Department of History

Military History

 

Military history has long been an area of strength for Kansas State University’s history department.

Four of our current faculty members concentrate on some aspect of military history, and have published an impressive range of books and articles.

    • Our Department Chair, David Graff works on China and East Asia, specifically ancient and medieval Chinese warfare.
    • Marjorie Galelli focuses on the modern United States' military, with an emphasis on unconventional warfare, civil-military relations, and the role of the media in shaping foreign policy.
    • Michael Krysko works on U.S. foreign relations and war in the twentieth century with an emphasis on technology and the Pacific.
    • Andrew Orr is a specialist in modern military history, having published on European and American military history, intelligence operations in the Middle East, imperialism, civil-military relations, and the history of French Communist Party.

This concentration of faculty has produced a critical mass of graduate students who focus on some aspect of military history broadly considered. As faculty interests range widely across the field, student research likewise encompasses studies tied to the armed forces, conflict, and wartime.

Our MA graduates have gone on to careers in public history, to government service, or to PhD work (here and elsewhere). Our PhD graduates have taken teaching positions at a wide range of institutions. They have also gone on to museum and archival jobs, and a substantial number work as historians for the US military. Check out their profiles on our Alumni Spotlight page.

Kansas State enjoys strong relationships with a variety of institutions in the region, providing students with a range of research and professional opportunities. This includes the Truman and Eisenhower Presidential Libraries, where many students conduct research for seminar papers, theses, or dissertations and gain valuable experience in public history. Kansas State has many close ties to Fort Riley and its Cavalry Museum, and also collaborates with Fort Leavenworth on a variety of educational and research initiatives as part of the Leavenworth National Security Education Consortium. Kansas State has a long history of training students in airpower and aviation history, and has links with Air University (USAF) and its constituent schools including the Air Command and Staff College.

We encourage potential students to contact faculty members with any questions relating to their research or to graduate study in the field.

 

Security Studies Program

Explore the close relationship K-State has with the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth and find out what it takes to earn your MA or PhD in Security Studies from Kansas State University. For both military and non-military students and professionals on the Manhattan campus, stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, or anywhere in the world. Both the MA and PhD Security Studies programs are available entirely online via Zoom.

 

Military History and International Relations Faculty

View the full list of Military Historians in the department here.