phd history requirements

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• Ph.D. Requirements

Our doctoral curriculum encourages breadth and depth in your graduate experience during the first two years, while also starting to direct you towards your specific areas of research interests. Beginning in the third year, you will turn to more individualized work on your dissertation proposals, in consultation with advisers and other committee members.

Degree Requirements

• Courses (see suggested coursework sequence for the first three years)
• HISTORY 701S: Research Seminar in History
• HISTORY 702S: Research Seminar in History
• HISTORY 703S: Focusing on Teaching and Pedagogy
• HISTORY 704S: Focusing on Preparing Portfolios for Preliminary Certification
• 6 to 7 Reading Colloquia courses (courses numbered HISTORY 790S-01 through 790S-14).  Students may substitute up to 4 colloquia for Independent Studies (HISTORY 791 / 792) , 500, 600 or 700 level History graduate classes, or, with approval of the DGS, graduate seminars from other departments or other universities.
• 2 to 3 Research Seminars (courses numbered HISTORY 890S-01 through 890S-14). Students may substitute 1-2 of these seminars for an independent study (HISTORY 791 / 792 Independent Study) or another research-centric seminar offered or cross-listed in History. Students need to take at least one HIS 890S seminar.
• Foreign Language Proficiency
• Supervisory Committee
• Preliminary Certification
• Dissertation
• Dissertation Defense
• Payment of 6 semesters of full-time tuition (or 5 if transfer credit has been approved) AND continuous registration

Optional, accelerated path for students entering with an M.A.

Students who enter with the M.A. have the option to move directly to prelims and the prospectus in their second year, should they choose to do so. The requirements are:

• HISTORY 701S
• HISTORY 702S
• HISTORY 703S
• HISTORY 704S
• 1 research seminar (HIS 890S)
• 2 readings colloquia (HIS 790S)

Independent studies would be determined in consultation with the primary adviser and Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Students who wish to pursue this option need the approval of their advisers and the DGS.

Optional, accelerated path for students wishing to complete Ph.D. in four years or less

Students who enter under special programs that require completion of the Ph.D. in four years or less will work out a specific plan of study with the DGS and their advisers. The department understands that a certain amount of flexibility is required in such cases and the DGS will work to keep the academic spirit of the requirements, without creating insurmountable programmatic barriers for the students.

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Department of History

Ph.d. programs.

The Department of History’s doctoral degree program seeks to train talented historians for careers in scholarship, teaching, and beyond the academy. The department typically accepts 22 Ph.D. students per year. Additional students are enrolled through various combined programs and through HSHM.  All admitted Ph.D. students receive a  full  financial aid package  from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

History of Science and Medicine

The  Program in the History of Science and Medicine  (HSHM)  is a semi-autonomous graduate track within the Department of History. HSHM students receive degrees in History, with a concentration in the History of Science and Medicine.  There is a separate admissions process for students interested in the History of Science and Medicine. For more information, please see the  HSHM website . 

Combined Doctoral Programs

Joint ph.d. programs.

• PhD History
• Prospective Students
• MA Programs

The Department of History offers a PhD program centered on rigorous research within a vibrant and diverse intellectual community. While most of our students have a history degree (BA) or degrees (BA and MA), we accept students with a variety of backgrounds and interests. 

Admission is highly competitive. All offers include a full university fellowship for the duration of the program. Between 2017 and 2024, a number of excellent students selected for admission were named  Neubauer Family Distinguished Doctoral Fellows and received additional fellowship support over for five years.

Admissions Deadline (Autumn 2025 program start):  December 5, 2024 at 11:55 

Application Process

Interested students apply to the PhD program through the  Division of the Social Sciences . For questions regarding the application submission and fee waivers, please contact  SSD Admissions.  For questions regarding the History PhD Program or History-specific application components, please contact our  graduate affairs administrator .

Official decisions are sent by the Social Science Admissions Office by late February. The Department cannot release any information on admissions decisions.

Application Advice

The requirements for the application can be found on the divisional  admissions pages . The following advice is specific to your application to the Department of History.

Your  writing sample  should be a complete self-contained work. The ideal sample should be in the field of history (or a closely related field) that you plan to pursue at Chicago. Include the class or publication for which the sample was written. We do not have a page or word limit for writing samples. For papers longer than thirty pages, please flag a section for the committee.

Your  candidate statement  provides us with vital insight into the intersection of your intellectual goals and personal trajectory. It should communicate: 1) the ambitions you wish to pursue through doctoral work in history; 2) the specific questions and themes that will shape your dissertation research; 3) the personal and intellectual trajectory that has brought you to those themes and questions and prepared you to pursue them; and 4) the reasons that the University of Chicago and its faculty are well-matched to your doctoral plans.

The most helpful  letters of recommendation  come from faculty members who can assess your ability to work on your proposed historical topic.

Prospective students are asked to identify one or two primary fields of scholarly interest from a list in the application. Our faculty pages are sorted by field. Please see those pages for more information on faculty working in your field of interest. Please note, however, that we highly encourage applicants who work across field boundaries and do not apportion admissions by field.

There is no minimum  foreign language requirement  to enter the program, but successful applicants should possess strong language skills in their proposed research language(s) and be aware of the  language requirements for the various fields . All students are required to take a language exam in the first quarter of the program.

The University sets the  English-language assessment  requirements. Refer to the  Division of the Social Sciences  for English-language requirements and waivers.

Submission of  GRE scores  is entirely optional. Those who choose not to submit scores will not be disadvantaged in the admissions process.

MA Program Consideration

All applicants who are not admitted to our PhD program are automatically forwarded for consideration by our MA programs, unless the applicant specifically opts out of this process on their application. That said, as referred applications are considered later than most other MA applications, scholarship assistance for students admitted to an MA program through the referral process may be limited. If you are interested in our MA programs and would need scholarship assistance to attend, we would encourage you to apply directly to the MA as well as our program (note that this would require a separate application and application fee). MA applications are accepted  multiple times per year  with decisions typically issued within 6 to 8 weeks. Questions about applying to an MA program should be directed to  [email protected] .

Campus Visits

We encourage prospective students to reach out to potential faculty mentors through email. Please consult our faculty page to find professors who share your interests. Our graduate affairs administrator can provide additional information about the program.

The University also offers  graduate campus tours  throughout the year that are led by graduate students. Please check their website for campus visitor updates.

Admitted PhD students are invited to visit campus for "History Day" at the beginning of Spring Quarter.

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Graduate Students

Learn more about our  students' research interests and dissertation projects.

CURRENT STUDENTS

Ph.D. Program

Stanford Ph.D. Program in History aims to train world-class scholars.

Every year we admit 10-12 promising students  from a large pool of highly selective applicants. Our small cohort size allows more individual work with faculty than most graduate programs in the United States and also enables funding in one form or another available to members of each cohort.

Fields of Study

Our graduate students may specialize in 14 distinct subfields: Africa, Britain, Early Modern Europe, East Asia, Jewish History, Latin America, Medieval Europe, Modern Europe,  Ottoman Empire and Middle East, Russia/Eastern Europe, Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine, South Asia, Transnational, International, and Global History, and United States. Explore each field and their affiliates . 

The department expects most graduate students to spend no less than four and no more than six years completing the work for the Ph.D. degree. Individual students' time to degree will vary with the strength of their undergraduate preparation as well as with the particular language and research requirements of their respective Major fields.

Expectations and Degree Requirements

We expect that most graduate students will spend no less than four and no more than six years toward completing their Ph.D. Individual students' time-to-degree vary with the strength of their undergraduate preparation as well as with the particular language and research requirements of their respective subfield.

All History Ph.D. students are expected to satisfy the following degree requirements:

• Teaching: Students who enter on the Department Fellowship are required to complete 4 quarters of teaching experience by the end of their third year. Teaching experience includes teaching assistantships and teaching a Sources and Methods course on their own.
• Candidacy : Students apply for candidacy to the PhD program by the end of their second year in the program.
• Orals:  The University Orals Examination is typically taken at the beginning of the 3rd year in the program.
• Languages: Language requirements vary depending on the field of study.
• Residency Requirement : The University requi res  135 units of full-tuition residency  for PhD students. After that, students should have completed all course work and must request Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status. 

Browse the Ph.D. Handbook to learn more .

The History Department offers 5 years of financial support to PhD students.  No funding is offered for the co-terminal and terminal M.A. programs. A sample Ph.D. funding package is as follows:  

• 1st year: 3 quarters fellowship stipend and 1 summer stipend 
• 2nd year: 2 quarters TAships, 1 quarter fellowship stipend, and 1 summer stipend 
• 3rd year: 2 quarters TAships, 1 quarter fellowship stipend, and 1 summer stipend 
• 4th year: 3 quarters fellowship stipends and 1 summer stipend 
• 5th year: 3 quarters fellowship stipends and 1 summer stipend

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars  (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your studies at Stanford. candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 9, 2024. Learn more about  KHS admission .

How to Apply

Admission to the History Graduate Programs are for Autumn quarter only.  Interested applicants can online at  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/apply/apply-now and submit the following documents: 

• Statement of Purpose (included in Application)
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
•  Transcripts are required from all prior college level schools attended for at least one year.  A scanned copy of the official transcript is submitted as part of the online application.  Please do not mail transcripts to the department.   We will ask only the admitted students to submit actual copies of official transcripts.
• 1 Writing Sample on a historic topic (10-25 pages; sent via  Stanford's online application system  only)
• The GRE exam is not required for the autumn 2025 admission cycle
• TOEFL for all international applicants (whose primary language is not English) sent via ETS. Our University code is 4704.
• TOEFL Exemptions and Waiver information
• Application Fee Waiver
• The department is not able to provide fee waivers. Please see the link above for the available fee waivers and how to submit a request. Requests are due 2 weeks before the application deadline.

The Department of History welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

The Department of History also recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

Application deadline for Autumn 2025-26 is Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 11:59pm EST . This is a hard -not a postmark- deadline. 

All application material is available online. No information is sent via snail mail. Interested applicants are invited to view a Guide to Graduate Admissions at  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/ . 

Questions? 

Please contact  Arthur Palmon  (Assistant Director of Student Services).

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The Graduate Program

Columbia has been one of the most important centers of graduate education in history since modern Ph.D. programs began in America over a century ago. Recipients of our degrees hold distinguished positions in virtually every major university in the United States, and in many abroad. Our program offers a broad education in most areas of historical scholarship and attempts to train students for a discipline and a profession in the midst of considerable change. That includes not simply assisting students in acquiring the knowledge and skills essential to becoming contributing scholars, but also helping them to become effective teachers and to exist comfortably within a demanding and complicated professional world.

The members of our faculty represent many different approaches to the study of the past, and we strive to attract students of similarly diverse interests and commitments. No one should feel that being at Columbia requires accepting any one approach to the study of history.

This part of our website is designed to provide both prospective and current students with answers to some of the many questions they may have about the department.

Admissions answers commonly-asked questions about our admissions process.

Under Ph.D. Fields you will find information about the separate fields of study available in our program and the relationship among them.

