Graduate and law school selection and application can be a bewildering, and oftentimes, intimidating experience.  To better help ENC History majors navigate these waters, the History Department has created this webpage as a basic grad and law school guide.  Below you will find links and useful information concerning the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), the application process, the best graduate schools in your field of interest, and hints regarding your application work.  The History Department at ENC hopes that this page will serve as a gateway for students interested in further study, providing clear, practical information to better prepare students for their intellectual and professional futures.

If you plan to apply to graduate school in history, political science, or a related field, you need to be prepared to write an essay describing what your goals and research interests are, obtain transcripts and letters of recommendation, and take the GRE general test.  If you intend to apply to law school, you will need to take the LSAT, write an application essay, obtain transcripts, and acquire letters of recommendation.  Before you do all that, however, you should spend considerable time researching various programs on the web and consider visiting your top choice or choices.
 

GENERAL LINKS FOR THOSE CONSIDERING GRADUATE SCHOOL

• The U.S. State Department has a wonderful guide to graduate school on its webpage.

• Visit the University of South Carolina's helpful "Assessing Your Graduate School Competency," which includes a self-assessment, factors to consider, an application timeline, and tips for writing the entrance essay. 

• Stanford University maintains a very useful "Graduate School Survival Guide," which lists tips, advice, and faq's for prospective grad students.

• See the 2000 National Doctoral Prorgam Survey to gauge grad student satisfaction.  Here you can also "view program reports on the 1300 programs from which we received at least 10 responses, and view overall results for each discipline."  Though the survey is over 5 years old, it is still quite helpful.

• Two graduate students at Vanderbilt University wrote "Inscribing Your Future: The Trials and Tribulations of Applying to Graduate School."  This piece offers advice, warnings, and survival tips for future graduate scholars.

HISTORY GRADUATE SCHOOLS

The American Historical Association recently constructed a tremendously helpful webpage devoted solely to the full range of History Doctoral Programs in the United States. The page's creators note: "we have developed this website of 'vital statistics' on virtually all History Ph.D. programs in the United States, and additional information on applying to doctoral programs."  On the site, one can locate programs by state, speciality, and by name.  In addition, this page contains vital information for anyone applying to history doctoral programs. 

• US News and World Report, America’s Best Graduate Schools, Ph.D. Programs: Social Sciences & Humanities Rankings, Tools, and Articles.  This indispensable page contains a “directory of programs that offer a Ph.D. in social sciences & humanities” and “includes faculty profiles and contact information for each ranked school.”  Their Ph.D. rankings of history and political programs are particularly useful.

• See this sub-page for info about grad programs in American religious history.

• The University of Virginia webpage hosts a handy Guide to Applying to do Graduate Work in Intellectual History, offering prospective grad students a preview of the field.  The creators of the page comment that the site "has particular reference to the University of Virginia, but" also contains "wider reference as well."

• The Graduate Record Exam Web Site. “Whether you are a student planning to take a GRE test, a faculty member using GRE scores, or if you are simply interested in research on the GRE tests, this site contains all the information.” 

• Kaplan Graduate Test Center.  Find GRE prep information, books, and local courses on this page.

• The Princeton Review: GRE Preparation.  “Master GRE content, hone skills with full-length practice tests, and learn proven test-taking strategies. Our students boast an average score improvement of 210 points.” 

GRADUATE SCHOOLS IN PUBLIC HISTORY, MUSEUM STUDIES, ARCHIVAL WORK, AND LIBRARY SCIENCE

• The National Council on Public History has created a very useful webpage that lists a number of graduate programs in public history.
  

• For information on Archival Studies programs, see this page created by the Society of American Archivists.

• The Smithsonian Institution maintains Museum Studies: Information for Museum Professionals and Scholars.  It contains "links to continuing-education opportunities, job announcements, and degree and certificate programs that can help you improve your job performance or prepare for more responsibility."

• For information on programs in library and information studies, see this page the American Library Association keeps up.
  

LAW SCHOOL LINKS

• Law School Admission Council is “a nonprofit corporation whose members are 202 law schools in the United States and Canada.” The “LSAC is best known for administering the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).”  Their webpage also provides a great deal of information concerning various law schools, the application process, and helpful info on the LSAT, including sample tests. 

US News and World Report, America’s Best Graduate Schools: Law Rankings, Tools, and Articles. This authoritative site ranks the best general law programs and law specialties in the US. 

• Kaplan: Test Prep and Admissions.  A critical resource for those studying for the LSAT. 

• The Princeton Review.  A tremendous aid in preparing for the LSAT: “Our courses help you master LSAT content, build skills with practice tests, and learn proven test-taking strategies.”