange public practices of student job talks.

In addition, the History Graduate Student Association (HGSA), an independent student-run organization, provides workshops, professional opportunities and general support for students at all stages of their history graduate student career.

Dossier Service

This free dossier service, in which the Admissions/Placement Secretary manages letters of reference and forwards them to prospective employers on the student's behalf, is available for up to five years after graduation. Students can ask faculty and other referees to submit confidential letters of reference to the Admissions/Placement Secretary, who will send copies of these letters to prospective employers identified by the students. For information contact the Admissions/Placement Secretary at histadm@indiana.edu or via phone at (812) 855-8233.

Positions Accepted

Institutions where alumni who received doctorates within the last twenty years are employed include:

Research Universities

Auburn University
Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis
Michigan State University
Northern Illinois University
Notre Dame University
San Diego State University
Seoul National University Tulane University
Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon
University of Alaska
University of Buenos Aires
University of Illinois at Chicago
Universidad de Costa Rica
University of Buffalo
University of Ghana
University of Helsinki
University of Houston
University of Kansas
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts
University of Nevada
University of Oklahoma
University of Toronto, Mississauga
University of Wisconsin

Other Large Private or State Institutions

Liberal Arts Colleges

Albion College
Berry College
Butler University
Cabrini College
Coe College
College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University
Colorado College
Ft. Lewis College
Franklin College
Hampton University
Hanover College
Ithaca College
King’s College
Marquette University
Millikin College
Muskingum University
Nazareth College
Pacific Union College
St. Lawrence University
Vassar College
Wabash College
Wake Forest University
Wellesley College
Wofford College
Xavier University
York College

Postdoctoral Positions

American Council of Learned Societies New Faculty Fellows program
Du Bois—Mandela—Rodney Postdoctoral Fellowship program, University of Michigan Jewish Theological Seminary
UCLA Center for 17th— and 18th—Century Studies
University of Delaware
University of Texas, San Antonio
W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, Harvard University

Secondary Schools

Archmere Academy
Bush School
The Cambridge School of Weston

Public History

Indiana State Supreme Court
John and Annie Glenn Museum Foundation
Minnesota Historical Society
Museum of the Second World War, Gdansk, Poland
National Council on Public History
Newberry Library
Organization of American Historians
Tennessee State Museum
U.S. Small Business Administration
WSOC—TV (ABC)
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
US State Department

Administrative positions

Indiana University
Kentucky Higher Education Authority
Minnesota Campus Compact
Macalester College
Northwestern University

Financial Assistance

The Department of History, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the University Graduate School provide multiyear financial support for the vast majority of students admitted to the Ph.D. program. Students are considered for these awards through the normal application process and do NOT make a separate application. Funding is also available for foreign language study. Students interested in applying for the Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowships will need to complete application with the individual area study program. Graduate applicants interested in Jewish Studies should check here for information on Jewish Studies graduate fellowships.

Funding for Continuing Graduate Studies

Financial assistance available to continuing students includes fellowships, associate instructorships, course assistantships, editorial assistantships and miscellaneous grants. Eligibility for fellowships, editorial assistantships, grants, and in most cases, associate instructorships is limited to students in the Ph.D. program. Students enrolled in terminal M.A. tracks may apply to serve as History department course assistants during the second year of their degree programs. Employment is dependent on the number of available positions.

Associate Instructorship and Course Assistantship

The department appoints a large number of associate instructors and course assistants each fall and spring term. An associate instructor, working under the guidance of a faculty member, usually leads discussion sections attached to a large, introductory undergraduate lecture course. A course assistant helps the instructor of an undergraduate lecture class at the introductory or upper levels, usually by grading students’ coursework. The Director of Graduate Studies assigns associate instructors and course assistants to particular courses in consultation with the instructors. To be assigned as an associate instructor or course assistant, a student should have a superior record in history and must be in good academic standing. International students and students whose primary language is not English are required to pass the special English Proficiency Examination for Associate Instructors before they can receive an appointment.

Research Assistantship

Faculty members occasionally hire research assistants on an hourly basis. Compensation for these positions does not usually include a fee remission.

Editorial Assistantship

Editorial assistantships are awarded by history journals on campus, including the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, and the Indiana Magazine of History. Open positions are advertised and filled according to need. These positions are usually, but not always, awarded to more advanced students. Editorial assistants typically receive a stipend, health benefits and a fee scholarship. The Organization of American Historians, whose headquarters are in Bloomington, also employs students as graduate assistants.

Fellowships and Grants

Students in the department have a successful track record with major national and other external fellowships. Indiana University and the Department of History also provide support for language study and dissertation research through internal fellowship and grants. Continuing students are eliglble to apply for these external, university and departmental fellowships and grants-in-aid to help conduct pre-dissertation or dissertation research. These awards are granted on a competitive basis. Because departmental awards are intended to support pre-dissertation and dissertation research, only students enrolled in the M.A./Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs are eligible to apply. Fellowship opportunities include:

Andrew W. Mellon / American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Completion Fellowship
Chateaubriand Fellowship
Department of History, Annual Fellowship & Grant Competition
FAFSA
Ford Foundation
Fulbright
Fulbright-Hays
German Academic Exchange
Guggenheim Fellowship
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships: To promote the graduate training of students who intend to make their careers in college or university teaching, government service, or other employment where knowledge of foreign cultures is a prerequisite for success.
Indiana University College of Arts & Sciences
Indiana University Graduate School
Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion Fellowship
Institute for the Study of World Politics Fellowship
International Research and Exchanges Board
Social Science Research Council
Spencer Foundation

GradGrants Center

The GradGrants Center (GGC) is a free service that provides Indiana University graduate students with one-on-one assistance with grant proposal writing (by appointment) and a centralized area to access funding information.

Other Academic Resources

History Associations & Organizations

History Graduate Student Association (HGSA): The History Graduate Student Association is an independent, student-run organization that works to build community, provide advocacy, and foster the intellectual development of the history graduate students at Indiana University.
IU Graduate & Professional Student Organization
American Historical Association
Phi Alpha Theta: Membership information for this honor society is made available during the fall and spring semesters.

Campus Resources

Employment Resources

Department of History, Placement Service: contact the Admissions/Placement Secretary at histadm@indiana.edu or via phone at (812) 855-8233.
IU Career Development Center and Arts & Sciences Career Services
AHA Perspectives
Chronicle of Higher Education
H-Net Job Guide

Placement, Financial Assistance + Academic Resources