Fellowships and Financial Aid explains the various ways we provide our students with fellowships and financial aid.

Dissertations-in-Progress summarizes the course of study towards the Ph.D and highlights the work of our students.

Research awards and recent honors are showcased in Award Announcements .

The section entitled Placement sketches how we prepare our students for the academic job market and reports on how our students have done in that market in recent years.

In the Graduate Handbook , we explain our curriculum and our academic requirements and provide more detailed information about aspects of the program such as the MA, Orals, M.Phil., Dissertations, etc.

Our FAQs are useful for students seeking admission as well as for current students seeking quick information.

The Annual Newsletter keeps us informed about our students.

History PhD

First awarded by the University of Maryland in 1937, the Doctorate in History is conferred for superior achievement in historical research, writing, and interpretation.

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PhD Program Overview

The Doctorate in History (PhD) is an essential component in the training of professional historians. The most significant requirement of the PhD degree program is the dissertation, an original and noteworthy contribution to historical knowledge. In anticipation of dissertation research, students spend several years mastering bibliographical tools, research and writing methods, and general, special, and minor fields of study.

Admission to the PhD program is offered to highly qualified applicants holding at least a Bachelor's (BA) degree, normally in History or a related discipline. Application and admissions procedures are described on the Department of History's  graduate admissions page .

The length of time required to complete the PhD varies by field of study and student. Students admitted with a Bachelor's (BA) degree might expect to complete the program in five to six years of full-time study. Students entering with a Master of Arts (MA) degree might expect to complete the program in four to five years of full-time study. The degree must be completed in no more than nine years.  Students typically take two years of course work, prepare for and take language exams (if required for their field) and comprehensive exams, and then research and write the dissertation.

Program Requirements and Policies

General program requirements.

• Course work in the major and minor fields
• Language examinations if required by field
• Comprehensive examinations
• Dissertation prospectus
• Advancement to candidacy
• The dDssertation

Each of these program requirements must be met before the PhD can be conferred.

Course Requirements

All PhD students entering with a Bachelor's (BA) degree (or equivalent) must take, at a minimum, the following courses (total 30 credits, not including 12 credits of “Dissertation Research”):

• Contemporary Theory (HIST 601; 3 credits)
• Major Field General Seminar (HIST 608; 3 credits)
• Readings courses in the major field (HIST 6XX and 7XX; 9 credits)
• Readings courses in the minor field (HIST 6XX and 7XX; 9 credits)
• Research seminars (HIST 8XX; 6 credits)
• Dissertation Research (HIST 898/899; 12 credits)

Special Notes:

• Courses completed during previous post-baccalaureate degree programs and/or at other institutions may be considered to satisfy course requirements. However, students entering the PhD program with a Master's (MA) degree or equivalent in History or a related discipline must take a minimum of two  600-800 level courses in the major field, one of which should be with the major advisor.
• Requests for course requirement waivers, equivalency, and credit transfers should be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies. A request must include the course syllabus and transcripts showing the final grade. The endorsement of the advisor is typically sought.
• Up to nine credit hours of major and minor field readings courses may be taken at the 400 level.  Students seeking to take a 400 level course for graduate credit should consult the instructor of record to discuss course expectations before registering.
• HIST 708/709: “Directed Independent Reading for Comprehensive Examinations” does not count toward the nine-credit readings seminar requirement.
• Students in the U.S. and Latin America fields are expected to take two major field seminars (HIST 608)–in this case, one of these 608s will be counted toward the “Readings courses in the major field” requirement.
• Students must complete the entire program for the doctoral (PhD) degree, including the dissertation and final examination, during a four-year period after admission to candidacy, but no later than nine years after admission to the doctoral (PhD) program. Students must be advanced to candidacy within five years of admission to the doctoral (PhD) program. 

Fields of Study

Doctoral students should choose one of the following as their “major field” of study:

Global Interaction and Exchange

• Jewish History (Classical Antiquity to the Present)

Latin America

Middle East

• Technology, Science, and Environment

United States

Learn more about fields of study and faculty work produced in each field by visiting the research fields page .

The Minor Field

All doctoral students are required to complete a minor field of study outside the major field of study. This requirement is typically met through nine credit hours of coursework. However, a student may opt to satisfy the requirement by written examination.

A minor field is usually a field of history outside the student's major field of concentration. For example, a student in the U.S. field may select a minor field in Latin American history; a student in the Women & Gender field may select a minor field in European history. The minor field may be a standard national-chronological field (e.g., 19th-century United States; Imperial Russia; Postcolonial India), or it may be a cross-cultural, cross-regional thematic field (e.g., the Atlantic in the era of the slave trade; gender and Islam). Or, it might be taken in a department or program outside of History (e.g., Women's Studies, English, Government & Politics, Classics and Comparative Literature).

For students opting to satisfy the minor field requirement via coursework, all courses must be approved by the student's advisor and must, to the satisfaction of the advisor and the Graduate Committee, form a coherent field of historical inquiry distinct from the general field. Courses taken at the master's level may count towards fulfillment of the minor field requirements, subject to the approval of the advisor and, in the case of courses taken at outside institutions, of the director of graduate studies.

Language Requirements

Language requirements must be fulfilled before a student is admitted to candidacy. While no MA degree requires language examinations, students will often have to learn one or more foreign languages in their field of study to successfully complete their research. They will also need to learn these languages if they wish to continue on towards a PhD. When applying for either program, preference will be given to students with prior experience with languages in their fields of study.

Language requirements differ across the varying fields within history.

No foreign language requirements for the PhD. If a student’s dissertation topic requires research in foreign language materials, the advisor will decide if the student needs to show proficiency by taking an examination in the language in question.

Spanish and Portuguese. For admission, applicants will be evaluated on their language abilities, and preference will be given to applicants with a strong command of Spanish and/or Portuguese. All PhD students must show proficiency by examination in both languages by the time they are admitted to candidacy. Exceptions to one of those languages (typically Portuguese) if the student’s dissertation requires the use of indigenous languages or documents produced by ethnic minorities. In such cases, students must be proficient in those languages.

One language (in addition to English). Depending on the field, the adviser may determine that the student needs to show proficiency in an additional language.

For admission, students must have proficiency at the advanced intermediate level in at least one major Middle Eastern language (Arabic, Persian or Turkish). All PhD students must acquire advanced proficiency in their chosen language either by course work or exam by the time they are admitted to candidacy. In addition, students must demonstrate proficiency in one European language by the time of their comprehensive exams.

Ancient Mediterranean

For admission, students should present knowledge of classical Greek and Latin at the intermediate level and reading knowledge of either French or German. Knowledge of classical Greek, Latin, French and German is required for the PhD. Other language skills, eg. Italian, Spanish, Modern Greek or Hebrew, may prove to be necessary for dissertation research but are not formal program requirements. Students satisfy the requirement in Latin and Greek in one of two ways: either by completing three upper level or graduate courses (400-600 level) in each language and obtaining at least a B in all courses and an A- or better in at least two of the courses; or by passing a departmental sight translation exam. This exam consists of translating (with the help of a dictionary) three passages of three sentences each (roughly one-fourth to one-third OCT page) selected from prose authors of average difficulty. Students show proficiency in French and German through the regular departmental language exams.

Medieval Europe

For admission, proficiency in either Latin, French or German and familiarity with a second of those languages. All PhD students must demonstrate proficiency in Latin, French and German. They can satisfy the Latin requirement in one of two ways: either by taking three upper level or graduate courses (400-600 level) and obtaining at least a B in all courses and an A- or better in at least two of the courses; or by passing a departmental sight translation exam. This exam consists of translating (with the help of a dictionary) three passages of three sentences each (roughly one-fourth to one-third OCT page) selected from medieval prose authors of average difficulty. Students show proficiency in French and German through the regular departmental language exams. Depending on the field, students may have to know an additional national/regional language like Spanish or Italian.

Early Modern Europe

For admission, proficiency in one foreign language related to the field. All PhD students must demonstrate proficiency in two foreign languages. Depending on the field, students may also have to know Latin.

Modern Europe

For admission, students must know the language of the country or region in which they are interested. All PhD students must demonstrate proficiency in the language of the country/region in which they are interested plus another European language.

Russia/Soviet Union

For admission, three years of Russian or the equivalent. All PhD students must demonstrate proficiency in Russian plus either French or German. Depending on the area of interest, the adviser may require an additional language.

For admission, advanced intermediate-level proficiency in modern Hebrew. All PhD students must demonstrate proficiency in modern Hebrew and one other language necessary for their fields. The advisor may require other languages as necessary.

Chinese History

For admission, students must have had at least two years of university-level Chinese language courses. All PhD students must acquire advanced proficiency in Chinese since they will be using Chinese documents for their dissertations.  Before admission to candidacy students must pass a Chinese language exam in which they will translate about 30 lines of modern, scholarly Chinese into English. As with all departmental language exams, students will be able to use a dictionary, and they will have four hours to complete the translation.

Language Examinations

Except as specified for Latin and ancient Greek, the typical language proficiency examination includes a summary and translation of a passage from a work of modern scholarship in the student’s field. The director of graduate studies appoints a faculty member, typically the student’s advisor, to coordinate the exam and select an excerpt from a published work of historical scholarship in the student’s field. Students write a 200-300 word summary of this five-to-seven page excerpt from the scholarly literature in their fields, and then they do a direct translation of an indicated 30-line passage within that excerpt. The direct translation must be accurate and rendered in idiomatic English. Students have four hours to complete the exam, and they may use a language dictionary that they themselves provide.

Language exams can be taken at any time before candidacy. The exams are read by two members of the faculty: typically, the student’s advisor, who chooses the passage and serves as chair of the exam committee, and one other member of the faculty chosen by the D\director of graduate studies in consultation with the advisor. Faculty from outside the department who have the necessary expertise are eligible to serve as evaluators. The two possible grades are pass and fail. If the two readers do not agree, the director of graduate studies will appoint a third faculty member to read the exam. Students who do not pass on the first attempt may retake the examination without prior approval. After a second failure, the student must petition for reexamination. The chair of the language exam committee will notify the director of graduate studies about the results of the exam within one week after the exam, and the graduate coordinator will notify the student in writing about the results, which will then be inserted into the student’s records. All students should normally pass their language examinations during their third year of the program, though given the complexity of the language requirements in different fields of study, the department recognizes the need to exercise some flexibility in the timing of this requirement.

• Comprehensive Examinations

Comprehensive examinations (comps) are a standard feature of historical training in the United States. The examinations require the examinee to demonstrate mastery of historical scholarship and historiography in a major field, including specialized mastery of the authors, themes, works and topics most relevant to the intended dissertation topic. All students register for HIST 708/709: “Directed Independent Reading for Comprehensive Examinations” for two semesters, once in the semester prior to the one in which they are scheduled to take the examinations (normally the fifth semester of the student’s program) and the second in the same semester as their examinations (normally the sixth semester of the student’s program). As noted above, these courses do not count towards the nine-credit readings seminar requirement.

