General Admission Contact
The New School for Social Research
Office of Admission
72 Fifth Avenue, 1st floor
New York, NY 10011
212.229.5600 or 800.523.5411
SocialResearchAdmit@newschool.edu
Admission Liaison
HistStdLiaison@newschool.edu
Committee on Historical Studies
66 Fifth Avenue, 9th floor
New York, NY 10011
212.229.5100 x3385
Fax: 212.229.5929
Chair
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
Department Secretary
Silvina Palacio
Student Advisor
Leah Masci
2026-27 Historical Studies Student Handbook
Historical studies lays the foundation for all social inquiry and for informed debate on the politics and culture of our time. Bridging the humanities with the social sciences, our innovative program trains students in conceptual rigor, archival research, critical analysis, and historical writing. Our strong links to other New School for Social Research departments and to centers and programs across The New School provide our students with unparalleled opportunities for engagement with critical social theory and in interdisciplinary collaboration.
Founded in the mid-1980s by Charles Tilly, Louise Tilly, Aristide Zolberg, and Ira Katznelson, the Committee for Historical Studies continues to build upon its original premise: that history is a field of inquiry critical to all human understanding. We remain committed to developing theoretically informed and critical approaches to historical questions.
Our course offerings cover a wide range of historical periods and world regions, with particular strength in the large-scale transformations of the modern era. Areas of faculty expertise include the history of capitalism, history of politics, history of violence, gender history, history of psychoanalysis, history of social movements, and history and theory. Our diverse approaches draw on the insights of critical social theory. Committed faculty mentors work with students to cultivate their abilities as scholars, as educators, and as writers who can communicate to a wide audience. We offer an MA degree as well as a specialized minor for NSSR PhD students only.
Outside of our department, students pursuing a degree in Historical Studies take part in the intellectual life of NSSR's many centers, including the Robert L. Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies, and the Zolberg Center on Migration and Mobility. Students contribute to our online publication, Public Seminar, and engage with New York City's peerless array of scholarly and cultural institutions.
Our alumni pursue doctoral study at The New School for Social Research and other top universities or put their training to use successfully in a wide range of non-academic careers.
The New School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.