rethinking history graduate education by the numbers

Rethinking History Graduate Education by the Numbers

Crossroads: The Future of Graduate History EducationDrew University

March 12, 2016 Twitter: @rbthisted

Number of History Master’s and Doctoral Degrees, 1987 to 2015

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

2,026

Master’s Degrees

3,702

534

Doctoral Degrees 1,043

Source: Humanities Indicators, 2016 · American Academy of Arts & Sciences

History Master’s and Doctoral Degrees as a Share of All Degrees at Level, 1965–66 to 2014–15

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

0.6% Master’s Degrees0.5%

1.6%

Doctoral Degrees

1.6%


Share of Women Earning Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in History, 1966 to 2014

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

32.6%History--Doctorate

42.9%

Humanities--Doctorate

40.6% History--Master's

48.9%

Humanities--Master's


Share of Traditionally Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Minorities, 1995 to 2014

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

6.6%

11.5%

5.6%

11.0%

History--Master's

History--Doctorates

Humanities--Master's

Humanities--Doc-torates


Master’s Degrees

Occupational Distribution of Humanities Degree Recipients, by Highest Degree, 2013

Service

Sciences & Engineering

Sales

Other Management & Professional

Other

Office and Administrative Support

Management

Healthcare

Education—Other

Education—Precollegiate Teaching

Education—Postsecondary Teaching

Computer

Community & Social Services

Business & Financial Operations

Arts, Design, Entertainment, & Media

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

With a Master's or First Professional Degree

With only a Bachelor's Degree


Department Characterization of Degree, 2016

Research degree Research-based teaching degree

Teaching degree General purpose degree

Other0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%Master's Pro-grams (n=71)Doctoral Pro-grams (n=86)

Source: Survey of Department Chairs with Graduate Degree Programs, February 2016

Preparation of Master’s Degrees by Program for Employer Type

Researc

h Univ

ersitie

s

Libera

l arts c

ollege

s

Commun

ity col

leges

Secon

dary

schoo

ls

Governm

ent

Busine

ss

Academ

ic adm

inistra

tion

Non-pr

ofit o

rganiz

ation

Other p

ublic

histor

y0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%Well preparedSomewhat preparedNot prepared for employment

Source: Survey of Department Chairs with Terminal Master’s Degree Programs, February 2016

The Diversity of the History M.A.

• “A plurality of our students are getting an non-thesis MA in history with the highest secondary education license. Another group are pursuing non-thesis degrees with an interest in teaching junior college -maybe- but wanting jobs/promotions in the local military-industrial complex. We have another group who write theses, sometimes thinking about going on to a Ph.D.”

• “the vast majority of our students want to go into public history”

• “Students can pick different tracks so that about a third of our students are research oriented and well-prepared for Ph.D. programs, 1/3 will go into teaching and focus on teaching more than research, and another 1/3 are in our public history program, which prepares them for a lot of careers in public history.”

Source: Survey of Department Chairs with Terminal Master’s Degree Programs, February 2016

Distribution of Public History Faculty by Highest Degree Conferred by Department, 2015

BA10%

MA63%

PhD27%

Ecology of Doctoral Programs

Median Number of Years in PhD Program, 2003 to 2012

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

History

Humanities

Social sciences

Physical sciences

Year

s in

Pro

gram

Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates, tabulation for Humanities Indicators

Average Number of Applicants and Doctoral Students in History PhD Programs, 2006 to 2015

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20150

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Avg. # of Applicants

Avg. # of Doctoral Students

Source: AHA annual survey of doctoral programs

Average Number of Applications to PhD Programsby NRC Rankings, 2006 to 2015

Top-rated Programs Second Tier Other PhD Programs0

50

100

150

200

250

3002006200920122015


Average Number of Matriculations to PhD Programsby NRC Rankings, 2009 to 2015

Top-rated Programs Second Tier Other PhD Programs0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

202006200920122015


Proportion of Students with Financial Support, 2015

Top-rated Programs Second-Tier PhD Programs

Other PhD Programs'0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%PhD Students Receiving Fi-nancial Aid

PhD Students as TAs


Time to Doctorate Based on Primary Form of Support

Personal or familysavings or earnings

Fellowship, scholarship, or grant

2002–2004 2005–2007 2008–2010 2011–20130

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Personal savings/earnings or employer support

Loans (from any source)

Fellowship, schol-arship, grant, or assistantship

Graduation Cohort

Med

ian

Year

s in

Pro

gram

Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates, tabulation for Humanities Indicators

