Applicants to the graduate program in History are expected to show high potential for engaging in advanced historical research and analysis. Applicants must meet general university requirements for admission to graduate standing and should have completed an undergraduate major in History or related fields (approximately 40 upper-division quarter units or approximately 24 upper-division semester units). History is a discipline that benefits from training in other fields, so applicants who do not meet these requirements are still encouraged to apply, but are also strongly urged to contact faculty in their proposed field of study for advice. If admitted, applicants who were not History majors may be required to do some additional course work, which must be completed in the first year and does not count in satisfaction of graduate degree unit or course requirements.
To be considered for admission to UCSB, applicants must have received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent (with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better) from an accredited university prior to the quarter for which admission is sought.

completed an undergraduate or graduate degree at an institution whose primary language of instruction is English. The minimum score for consideration is 550 when taking the paper-based TOEFL, or 80 when taking the internet-based test, some departments require a higher score. Applicants must make arrangements to take the TOEFL directly with ETS (www.ets.org). Scores should be reported to UCSB using institution code 4835. TOEFL scores must be no more than two years old at the time of application submission. UCSB also considers a minimal score of 7 on the IELTS as an alternative to the TOEFL. IELTS scores must be no more than two years old at the time of application submission