Student Outcomes
Graduate Students
Tamara Van Dyken
Department of History
6th Year Ph.D. student
Research
Tammy’s dissertation will study Protestant Evangelicalism in Gospel hymns from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At this point, her research shows that hymns, commonly shared amongst denominations, began to form an interdenominational evangelicalism in the early part of 1900s.
Grants and Fellowships
Tammy received a Dissertation Year Fellowship from the Louisville Institute, which will allow her to completely focus on completing her dissertation in the coming year.
Reasons for Choosing History at Notre Dame
As she researched graduate programs, Tammy found Notre Dame to be one of the premiere places to study religious history. In addition, she wanted to work with George Marsden, Francis A McAnaney Professor of History and an authority on the history of Protestantism.
Tammy says that she’s had “a great experience so far. I’ve enjoyed the professors I’ve had the opportunity to work with and there’s a good community of history graduate students. It’s not an overly competitive environment – it’s a supportive community.”