Comprehensive examinations include the following:

• A special field examination in the form of an essay. Students prepare an essay of 4,000 to \5,000 words in length, 16-20 pages, double-spaced in a 12-point font. The special field is a subfield of the major field in which the dissertation is centered.
• A take-home major field examination administered in written format. Students have 48 hours to complete the exam, which should be 5,000 to 6,000 words, 20-24 pages, double-spaced in a 12-point font in length.
• A two-hour oral examination by the examination committee, including coverage of both the take-home major field exam and the essay that comprises the special field exam.

Timeline : The comprehensive examinations are administered during the first half of the student’s sixth semester in the program. The special field essay has to be submitted to the graduate coordinator before the student takes the major field examination. The oral examination follows within two weeks of passing the major field examination and the special field essay. Students entering the program with an MA in history might be expected to complete their comprehensive examinations during their fifth semester in the program. (Also see the “Combined Timeline for Comprehensive Examinations and the Prospectus” at the end of this document.)

Reading Lists : The format, content and length of the reading lists for the comprehensive examinations vary by field but the list should normally be in the range of 200 to 250 books. Of these, about two-thirds should be in the major field and one-third in the special field. In all fields, students develop their reading lists in consultation with their advisors and other members of the examination committee. The reading list must be compiled and approved by the examination committee by the end of their second-year summer (after the student’s fourth semester in the program). For students coming in with an MA in history who would like to take their examinations during their fifth semester in the program, the list must be ready by the end of the student’s third semester. After approval, limited changes may be made solely by mutual agreement of the student and his/her advisor.

The examination committee : The examination committee consists of three or four members of the Graduate Faculty, typically all members of the history faculty. The director of graduate studies designates the committee members and chair, in consultation with the major advisor and the student. The committee chair shall not be the student's advisor. All committee members contribute questions to the written and oral examinations. Most or all of these same committee members are normally also on the student’s dissertation committee but the composition of the examination and prospectus committees do not need to be the same.

Grading : Comprehensive examinations will be graded pass, pass with distinction or fail.

Combined Timeline for Comprehensive Exams and Prospectus

• Both the initial version of the prospectus and the special field essay are due before the major field take-home examination during the first half of the sixth semester of the student's program.
• The major field take-home examination should be completed also during the first half of the sixth semester of the student's program after the initial version of the prospectus and the special field essay are submitted.
• The two-hour oral examination on both the take-home major field exam and the essay that comprises the special field exam follows within two weeks of passing the major field examination and the special field exam. This oral exam can take place during the second half of the sixth semester of the student’s program.
• The one-hour oral examination based on the initial version of the prospectus also takes place during the second half of the sixth semester of the student’s program but only after successful completion of the two-hour oral examination (#3 above).
• The final version of the prospectus as approved by the advisor is due on the first day of the academic semester that immediately follows the comprehensive examinations, which is normally the seventh semester of the student’s program.

Prospectus & Candidacy

Dissertation Prospectus

The dissertation prospectus is a written précis of the proposed dissertation research, its significance, the sources and methods to be used, the relevant bibliography including primary source materials and the plan of completion. It is intended to form the substance of grant proposals students will write in order to apply for both internal and external grants and fellowships. Each field of study has its own expectations for the length of the prospectus, but normally these should be concise documents not to exceed 10-12 pages in length, followed by a bibliography. In all fields, the prospectus is developed by the student in close collaboration with the advisor and other members of the examination committee.

The preparation of the prospectus includes the following stages :

• An initial version of the prospectus.
• A one-hour oral examination based on that initial version.
• A final version incorporating any revisions suggested by members of the dissertation committee and approved by the advisor submitted to the graduate coordinator.

Timeline : The initial draft version of the prospectus should be submitted to the graduate coordinator during the first half of the student’s sixth semester before the student takes the major field examination, normally at the same time as the special field essay. The one-hour oral examination of the prospectus based on the initial version is scheduled during the second half of the student’s sixth semester in the program following satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examinations. The final version of the prospectus as approved by the advisor is due on the first day of the academic semester that immediately follows the comprehensive examination. (Also see the “Combined Timeline for Comprehensive Examinations and the Prospectus” at the end of this document.)

The relationship between the prospectus and the special field Essay: The special field essay normally covers the historiography of the entire subfield within the major field in which the dissertation is anchored, while the prospectus is more narrowly concerned with the specific research topic of the dissertation.

The examination committee: The prospectus oral examination committee consists of the advisor and at least two other members of the Graduate Faculty, who are normally also members of the student’s dissertation committee. The advisor chairs the examination. All committee members contribute questions to the oral examination and make suggestions for revisions. Upon passing the oral examination, the student will complete any revisions requested (as determined by the advisor and the committee) and submit the final prospectus approved by the advisor to the graduate program coordinator.

MA “Along the Way”

When a student receives a pass or pass with distinction and the endorsement to continue on in the PhD program, the student has the option to request that the Master of Arts degree be conferred "along the way," subject to fulfillment of the standard requirements of the MA degree.

In some instances, the examination committee may recommend that a PhD student taking comprehensive examinations be given a pass at the MA level, sufficient for the conferral of a terminal master's degree. Such a recommendation will be made with the expectation that the student not continue on towards doctoral candidacy.

Petition for Reexamination

In the case of failure of a language examination taken for the second time or one or more components of the comprehensive examinations and the prospectus preparation process (special field essay, take-home major field examination, two-hour oral examination and prospectus oral examination), the student may petition the director of graduate studies to take the whole examination or the relevant component(s) a second time. If the petition is approved, the student may retake the examination as soon as possible. A student may petition only once to retake all or part of the comprehensive examinations and the prospectus preparation process.

Successful completion of the prospectus is typically the last step before application for advancement to candidacy.

• Advancement to Candidacy

A doctoral student advances to candidacy when all degree requirements (i.e., course work, demonstrated competence in languages or special skills, comprehensive examinations and the dissertation prospectus) have been satisfied, with the exception of the dissertation.

Formal admission to candidacy (sometimes known as "All but Dissertation" or "ABD" status) is granted by the dean of the Graduate School. The application is routed through the director of graduate studies.

Advising & Committees

Each student admitted to the PhD program will choose an advisor who is a member of the Graduate Faculty and whose intellectual interests are compatible with the student's plan of study. All graduate students are required to choose an advisor by November 1 of their first semester. If they do not choose an advisor by that date, the director of graduate studies will appoint one for them. The faculty advisor will be responsible for advising the student on all aspects of their academic program, for approving the student's course of study each semester, for monitoring their progress through the program,and for notifying the student of the nature and timing of examinations and other evaluative procedures. The advisor, in consultation with the student and the director of graduate studies, will be responsible for constituting the Comprehensive Examination and Dissertation Examination committees. The advisor will also represent the student to the Graduate Committee, as appropriate.

At the conclusion of the first year of study, all students will make available to their advisor a transcript of coursework and major written work completed during the first year. Upon review of the appropriate materials, the advisor will then recommend to the director of graduate studies continuation, modification or, as appropriate, termination of the student's program. All recommendations for termination require discussion and approval of the Graduate Committee.

Students may change advisors. The director of graduate studies and the new faculty advisor shall approve changes in advisors before a student advances to candidacy. After advancement to candidacy, changes shall be approved only by petition to the Graduate Committee. A change of advisor must be recorded in the student's electronic file.

Registration and Degree Progress

Continuous Registration

All graduate students must register for courses and pay associated tuition and fees each semester, not including summer and winter sessions, until the degree is awarded.

Pre-candidacy doctoral students who will be away from the university for up to one year may request a waiver of continuous registration and its associated tuition and fees. Waivers shall be granted only if the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree and can complete all the degree requirements within the required time limits. Interruptions in continuous registration cannot be used to justify an extension to time-to-degree requirements.

Once advanced to candidacy, a student is no longer eligible for Waivers of Continuous Registration. Doctoral candidates must maintain continuous registration in HIST 899: “Doctoral Dissertation Research” until the degree is awarded.

The Graduate School makes available an official leave absence for childbearing, adoption, illness and dependent care. The dean of the Graduate School must approve the leave. The time-to-degree clock is suspended during an approved leave of absence.

Additional information on continuous registration and leave absence policies is published online in the Graduate Catalog.

Time-to-Degree

All students admitted to the doctoral program are expected to

• advance to candidacy within three years from initial enrollment in the Ph.D. program, and
• complete all degree requirements within six years of entering the program.

Progress-to-Degree

All students in the doctoral program will be expected to demonstrate steady progress toward the completion of degree requirements. At a minimum, the Graduate School requires students to maintain a B average in all graduate courses. However, the Department of History expects a higher level of performance, with the great majority of a student’s grades at the level of an A- or above.

Students in major fields that require lengthy language or special skill acquisition might be granted a one-year extension to progress-to-degree expectations. Additional extensions will require the approval of the Graduate Committee.

In order to meet progress-to-degree expectations :

• 800-level research seminar work should normally be completed by the end of the fourth semester in the program.
• The major field reading list must be compiled and approved by the examination committee by the end of the summer after the student’s fourth semester in the program.
• Students should complete their comprehensive examinations by the end of their sixth semester in the program. Students coming in with an M.A. in history should normally complete their comprehensive examinations by the end of their fifth semester in the program.
• Each student will be expected to submit a copy of the final dissertation prospectus approved by the advisor to the graduate program coordinator at the beginning of their seventh academic semester in the program.
• All students should normally pass their language examinations during the third year of their program.
• The director of graduate studies will review fully each student's progress-to-degree as well as the overall progress-to-degree by degree cohort at least once a year.

Failure to make satisfactory progress-to-degree or to maintain the expected grade point average may result in the suspension or loss of departmental funding, the denial of a petition for extensions, and in extreme cases, a recommendation for dismissal.

NOTE : The above guidelines on continuous registration, time-to-degree and progress-to-degree guidelines are for students matriculating in fall 2018 or thereafter. Students entering the graduate program in prior semesters are subject to guidelines at time of matriculation.

Extensions and Waivers

The Graduate Committee will consider petitions for waivers to departmental guidelines. Petitions for waivers to Graduate School requirements must be submitted to the dean of the Graduate School, using the appropriate form. In most instances, the petitioning student will be required to provide a rationale for the waiver request, and, as appropriate, a convincing plan of study. The advice of the student's advisor may be sought. The advisor will be required to endorse any waiver request that involves extensions to overall time-to-degree as well as the major benchmarks of progress-to-degree.

All petitions should be directed to the director of graduate studies. The director of graduate studies, and in some cases the dean of the Graduate School, will notify the student of their disposition of petitions for extensions.

Sample Program of Study

Introduction.

The program of study often varies by field and many factors may extend or reorder the sequence and length of the program of study.

The following program of study assumes that the doctoral student will be assigned a teaching assistantship in the second, third and fourth years of study. Students coming in with an MA in history will be expected to complete the program in five or five and a half years.

Foreign language study is not incorporated into this program.

