Thank you for your inquiry into the graduate program in history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The linked brochure provides basic information about the Department of History, its programs of study, and the procedures for applying for admission. It does not detail all of the Department's programs and degree requirements. The Graduate Student Handbook, which students receive upon enrollment, provides more complete information about departmental programs and requirements.
Few departments and universities in the nation offer the range of instruction available at the University of Hawaii. The Department's programs in Asian, Pacific Islands, and world history are particularly strong. This Department has long offered a spectrum of courses on the histories of Asia and the Pacific Islands, as well as a complex variety of courses on Europe and the United States. The Department of History has thus anticipated the current nationwide interest at colleges and universities in a globally-informed and diverse education. Also of special note are the teaching and research interests of the Department's faculty in film, ethnography, cultural studies, and other interdisciplinary approaches to history.
Of particular importance is the Department's pioneering program in a truly global and comparative world history. The University of Hawaii requires undergraduate students to complete two "foundation"courses in Global and Multicultural Perspectives, and the Department's survey courses on World History are a major option for fulfilling this requirement. Two members of the faculty, Professors Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, have published the fourth edition of their two-volume world history textbook entitled Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past (2007). Since 1986, the Department of History has offered a field of graduate study in world history, and the Department has supported the Journal of World History from 1990 to the present. Beginning in 2002, the Department became the home of the Center for World History as well as the World History Association.
I hope this brochure helps you make an informed decision as to whether or not the Department of History can help you achieve the professional education you seek. If you remain interested in the Department's programs, your application for admission will be welcomed. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information.
Dr. Mark McNally
Graduate Chair
Please address questions or requests for further information to:
ghistofc(at)hawaii.edu or
Graduate Secretary
Department of History
Sakamaki A203
2530 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822