Diplomatic History at OSU

The Department of History at The Ohio State University offers graduate programs in U.S. diplomatic history and European international history leading to both the M.A. and the Ph.D. degrees. Graduate students take reading and research seminars in their major fields of U.S. diplomatic history or European international history. Related classes in military history, national security, and the history of particular countries or regions are also offered. The range of expertise among the faculty enables students to master one of these related fields to complement their study of diplomatic and international history.

Why study diplomatic and international history at Ohio State?

1. Ohio State has a distinguished faculty in diplomatic and international history:

Peter L. Hahn, Professor. Ph.D., Vanderbilt University. Research and teaching interests include American diplomatic history. Publications include Crisis and Crossfire: The United States and the Middle East since 1945 (2005); Caught in the Middle East: U.S. Policy toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1945-1961 (2004); Empire and Revolution: The United States and the Third World Since 1945 (2001), The United States, Great Britain, and Egypt, 1945-1956: Strategy and Diplomacy in the Early Cold War (1991).

Robert McMahon, Ralph Mershon Distinguished Professor.  Ph.D., University of Connecticut.  Research and teaching interests include American diplomatic history.  Publications include The Limits of Empire: The United States and Southeast Asia since World War II (1999); The Cold War on the Periphery: the United States, India, and Pakistan (1994); Colonialism and Cold War: The United States and the Struggle for Indonesian Independence, 1945-49 (1981). In 2000, McMahon served as president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Jennifer Siegel, Assistant Professor. Ph.D., Yale University. Research and teaching interests include European international history. Publications include Endgame: Britain, Russia and the Final Struggle for Central Asia (2002), and articles and an edited volume on intelligence history. Professor Siegel's book won the Barbara Jelavich Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies.

2. Ohio State has a comprehensive history faculty that offers breadth and depth to support graduate study in diplomatic and international history:
In addition to a large number of distinguished scholars in U.S., European, and British history, the graduate faculty of the Department of History also includes specialists in the following topical and regional fields: African history, East Asian history, Latin American history, Middle East and Indian history, military history, Russian and East European history, and women's history.
Ohio State has a large and diverse department with over 200 students currently pursuing advanced study in 16 different fields of history. Students admitted to the graduate program are offered fellowships and positions as graduate teaching or research associates. During the dissertation phase of their work, they are eligible for research grants from the Department of History and the Graduate School.

3. Ohio State has additional opportunities for graduate students in diplomatic and international history:
Graduate students may participate in the Mershon Graduate Workshop in International History, a program in which distinguished diplomatic/international historians conduct seminars on campus.  Also, the Ohio State University boasts a library of some five million volumes and the Mershon Center for Research & Education in National Security, Leadership, & Public Policy.

For further information about the diplomatic and international history programs contact:

Professor Peter L. Hahn
Department of History
The Ohio State University
230 West 17th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43210

For information about fellowships, graduate associateships, requirements for the M.A. and Ph.D., and application procedures, see the information about Ohio State University's Graduate Program in History.

As with all of the Department of History's graduate programs, the deadline for receipt of all application materials is December 1.

Information about the Department's courses in diplomatic and international history is available.