History at the University of Missouri

Introducing the Department of History

The University of Missouri department of History has a reputation for excellence, both on the MU campus and beyond. The stellar teaching record of its faculty has been recognized numerous times by awards such as the campus-wide William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence–nine past and present History faculty members have received this prestigious teaching award. History faculty have also been recognized for outstanding teaching by winning over twenty-three different teaching awards, including the College of Arts and Science Purple Chalk Award which is student-generated.

The department averages between 350-450 undergraduate history majors. We nurture these aspiring young historians by, first of all, providing them with expert advising, delivered by a professional, full-time, advisor. Our majors are given a wide range of courses in American, European, and Developing World history. Required capstone and writing intensive courses provide the opportunity for our students to interact closely with faculty members and to develop their research and writing skills. Beyond the classroom, the department offers its majors the opportunity to gain hands-on experience by working as interns in any one of our nine internship programs that range from the University of Missouri Archives to the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri Library.

Our graduate students come to us from a broad cross-section of colleges and universities. They are attracted to our MA and PhD programs by the reputation of our faculty, many of whom have been the recipients of prestigious research grant awards from, among others, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, The National Science Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research/Study Program. In addition, our faculty members have published an impressive array of books and articles, a number of which have won prestigious awards from the American Historical Association and other professional organizations. Our graduate students work closely with their faculty advisors as they develop and write theses and dissertations on a wide range of topics. One significant measure of the success of our graduate program is our placement record. In recent years, over fifty of our PhD recipients have found teaching position in colleges and universities throughout the country.

By using the resources provided by this web site, potential undergraduate students can browse our course offerings; view the requirements for a major in history and explore the scholarship opportunities. Those interested in pursuing a graduate degree (MA or PhD), might wish to start with the home pages of individual faculty to learn about their respective teaching and research interests. There is also a listing of the various fields in which the department offers graduate degrees. One can also generate a description of degree requirements and application forms for graduate study in history.

As a Land Grant institution, the University of Missouri offers the citizens of the state a valuable source of information, in this case, pertaining to history. The faculty home pages and research field pages can be used to identify and contact individual faculty members

We especially welcome our alumni/ae and friends of the department and ask that you explore our web site further. There you will find news of fellow alums as well as past issues of the department newsletter. If you wish, you can be included on our e-mail list to receive the newsletter as it appears in approximately three-month intervals.

Pease contact us and let us know what you think. We look forward to hearing from you.

Russ Zguta, Chair
Department of History

department news:

On October 6, 2011, Wilma King, served as a discussant and chaired the session Change Blowing in the Wind: Black Women of the North, South and West Respond to the American Civil War at the 96th Association for the Study of African American Life and Culture, Richmond, Virginia.

The photograph of panelists (from left to right) Marne L. Campbell, Rita Roberts, Brenda Stevenson, and Wilma King

Professor Wilma King, Director of Black Studies, hosted a farewell reception for Professor Robert Weems last week as he begins a new chapter in his career as Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History at Wichita State University. She took this terrific photo of Professor Weems with Dr. and Mrs. Arvarh Strickland, who stopped in to wish Professor Weems well.

Nauert fellowship recipients

Mark Geiger, PhD'06 is a former student of Professor LeeAnn Whites. He is currently being profiled on the MU Graduate School's page. Check it out HERE!

Check it out! Our very own PhD candidate, Steven Smith, has a posting on the Huffington Post. Check it out HERE

Department welcomes newest colleague
The history department is very pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Jerry Frank, of Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, Colorado, will be joining the department this August. Frank will teach courses in environmental history, indigenous peoples and the American west. Professor Frank has a doctorate from the University of Kansas in United States history. His research field is environmental history with secondary fields in indigenous peoples and comparative world history.

Read the latest Viewed Historically, our friends and alumni newsletter (pdf).

Read the weekly departmental newsletter

Roger E. Robinson named first Goodrich Graduate Research Assistantship.

Join us on Facebook! Become a Fan of History at Mizzou.

Recent Publications:

Occupied Women: Gender, Military, Occupation, and the American Civil War – LeeAnn Whites

American Saint: Francis Asbury & the Methodists – John Wigger

Frymire book jacket Professor John Frymire
The Primacy of the Postils: Catholics, Protestants and the Dissemination of Ideas in early Modern Germany
published by Brill
Professor Frymire >>

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