Polemic

Greetings all, I previously wrote on this forum well over a year ago as an entering undergraduate in history. There was some exceptional advice shared with me that allowed me to develop myself in a manner that has positioned me to graduate with honors in history. I am currently a third-year student, and I plan to graduate in 2018. My current plan is to apply to graduate programs in history in the fall 2017 application cycle (I have already begun looking at programs, and potential POIs). I plan on doing an senior honors thesis, and I recently met with the department's undergraduate advisor to discuss the timing. Most undergraduates at my institution finish the senior honors thesis in two semesters. I would like to utilize my undergraduate thesis as the writing sample for my applications. I realize I could utilize a seminar paper as the writing sample, but my thesis will utilize sources in German and Polish and will fit more broadly with my research. My plan is to start the seminar in the spring semester, utilize the summer to write more, and finalize the thesis in the fall. For those of you that went directly from your undergraduate institution to a history program, can you discuss some of the challenges you had with preparing the writing sample? For those of you that did not jump straight into a graduate program, did you find the time you had between finishing your undergraduate degree and entering a graduate program was valuable? I am slowly beginning to create a timeline for the next year and I want to ensure I am on top of these multiple demands.

I just wanted to echo this recommendation. Joll and Martell have an excellent overview of the causes of the First World War. It is concise and extremely informative approach to the European alliance system, domestic political conditions, and European economic policies. It did incorporate some coverage of non-European elements, I thought the discussion of the influence of the 1904 Russo-Japanese War was especially fruitful.

I couldn't agree more. The history department at George Washington is phenomenal. Tons of great faculty.

I am an undergraduate at George Washington, and my advisor was talking today about decisions coming out sometime next week for Ph.D. students. I hope that finds use to some of you applicants.

This was really fantastic advice, thank you so much for this. And to everyone else that has responded to this thread. I'm ready to take full advantage of my undergraduate experience to grow as a person and a hopeful historian. All this advice will certainly be beneficial as I look forward. Of course, I welcome others to provide their input.

This is some really fantastic insight, I truly appreciate it! I will keep in mind some of the options that are available post-undergraduate. I want to be able to to gather as much time necessary to decide whether or not pursuing graduate school will be the best option for me, and developing myself as a strong candidate after completing an undergraduate degree definitely has its benefits. As for the honors thesis, it is something I have already discussed with my undergraduate advisor and am working on with my faculty advisor. It is something I have been thinking about. I also intend to do an independent research project my junior year, with faculty guidance, with hopes to develop my research skills. Thank you all for the fantastic insight!

Thank you for this great advice. I am born in Poland, and it is my native language. I plan on taking German throughout college in order for it to serve as my third language, and hopefully become fluent enough to be able to translate primary documents. Aside from that, I will keep your advice about looking outside of school. I plan on staying in Washington D.C. over the summer (through school funding), and hopefully I will be able to pick something up on the side in order to accommodate my academic interests.

Thank you so much for this fantastic advice! I plan on studying German throughout the rest of my undergraduate career. I have already found a professor that has very similar academic interest to mine, and we have really developed a great relationship with one another. I am taking another course with him (it is actually seminar to European historiography) next semester! I am extremely excited by the prospect of potentially working with him on future projects. I will definitely make sure to get a copy of the Turabian citation guidelines because that appears to be the standard in the history courses I have taken. I have already met with the undergraduate advisor for the history department, and he has encouraged me to begin thinking about a senior thesis and potential topics for it. I hope to do the honors thesis that the department offers, and so this is going to be my focus going forward.

Thank you! I am definitely keeping an open mind about other fields of study. I have taken coursework in political science, philosophy, and mathematics in the fall. During the spring I will be doing more coursework in political science and biological sciences. I am trying to make sure I give as many fields as possible a chance, and with my institution's flexible liberal arts curriculum that is possible. I appreciate your feedback.

Hi all, I am currently an undergraduate freshmen attending a major university in the District of Columbia. I realize that I am still young and am far away from going to graduate school, but I have a strong ambition to eventually earn a Ph.D. in modern European history. I am currently focusing on taking history courses and maintaining high grades in them. I wanted to know if there was any advice that anyone here could offer for current undergraduates who have an ambition to eventually attend graduate school? I want to keep the advice in mind as I continue to progress in my undergraduate academic career. If anyone could share advice about things to take advantage of during the summer, independent research, and developing relationships with faculty—it would be greatly appreciated. Again, I will emphasize that I am just looking for advice to make the most of my undergraduate experience. I am in no way concerned with the graduate school application process right now.