Resources for Current Students

The following course descriptions are presented as a guide for students and academic advisors. Although major alterations are unlikely, instructors reserve the right to make changes in content and requirements. This link includes in what format the classes will be taught:

History Undergraduate Courses and Descriptions - Fall 2023

History Graduate Courses and Descriptions - Fall 2023

The following course descriptions are presented as a guide for students and academic advisors. Although major alterations are unlikely, instructors reserve the right to make changes in content and requirements. This link includes in what format the classes will be taught:

History Undergraduate Courses and Descriptions - Summer 2023

All of our Teaching Assistants are located in SS 60W.

The combined BA/MA program in History provides an opportunity for students of recognized academic ability and educational maturity to fulfill integrated requirements of undergraduate and master’s degree programs from the beginning of their junior year.

The combined program requires a minimum of 138 credits, of which at least 30 must be graduate credits. In qualifying for the BA, students must meet all University and college requirements, including the requirements of the major program in history described above, the minor, the minimum 90-credit liberal arts and sciences, General Education, and residency requirements. In qualifying for the MA, students must meet all University and college requirements as outlined in the Graduate Bulletin, including completion of a minimum of 30 graduate credits and any other conditions, such as a research seminar, thesis, comprehensive examination, other professional experience, and residency requirements. Up to 12 graduate credits may be applied simultaneously to both the BA and MA programs.

A cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher and three supportive letters of recommendation from faculty, one of whom must be from the Department of History, are required for consideration. Students are admitted to the combined program upon the recommendation of the department’s Graduate Committee.

Contact Alexander Dawson at [email protected] for more information about admittance to the program.

Each semester, prior to the preregistration period (October during Fall semester, and March during Spring), students should contact their advisor to find out about scheduling an advising appointment. You should then consult History course descriptions available on-line on the department’s Web page, and arrive at your preregistration advising appointment with a copy of your degree audit, an understanding of the graduation requirements you have yet to fulfill, and a list of potential classes for the following semester. Advisors will review this information with you, then provide you with an AVN to allow you to sign up for classes once registration has begun. **Please note: you cannot receive your AVN without attending one of these advisement meetings.**

Students may see their advisor at other times during the semester to discuss academic matters. Members of the undergraduate committee, who help oversee the department’s undergraduate program, are also available in this capacity. They can help with matters ranging from problems with your audit, to questions about the major, study abroad credit approvals, transfer credit (Transfer Credit Permission form), the honors program, and much more.

Step #1: Check out the department's website and find an internship. Reach out to the place you’re interested in and ask them if they have any internships available. If so, you’ll need to decide roughly how many hours you want to spend on your internship—45 hours = 1 academic credit of HIS 499; 135 hours = 3 academic credits of HIS 499. You can always go over that number and might be paid for the difference. You can also sign up for the University's applied learning course, UNI 288/289.

Step #2: Then find a faculty mentor. In the history department, internships are decentralized, so just about any faculty member can help you. You might ask your advisor or a professor you really like or a professor who writes about the history of New York. You can also ask the History Undergraduate Director to sign off on your internship. (Thinking ahead, an internship is a really smart way to get a letter of recommendation from someone—so be strategic.) If the faculty member you approach is wavering, just remind him or her that all you need is a permission number, a brief meeting, and a pass/fail at the end of the semester. For faculty, it's an easy gig.

Step #3: Download the department's internship contract, which is posted to the internship page on the History Department website. The first page is pretty straightforward—just basic information about who you are and where you're working. The second page is for you and your faculty mentor. If you're going to get academic credit, you have to learn something, right? Well, the coolest thing about an internship is that you get to decide what you will learn (in consultation with your wise faculty mentor, of course). Once you've finished pages 1 and 2, share your objectives with your new boss at the internship site and then get her or his signature. Then scan and e-mail the completed contract to your faculty mentor.

Step #4: Do the internship! When the internship is complete, have your internship boss send your faculty mentor an e-mail certifying that you completed the contract. You should also debrief with your mentor, so you can regale her or him with stories of your internship life. That way your mentor will hook you up with a really good recommendation when you need it.
 

Undergraduate Internship Form

This list of just some of the places where UAlbany history majors have interned in the past, but if you find an internship that you would like pursue that is not on this list, let us know and we will do our best to help you make it happen.

Libraries, Museums, and Historic Sites:

Key Contact Person: Prof. Pastore

• USS Slater
• United States Capitol Historical Society (through UAlbany Semester in Washington)
• Olana State Historic Site
• Peebles Island State Park
• Albany County Hall of Records
• Shaker Heritage Society
• Preservation League of NY State
• Historic Cherry Hill
• Historic Albany Foundation
• Albany Institute of History and Art
• Hanford Mills Museum
• Irish American Heritage Museum
• Crailo State Historic Site
• New York State Museum
• Saratoga National Battlefield
• Saratoga National Historic Park
• Schuyler Mansion Historic Site
• Ten Broeck Mansion Historic Site
• Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
• New York State Military Museum
• New York State Historic Preservation Office
• Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives
• Seward House Museum – Auburn, NY
• FASNY Museum of Firefighting, Hudson, NY
• Waterford Museum
• Smithsonian
• For national historic sites beyond NY, or the immediate region: Check thesca.org

Writing, Communications, Documentary Production

Key Contact Person: Prof. Bernard

• SUNY Press
• Mt. Ida Press
• Albany Times Union
• Amsterdam News
• WMHT
• WAMC
• WGBH Boston
• WNET NY
• A&E Networks (includes History channel)

Education

There are a host of opportunities in this field, and the office of Community Engagement might be the best place to start. Here are some that might not be on their list.