 First Year (Departmental Fellowship)

• Major Field General Seminar (608) or Contemporary Theory (HIST 601)
• Major Field Readings Seminar
• Minor Field Course

Spring 

• Research Seminar OR Minor Field Course
• Exploratory Research

Second Year (Teaching Assistantship)

• 2 courses out of the following three categories:
• Research Seminar 
• Research Seminar
• Reading for Comprehensive Examinations
• Initial Prospectus Preparation

Third Year (Teaching Assistantship)

• HIST 708: Readings for Comprehensives”
• Prospectus Preparation 
• Grant Applications
• HIST 709: “Readings for Comprehensive Examinations”
• Prospectus Oral Examination 
• Final Version of Prospectus
• Dissertation Research

Fourth Year (Teaching Assistantship)

• Dissertation Research (HIST 899)

Fifth Year (Departmental or External Fellowship)

• Grant Applications  

Spring & Summer

• Dissertation Writing

Sixth Year  (Departmental or External Fellowship)

• Job applications  
• Job applications

Graduate Placement

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Ph.D. Requirements (Departmental) for Students Admitted to History Doctoral Program

On this page:

• Courses Credits and Grades

Ph.D. Supervisory Committee and fields

Ph.d. seminar paper.

• Foreign Language Requirement(s)

Incompletes, X grades and N grades

The ph.d. general examination, the dissertation prospectus, the dissertation, the ph.d. final examination (dissertation defense), courses, credits and grades.

• The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 credits, of which at least 60 credits of graduate-level (400/500/600) History and History field-related coursework must be earned prior to the Ph.D. General Examination, and at least 30 credits of HSTRY 800 (Dissertation Research and Writing) must be taken after the Ph.D. General Examination.
• A student must earn a grade of at least 3.5 in each numerically graded course and HIST 600 credits must receive CR in order for their credits to be applicable to degree requirements.
• In assessing credits applicable to the degree, the History Department includes courses numbered 400 and above (with the exception of courses numbered 491-499), and courses numbered 400 and above offered by other departments with content relevant to the student's program of graduate study in History. Graduate students are not allowed to register for courses numbered 491 to 499 under any circumstances--these are courses for undergraduates only and the credits do not count toward graduate degree requirements.
• Courses at the 400-level are upper division undergraduate courses. Graduate students (usually at the MA level only) should take 400-level courses only if their content is relevant to the student's program of graduate study in the History Department and only if required to do so by a faculty field supervisor. In such cases, the student should contact the History Graduate Office to make arrangements so that the coursework can be completed at a graduate level. 
•  Credits from language training courses (at any level) are not counted toward degree credits.
• Credits taken in the professionalization courses (HSTRY 571 and HSTRY 572) do count toward History graduate degree credits. HSTRY 571 and HSTRY 572 are required for second-year History graduate students.
• Completion of HSTRY 500: Historical Perspectives required for all first-year graduate students. HSTRY 500 counts toward graduate degree credits.
• M.A. students specializing in US History are required to take HSTAA 521: US History to 1877 and HSTAA 522: US History since 1877 in their first year in the graduate program.
• All History graduate students must take HSTRY 571: History as a Profession  in their second year of the graduate program.
• All History graduate students must take   HSTRY 572: Dissertation Prospectus  in their second year of the graduate program.
• Satisfactory progress and performance in the Ph.D. program.

Students who are admitted to the History Ph.D. program must officially set up their Ph.D. Supervisory Committee and fields no later than the end of the third quarter in the graduate program. The History Department's deadlines for establishing the Ph.D. Committee and fields are earlier and supersede the Graduate School's requirements to establish the committee at least four months before the exam quarter: the committee must be officially established no later than the end of Spring Quarter for a student to take the General Exam in Autumn Quarter; no later than the end of Summer Quarter for a student to take the General Exam in Winter Quarter; and no later than the end of Autumn Quarter for a student to take the General Exam in Spring Quarter. Under no circumstances will a student be allowed to take the PhD General Exam if the student's committee and fields were not officially established with both the History Graduate Office and the Graduate School at least four months before the exam.

The Request for Establishing A Doctoral Committee provides information and instructions for establishing the Ph.D. Committee and fields, and includes the Graduate School Representative form and the Human Subjects form.

• Graduate admissions decisions are based on the faculty field specialists' evaluation of the applicant's previous coursework, research experience, language training, etc. as preparation for graduate work in the applicant's proposed fields of study. Therefore, once admitted to the graduate program, a student cannot significantly change the geographical, chronological or substantive focus of his/her primary area of study. For example, a student admitted to study Japanese history within the Asia division cannot switch to studying Korean history within the Asia division after admission to the graduate program; or a student admitted to study Twentieth Century US history in the US division cannot switch to Early America in the US division after admission to the graduate program. With the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee it may be possible for a student to change the faculty member supervising the primary field (as specified in the graduate application) to another if more than one History faculty member supervises that graduate field.
• The supervisor of the first (primary) Ph.D. field serves as Chair of the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee.  Faculty who are adjunct with the History Department do not Chair a History PhD Committee (and supervise the student's first PhD field).
• The four Ph.D. fields must each be different in scope and content and each must be supervised by a different faculty member.
• The four Ph.D. fields must be drawn from at least two divisions and at least one field must offer genuine diversity from the student's primary area of specialization.
• One of the Ph.D. fields can be outside of History and supervised by a non-History UW faculty member. This non-History field cannot be the student's primary field.
• Graduate fields are ranked in descending order. Expectations for a student's first field should be greater than for the third, and so on.
• Ph.D. students specializing in US history must offer at least one chronological field: Early America; Nineteenth Century US; Twentieth Century US; or a chronological field that is a combination of these periods, as appropriate.
• Teaching syllabi, assignments, and other curricular material for a teaching field designed during coursework.
• Digital projects that demonstrate mastery over specific digital tools, research methods, or pedagogical approaches.
• A public history project or a project that involves significant community outreach/education.

The student and the field supervisor determine the description of the project and its objectives, which are included on the 4th PhD field form submitted when the student officially establishes their PhD fields and committee.  The fourth field form should clearly indicate that this is a “coursed-out” field.

When the project is completed, the student must submit the project materials to the field supervisor along with a final written summary detailing the work done for the field.  This summary must include the titles of the two courses (with quarter/year taken) with the field supervisor, a description of the project, and a discussion of the research undertaken, the methodological and/or pedagogical approaches to the project, and its objectives and outcomes. The two required courses taken under the supervision of the field supervisor and the work done for the project must be completed no later than the quarter prior to the student’s PhD exams.  Prior to the PhD exam quarter, the student must provide the History Graduate Office with a copy of the final written summary of the project (as described above), approved by the field supervisor. There is no written PhD exam for a “coursed out” fourth field, but the field and its project  will still be examined by the field supervisor during the PhD oral exam.  

• The faculty supervisor (not the student) determines the required and recommended preparation needed for the field and the faculty supervisor completes those portions of the field form.
• The faculty supervisor determines any specific language requirement for the field.
• The establishment of the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee also requires that a Graduate School Representative (G.S.R.) be named to the Committee. The G.S.R. must be a member of the UW Graduate Faculty and s/he can have no connection to the UW History Department (as an adjunct, joint or affiliate appointment). The Chair of the student's Ph.D. Supervisory Committee and the G.S.R. cannot both have appointments (as an adjunct, joint or affiliate) in the same department outside of History. For a list of members of the UW Graduate Faculty, see the Graduate School's Graduate Faculty Locator.
• Establishment of the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee also requires the submission of the Graduate School's Human Subjects form.

The Ph.D. seminar paper must be completed before the end of the quarter prior to the Ph.D. General Examination.

• The seminar paper must be completed in a two-quarter research seminar. The research seminar can be a research seminar that is focused on a particular chronological, thematic or geographic area (such as HSTAA 532/533: Research Seminar in American History or HSTCMP 512/513: Research Seminar in the History of Science), or HSTRY 596/597: Research Seminar in History, which is offered regularly and is open to students in all fields of history.
• A copy of the Ph.D. seminar paper must be provided to the History Graduate Office for inclusion in the student's file before the end of the quarter prior to the General Examination

Foreign language requirement(s)

A reading proficiency in specific, appropriate language(s) is essential for those graduate fields in which the primary documents are not in English. Faculty field supervisors are responsible for specifying any foreign language proficiency requirements for the PhD fields they supervise; the language requirement(s) must be included in the “foreign language preparation” section of the PhD  field form that creates and describes the student’s graduate field supervised by that faculty member. The field supervisor must specify on the field form what level of language mastery will be expected, and also specify the manner in which the proficiency will be assessed. 

 The student can fulfill the field supervisor’s foreign language proficiency requirement in the following ways: 

• By successfully passing a language translation examination
• By the demonstrated use of the language in the student’s research and writing, usually in the student’s PhD seminar paper.  In this case, the faculty member who requires the language as part of his/her field preparation must verify in writing to the History Graduate Office that the student has fulfilled the standards of proficiency by means of research and writing.
• By completing a specified number of years and a specified level of formal foreign language training. In this case, the faculty member who requires the language as part of his/her field preparation must verify in writing to the History Graduate Office that the student has fulfilled the standards of proficiency by means of formal language coursework.

 A foreign language requirement for the PhD must be fulfilled before the end of the quarter preceding the PhD General Examination.

In cases where there is no field-specific language requirement(s) for the PhD fields, the student's Chair must verify in writing to the History Graduate Office that the student's prior foreign language training and preparation are adequate for scholarly research and teaching in the student's PhD fields, without a formal demonstration of language proficiency.  This evaluation will be based on the student providing the Chair with a written description of the student's current language proficiency and a description of any anticipated need for language skills in research and teaching for the PhD. The student's statement must accompany the Chair's verification statement when it is submitted to the History Graduate Office.

Incompletes, X grades and N grades must be removed from the student's transcript by the end of the following quarter. (Students intending to take the Ph.D. General must remove all Xs, Is and Ns from the transcript before the beginning of the quarter in which the General Exam will be taken.) "Removed from the transcript" means not only that the work has been completed by the student, but also that the faculty supervisor has submitted an online change-of-grade and the X, N or I grade has been replaced with a numerical grade or CR.

The Ph.D. General Examination consists of a four-hour written examination for each Ph.D. field and a two-hour oral exam.The written examinations and the oral must be held in the same quarter.

