Transcript:
You must submit transcript materials through the Graduate School application website
Personal Statement:
Your statement of purpose is a crucial component of your application. First, the statement should describe the academic training and other experiences that have prepared you to undertake graduate work in history. If relevant, this section might also describe your language skills. Second, the statement should describe your specific research interests and the wider significance of your proposed topic, keeping in mind that this is a provisional statement of intent. Third, the statement should describe why attending the graduate program at UNC would help you reach your professional goals. Here you might state the faculty members who might be interested in mentoring you or working with you in another capacity. The statement should be approximately two pages in length, single-spaced, and in 12-point font.
Recommendation Letter:
At least three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to evaluate your academic and professional qualifications are required. No fewer than two of these letters should come from professors or instructors who have had the opportunity to observe your scholarly skills in History or in related fields. Recommendation letters should testify to your intellectual maturity and your preparedness to undertake graduate study. Letters that speak in detail about your academic work and your scholarly promise are more persuasive and useful than those which speak in generalities, however glowingly. The most helpful letters are those written by faculty who know the student well and take the time to assess carefully his or her aptitude for graduate education. We especially value letters that discuss the applicant’s demonstrated skills at and experience with sustained historical research. (A letter from a professor of an undergraduate seminar or from a honors thesis adviser, for example, is likely to be more influential than a letter from a professor in a large lecture course.) Letters from employers are acceptable, but generally address issues of secondary importance in the admissions process.
Financial Certification:
International applicants who are offered admission to a graduate program are required by United States federal regulations to certify that you have sufficient funds to pay for your expenses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the entire length of your studies. Every international applicant offered admission, including applicants who may receive teaching or research assistantships or other awards, must complete and upload the International Student Data Form and Financial Certification Instructions/Worksheet to their ConnectCarolina Student Center after being offered admission. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) will send you information and instructions for completing and uploading these forms in order to document that you meet necessary financial requirements. ISSS will then send you the appropriate documents to use in obtaining or updating your visa once it has been determined that you have met the necessary financial requirements.
Writing Sample:
Your writing sample should be a representative paper; it should be analytical rather than creative in content. Readers will look for the lucidity of your thought and expression, your ability to analyze historical topics in a sophisticated manner, your ability to incorporate and enlarge upon previous critical work, and your demonstration of research skills. We ask that each applicant submit a writing sample to assess her or his abilities at historical research, writing, and analysis. Writing samples on historical subjects are preferable, but not required. There is no page limit to the writing sample, although it is understood that faculty reviewers may read only a portion of the longer submissions. Writing samples that involve original research and analysis are preferable to essays that are mere syntheses. We are especially interested in an applicant’s ability to formulate and make an original historical argument. If you have the MA degree you should submit your thesis if it is complete at the time of your application.