The UVA Department of History offers a BA/MA program to a small number of highly qualified UVA undergraduates who seek an MA in History in addition to the BA in History or another discipline. The MA in History can be completed in one year after completion of the BA if the student has completed at least six graduate credits in History at UVA as an undergraduate. (Typically, this would mean taking two 5000-level History seminars that are not being counted toward the major or any college requirement.) Otherwise, the MA in History will take two full-time semesters plus one additional part- or full-time semester to complete after receipt of the BA.
Students who apply to this program are typically in the third year of undergraduate study, although second-year students are also eligible to apply.
The admissions process is streamlined, and there is no application fee or GRE requirement. The application consists of the following components:
1/ Biographical Cover Page, including the following information: Full name; email address; contact phone number; current year in college; current major(s) and minor(s); GPA within current major(s); overall GPA; proposed area of specialization*; name(s) of proposed History MA faculty adviser(s); and the names of both recommenders;
2/ List of History Courses taken at UVA, including the course number and title, semester taken, instructor last name, and grade received;
3/ Statement of Purpose of up to 500 words in length in which the applicant explains why s/he is seeking an MA in History;
4/ Unofficial UVA Transcript;
5/ Two Letters of Recommendation from UVA faculty with whom the applicant has studied. Ideally, at least one of the recommenders should be a member of the History faculty.
Items #1 - #4, above, should be emailed to Prof. Jeffrey Rossman (jjr2n@virginia.edu) as a single pdf titled “[Last Name]_4+1 app.” Each of the two letters of recommendation (Item #5, above) should be emailed to Prof. Rossman by the faculty member writing the recommendation.
The deadline for applying is May 1, 2021. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and applicants are typically notified of the Graduate Committee’s decision within several weeks of submitting their application.
At this time, there is unfortunately no financial aid available for students who matriculate into the MA program after completing the BA.
*NOTE: Areas of Specialization are too numerous to list comprehensively. Examples include: colonial America; 19th- or 20th-century U.S.; modern, early modern, or medieval Europe; Ancient Greece and Rome; East Asia; South Asia; Latin America; Middle East; Africa; global history; international history; legal history; economic history; environmental history; Jewish history; gender and sexuality; war, genocide, and human rights; etc.
Questions about this program should be addressed to the department’s Director of Graduate Studies, Prof. Jeffrey Rossman (hist-dgs@virginia.edu).