Most of our graduate students returned to campus this fall. Others who had put their research on hold were finally able to begin their travel and take up their fellowships. Because they will need extra time to complete their degrees after pandemic-related delays, the History Department did not admit a new class.
We did, however, hold our first comprehensive orientation for the graduate students beginning their second year. This was an experiment, trying to figure out what new cohorts would need in the future. It was a very successful day, and kudos go to those who organized it: students Morgan Morales and Megan McClory and Student Services Coordinator Diana DeProphetis.
The History Department has been reviewing our program as the demands for historians shifts and the interests of our students expand. We have made comprehensive examinations consistent across all fields, and we are trying a new admissions process that allows more connections across fields. We continue our long commitment to history beyond classrooms. This year, three of our students are working with Carolina Public Humanities. Alexandra Odom is a Maynard Adams Fellow, part of a select cohort of graduate students working to build relationships with the broader community. Matt Gibson and Craig Gill are part of the Humanities for the Public Good Graduate Fellows program, helping North Carolina institutions collaborate with UNC to build skills.
This year, two of our graduate students explored history work outside the classroom and the archives with the Mark Clein Graduate Summer Internship Award. Craig Gill interned at the UNC Chapel Hill Office of International Student and Scholar Services helping them identify some of the greatest needs that graduate students face at UNC. Nurlan Kabdylkhak participated in the Endangered Archives Program in Kazakhstan helping to preserve a unique collection of books and manuscripts that came to light only two years ago.
Our students continue to do research appreciated at the highest levels. History graduate students received 5 of UNC’s 6 prestigious Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships for research abroad (China, Guatemala, Mexico, Senegal, South America, and Turkey.) These are only some of the 19 students whose work will take them away from UNC on grants, awards, and fellowships for the spring semester. For a more comprehensive list of the numerous awards our graduate students have received, see https://history.unc.edu/graduate-student-awards/.
-Sarah Shields, Director of Graduate Studies