• State Department of Education
• Liberty Partnerships Program
• Capital Roots: (Formerly Capital District Community Gardens)
• Healthcorps

Law and Policy

Key Contact Person: Prof. Hamm

• Center for American Progress (placed through UAlbany Washington Semester)
• New York State Assembly
• New York State Senate
• New York State Attorney General’s Office Internship
• Empire Center for New York State Policy
• NY State Division of Human Rights
• Congressman Paul Tonko’s District Office

Environment

Key contact person: Prof. Smith-Howard

• Great starting point: Student Conservation Association (thesca.org)
• Environmental Advocates of New York
• Parks and Trails New York

Business/Management

Key contact person: Prof. Smith-Howard

• Reichert Advertising
• Times Union Center
• Capital Roots (many of the internships here include market analysis, marketing, close work with small business owners)
• JP Morgan Chase
• Disney

Arts and Non-Profits

Key contact person: Prof. Smith-Howard

• Albany Institute of History and Arts
• Arts Center of the Capital Region 
• Foundation of New York State Nurses
• Saratoga Performing Arts Center

World Affairs and International Internships

Interested in a community service or public service internship, but need cash? Here are some internship support programs, nationally competitive, that might provide you with funding.

• JW Saxe Fund: Prizes up to $2000 to college and university students involved in public service.
• Federal and Public Service Internships for undergraduate and graduate students interested in and committed to Asian Pacific American issues, through the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership.

The Patricia Stocking Brown Fund for Feminist Social Justice Research in University Libraries Award
Cash awards to one undergraduate student and one graduate student who submit an application describing a research project/class paper related to feminist social justice using materials in The University at Albany Libraries’ M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives. The awards are $100 for undergraduate and $500 for graduate students. 

Initiatives for Women (IFW)
Initiatives for Women (IFW) awards, generally between $500 and $1500, are designed to enhance educational and career opportunities for women students, staff, and faculty. Applications are generally due in March. 

Department of History Paper Prize Competitions - The deadline is generally in March.  
An opportunity to have your research recognized by the Department. Each prize comes with a small cash award. Submissions from all history graduate students are encouraged. To apply for one of the prizes below, please submit as one file:

• A cover sheet with your name, email address, the date, the paper title, and information about the course for which the paper was written.
• A copy of the research paper, being sure that your last name and a page number are on every page. The paper must have been written between January and January of the previous year.
• Please name the file as follows: LastName_PaperPrize_2023.docx (or .pdf)

Email the file directly to Prof. Alexander Dawson, Graduate Director, at [email protected]. The department awards the following:

• ARTHUR A. EKIRCH, JR. PRIZE IN AMERICAN HISTORY
  The Arthur A. Ekirch Prize in American History is awarded to the graduate student who submits the most outstanding research paper in American History.
• ARTHUR A. EKIRCH, JR. PRIZE IN HISTORY
  The Arthur A. Ekirch Prize in History is awarded to the graduate student who submits the most outstanding research paper in any geographic area other than American History.
• PHI ALPHA THETA PAPER PRIZE
  The Phi Alpha Theta Award is given to a Master’s student for an outstanding paper in history written within the last calendar year (since January 2022). Winner will be recognized at the Phi Alpha Theta reception.

Established by Dr. Sherry Penney, a distinguished History Department alumna, the Sherry Penney Award is given to the most outstanding woman graduate student in History who is planning to pursue a career in history.  To submit:

• A statement summarizing progress toward your degree and professional career plans. Please name the file as follows: LastName_PenneyAward_2023.docx (or .pdf)
• Two (2) letters of recommendation from faculty to support your application, to be sent directly by the faculty member to Prof. Dawson. One of the recommendations must be from History faculty at the University at Albany.

A fellowship established in honor of distinguished alumnus Joseph E. Persico '52, these funds may be used for any expenses related directly to research, including travel to archival collections and other research sites, photocopying, etc. Students may apply for fellowships ranging from $200 to $4,000. Priority will be given to those who have not received support through these programs previously, though all applications will be fully considered. Applications may receive partial funding at the discretion of the awards committee. If you received one of these awards in previous years, you must submit your one-page research report detailing your use of those funds before you will be considered for this round. Send your report to [email protected]. 
 

Eligibility
All graduate students in good standing, who are conducting research on some aspect of U.S. history (including those doing comparative and international projects), are eligible to apply for the Persico Fellowship Fund. However, priority will be given to doctoral students engaged in dissertation research. The Doctoral Research Award is open only to doctoral students. Students seeking consideration for both should submit a single application; the committee will consider it for the award for which it is eligible.
 

Application

• The application should submit the following to Prof. Dawson, via email, by the deadline: March 17th.
• A brief, one paragraph statement (50 word) summarizing the request, including how much support you are seeking and for what purpose.
• A description (500 word maximum) of the project and explanation of how the proposed activity advances your project goals.
• An itemized budget indicating how the funding will be used (including total cost for the proposed activity and information about how additional expenses might be covered). NOTE: It is critical that your budget accurately and clearly reflect your projected expenses. The committee recommends that all applicants consult with their advisors or Prof. Dawson about how to prepare a budget.
• A timeline for completing the activities for which support is being requested, and for the project overall (for those at the early stages of doctoral research, this latter part can be very general). The activity period for the award is June 1 of the award year to May 31 of the following year.
• A letter from the faculty member directing the research about the importance of the project and the applicant’s progress or anticipated progress in completing it, send directly to Prof. Dawson by the deadline.