History PhD Program
About the History PhD Program
The Doctor of Philosophy program provides general instruction in the historian’s craft and intensive training in one major field and two minor fields of history. Candidates for the PhD are expected to obtain a broad historical knowledge, demonstrate expertise in the special area of their dissertations, and master fundamental research techniques and methodologies. As prospective members of a time-honored profession, candidates should strive to make substantive contributions to historical scholarship in original research and writing, classroom teaching, or institutions of research and interpretation.
In addition to the departmental requirements noted in the History Graduate Handbook, please read the University requirements for the PhD degree, which are listed on the Graduate School website.
PhD Departmental Requirements
For a complete list of Doctoral Degree Requirements, please review the Graduate Handbook, pages 7-13.1
PhD students must form a supervisory committee no later than the second semester of graduate study.
Supervisory committees for doctoral students consists of 5 members of the University faculty including adjunct and reserach faculty. A majority should hold regular faculty appointments and at least one member must be from a department other than history.
Graduate school regulations for Supervisory Committees can be found on the Graduate School website, and in the Department Graduate Handbook pages 8-9.
There is no stipulated number of credit hours required for the PhD. In consultation with the Supervisory Committee, PhD students will create an individualized program of study designed to prepare them to pass the qualifying examinations and proceed with dissertation research.
Requirements:
- HIST 7800: History Methods
- PhD in U.S. History must complete HIST 7500 & 7510
- Two research seminars, at least one of which must be in their major field.
- One seminar or colloquium in each minor field.
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Minimum of 14 hours of HIST 7970: Thesis Research.
The program of study is a list that contains all the coursework and research hours completed for the degree. Candidates for the PhD degree ordinarily must complete no fewer than three full years (six semesters) of approved graduate work (i.e., courses numbered 6000 and above) and a dissertation. All candidates for a PhD will meet with the Graduate Advisor one semester before graduation to discuss the final requirements, which will provide sufficient time for entering all the information online. The Supervisory Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies must approve the program of study.
Doctoral students must complete the degree requirements within seven years of the
original date of admission; failure to do so shall necessitate reapplication for admission
to the
program and repetition of all qualifying examinations.
Doctoral Student smay be dismissed from the program for failure to achieve any of the following:
- Maintain a minimum GPA fo 3.0
- Officially register documentation of a supervisory committee from the time of official registration of the supervisory committee through completion of the program.
- Pass qualifying exams by the end of their 5th year in the doctoral program. In the event that a candidate fails the final exaination, it may be repeated, but only one; failure to pass an examination a second time shall automatically result in termination of the Student's PhD program.
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Complete dissertation revisions as required by the supervisory committee and obtain the supervisory chair's signature on the Final Reading Form wthin 120 days of the dissertation defense.
All PhD students must achieve advanced proficiency in one foreign language. Students
should contact the History academic advisor to learn how to fulfill this requirement.
PhD students may also be required by their supervisory committees to master other
foreign languages to conduct research and read scholarship in their chosen fields.
Language credits will not count towards fulfillment of degree requirements.
PhD qualifing examinations consist of two parts: a written examination and an oral examination.
For the American History PhD the qualifying examinations consist of a written component and an oral examination.
In the major field, the written component will be a portfolio containing: two research papers, two syllabi (or in the case of public history students, one syllabus and one public history product), three historiographical essays (one each from each major field committee member), and the student’s finalized list of readings. Lists will be developed between the student and each major field committee member with the understanding that each list will be between forty and fifty books long, with a total ranging between 120 and 150 books for the major field in its entirety. The major field portfolio will be directed by the three committee members of the major field. It will be submitted to and evaluated by all five members of the PhD student’s Supervisory Committee.
Any committee member may ask questions about the major field portfolio during the oral examination. Students will work with their committees to determine whether or to what degree they may draw on work done at the master’s level. In the minor fields, students have the option of a timed written examination not exceeding four hours in length (i.e., two hours in each minor field).
Alternatively, and at the discretion of the Supervisory Committee, students may substitute a portfolio in the place of a timed written examination in either or both minor fields. This portfolio will consist of sample syllabi for a course or courses in that field, along with an annotated bibliography and the student’s written work deemed appropriate for the portfolio by the student’s minor field Supervisory Committee member. Minor field written components will be sent to and evaluated by all five members of the PhD student’s Supervisory Committee. Any committee member may ask questions about the minor field portfolio during the oral examination.
Approximately two weeks after the student has submitted their written work, the Supervisory Committee will conduct an oral examination of approximately two hours. The oral exam will be coordinated by the student’s Supervisory Committee Chair and will cover both the major and minor fields.
Upon completion of the qualifying examination, the student shall be admitted to candidacy
for the PhD degree. Thereafter the candidate shall present a prospectus of the dissertation
to the Supervisory Committee for approval. The prospectus is a proposal for the
dissertation, and will normally include a statement and justification of the topic
to be
explored, a research plan, a bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and a
discussion of methodology. The prospectus should be developed only after considerable
preliminary investigation of a general problem. The prospectus must receive formal
approval by the candidate’s Supervisory Committee. A departmental form summarizing
the action of the committee, along with a copy of the approved prospectus, must be
filed with the Advisor following the prospectus meeting.
After the prospectus is approved, candidates proceed to research and write a dissertation
under the supervision of the dissertation advisor, who in most cases will be the Supervisory
Committee Chair. This is to be a major research and writing endeavor, incorporating
exhaustive research and advanced conceptual and analytical skills. Although supervision
of the dissertation shall be the province of the dissertation advisor, candidates
are expected to advise other committee members of their work in progress. The candidate
shall submit a draft of the dissertation to each member of the supervisory committee
at least one month prior to the final oral examination. The style and format of the
dissertation must accord with departmental policies as administered by the Thesis
Office at the Graduate School.
Students are responsible for filling out forms with the Academic Advisor and Director of Graduate Studies in a timely manner so that their student records can be updated and the studen will not fall out of compliance with the Graduate School.
