J.R. Wilheim

Thanks for all of the great advice! My B.A. was a double concentration in religion and history. The particular subfield I want to go into, however, isn't really what I studied as an undergraduate. I'm sitting in on a course (not for credit) right now, and the professor has agreed to let me write a paper for it that I will use as my writing sample. So I have some background in history but not the specific area I'm most interested in going into.

I'm interested in applying to history PhD programs in the fall of next year, as I am expecting to finish my current master's (in education, not in history) in the spring. I have a 3.4 GPA from an excellent school--I'm worried this is a little low, but my grades junior and senior year were much better and my low GPA mostly reflects a rocky first year in college. I got 670 Math/700 verbal on my GRE when I took it about 2 years ago. So...I'm interested in working in comparative slavery, with a worldwide perspective. Currently, I'm sitting in on a course on this at my school (not for credit) and getting advice from a professor here who has been very helpful. My writing sample will probably be something I work on with her in my spare time, rather than something I wrote and was graded on for a regular class. Will this necessarily be an issue? I'm just starting to look into PhD programs in this field, and am particularly interested in programs at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland. I'm also trying to find some less competitive schools, because the idea of applying only to schools that enroll only 1 out of 20 applicants is more than a bit duanting. Does anyone know of some good, lesser-ranked programs? Again, I'm only just starting to do research on specific programs. I would appreciate any advice anyone can offer. Thanks!