History (PhD)

Please see the Program Policy Document for more information.

Requirements for the Degree:

Candidates for the PhD degree are required to complete 30 credits of course work, of which 24 credits must be in history. Coursework for the PhD degree can typically be completed within the first 2 years of the program.

Required Coursework:

3 credits. This course does not count as one of the five reading seminars.

HIST 600 - Approaches to History Credit(s): 3

Reading Seminars:

15 credits of coursework from the following courses.

AFRA 634 - Interventions in Black Gender History Credit(s): 3
AFRA 643 - Africa Under Colonial Rule Credit(s): 3
ANTH 663 - Archeology, Engagement, Heritage Credit(s): 3
EAMC 606 - Issues in American Material Culture Credit(s): 3
ENGL 610 - Introduction to Theories of Material Culture Studies Credit(s): 3
ENGL 674 - Studies in Print and Material Culture Credit(s): 3
HIST 602 - European Historiography Credit(s): 3
HIST 603 - Historiography of Technology Credit(s): 3
HIST 605 - Historiography of Material Culture Credit(s): 3
HIST 611 - Seminar in American History Credit(s): 3-12
HIST 617 - Seminar in Gender and Women’s History Credit(s): 3
HIST 622 - The Atlantic World Credit(s): 3
HIST 623 - The Revolutionary Atlantic Credit(s): 3
HIST 627 - Antebellum America Credit(s): 3
HIST 633 - The United States in the Twentieth Century Credit(s): 3
HIST 646 - Creating European Modernity Credit(s): 3
HIST 648 - On the Run: Slavery and Fugitivity in Delaware Credit(s): 3
HIST 650 - Problems in Cultural History Credit(s): 3
HIST 660 - Race & Inequality in Delaware Credit(s): 3
HIST 671 - Studies in Medieval History Credit(s): 3-6
HIST 680 - Studies in World History Credit(s): 3
HIST 692 - Planning a Course of Instruction Credit(s): 3
HIST 693 - Seminar: Problems in Teaching History and Social Science Credit(s): 3
UAPP 629 - Historic Preservation Theory and Practice Credit(s): 3
UAPP 631 - Documentation of Historic Structures Credit(s): 3
UAPP 636 - Research Topics in Historic Preservation Credit(s): 3
UAPP 654 - Architecture of Everyday Life Credit(s): 3

Note:

With the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, a HIST666 component of an undergraduate lecture course or an independent study may count as a reading seminar. Such approval will be given only when a HIST666 component includes regular “mini-seminar” meetings to discuss graduate-level readings and when our regularly scheduled seminars do not meet the student’s needs.

Research and Writing Seminars:

6 credits of coursework from the following history courses.

In a given year, other research and writing seminars may be offered.

HIST 803 - Research and Writing Seminar: America to 1860 Credit(s): 3
HIST 805 - Research and Writing Seminar: America 1860-Present Credit(s): 3
HIST 807 - History beyond Borders Credit(s): 3

Electives:

Students may take up to 6 credits of elective coursework at the 600/800 - level chosen with advisor approval.

Doctoral Dissertation

After passing the qualifying exams, PhD students are registered for 9 credits of HIST 969. During this time they will write their dissertation which must make a significant contribution to historical knowledge, uphold professional standards of research and interpretation, and be presented in clear, well- organized English prose.

The dissertation is written under the guidance of a dissertation director and three other faculty members who together constitute the student’s dissertation committee. Composition of this committee must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. It is expected that the director of the dissertation will be a faculty member in the history department, but a student can petition the Graduate Studies Committee for approval of an outside director. At least one faculty member on the dissertation committee must come from outside the department.

The doctoral student must defend the dissertation before their dissertation committee in a forum that is open to the university as a whole. This 90-120 minute oral defense, which is chaired by the dissertation director, is concerned with the content, methodology, and significance of the dissertation.

HIST 969 - Doctoral Dissertation Credit(s): 1-12