• Students who are admitted at the Ph.D. level are expected to take the Ph.D. General Examination by the end of their second year in the graduate program. Ultimately, however, it is the Ph.D. field supervisors' responsibility to determine whether a student has completed the necessary field preparation to proceed to the General Examination. Extending the time to the Ph.D. exams beyond these limits can be cause for concern about the student's progress in the doctoral program; consequently an extension will be granted only in cases of extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control. A student who must postpone the PhD exams beyond the expected norms must submit an explanatory petition, supported by a letter from the Chair of the Ph.D. Committee, for the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
• A student must write exams in all four Ph.D. fields, except in the case when the student has coursed-out the fourth PhD field. A student cannot be exempted from writing a History Ph.D. examination in a field based on the result of a graduate exam or other work done in another UW or non-UW graduate program.
• Each quarter the History Graduate Office posts a message on the MAPhDHist  electronic list setting a deadline for students to sign up to take the Ph.D. General Exam in the next quarter. Students, in signing up to take the Ph.D. General Exam, must indicate which written exam they intend to take on which exam date. After the sign-up deadline has passed, the Graduate Office checks the file of each student who signed up for the General Exam, and informs the student of any outstanding requirements and the deadline by which the requirements must be fulfilled in order to be eligible to take the General Exam the following quarter ( completion of the Graduate School's credit requirement to take the General Exam, seminar paper and foreign language by the end of the quarter preceding the General Exam quarter; removal of Is, Xs and Ns from the transcript before the beginning of the General Exam quarter, etc.).  seminar paper and foreign language by the end of the quarter preceding the General Exam quarter, removal of Is, Xs and Ns from the transcript before the beginning of the General Exam quarter, etc.). Students who fulfill all the requirements to take the General Exam in the following quarter are sent via email further instructions for scheduling the day and time for the General Exam, instructions for taking the written exams, and an exam schedule. The student's Committee members are sent the exam schedule and instructions for the faculty examiners.
• An alternate written examination schedule is permttable only in extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control, such as illness or accident. Not yet being prepared to take the exams during the regular exam schedule is not an extenuating circumstance. Alternate written exam schedules must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies
• The Graduate Office emails the faculty examiners to request their exam questions. Faculty examiners must provide the exam questions to the History Graduate Office at least a week before the student is scheduled to write the exam.
• The Graduate Office will email the exam questions to the student on the scheduled exam day unless the faculty examiner directs otherwise prior to the beginning of the General Exam quarter.
• The student will receive the exam questions via email (to the UW email address) at 9:30am on the scheduled exam day. The student must confirm receipt of the questions via phone or email. The student will return the completed exam to the History Graduate office via email ( [email protected] ) at 2:00pm. This gives the student four hours to write the exam and a half-hour break.
• The Graduate Office will forward the completed exam to the faculy examiner via email. Examiners must email their exam comments to the students and the History Graduate Office within a week after the written exam was taken. Examining faculty read and comment on their own exams only.
• The four Ph.D. field supervisors (one of whom is the Chair), the G.S.R., and the student participate in the oral portion of the General Exam. If necessary, one of the field supervisors (who is not the Chair) can participate via zoom.
• The oral portion of the General Examination is scheduled by the student and the Committee members (including the G.S.R.) for 2-3 weeks after the last written exam, to give the examiners time to read and comment on the exams and the student time to use the comments to prepare for the oral.
• The student must inform the History Graduate Office of the day/time agreed to for the oral portion of the General Exam at least two weeks before it is to be held. The History Graduate Office then reserves a room for the oral and provides instructions to the student for scheduling the oral with the Graduate School (only the student can do this through the Graduate School's online system). The History Graduate Office must then submit its approval for holding the oral; upon receipt of this approval the Graduate School sends emails to the Committee and student with the day, time and location of the oral. The Graduate School also then produces the Warrant for the General Examination. The Graduate Office will send an email reminder to the Committee and student a few days before the oral.
• The PhD General Examination is an examination and not a “public” event open to everyone. The presence of guests (other students, family members, etc.) compromises the confidentiality of the result of the General Examination which should remain confidential between the student, examiners and GSR present.
• The Graduate Office provides copies of the exams and comments to the G.S.R. prior to the oral, and provides the Chair with the Ph.D. grade sheet and the Warrant at the beginning of the oral. At the conclusion of the oral portion of the General Exam, the student is graded on the written and oral performance in each field. The student is also given an overall grade for the General Examination: Honors, High Pass, Pass, or Fail. The Committee (including the G.S.R.) must sign the Warrant, indicating the result of the General Exam (pass/fail/re-examine), which is transmitted by the History Graduate Office to the Graduate School. The exams and comments, grade sheet and Warrant are placed in the student's file. The G.S.R. must also complete the G.S.R. Report form and submit it to the Graduate School.
• A student who passes the Ph.D. General Examination has achieved Doctoral Candidacy

The prospectus should describe the dissertation in approximately ten double-spaced pages and include the following sections: Scope and Significance, Methods and Sources, and a Schedule for Completion. Attached should be a two-page selected bibliography of primary and secondary sources. The prospectus should be in a format from which research funding applications can be shaped.

• Students fulfill the dissertation prospectus presentation requirement during the quarter in which they take their Ph.D. General Exam.
• The student and the Chair of the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee should begin discussions about the proposed dissertation, the prospectus, and an appropriate dissertation Reading Committee during the process of preparing for the Ph.D. exams.
• As part of the dissertation prospectus requirement, the student will also establish a Dissertation Reading Committee of three members, including their Ph.D. Chair. The three readers must be UW faculty and members of the Graduate Faculty. The composition of the Reading Committee (the secondary readers) can change if necessary as the student progresses with the dissertation. The students must provide the History Graduate Office with the names of the members of the Reading Committee, so that the committee can be officially established through the Graduate School.
• The Reading Committee members must read a full draft of the dissertation prospectus and provide comments to the student. Once the Ph.D. Chair and the student are satisfied with the prospectus and deem it acceptable in principle, the student will consult with the other Reading Committee members to schedule a one-hour prospectus meeting. This meeting can be added to the oral portion of the Ph.D. Examination, if all members of the Reading Committee also serve on the Ph.D. Supervisory (exam) Committee. In most cases, however, the prospectus meeting will be held separately after the Ph.D. General Examination and will be attended by the student, the Ph.D. Chair and the Reading Committee. At the meeting, Reading Committee members can approve the prospectus or request further changes.
• The Ph.D. Chairs of the student presenters must attend the presentation.
• Prospectuses will be pre-circulated to History graduate students and faculty via electronic email lists. The audience is not required to read the prospectus prior to the presentation.
• Each student's presentation will be 45-60 minutes in length. This includes the presentation of the prospectus and the comments/questions/ discussion from faculty and other graduate student attendees. The presentation should give a sense of the scope of the project and may also discuss a particular aspect in more detail.
• After the presentation, the graduate student will consult with their Chair about whether any suggestions made by the audience should be incorporated into the prospectus. It is up to the Ph.D. Chair to check that any necessary changes are implemented in the prospectus

The completion of the dissertation marks the end of the student's graduate career in the Department. It also, however, marks the beginning of the student's professional life, and therefore represents the most serious obligation the student undertakes during graduate work. Students should plan their dissertation work very carefully, bearing in mind not only the research opportunities in and recent directions of their specialized field of history, but also funding possibilities and needs through the period of research and writing. The decisions a student makes about the dissertation are necessarily individual, but the Graduate School and Department requirements form the parameters in which these decisions should be made.

• The student must meet with his/her entire Reading Committee at least once per year to discuss the progress on the dissertation.
• Circumstances that might require a non-UW reader include if the student's primary field specialist has left UW and no other field specialist is available at UW.
• The History Department will not pay for a non-UW faculty reader's time, travel, etc. related to the dissertation.
• The non-UW reader cannot serve as Chair or Co-Chair of the Committee.
• Readers normally want to read the dissertation as each chapter is written (rather than waiting for a complete draft of the entire dissertation) so that they can comment on issues of organization, etc. and catch any potential problems in the research, direction, etc. of the dissertation early in the writing stages.
• Submit a complete final draft of the dissertation to your readers well in advance of your Ph.D. Final Examination (dissertation defense). This will give the readers time to make final comments on the draft and give you time to make any required changes to the dissertation. The Reading Committee must read and approve a complete draft of the entire dissertation before the defense can be scheduled The entire dissertation includes the introduction, chapters, conclusion, end/footnotes, and bibliography. A dissertation that requires additional research and writing, reorganization, rewriting, or is otherwise incomplete should not be approved for defense by the Reading Committee
• After the Reading Committee has read and approved a complete draft of the entire dissertation, the student must contact the History Graduate Office to schedule the Ph.D. Final Examination (dissertation defense). The Graduate Office will provide with the student with instuctions for finding a day/time for the defense and a copy of the Department's PhD Final Exam Approval Form.
• The members of the Reading Committee (one of whom is the Chair), the Graduate School Representative (G.S.R), and the student participate in the defense; therefore, a day and time must be found to accommodate all of their schedules. 
• The G.S.R. who served on the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee for the General Examination continues to serve in this capacity for the Final Examination. The GSR can be replaced for the Final Exam only in extenuating circumstances: if the faculty member has retired, left UW, or is on leave and unavailable during the quarter of the defense. The student should ask the GSR whether s/he wants to read the entire dissertation or any part of it.
• By signing the Department's Ph.D. Final Exam Approval Form , the readers confirm that they have read and approved a complete draft of the entire dissertation, and the readers and G.S.R. agree to the day and time scheduled for the defense.
• The Graduate School's email notification of the defense is sent to the members of the student's Ph.D. Supervisory Committee, not just to the members of the Reading Committee. The members of the Reading Committee are also members of the Supervisory Committee. Members of the Supervisory Committee who are not also readers are therefore informed of the defense, but they do not have to read the dissertation or attend the defense (only the members of the Reading Committee, the G.S.R. and student must attend the defense).
• The Graduate Office will send an email reminder to the Committee and student a few days before the oral.
• Chairs often like to have the student give a 15-20 minute presentation about the dissertation as a way to begin the Final Exam. The student should be prepared to talk about how the dissertation topic was chosen , research, significant findings, how the dissertation fits into the literature of the field, etc. etc.
• The Ph.D. Final Examination is open to any member of the UW Graduate Faculty; it is not a "public" event open to anyone. If the student has friends or family who wish to attend the defense, they must have the student's permission as well as the permission of the Chair of the Ph.D. Committee in advance of the defense. Be advised that not all Chairs allow guests to attend the Final Exam. Guests (including other faculty members not on the Committee, etc.) do not participate in the Final Examination. Guests must leave the room whenever the student is asked to: at the beginning when the Committee is discussing the format of the exam, and at the end during the Committee's deliberations.
• In the event it is necessary to hold the defense via zoom or as a hybrid combination of in-person and remote participants, if the zoom connection is disrupted with any participant and it cannot be re-established, the  defense must be terminated and re-scheduled for another day.
• The History Graduate Office provides the Chair with the Graduate School's Warrant at the beginning of the defense. At the conclusion of the defense, the Committee (including the G.S.R.) must sign the Warrant, indicating the result of the Final Exam (pass/fail/re-examine), which is transmittedby the History Graduate Office to the Graduate School. The Warrant (with the signed departmental PhD. Final Exam Approval Form attached) is placed in the student's file. The G.S.R. must also complete the G.S.R. Report Form and submit it to the Graduate School.
• The student is responsible for ensuring that the dissertation conforms to the Graduate School's formatting and other requirements for the electronic submission of the dissertation .
• The Graduate School informs the members of the Reading Committee that they must submit their approvals of the final version of the dissertation online through the   MyGrad Committee View   (link provided by the Graduate School) by the last day of final examinations in the defense quarter.
• Seee the   Graduate School's "Dates and Deadlines"   page for the deadlines for submitting the dissertation to the Graduate School.
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History PhD

The Department of History offers a PhD program in History. The program prepares the student in four selected fields of study: Three fields of history (called the first, second, and third field) and one field in another discipline (called the outside field). Students indicate their choice of the first field at the time of application to the program, and they decide upon the second, third, and outside fields by the end of the first year of study.