Average Years at Stage In Program, by Main Funding Source

Courses/Exams Dissertation0

1

2

3

4

5

6Fellowship, Scholarship, Grant, or As-sistantship Personal Sav-ings/Earnings or Employer Sup-port

Med

ian

Year

s in

Prog

ram


Share of Doctoral Students Who Completed the Degree 5 and 10 years after Matriculation, 2015

2006 2009 2012 20150%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%Five Years Later

Ten Years Later


Cumulative Attrition Rate for Students Who Entered Program 5 and 10 Years Earlier, 2015

2006 2009 2012 20150%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Five Years Ten Years


Share of History Doctoral Students Who Completed PhD Five years after Matriculation, by Program Ranking, 2015

2009 2012 20150%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%Top-rated ProgramsSecond-Tier PhD ProgramsOther PhD Programs'


Outcomes for History PhDs

Department Characterization of Doctoral Degree, 2001 and 2016

Research degree Research-based teaching degree

Teaching degree General purpose degree

Other0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

2001

2016

Source: Survey of Department Chairs at Doctoral Programs, Spring 2001 and February 2016

Department Goals for Doctoral Training in Program, 2001 to 2016

1no re-

search,all teach-

ing

2 3 4 5balanced

6 7 8 9 10no teach-

ing,all re-search

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2001 2016


Reported Preparation of Doctoral Degrees from Program for Employer Type, 2016

Researc

h Univ

ersitie

s

Libera

l arts c

ollege

s

Commun

ity col

leges

Secon

dary

schoo

ls

Governm

ent

Busine

ss

Academ

ic adm

inistra

tion

Non-pr

ofit o

rganiz

ation

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%Well preparedSomewhat preparedNot prepared for employment

Source: Survey of Department Chairs at Doctoral Programs, February 2016

Shares of Doctoral Program Reporting Their Graduates Well-Prepared for Employer Type, 2016

Researc

h univ

ersitie

s

Libera

l arts c

ollege

s

Commun

ity col

leges

Secon

dary

schoo

ls

Governm

ent

Busine

ss

Academ

ic adm

inistra

...

Non-pr

ofit o

rganiz

ation

s0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%Top-Tier PhD ProgramsSecond-Tier PhD ProgramsOther PhD Programs


Share of Doctoral Program Reporting Their Graduates Well-prepared for Employer Type, 2001 and 2016

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%20012016


2-Year Non-tenure Track3.1%

2-Year Tenure Track2.4%



Academic Administration3.3%

Business3.0%

Federal Government3.2%

Independent Scholar2.2%

K-122.9%

1.4%Non-Profit

3.3%Publishing/ Editing

0.6%Researcher

0.6%State/ Local Government

0.8%

Other0.4%

Library, Museum. Archive,

Areas of Employment for All History PhDs, 2013





Other Employment24.2%

Retired1.1%

Deceased1.1%

Not found2.8%

Source: Wood and Townsend, “Many Careers of History PhDs,” October 2013

Reported Activities of 4-Year College Faculty, by Program Type, 2016

Teach

er

Researc

her

Public

Historia

n

Archivis

t/Libr

arian

Libari

an

Academ

ic Adm

inistra

tor

Center

Directo

r or S

taff0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%Top-25 PhD Programs (N=196)Second Tier PhD Programs (N=150)All Other Departments (N=920)


Number of New History PhDs and Advertised Job Openings, 1965–66 to 2014–15

1966

–67

1968

–69

1970

–71

1972

–73

1974

–75

1976

–77

1978

–79

1980

–81

1982

–83

1984

–85

1986

–87

1988

–89

1990

–91

1992

–93

1994

–95

1996

–97

1998

–99

2000

–01

2002

–03

2004

–05

2006

–07

2008

-09

2010

-11

2012

-13

2014

–15

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

AHA Job Ads

History PhDs

Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates and AHA Employment Listings

Number of Advertised Job Openings through Disciplinary Society, 2000–01 to 2014–15

2000

–01

2001

–02

2002

–03

2003

–04

2004

–05

2005

–06

2006

–07

2007

–08

2008

-09

2009

-10

2010

-11

2011

-12

2012

-13

2013

-14

2014

-150

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

English

Lang. Other than English

History

Philosophy

Religion

Classical Stud-ies

Source: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, forthcoming

Field Specializations of Jobs (2014-15) and PhDs (2014)

Africa Asia Latin America Middle East Europe North America0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500Junior Faculty Openings, 2014-15

New PhDs, 2014

Source: AHA job advertisements and Survey of Earned Doctorates

Employment Sector of History PhDs by Specialization, 2013

Research Univ. 4-Year 2-Year K-12 Other (Business/

Gov't)

