History has been one of the core disciplines at Temple University since the time the university was founded in 1888.  After 1965, when Temple joined the Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education, the department expanded its graduate programs leading to the M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. The History Department maintains a strong reputation in all areas of American history, the Atlantic World, military history and the history of foreign relations--the latter two fields institutionalized in the History Department's Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy (CENFAD).  Temple has long been among the leading history departments in the nation in its training of African American scholars.  According to the Survey of Earned Docorates, between 1973 and 2005 Temple was among the leading institutions in the United States in the percentage of its History doctorates awarded to African Americans. 

Temple graduate students participate regularly in the intellectual life of the region through their connections to such organizations and institutions as the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the Atwater Kent Museum, and the American Philosophical Society.

There are nearly 400 History majors at Tenple.  Undergraduate students can choose to major or minor in history, and they can select from a wide variety of tracks.  Special Programs allow undergraduates to major in History and earn secondary-school teaching certification or to major in history and earn a Masters in Education in five years. Majors may enter a History Honors Program and join Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honors Society. Both majors and minors work closely with faculty and participate in the Undergraduate History Association. The History Department's award-winning faculty works closely with students at all levels.

What can you do with a history degree? (click here)

Chair of the History Department:

Professor Andrew C. Isenberg

Department of History

Temple University

913 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks Street

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA  19122

215-204-6176

aisenber@temple.edu

For inquiries about the M.A. program, contact:

Professor Rita Krueger

M.A. Co-ordinator

History Department

913 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks Street
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122

krueger@temple.edu

For inquiries about the PH.D. program, contact:

Professor Petra Goedde

Director of Graduate Studies

History Department

913 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks Street
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122

pgoedde@temple.edu

For inquiries about undergraduate courses and independent studies, contact:

Professor Beth Bailey

Director of Undergraduate Studies

History Department

913 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks Street

Temple University

Philadelphia PA 19122

beth.bailey@temple.edu

For inquiries about schedules, declaring a major, credits and general guidance, etc., contact:

Professor David Jacobs
Undergraduate Advisor

History Department
913 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks Street
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122
(215) 204-7966
djacobs@temple.edu

For inquiries about History at the Ambler Campus:

Professor Harriet Freidenreich
Coordinator of History, Ambler Campus
224 Widener Hall
Temple University Ambler
580 Meetinghouse Road
Ambler, PA 19002
(267) 468-8224 or (267) 468-8217
hfreiden@temple.edu

For inquiries about the Honors Program in History, contact:

Professor Elizabeth Varon

Director, History Honors Program

History Department

913 Gladfelter Hall

1115 W. Berks Street

Temple University

Philadelphia PA 19122

elizabeth.varon@temple.edu