The department represents a rich spectrum of research interests, collaborations, and approaches spanning 16 established fields of history: Africa, Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantine, Early Modern Europe, East Asia: China, East Asia: Japan, Global, Jewish, Late Modern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Medieval Europe, Middle East, North America, Science, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The depth and breadth of our program and the strengths of our faculty members, students, and other professionals provide an especially stimulating and congenial setting for graduate training.

Contact Info

[email protected]

3312 Dwinelle Hall

At a Glance

Department(s)

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 1, 2024

Degree Type(s)

Doctoral / PhD

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

Department of History

• Graduate Courses

The Johns Hopkins Department of History welcomes graduate students as members of a diverse and congenial community of scholars. The department takes seriously the idea that graduate students are junior colleagues with much to contribute. The program is designed for students who wish to proceed directly to the PhD degree and aims primarily to train students for careers as research scholars and university teachers. At the same time, we also recognize and support students who choose to pursue other career option.

The Hopkins history department is the oldest PhD program in history in the United States and the recipients of our degrees hold distinguished positions in universities and colleges in this country and abroad.

The department continues to pioneer new areas of research. The department’s particular areas of strength include the United States (including especially African American history, colonial America, and the history of capitalism), Europe from medieval times through the 20 th century, the Atlantic world, modern Africa, Early Modern Empires (including especially the Spanish, Ottoman, and Qing empires), and Jewish history. Most members of our faculty focus on social, economic, intellectual, and cultural history. The department hosts clusters of faculty with common interests in transnational, comparative, legal and urban histories, histories of religion and heterodoxy, gender history, and the Black World. We endeavor to recruit students with a similarly varied set of interests and orientations.

The combination of flexibility, independence, scholarly collegiality, and intensity of intellectual exchange offered by the Hopkins program gives it a distinctive character. The weekly department seminar, held on Monday afternoons from 3:00-4:30pm and attended by faculty and graduate students, is the center of intellectual life in the department. The Monday Seminar – as well as specialized seminars including the Black World, European History, Gender History (known as Geminar), Atlantic World, 20 th Century U.S. History, and East Asian seminars – brings together students, faculty, and invited scholars from outside the university to discuss their research work. These seminars create a lively intellectual community in which graduate students quickly become contributing members.

The Hopkins history program places a high premium on careful mentoring of students by individual faculty. The decision to nominate any student for admission is made by the one or more faculty members who will become that student’s sponsor or sponsors. Applicants should indicate the proposed field of specialization and their interest in working with a specific cluster of faculty at the time of application.

The main criteria for admissions are outstanding intellectual promise and an evident talent for, and strong commitment to, research. Each applicant is required to submit a sample of written work, preferably a research paper that demonstrates careful use of primary documents. An ability to read at least one foreign language is also expected.

The department began offering fellowships for six years beginning with the class that matriculated in 2023. Normally, each student is required to perform four semesters of supervised teaching or research duties at some point during the graduate program, most often as a teaching assistant during the second through fourth years. For classes that matriculated prior to 2023, the department offers write-up grants conferring tuition and stipend on a competitive basis. Recipients of these grants must plan to defend their dissertations within the funded year and are expected to focus entirely on the completion of their dissertation.

The Butler Prize

The Butler Prize is awarded annually to the best paper written by a first-year student. Each year the chair of the department appoints a faculty committee to select the winner. Papers are normally nominated by faculty sponsors. The prize was established in 1957 by Dr. Alexander Butler, a graduate of the department.

Graduate Student Resources

• Graduate Handbook
• Policy on Mentoring Commitments for PhD Students and Faculty Advisors
• Graduate Student Directory
• Guide to the Advisor-Advisee Relationship
• Sample Timeline for the First Year Paper
• Minor Field Agreement Form
• Comprehensive Field Agreement Form
• Funding Renewal Form
• How to Prepare for your Dissertation

College of Arts & Sciences

PhD Program

For Academic Year 2024-25 : Director of Doctoral Studies : Prof. Katie Benton-Cohen Graduate Programs Manager : Carolina Madinaveitia

Welcome to Georgetown’s Ph.D. program in History! We are a top-notch program with strengths in multiple fields , and we encourage students with interests that span geographical regions, time periods, and thematic foci.  Our doctoral student community numbers roughly 100, with new cohorts of 10-12 fully-funded students each year. Our alumni have gone on to distinguished careers as historians in and out of the academy.

Our Ph.D. program has much to offer. In addition to the attention of a distinguished and award-winning History faculty, our students benefit from Georgetown’s many regional studies programs and intellectual centers, where interdisciplinary activity is prized. Opportunities for language training abound. No city has greater resources for historians than Washington, D.C.: the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the National Library of Medicine, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and many other institutions hold an unparalleled wealth of research material.

Our doctoral program is collegial and collaborative, with a vibrant intellectual life. Outside of class, students participate in seminars and conferences along with faculty, share in the activities of our Institute for Global History, grow through professional development workshops, and socialize with each other when the academic day is over. It’s a fun place to be a serious historian.

Department of History

Program Guidelines

The Guidelines for the graduate program in History are intended to be a reference for all policies and procedures relevant to the Ph.D. programs in History and History of Science. All students are also responsible for adhering to university policies as described in Rights, Rules, Responsibilities  and all Graduate School Policies .

Table of Contents

The program of graduate study, pre-generals: the first and second years.

• The General Exam

Post-Generals: The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Years

Financial support, departmental funding opportunities, job placement.

The History Ph.D. program at Princeton University provides students with a common grounding in the advanced study of history; at the same time it affords each student an opportunity to work out a program of study suited to their own interests.

The normal duration of the program, and the maximum period of regular enrollment, is five years. During the first two years, the student participates in courses, writes two research papers, completes language requirements, defines a major and two minor fields of study, takes the general examination, and defines a dissertation topic. In the third, fourth, and fifth years, the student researches and writes the dissertation. Either the pre- or the post-generals phases of the program may be shortened, however, depending on the student's previous preparation and the requirements of the dissertation. It is understood that not all students will finish their dissertations by the end of the fifth year. Although formal enrollment ceases at that time, sixth year students are eligible for DCE (Degree Completion Enrollment) status. (Please note: the maximum of five years of graduate enrollment includes time spent in absentia on outside fellowships).

The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) serves as the Department's general adviser on academic questions. The DGS maintains the liaison between students and faculty as well as between the students and the Graduate School Office in Clio Hall. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is responsible for approving programs of study and choices of fields and for interpreting Departmental and University regulations. The DGS has the authority to make exceptions to the various procedures that will be described in this booklet, and is, therefore, the first person with whom a graduate student should consult to explore any special arrangements.

The Financial Officer is the professor in charge of financial aid and placement, and they handle questions pertaining to departmental research, language study, and conference funding, and assists students in finding suitable positions upon their completion of graduate study.

By the fall term of the second year, each student selects a prospective area for a dissertation and requests an appropriate faculty member as their dissertation supervisor. The student thereafter consults with this faculty member about choice of courses, seminars, and fields of study and, above all, about preparations for defining a dissertation topic. If this faculty member is absent on leave, the student may need to ask another member of the faculty to oversee their work temporarily.

First-year students are expected to enroll in three courses each semester (including HIS 500 in the fall). First-year students are normally not permitted to enroll in courses off-campus through the IUDC or Ivy+ consortium agreements. Permission to participate in any Exchange or Consortium program is at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate School Office of Academic Affairs.

Second-year students ordinarily enroll in two courses the first semester and one course the second semester. Alternatively, second-year students may enroll in three courses in the first semester and devote the second semester entirely to preparing for the general examination. Second-year students are permitted to take a maximum of two courses off-campus through Exchange or Consortium agreements.

Successful completion of nine graded graduate seminars is required before a student may take the general examination.  Courses include: graduate seminars offered by the History Department; graduate seminars in other departments; student-initiated Reading Courses; and graduate seminars offered at other institutions as approved by the Graduate School. Although much of each student's program will be aimed at preparing for the general examination, students are strongly advised to take some courses in the first two years that do not fall within their general examination fields. For most students, the first two years of graduate school will provide the last opportunity to receive systematic instruction in subjects outside their specialized interests.

History 500 - Introduction to the Professional Study of History

This seminar serves as an introduction to some of the main traditions of historical inquiry and to some of the major problems confronting contemporary historians in all fields. First-year graduate students are required to enroll.

Research Seminars

The principal task of a student in such a seminar is the writing of a research paper based on primary materials. The instructor assists by providing guidance on research methods and the appropriate bibliographic tools. The selection of the paper topic requires special care to ensure that the paper can be completed in the semester in which it is assigned. The student should not attempt to produce a publishable paper in a research seminar; on the other hand, some research papers do prove publishable after further research and revision.

Research seminars are generally specialized in their subject, and therefore require a working knowledge of the field. When the materials are not in English, it is assumed that the student can use the appropriate language in research.

Reading Seminars

These courses introduce a student to the major historical problems of a relatively broad field — the principal literature, the major interpretations, the relevant bibliographies, and the crucial issues that historians are currently examining. Reading courses require written work in some form — for example, a series of short reports, a bibliographic essay examining the available literature on a topic, interpretive essays, or critical reviews of major books. With the approval of the instructor, however, a student may produce a research paper that evolves out of the work of the course.

Reading and Research Seminars

These seminars combine features of the reading and research seminars. They begin with several weeks of general background reading before proceeding to the preparation of a substantial research paper. In many cases, faculty offer writing options — for example, a bibliographic essay — for the student who wishes to take such seminars without writing a long research paper.

Student-Initiated Reading Courses

When students wish to develop some field or topic which cannot be covered in the formal program of reading and research seminars, they may request permission to take a specially arranged graduate reading course with a particular member of the faculty who, in turn, is prepared to offer such a course. Such courses may assume a wide variety of forms: they may be research or reading oriented, and they may involve from three up to a half dozen or more students. Several rules must be followed:

• There will be at least twelve regularly scheduled meetings throughout the semester.
• A grade and written evaluation of each student will be submitted by the faculty member supervising the course.
• Every effort should be made to initiate these courses before the term in which they are to be given. See the Graduate Program Administrator for assistance with completing the required paperwork. The Proposed Reading Course form is available via the graduate History website under Archimedes .

Student-Initiated Reading Courses must be graded (A-F) and taken for credit. There should be a writing component, which can take one of several forms: regular end-of-term research paper, ongoing response papers, annotated bibliographies, or short essays throughout the term. Students are not allowed to audit this type of course.

Anyone who wishes to explore the possibility of such a course should first find out whether any other students share a similar interest in a topic and should then determine the overall size of the group that might wish to take part; at the earliest possible moment, the student should also discuss the matter with the member of the faculty who is to be asked to supervise the course. But students should also understand that a particular professor may not be able to sponsor such a course — either because of previous commitments or because it does not fall within their interests.

