The Post Graduate Department of History, founded in September 2008, offers a two-year full-time M.A. course with an intake capacity of 77, the thrust area being Modern Indian History. The Master’s programme in History is aimed at competence-building, among those who undertake it, in a holistic, comparative and interdisciplinary perspective; it is intended to help students situate ‘humanity’ in its social and historical milieu. The syllabus attempts to offer critical yet flexible courses, with special emphasis on interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives, which should prove to be both academically viable and socially relevant. From 2019, the  Department has introduced the CBCS syllabus in the Masters’ Programme.

The Department also runs M.Phil and Ph.D. Programmes in History and conducts course work as part of the programme. Finally, the Department organizes seminar sessions, special lectures and conferences to promote research interest amongst students of PG and Ph.D. courses and teachers of affiliated colleges. Students are also encouraged to make academic enquiries into local history. The thrust areas of teaching and research of the Department include Historiography and Methods in History; State and Polity in Indian History; Social and Cultural History; Economic History of India; Popular Culture; Contemporary South Asia; and History of Modern Europe.

The Department has built up effective collaboration with the Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development (CSIRD), Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group (MCRG), and Asia in Global Affairs (AGA), Kolkata, in running its optional courses, and conducting seminars and workshops. The Department had earlier run courses in collaboration with the Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training (CAST) and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies (MAKAIAS).

The faculties of the Department undertake research projects, and organize and present papers at national and international seminar/conferences. They also have a large number of publications to their credit, which include authored and edited books, papers in national/international refereed journals, and chapters in edited book/conference proceedings.

Courses offered: M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.