The Editorial Team of the Journal of History is always seeking original submissions from undergraduate student researchers.
Published bi-annually by the Department of History at the University of California Santa Barbara, the Journal of History is an undergraduate-run and peer-reviewed scholarly journal that, with the expertise of faculty mentors and graduate student reviewers, provides an engaging platform for undergraduate learners to make and do history.
Submit Your Research Here
All papers submitted for publication must be between 3500 and 7500 words in length and completed as part of a student’s undergraduate coursework at an accredited degree-granting institution. Recent graduates may submit their work so long as it is within 12 months of receiving their degree. See the “fine print” details below.
Let’s Make Some History
The Journal publishes innovative research and other scholarly contributions by undergraduate students in areas that complement (but are not limited by) the subject and area expertise of faculty and graduate students teaching in History at UCSB. As students of history, we are history lovers at heart. We are fundamentally interested in all facets of our collective pasts. Although the Journal welcomes research from related academic disciplines, political perspectives, and analytical approaches we are rooted in the methods of the historian’s craft.
Submissions might explore any of the following:
- African History
- American History
- Ancient History
- European History
- East Asian History
- Indigenous History
- Latin American History
- Medieval Studies
- Middle Eastern History
- North American History
- South Asian History
- Public History
- World History
This also includes – but is not limited to – the research areas below:
- Commerce, Commodities, and Material Cultures
- Comparative Race and Ethnicity
- Empires and Borderlands
- Gender and Sexualities
- Poverty, Inequality, and Social Justice
- Pre-Modern Cultures and Communities
- Public History and Theory
- Religion, Cultures, and Society
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Work, Labor, and Political Economy
The Fine Print
Seriously, the UCSB Undergraduate Journal of History welcomes undergraduate-authored papers on any historical subject.
- All papers submitted to be considered for publication should have been completed as part of a student’s undergraduate coursework at an accredited degree-granting institution. Recent graduates may submit their work so long as it is within 12 months of receiving their degree.
- Submissions must have received the equivalent of an A- grade or higher.
- Submissions shall not be published in any student, professional, or academic publication or under consideration to be published elsewhere.
- Submissions must be between 3500 and 7500 words in length, excluding citations. Though lengthier submissions may be accepted, they will be edited to meet the stated requirements.
- Submissions must be double-spaced in Microsoft Word format and include a brief abstract, not exceeding 250 words, at the start of the paper.
- Submissions must be based on primary source (archival) research, engage with and add to a scholarly (historiographical) debate or discussion, and present its own clear argument.
- Submissions must include footnotes formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style and any illustrations (e.g., texts, charts, tables, graphics, images, multimedia, supplementary datasets, etc.) must appear within the text at the appropriate points and with appropriate permissions.
Our Peer Review Process
Each submission will initially be assessed by the Editorial Team, comprised of students in HIST 196 JABC to determine whether they meet the criteria above. This is usually completed within 2 weeks of submission, during the regular academic year (excluding summer session).
Those that have been approved by the Editorial Team will then be peer-reviewed by a UCSB faculty mentor and a graduate student in the Department of History (or related discipline). This stage of the peer review process takes between 4 to 6 weeks.
Papers that make their way through the peer review process are then revised, copy edited, and proofed for publication. Depending on the scale of revisions required, this process can can between 4 and 8 weeks.
Submit Your Research Here
All papers submitted for publication must be between 3500 and 7500 words in length and completed as part of a student’s undergraduate coursework at an accredited degree-granting institution. Recent graduates may submit their work so long as it is within 12 months of receiving their degree.