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About Us

Mission of the Department of History

We live in a world shaped by the past. To make sense of the past, we must empathize with people who once thought very differently than we do today. We must learn how to see bygone lives and events on their own terms, to render the strange legible and the unfamiliar comprehensible. As a discipline, History teaches the analytical, interpretive, and expressive skills necessary to study the past and to understand social change over time.

 It might seem counterintuitive that one of the best ways to understand the present is by studying the past, but that is precisely why History is so important. When we appreciate that History is not, first and foremost, a body of knowledge – that is, a collection of names, dates, and events – but rather a way of seeing and thinking, it becomes a powerful tool for assessing contemporary challenges and promoting social change. Once we know how to penetrate different modes of thought and human behavior and can understand their inner logic, it becomes easier to make sense of the contemporary world, its diverse peoples and ideas. Studying history cultivates a crucial set of skills that help navigate not only the past, but the present as well.

Degrees Offered

The Department of History offers the following degree programs: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, J.D./Ph.D. (joint with Stanford Law School), and J.D./M.A. (joint with Stanford Law School).

Graduate Programs in History

The Department of offers the following types of advanced degrees:

  • Ph.D. in History

  • Ph.D. Minor in History

  • Masters in History

  • Coterminal Masters in History

  • Joint Ph.D./J.D. Program in Law and History

  • Joint J.D./M.A. Program in Law and History

Graduate students train in cross-cutting methodologies and approaches in fourteen distinct subfields: 

  • Africa

  • Britain

  • Early Modern Europe

  • East Asia

  • Eastern Europe/Russia

  • History of Science

  • Medicine and Technology

  • Jewish History

  • Latin America

  • Medieval Europe

  • Modern Europe  

  • Ottoman Empire and Middle East

  • South Asia

  • Transnational, International, and Global History

  • United States

Joint Programs in History with the School of Law

The School of Law and Department of History offer two joint degree programs:

  • J.D./Ph.D. in Law and History

  • J.D./M.A. in Law and History. 

Both programs are designed to provide students interested in the study of law and history with top-level training in each field, as well as in the complex and fascinating intersections between the two.  Students have access to the full range of resources on campus—including not only courses, but also conferences, lectures, and workshops—devoted to law and history. 

For more information, see the Stanford History Department’s Graduate Handbook and the Stanford Law School website about the J.D./Ph.D. or J.D./M.A. in History.

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Department of History
Lane History Corner
Building 200, Room 113
450 Jane Stanford Way
Mail Code: 2024
Stanford, CA 94305

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