History (PhD)

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

Think critically and to evaluate historical information, analyzing the past in its own right, across time and space, and comparatively, with an understanding of how it relates to and informs the present.
Describe and utilize the epistemological foundations of the discipline, with a broad understanding of historiographical approaches and methods such as empiricism, historicism, modernism, post-modernism, the Annales School, micro-history and the like. This includes knowledge of the archival tradition, the working of museums, and nature of public history.
Conduct research and develop interpretive historical arguments drawing on primary and secondary sources.
Make effective ethical decisions and judgements. This involves a range of principles and practices: inclusive and equitable approaches to research and knowledge production, the due diligence of fairly evaluating the scholarship of others, the principle of accurate citation and attribution, and the professional duty to pursue open and free inquiry and engage with all legitimate scholarship, including knowledge rooted in epistemologies historically marginalized by Western academia.
Represent and articulate the knowledge they have gained in a compelling and succinct manner. This includes the ability to write clearly and cogently, with proper attention to chronological flow, thematic coherence, engaging style and appropriate word choice. This also includes oral presentations at conferences, in writing, in the form of articles and books, and by way of visual presentation, museum exhibits, or public history.
Make a meaningful original contribution to the professional field of history. This involves completion of a large-scale research project based on primary-sources, either a dissertation or a hybrid dissertation project, that makes a significant contribution to historical knowledge, upholds professional standards of research and interpretation, and is presented in clear, well-organized English prose.
Conduct oral presentations and enter into productive dialogue with other professionals in the field (e.g., through conference presentations and oral defense of the dissertation).
Employ the knowledge and skills of a specialization in one (or, in some cases, more than one) subfield of the profession.

Program Policy Document:

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 coursework, 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:

HIST 600 - Approaches to History Credit(s): 3
Five courses (15 credits) from the Approved History Reading Seminars: list, excluding HIST 600.

Required Research and Writing Coursework:

PhD students must complete two courses (6 credits) of research and writing coursework from the following list.

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:

After required courses are completed, 6 elective credits must be taken at the 600-800 level to meet the minimum credit requirement for the degree.

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