PhD in History - United States in Los Angeles United States | University of California, Los Angeles

Boasting over twenty-five renowned faculty specializing in U.S. history, UCLA's History Department provides one of the nation's most extensive, diverse, and accomplished graduate programs in this discipline. Our scholars' knowledge spans from pre-colonial American history to contemporary times. The department maintains that while students should gain foundational knowledge in U.S. history, they should also have chances to broaden and reimagine the field through personalized, specialized, and innovative research training. We promote cross-disciplinary, international, and comparative approaches, leveraging UCLA's exceptional strengths not only in its History Department—among the largest and most comprehensive nationwide—but also across humanities, social sciences, arts, and relevant scientific fields.

UCLA offers exceptional resources for graduate studies. The Young Research Library ranks among the nation's top five largest collections, complemented by outstanding rare book holdings at neighboring Huntington and Clark libraries covering all American historical periods. Additionally, UCLA hosts numerous interdisciplinary research centers and programs that organize lecture series, conferences, research initiatives, courses, and graduate fellowships. U.S. history students frequently engage with the Center for the Study of Women, Institute of Industrial Relations, and four ethnic studies research centers (Chicano Studies, African American Studies, American Indian Studies, and Asian-American Studies). Many also collaborate with Area Studies centers (African Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, Japanese Studies, etc.), Environmental Studies, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Studies, among others too numerous to list fully. These centers provide outstanding platforms for interdisciplinary research and scholarly exchange.