At Johns Hopkins we strive to be a model of a pluralistic society in which we acknowledge, embrace, and engage diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences. We seek to build and buttress an inclusive intellectual and physical environment to ensure that all members of our community know with certainty that they belong at Johns Hopkins. We aspire to equitably share the benefits and burdens of dismantling persistent systemic barriers to individual and communal success. 

The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences works within the framework of the Johns Hopkins University Roadmap 2.0 to develop graduate student recruitment strategies that reflect our diversity goals and address gaps in recruitment of diverse faculty.

We evaluate existing graduate admissions data to develop and implement effective recruitment efforts. We also build on the inclusive practices in our faculty search process and strengthen our relationships with diversity advocates. Additionally, we engage with our department diversity champions in the development and success of department-specific diversity action plans.

• Johns Hopkins Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion
• Krieger School Diversity and Inclusion

Statement on Institutional History, Community Values, and Shared Purpose

As the country’s first Ph.D.-granting history department, we recognize that our practices as scholars have long been entangled with structural and, specifically, anti-Black, racism in the city of Baltimore and the discipline of history. The Department is committed to reckoning with this legacy and to interrogating, interpreting, and presenting accurate histories of how racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism shaped and continue to shape the field. Our work, as scholars and colleagues, is informed by an awareness of these histories and a desire to build a more equitable future, together.

Over the past several years we have worked as a department to improve our commitment to shared values and purpose.

Recruitment

• In concert with graduate students, in 2023 the Graduate Student Committee undertook a substantial revision of the Department’s Graduate Handbook to expand it into a collaborative document that reflects the present-day program and its diverse areas of strength.
• If requested, we waive the application fee for Ph.D. applicants
• We no longer consider GRE scores
• The PhD program is ranked #3 by U.S. News & World Report for the study of African American History.

Department Practices, Initiatives, and Achievements

• In 2020, Professor of History and the SNF Agora Institute Martha S. Jones launched the Hard Histories at Johns Hopkins Project examining the role that racism and discrimination have played in the university’s history.
• Herbert Baxter Adams Associate Professor History Dr. Nathan Connolly and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History Lawrence Jackson are faculty conveners of Inheritance Baltimore: Humanities and Arts Education for Black Liberation, a research and programming initiative to preserve Black archival resources, curate Black arts and public heritage, and expand local infrastructure for freedom education.
• Associate Professor Jessica Marie Johnson serves as co-principal investigator of the Diaspora Solidarities Lab, an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded, multi-institutional Black feminist digital humanities partnership between Johns Hopkins and Michigan State University that supports solidarity work in Black and ethnic studies by undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and community partners.
• Professor History Dr. Nathan Connolly received the 2023 Dr. Frank W. Hale, Jr., Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE). Dr. Connolly received this award for a robust record of consistent service toward inclusive excellence; exercising innovative and courageous leadership; serving as a visionary in the field; and exemplifying the philosophy, principles, and practices of NADOHE. 
• We maintain a hybrid format for department seminars and meetings to facilitate greater accessibility and participation. The historic Seminar Room was recently redecorated to create a more inclusive space that reflects the departmental community.
• The Department Diversity Champion provides updates on activities and initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. All members of the Department’s community are encouraged to contact the diversity champion (Jules Gill-Peterson, [email protected]) to contribute ideas, share concerns, and participate in our shared purpose.