History Department

Department Chairperson: Kurt H. Hackemer, Ph.D.
Graduate Program Director: David I. Burrow, Ph.D.

Department of History
East Hall, Room 207
414 East Clark Street
Vermilion, SD 57069
Phone: (605) 677-5218
history@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/history 

FACULTY

Professors:

Steven J. Bucklin, Ph.D., University of Iowa. Specialization: Modern U.S., Diplomatic, Cold War, Vietnam.
Kurt H. Hackemer, Ph.D., Texas A&M University. Specialization: 19th-Century U.S., Military, Civil War.
Clayton Lehmann, Ph.D., University of Chicago. Specialization: Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

Associate Professors:

Scott Breuninger, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin. Specialization: European Intellectual, Early Modern, Modern British, Irish, and Atlantic.
David I. Burrow, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin. Specialization: Russia and Modern Europe.
Molly P. Rozum, Ph.D., University of North Carolina. Specialization: U.S. Women, Great Plains and Canadian Borderlands, South Dakota.

Assistant Professors:

Elise Boxer, Ph.D., Arizona State University. Specialization: American Indian Studies/History, Mormon History and 19th/20th Century History.
Nicole Hamonic, Ph.D., University of Toronto. Specialization: Medieval Europe, Society and Religion.
Sara E. Lampert, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Specialization: Colonial and Early America, Women and Gender, Race and Ethnicity, Popular Culture, Religion, Reform.

DEGREE

Master of Arts  

Program Description

The Department of History offers the only graduate program in History in the state of South Dakota. Students can focus on a variety of areas in American and European History. Library holdings for graduate research are especially strong in regional, Native American, and 20th-Century United States history. Opportunities exist for Master’s students to present papers at the annual Student History Conference and multiple regional history conferences. Students already enrolled in the School of Law may pursue a joint M.A./J.D. degree.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

• An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better based on 4.0 scale, from an accredited institution, is required for full admission.
• The GRE General test is required; the score is considered along with the other application materials.
• Applicants should have a minimum of 18 credit hours of undergraduate History coursework (12 hours of which must be upper division).
• Subject to faculty approval, those who do not meet all of the criteria above may be admitted on a provisional basis.
• Graduate transfer credits are limited to six hours and must be approved by the Department. 

Academic Standards

The History Department adheres to the academic standards and measures of progress set forth by the Graduate School.