Update from the Director of Graduate Studies

Eren Tasar

Update from Director of Graduate Studies, Eren Tasar

The 2022-2023 academic year was full of accomplishments for our graduate students. It was a recovery year for our graduate program. We admitted 15 new students for our class of 2022. They come from five countries, including China, Germany, Greece, and the United States. Our new admissions system has taken account of changes in the profession and the evolving interests of our students. We have admitted applicants without regard to geographic fields, and each new student has two advisors. The coadvising model has led to novel advising relationships on research topics as diverse as Global Islam in America, disaster management and the history of autism as viewed through the lens of Civil Rights. Two of our graduate students organized a terrific hybrid Prospective Student Weekend to introduce admitted applicants to faculty, students, and the program. Thanks to Oskar Czendze and Morgan Morales for their work to make it a success. Thanks to Nancy Andoh and Alma Huselja who presented their research at the Department Research Colloquium, and to Fitz Brundage for his comments.

Teaching continues to be an important focus for our graduate students. Our graduate students at the forefront of making a world class liberal arts education accessible to our students. While some graduate students teach their own courses, most serve as Teaching Assistants or Graders in large lecture classes. Kylie Broderick, Benjamin Comshaw, Javier Etchegaray, Kevin Hoeper, Kenneth Negy, and Cavender Sutton all taught their own courses in fields ranging from Latin American to European history. Kylie Broderick received the Peter Filene Creative Teaching Award, while Susannah Haury and Aaron Pattillo-Lunt received the UNC History Department Outstanding Teaching Award.

We are now in the midst of reviewing applications for our 2024 cohort. I look forward to updating you on our new class in the Spring 2024 semester edition.

Sincerely,

Eren Tasar
Director of Graduate Studies