Supervised General Reading

Students who wish to work out arrangements with particular faculty members involving individual tutorial work or "supervised general reading" may do so if other alternatives are not available, but only with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Circumstances that justify such arrangements include not being able to work out one of the specially arranged reading courses described above, or the need to pursue a certain topic in preparation for the general examination. The faculty member concerned will advise the student on matters of bibliography and will meet informally with the student during the semester. Some written work will normally be required. This option is not available to students in their first term. Supervised general reading does not count as one of the nine required graded graduate seminars.

Other Course Options

Undergraduate lecture courses.

Graduate students may enroll in undergraduate lecture courses in history or in other fields as part of their regular program of study. In such cases, students will be expected to pursue a program of additional readings to supplement the undergraduate materials. This may be done on an individual basis or, if several students are interested, through a graduate precept. The consent of the instructor and the Director of Graduate Studies must be obtained and the required paperwork must be completed (i.e. the same “Proposed Reading Course” form used for student-initiated reading courses). See the Graduate Program Administrator for assistance.

Enrollment in an undergraduate course may be advisable in the following situations: to prepare for a research seminar in an advanced field where the student may have insufficient general preparation, or to review a field prior to taking the general examination.

Graduate Courses in Other Departments

Students are encouraged to elect a course in another department as part of their regular program, provided that it is pertinent to their fields of specialization. It is usually necessary for the student to secure the permission of the instructor and the approval of the graduate representative in the other department.

Students ought to be aware that courses in ancient history are offered by the Department of Classics. Courses in Near Eastern and East Asian History are offered by the departments of Near Eastern Studies and East Asian Studies.

Graduate Courses at Other Institutions

The Graduate School has made arrangements with a number of other institutions to allow for cross-registration. Students who wish to take a course at another institution through one of these programs must fill out the appropriate paperwork and adhere to the relevant deadlines. Students must obtain the permission of the DGS to enroll in a course outside of Princeton and the course must be taken for a grade.

Research Papers

Since training in research is one of the most significant elements of graduate education, the Department expects each student to write at least two research papers during the two years they are involved in course work. Students ought to keep in mind the possibility of using their research papers to investigate areas for dissertation topics. It is highly desirable to do some early research in the language(s) of the prospective dissertation. Each of the two research papers must be certified as an acceptable research paper by the respective instructor. Collaborative work is not acceptable towards certification of a research paper.

One of the two research papers must be written in the course of the first year. Students may write the paper in the context of a research seminar or in consultation with faculty independent of a formal course, and they may do so in either semester. If the paper is written in the context of a research seminar, a draft must be submitted to the instructor by the course deadline (Dean’s Date) for a grade. Revisions will likely be required to raise the paper to the standard for certification. If the paper is written for a course in another department it may qualify as a certified research paper provided that 1) it is a piece of historical research and 2) the certification form is signed by a faculty member of the History Department.

The research paper should be completed within the semester in which it is initiated. In all cases an acceptable paper must be submitted to the instructor and certified by June 15 of the first year, at the latest, or the student will not be reenrolled for the second year. The second research paper must be submitted to the instructor and certified as acceptable by April 1 of the second year before the student can take the general examination.

Students who hold an M.A. degree upon entering the program may request that the M.A. thesis or a research paper completed in pursuance of the M.A. be accepted as one of the two required research papers. To qualify, such a paper must be accepted by an appropriate faculty member in the department, subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. The faculty member may require that the paper be rewritten to meet their standards.

Definition of the Research Paper

Since students are asked to write different kinds of papers — which are variously described as bibliographic essays, brief reports, book reviews, and so forth — it might be helpful to point out that the research paper is a distinct enterprise only in its emphasis on original work and the use of primary sources. The research papers demonstrate a student's capacity for the kind of work that will be essential to the dissertation. But that task can be accomplished in no more space than is needed for some bibliographic essays. Although the nature of the evidence, the approach, and the subject determine length, it should be emphasized that the research paper, as a genre, most closely resembles the journal article. Most scholarly journals have a limit of approximately twenty-five pages for submissions.

Language Requirement

The minimum requirement of the Department is a reading knowledge of either French or German (or Spanish in the case of American History). Within each field of study, the faculty decides which additional languages are required and the necessary degree of proficiency. In rare cases when the student, the student's adviser, and the Director of Graduate Studies all agree that the substitution of another language is reasonable, appropriate, and academically sound, some other language may be used in place of French or German. The following field requirements apply:

American History

Proficiency in Spanish, French, or German. A high level of proficiency is required.

British History

Proficiency in either French or German. A high level of proficiency is required.

East Asian History

Proficiency in one East Asian language and one European language.

European History

Proficiency in two languages other than English, one of which is either French or German. Students in medieval history are normally expected to be proficient in Latin, French, and German. Students in Byzantine history should be proficient in ancient/medieval Greek, French and German, and preferably Latin or one other ancient language.

Latin American History

Proficiency in two of the following: Spanish, Portuguese, French, or an indigenous language subject to faculty approval.

Middle Eastern History

Proficiency in one Middle Eastern language and one European language.

Russian History

Proficiency in Russian and either French or German.

South Asian History

Proficiency in one South Asian language and one European language.

The faculty of the History Department set most of the language examinations. Examinations in some languages, however, may be administered by appropriate language departments at Princeton or another institution when an examiner is not available within the History Department. For most languages, the examination consists of two passages to be translated, one with and one without a dictionary. For some languages, including Russian, Arabic, and East Asian languages, the examination consists of only one passage to be translated with a dictionary. While online language dictionaries may be used for the dictionary section of the exam, online translation services are strictly prohibited.

Successful completion of a language training program does not exempt students from taking the departmental language examination. Only native speakers of a language other than English may appeal to the Director of Graduate Studies for an exemption from taking the departmental language examination. Language examinations that have been passed will be recorded on the student’s academic transcript.

Language examinations will be announced at the beginning of each semester. Entering students should arrange one language examination early in their first term. The Department expects students to pass at least one language examination before enrolling for the second year. No student may complete the general examination or enroll for a fifth term without passing all language requirements. In fields that demand more than two languages, all but one of them must be passed prior to enrolling for a third term. Second-year students who fail the language exam at the regularly scheduled time may petition the Director of Graduate Studies and receive a second chance to take the exam in the same term, in order to fulfill the language obligation at a time which interferes less with general examination preparation.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

Students will fulfill the mandatory Responsible Conduct of Research (HIS 503) seminar over the course of their first year.

Due Dates and Deadlines

All coursework for the fall term must be submitted to professors by fall Dean’s Date. If the fall term course work is not submitted, the student’s reenrollment is deferred. Second-year students with incomplete work from the fall term may not take the general examination in May of the second year.

All coursework for the spring term must be submitted to professors by spring Dean’s Date. The only exception applies to second-year students taking the general examination in May. For these second-year students, an extension of three weeks is granted for the submission of spring term coursework.

Students are expected to complete coursework in the semester in which it is assigned. In rare cases, an extension on the deadline for coursework can be granted at the discretion of the course instructor to accommodate extenuating circumstances due to a student’s personal or academic situation. If an extension is granted, a firm extended deadline must be agreed upon by the faculty member and the student and the new deadline must be communicated to the Graduate History Office.

A grade of “Incomplete” (INC) is given only in exceptional circumstances when there are compelling reasons, discussed in advance between the faculty member and the student, either for the student’s not turning in the work by the end of the academic term or for the faculty member’s not grading the work by the end of the academic term.

If a student has not turned in the final paper or work for a course within one year after the beginning of the course, the grade in that course will be recorded as a permanent “F” on the academic transcript. Students with Incompletes (INCs) on their records are ineligible for departmental research or language funding awards.

The General Examination

General information.

Students are expected to pass a written and oral examination in each of three fields before the end of their fourth semester of graduate study. The examinations in the three fields constitute the general examination. The general examination tests the student's acquaintance with the events and historiography of a given period or topic; the student's grasp of the issues involved in the study of these periods or topics; and the student's ability to follow, construct, and criticize historical interpretations of these issues.

Choosing Fields of Study

Each student chooses a major field corresponding to a broad segment of history that encompasses a variety of historical problems and that contains a body of literature rich enough to nurture the development of a professional historian. The major field should represent the area of history that a student will be primarily prepared to teach; it should be roughly equivalent to the period covered by an upper-level undergraduate survey course, as indicated in the following examples:

In American History, the major field should consist of the period covered by any two of the basic reading seminars, History 587, 588, 589, 590 or their chronological equivalent; for example, the United States from the Early Republic to World War I, or from Reconstruction to the present, from 1830 to 1945, and so on.

Students concentrating in Colonial and Revolutionary America, however, may confine their major field to a period of approximately two centuries, e.g., 1607-1815 or 1688-1865.

In other areas, the broader chronological and geographical sweep of the subjects makes a similar correlation between field definitions and existing courses impossible. In those areas, students should plan major fields either in the history of several countries for approximately a century, or in the history of a single country for a longer period. Examples of such major fields are: Europe since 1870; Europe in the 19th Century; Tudor-Stuart England; the Ancient Regime and the Revolution in France; Italy in the Renaissance, 1300-1550; France and England in the High Middle Ages; etc.

In all areas the precise focus and emphasis of the major field will be determined by prior consultation between the student and their examiners; in each case, the specific content of the student's previous program of study and their special interests within the field will help to determine the nature of the examination and the weight given to specific aspects of the field.

If a student wishes to offer a chronological minor field in American History, its scope should be equivalent to the period covered by one of the basic reading seminars listed above; for example, the United States from the Early Republic through the Civil War, or from 1815 to 1890, and so on. It is also possible to offer a thematic minor field in American history; for example, American social history, American legal history, the diplomatic history of the United States. Again, in other areas, it is more difficult to lay out prescriptive guidelines for minor fields. Possible minor fields in European history include the following: Renaissance and Reformation; 16th-century Europe; England, 1558-1760; Western Europe, 1815-1918; European cultural history, 1815-1914; Modern Britain.

In selecting minor fields, students are urged to consider the increasing importance of non-Western history and of studies outside the discipline of history. Not only is there much interesting work being done in these areas, but also many colleges and universities are looking increasingly for beginning teachers who can function effectively in fields outside of Western history. The Department encourages students to consider choosing a minor field in another discipline, for example, classics (especially ancient history), demography, economics, sociology, literature, the history of art, or areas in regional studies. A student who desires to offer a minor field in another department will need to consult appropriate faculty members and the graduate representative in that department in addition to the Director of Graduate Studies in order to secure approval for the proposed field.

Students may not take both minor fields in the history of the same country or region as their major field; that is, a student whose major field and one minor field are in the U.S., and/or pre-1776 North American history must choose the other minor field in an area unrelated to U.S. history; a student whose major field is the Old Regime in France and one minor field France from 1789 to 1848 must choose the other minor field in an area unrelated to French history; and so on. In some cases, a minor field in a markedly different time period may be substituted for a different country or area: e.g., a student taking a major field in Europe since 1870 and a minor field on France from the Treaty of Versailles to World War I might offer a second minor in some aspect of medieval French history. The Director of Graduate Studies must approve all such combinations of major and minor fields.