Public History0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%AfricaAsiaLatin AmericaEuropeNorth Amer-ica

Source: Wood and Townsend, “Many Careers of History PhDs,” October 2013

Approximate Number of Full- and Part-time History Faculty at Four-year Colleges and Universities, 1979 to 2016

1979 1988 1994 1998 2007 20120

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000Full-time FacultyPart-time Faculty

Source: AHA Survey of departments (1979), NSOPF, Humanities Department Survey, AHA Directory of History Departments

Trend in History Majors, 1966 to 2014

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Bachelor's Degrees

As a Percentage of All Bachelor's Degrees

Com

plet

ions

Perc

ent

Source: Humanities Indicators, 2016

Approximate Age Distribution of Full-Time Faculty in the AHA Directory, 1980, 1995, and 2015

32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 880%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

1980 Directory

1995 Directory2015 Directory

Age

Shar

e of

Fac

ulty

Peak Retirement Period(65 to 70)

Source: AHA Directory of History Departments, 1980, 1995, 2015

Movement of Graduates from Two History Doctoral Programs to Academic Employment in 2014

Source: AHA Dissertations in Progress web site, Directory of History Departments , and additional web research.

History PhDs and Departments, 1901 to 2020 (approx.)

1901-10

1911-20

1921-30

1931-40

1941-50

1951-60

1961-70

1971-80

1981-90

1991-2000

2001-10

2011-20

(Est.)

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

PhD

Rec

ipie

nts

Dep

artm

ents

Number of New History PhDs and Advertised Job Openings, 1965–66 to 2014–15

1966

–67

1968

–69

1970

–71

1972

–73

1974

–75

1976

–77

1978

–79

1980

–81

1982

–83

1984

–85

1986

–87

1988

–89

1990

–91

1992

–93

1994

–95

1996

–97

1998

–99

2000

–01

2002

–03

2004

–05

2006

–07

2008

-09

2010

-11

2012

-13

2014

–15

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

AHA Job Ads

History PhDs

Source: Survey of Earned Doctorates and AHA Employment Listings

Digital History

Bifurcated Training

Content Skills

Quantitative

Web designLanguages

Databases

Material culture

Europe

Latin America

U.S.

social

cultural

environmental

AsiaMiddle East

world

diplomatic

military

Oral history

Historiography

Research methods

Teaching

Grants

Integrated Training

Content Skills

Quantitative

Web designLanguages

Databases

Material culture

Europe

Latin America

U.S.

social

culturalenvironmental

AsiaMiddle East

worlddiplomatic

military

Oral history

Historiography

Research methods

Teaching

Grants

Engagement with Digital Humanities, Fall 2012

Offered Seminar Focusing on Digital Method

Formal Guidelines for Evaluating Digital Pub's for

Tenure and Promotion

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%HistoryLiberal Arts CollsComprehensive UnivsResearch UnivsSeries5All History DeptsEnglish DeptsForeign Language DeptsReligion DeptsPhilosophy Depts

History Depts at…


Technology Used for Research, 2010 and 2015

Scanners and/or digital

cameras

Spreadsheets Citation software

Databases Geographical Information

Systems

Statistical analysis software

Text Mining software

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%20102015

Perceived Valuation of Activities for Tenure, by Dept. Type, 2015

Community service

Web-based scholarly resources

Articles written for general audience

Monograph in electronic format

Digital history project

Sharing history with general audience

University or college service

Books for general audience

Departmental service

Teaching

Grants

Print monographs

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Faculty in PhD ProgramsFaculty in Non-PhD Programs

Source: AHA Survey of Research and Teaching Practices, 2015

Why Historians Choose Not to Publish Online, 2010 and 2015

I worry that whatever I published would quickly become obsolete

My institution does not provide the support needed to create new forms of scholarship

There is no career benefit to adopting new technologies at my institution

I have not found an appropriate publisher

It is difficult enough to write an article or book for print publication.

I doubt it would improve the article/book

Online publication lacks the scholarly recognition/prestige of print publications

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

20102015

Source: AHA Survey of Research and Teaching Practices, 2010 and 2015

Digital History in AHA Job Advertisements, 2003-04 to 2014–15

2003–04 2008-09 2011-12 2014-150

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

AHA Job Ads

Digital/New Media Jobs

Source: AHA job advertisements

Varying (and often Conflicting) Goals

• Quality of Preparation • preparing “first-rate” scholars regardless of outcomes?

• Placement Rates• Placing into Research I programs?

• Time to Degree• Reducing time in program to five years?

• Department Ranking• Emphasizing published output by faculty

• Lowered Attrition Rates

• Range of Career Preparation

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