Last year, the AHA, alongside the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the Modern Language Association (MLA), and the Society of Biblical Literature, announced the start of a three-year initiative to reflect on the ways in which humanities programs envision graduate education and how they might be improved. “Doctoral Futures,” as the project is titled, marks the latest in a series of programs the AHA has undertaken in its efforts to better prepare graduate students for a job market that is much more diverse than many academic historians have recognized or experienced. This roundtable aims to share concrete examples of curricular reforms graduate programs have implemented – often in direct response to the AHA’s research – as an entry point to an open conversation about graduate history education.

This roundtable includes panelists from graduate programs with a range of student profiles, resources, and emphases. Each program has added components or structures to their graduate curriculum with three broad goals: to offer students more explicit guidance throughout graduate school; to more actively prepare students for a wider range of careers; and to provide graduating students with clear avenues to demonstrate their expertise holistically. Importantly, these innovations are geared not only toward better career outcomes but also a better, more transparent experience during graduate school. Prioritizing student community-building, addressing both the intellectual and personal challenges of graduate life, offering practical, skill-building courses and opportunities, and highlighting the many paths one can take after graduate school, all aim to enrich the entirety of the graduate-school experience for our students.

As a working roundtable, representatives from each school will introduce key aspects of their graduate programming and then all participants – both panelists and audience members – will be invited to respond, share additional ideas, reflect on the pros and cons of different approaches, and introduce any other issues of interest. We hope that by having presenters from both public and private R1 schools and a smaller university we can attract a range of audience members and help the AHA encourage programs to adapt to the current moment while continuing to value historical education at the master’s and doctoral level.