Military History at the University of Kansas

The University of Kansas claims a rich tradition in military history. Over the past twenty-five years, more than thirty students have completed M.A. degrees emphasizing military history, and some twenty students have earned Ph.D. degrees in this subfield of history. The KU Department of History has enjoyed a close association with the faculty, research programs, and students of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, located in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, just thirty miles north of Lawrence. KU faculty and graduate students have access to the extensive holdings of the Combined Arms Research Library at CGSC. As well, since its inauguration in 1986, Modern War Studies, published by the University Press of Kansas, has become, arguably, the most outstanding book series anywhere in the field of military history

Prospective students can apply either to the M.A. or Ph.D. degree program. Normally, all coursework for either degree must be completed at the University of Kansas, though it is possible at the M.A. level (through petition) to transfer up to six hours of graduate credit earned elsewhere.

• Faculty in Military History at the University of Kansas
• Affiliated Faculty
• M.A. Thematic Field in Military History
• PH.D. Thematic Major Field in Military History
• Military History as a PH.D. Secondary Field

Faculty in Military History at the University of Kansas

• Adrian Lewis
• Jennifer Weber
• Theodore A. Wilson

Affiliated Faculty

• Robert Baumann (Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), 19^th century Russian military history, peacekeeping operations
• Robert Berlin (School for Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), U.S. Army in World War II
• Robert Epstein (School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), Napoleonic era military history
• Christopher Gabel (Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), 19th/20th century U.S. military history, U.S. Army in World War II, military railroading
• Jacob Kipp (Foreign Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth), Russian military and naval history
• Bruce Menning (Joint and Multinational Operations, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), 19^th century Russian military history
• Roger Spiller (George C. Marshall Professor, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), 19th/20th century U.S. military history
• James Willbanks (Joint and Multinational Operations, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College), Vietnam War
• Lawrence A. Yates (Combat Studies Institute), U.S. military interventions in Latin America

M.A. Thematic Field in Military History

As part of the established department requirements, M.A. students offering military history take History 806, "The Study of Military History," at least one additional graduate colloquium in military history, and a research seminar emphasizing military history. Normally, completion of a M.A. is a prerequisite for admission to doctoral study at the University of Kansas.

Beyond these common requirements, students may pursue one of two options or tracks:

A. Three-field track
The three fields should be the equivalent of secondary fields drawn from the list of approved major fields. (See "Overview of Graduate Studies"). At least 9 hours of course work shall be taken in each of the fields. With the consent of his or her advisor, the student may substitute for one of the fields an "allied field" outside the Department of History. For example, Conflict Resolution may be chosen to complement fields in U.S. and military history.

B. Two-field (major and secondary) track
A student pursuing this option would complete 18 hours in a chronological/geographical field and 9 hours in military history.

The thematic major field in military history offers doctoral students the opportunity to pursue a special interest in doing research in and teaching military history in conjunction with one of the approved chronological-geographical major fields. Thus, any student desiring to offer military history as a major field must opt for Track "B" of the Department of History's "Ph.D. Requirements," which allows a student to pursue two major fields, one chronological/geographical and the other selected from the approved list of thematic major fields. Each major field may range from 9 to 15 credit hours with no more than 24 credit hours for the two major fields combined. Track "B" requires only one secondary field of 6 credit hours. Normally, a student pursuing a military history major field will follow the 5/3 option under Track "B, with 15 hours taken in a chronological-geographical major field, and a minimum of 9 credit hours taken in the military history major field.

Field Requirements
9 credit hours minimum

1. History 806, "The Study of Military History" (3)

2. One of the following:
   History 801, "Colloquium in History"**
   History XXX, " War and Ancient Society"
   History XXX, "War and Medieval Society"
   History XXX, "War and Asian Society"
   History XXX, "War and Russian Society"
   History XXX, "War and European Society"
   History XXX, "War and American Society"

3. One of the following:
   History 910, "Seminar in Roman History"**
   History 919, "Seminar in Medieval History"**
   History 929, "Seminar in Modern European History"**
   History 949, "Seminar in Modern Russian History"**
   History 955, "Seminar in East Asian History"**
   History 974, "Seminar in American History,"**

4. A secondary field (minimum 6 credit hours) in history or in a cognate discipline such as American Studies, Anthropology, Classics, English, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, or Theater and Film.

Related Courses

1. Any of a variety of courses may be taken to add breadth and depth to the major field in military history. Examples include:
   History 334/734, "The Great War"
   History 340/740, "America and World War II"
   History 350/750, "The Korean War"
   History 399/799, "Japan: Age of the Samurai"
   History 402/702, "Roman Military History"
   History 440/740, "War and United States Society"
   History 522, "The Age of Religious Wars"

** When offered as military history.

Military History as a PH.D. Secondary Field