Doctoral Program
Doctoral Program
UTEP's history Ph.D. program capitalizes on the strengths of our faculty and the location of our campus--nestled in the foothills of the Franklin Mountains, almost literally a stone’s throw away from the U.S.-Mexico border in far west Texas-- by focusing on the study of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and on other border regions around the world. Our program makes our students key contributors to the body of knowledge about the rich history of the borderlands as they are defined geographically, politically, and conceptually. It also trains them broadly, so they are highly competitive for positions both within and outside of academia. (See Program Guidelines for more information).
Our department houses a large and talented team of scholars with expertise in the border region and Latin America: Christina Villarreal (Spanish Borderlands, Texas History), Ernesto Chávez (Chicano/a, Latino/a, Borderlands, sexuality, film), Ignacio Martínez (Colonial Latin America, ethnohistory), Larisa Veloz (Borderlands, 20th-Century Mexico, migration and gender), Sandra McGee-Deutsch (Latin America, gender, Argentina), Michael Topp (immigration), Paul Edison (the French in Mexico), Sam Brunk (modern Mexico, environmental, Borderlands), Jeffrey Shepherd (Native American, US West, Borderlands, public), and Yolanda Chávez Leyva (public, Borderlands, Chicana/o). More broadly, for students with interdisciplinary interests, there are scholars who focus on the borderlands in nearly every department and program on campus.
Applications are invited from highly qualified students with a BA or MA in History, or the equivalent in another discipline. Applicants must provide the following information in their packet: Letter of Intent (must include intellectual interests, rationale for applying to the Ph.D. Program, and additional relevant information); a Curriculum Vitae (CV); three letters of recommendation (from individuals familiar with your academic potential); a writing sample (15-30 pages); and transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work. International students must take the TOEFL and have scores sent to the Graduate School. All application materials will be processed through the Graduate School online application system. You may begin the application process by clicking on this link to the Graduate School webpage, and click on the button to the right that says, "Apply Now." This will allow you to create an electronic profile for your application to the Graduate School and the Department of History.
If you have questions about the online application process, or about materials sent to the Graduate School, please contact them at gradschooladmissions@utep.edu | 915.747.5491. If you need to send hard copies of any materials to the Graduate School, please use this mailing address:
UTEP Graduate School
Administration Building. Room 200
500 West University Ave.
El Paso, TX 79968-0566
Fellowships and assistantships offered by the Department of History are highly competitive and support will be offered to all students accepted into the program. That support is available up to five years. We offer other forms of financial support as well, including the annual Frances G. Harper History Dissertation Research Award made to four students to promote their dissertation research.
Review of applications begins January 15, and notification of admission will take place by mid-March.
For further information contact the Department of History, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University, El Paso, TX 79968-0532. You may also contact Dr. Larisa Veloz, Ph.D. Program Director, via e-mail: llveloz@utep.edu, or (915) 747-6277. You may also contact Arielle Marquez, Administrative Associate for the Department of History at aimarquez4@utep.edu or (915) 747-8552.
