Graduate Student Alumni Spotlight

History MA

Student Name:  Joshua Dulaney

Program: History

Graduated: 2019

Employer: Hallsville ISD

Position: AP History Teacher

What attracted you to this field?

Two things attracted me to teaching history, the first was a deep and abiding love of history and the second was a realization that history is often an overlooked subject at the secondary level.  Teaching provides me with an opportunity to not only keep myself immersed in history but also a chance to educate students in the humanities.

Why did you choose UT Tyler?

I chose UT Tyler for a combination of reasons, some mundane like cost and distance, but I also believed that UT Tyler’s faculty to student ratio was excellent.

What do you like most about UT Tyler?

Every professor encountered had a deep understanding of their content area and seemed to truly care whether or not we succeeded. That was a critical part of my success at UT Tyler, the fact that the faculty wanted me to learn and was willing to put forth extra effort to enable my success.

What are your career aspirations?

For the near future, I hope to continue to develop my AP Curriculum for World and US History while reinforcing the existing curriculum in on-level subjects with the knowledge and skills I developed in graduate school. Long term, I would like to pursue my EdD in Curriculum and Instruction and use it and my graduate work to assist teachers in developing effective curriculum for their social studies classrooms grounded in good historical thinking and scholarship. From my perspective, any classroom teacher, AP or not, needs to develop a curricular foundation based on academic best practices and I want to assist fellow educators in combating the unique academic challenges that history presents.

What’s your work experience?

I've been at Hallsville High School for 6 years.

Do you have any advice to pass along to other students interested in this program?

It’s a great program and you will be challenged both academically and personally. This program will provide you with an opportunity to broaden your horizons in ways you never thought possible. Also, take the Historiography class early. The lessons learned from that class can be utilized throughout your graduate career.

Find out more about our Master of History program