Students specify all their fields on a form provided for this purpose at the beginning of their second year of study; this proposal, and any subsequent alteration of it, must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Preparing for the General Examination

Students prepare for general examination fields by taking courses and by further reading on their own. In all areas, students should normally plan to have at least two courses containing substantial general readings as a basis for a major field, and at least one for a minor. All students majoring in American history are required to take two of the basic reading courses (587 through 590). These two courses should match the chronology of the major field as closely as possible. In other areas, students should consult with the faculty teaching in their specific fields of interest in order to arrive at a combination of courses that will provide a solid substructure for their preparation. Although reading and "reading and research" courses will often be the most helpful for preparing fields, research seminars may also constitute extremely useful preparation. If for any reason the Department is unable to provide basic courses suitable for preparing students in an approved field, the Director of Graduate Studies will assist the student in finding satisfactory alternate means of field preparation. If necessary, the Director may grant exemptions from the normal course requirements or from the requirement that specially arranged reading courses contain a minimum number of students.

Taking the General Examination

To be eligible to complete the general examination, a student must have fulfilled the appropriate language requirements, have completed two certified research papers, and have completed all of the work in the courses in which they have enrolled in the first three semesters. No student with an ‘Incomplete’ from the first three semesters will be permitted to complete the general examination until the outstanding course work has been finished.

Students should take their examinations on all three fields at one time. If, due to extenuating circumstances, a student needs to divide the examination (by offering the major field at one sitting and the two minors at another), they must appeal to the Director of Graduate Studies for consideration. If, due to extenuating circumstances, a student wishes to delay all three field examinations to an exam period other than May of the second year, they must appeal to the Director of Graduate Studies for consideration of an alternative timeline.

Normally, the Graduate School does not allow examiners outside of Princeton University to be part of General Examination committees. No general examination committee may have fewer than three faculty examiners. An examiner may offer two fields for a student but at least one of those must be jointly offered with another examiner to ensure that there are at least three faculty members on the committee.  

The written portion of the exam is generally distributed to students at 9:00 am on the first Monday of spring reading period.  Students are to return their answers to the graduate office by 3:00 p.m. on the Friday of the same week. Late examinations will not be accepted. Written exams will be distributed to faculty Friday afternoon for review in advance of the oral examination. The word count for the entire exam may not exceed 4,000 words for each field (i.e., 12,000 words in total) regardless of the total number of questions to be answered.

All content for the written examination must be created within the exam week. No portion of the written answers should be copied from notes or practice exams, and students should not have anyone else review their work nor should students discuss their exams with other students until after all oral exams have concluded. Students are responsible for adhering to all University policies on academic integrity.

The oral portion of the exam is typically two hours long, with one full hour devoted to the major field and a half hour for each of the minor fields. Students may bring clean copies of their written essays and reading lists into the examination room, along with a blank notepad and pen or pencil. Students may request a brief pause between fields during the oral exam.

Results of the General Examination

Immediately following the oral exam, the student's overall performance will be evaluated and recorded as pass, fail, or pass with distinction. The student must pass each of the three field examinations; marginal performance in one field may be compensated for by a strong performance in another field. Failure in any one field cannot, however, be compensated for by work in another field, no matter how distinguished. Inadequacy on a written examination in a field can be compensated for by excellence in the oral examination, and vice versa.

The examining committee will record brief comments on the General Examination Report Form which is to be submitted to the Graduate History Office within 24 hours of the exam. The student will receive a copy of the form and the comments. Results will be reported to the Graduate School within ten days of the oral exam.

A student who completes all departmental requirements (coursework, language exams, and research papers, with no incompletes from the first year and first semester of the second year) but fails one or two of the general examination fields may take the exam a second time if they are otherwise making satisfactory academic progress and meet the criteria for reenrollment.

A student who fails one or two of the examination fields needs to retake only the field(s) in which they failed. If the student fails the general examination a second time, then Ph.D. candidacy is automatically terminated. The student must resolve any incompletes from the final semester’s coursework before the terminal M.A. degree may be awarded.

If a student fails all three general examination fields, the Director of Graduate Studies will consult with the examining committee to determine whether the student should be reenrolled and given the opportunity to retake the exam or should be awarded the terminal M.A. degree and have their enrollment terminated. If the student is reenrolled and given an opportunity to retake the exam but fails the general examination a second time, then Ph.D. candidacy is automatically terminated. In either case, student must have completed all departmental requirements (coursework, language exams, and research papers, any incompletes resolved) before the terminal M.A. degree may be awarded.

Any student who will retake the general examination should expect to retake the exam during the next exam period. Only in exceptional circumstances will the DGS approve for a student to delay the retaking of the examination to a later exam period. In no case may the student delay the retake of the examination for more than one year.

It is important to be aware that successful completion of the General Examination is a pre-requisite for progression to the PhD but that advancement is not automatic.  Advancement to candidacy for all students is decided by a vote of departmental faculty at a full faculty meeting, which is informed by a recommendation from the Director of Graduate Studies. This recommendation is based on a student’s General Examination performance and the faculty’s assessment of their entire academic record since beginning the graduate program in History. Refer to the Enrollment section of the Guidelines for detailed enrollment policies.

The Master’s Degree

The Master of Arts degree is normally an incidental degree on the way to full Ph.D. candidacy, but may also be awarded to students who for various reasons leave the Ph.D. program. Students who have satisfactorily passed required coursework (with all incompletes resolved), fulfilled language requirements in their field of study, and completed the two required research papers may be awarded an M.A. degree. Students must complete the required “Advanced Degree Application” via TigerHub upon learning the Department’s determination of their candidacy in order to receive the master’s degree.

Dissertation Prospectus

The beginning of the dissertation project is the dissertation prospectus. Students will normally participate in the department's mandatory Dissertation Prospectus Workshop in June of the second year.

To be eligible, students must have passed their general examinations and have done so no later than their fourth semester of enrollment, or have special permission from the Director of Graduate Studies to participate. Passing the prospectus seminar is a required part of degree work in the department. Students are expected to participate actively in the workshop and devote their time and effort to completing a fully shaped prospectus before the summer is over.

Prospectus Approval

After the Prospectus Seminar, students are required to have a meeting together with their adviser and first reader (or with their co-advisers) to discuss the prospectus. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for the student to benefit from informal conversation with their key mentors regarding the intellectual and practical plans for the project.* The approval form should be signed by both the adviser and the first reader following this meeting. The signed form and approved prospectus must be filed with the Graduate Office before December 1 of the student’s third year (or six months after completion of an off-cycle general examination); continuation as an enrolled student will be contingent upon approval of the prospectus. 

*Ideally this meeting would take place in person but participants can join remotely when necessary —the key principle is that the student and both faculty engage in a joint conversation.

The Dissertation

While the dissertation is the principal business of the third, fourth and fifth years of graduate study, the student is well advised to begin thinking about a topic in their first year at Princeton. The summer between the first and second years can be used to good advantage for preliminary research, including exploration of archival resources in the United States and abroad. Such early investigations will help in the preparation of a prospectus and will be of special benefit to students who hope to compete for fellowships for research abroad in the third year (deadlines for these competitions will fall early in the first semester of the second year). Before the general examination students should have settled on a dissertation topic, chosen a dissertation supervisor, and should be moving forward toward their dissertation projects.

To facilitate definition of a dissertation topic, the department is prepared to support exploratory pre-dissertation research travel to archives between a student's first and second years.

The department has established the following guidelines for the dissertation:

• The dissertation should represent an original and significant contribution to knowledge.
• The dissertation should be based upon primary research.
• The dissertation should clearly demonstrate the capacity of the student to pursue independent historical research.
• The dissertation should be written in clear and coherent prose.
• Decisions concerning the scope of the dissertation and its length should be based primarily upon the nature of the problem and documentation. An acceptable dissertation may take various forms: it may be as short as 75 pages or as long as 300. Only in exceptional circumstances should it exceed 300 pages in length. The department assumes that most students will have completed their research and writing by the end of their fifth year of study; earlier completion is certainly feasible in many cases. The scope and length of the thesis should therefore be such that a finished project can be created in no more than three years of work.
• Whatever the scope of length of the dissertation, it should be capable of development for publication as an article or series of articles in a scholarly journal, or as a book.
• Students are reminded that conciseness is a literary virtue; quality does not increase with length.

It is obviously in the best interests of a student to select a dissertation topic which falls within the special competence of some member of the Princeton faculty. Otherwise, it is unlikely that either the student or the project will receive adequate care and attention. Occasions may arise, however, when a student is enthusiastically involved in a dissertation topic that is feasible but for which no member of our faculty can provide specialized guidance. In such cases, when the student, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the faculty member whose interest most closely approximates that of the student all agree that the topic is so promising that the disadvantages are offset, the Director of Graduate Studies may seek to establish an informal arrangement with a scholar at another institution to provide advice and guidance for the student's dissertation project. However, the department cannot provide compensation for outside scholars who agree to take care of such tasks, and in every case a Princeton faculty member must serve as the official supervisor.

Human Subjects Research and Oral History

All students who plan to interview people for their dissertation research are encouraged to complete the Human Research Training module provided by the university. Once completed, students will decide in conversation with their advisers whether or not they need to apply for IRB approval for their project.  If a student plans to quote their sources, then they are advised to obtain signed permission from informants.

Teaching Opportunities and Professional Development

The department recognizes that effective teaching is a partner to scholarship, and it tries to provide some kind of teaching experience for advanced graduate students who desire it. Prospective employers are attaching increasing importance to teaching experience, and the professional qualifications of a graduate student will be greatly enhanced if they have classroom experience.

Where possible, fifth-year students in residence, and some third- and fourth-year students, will receive appointments as Assistants in Instruction (AI's). An AI may teach in one course each term (approximately two to four classroom hours per week). The teaching assignment should not, therefore, unduly interfere with progress toward completion of the dissertation. AI's are paid according to the number of hours they teach each term. AI stipends and tuition rebates nominally exceed the standard level of the University Fellowship.

The AI normally conducts precepts (small discussion groups). The Department will hold regular meetings for students who are precepting to provide a general discussion about teaching. Most faculty members in charge of courses will also hold regular meetings with preceptors to discuss issues in their course.

The responsibility for AI appointments rests with the Chair of the Department. They will solicit applications from advanced graduate students who are interested in teaching in a given semester and will make staffing decisions in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and the instructors of the undergraduate courses in question. Advanced graduate students are not guaranteed teaching appointments; decisions about AI's will depend on course enrollments, faculty teaching schedules, and faculty assessments of a graduate student's probable effectiveness in the classroom.

Procedure for Receiving the Ph.D. Degree

When the dissertation is nearing completion, the student must inform the Graduate History Office that they would like to prepare for the FPOE at least three months in advance of the anticipated defense date. The Graduate Assistant will advise the student on matters of committee formation, scheduling, and required paperwork.

The standard practice of the department is that there should be only one external reader. The department will award an honorarium to only one such reader/examiner and will reimburse only one external reader for the expenses (travel and accommodation) associated with their presence in Princeton for the Final Public Oral Examination. Approval of the dissertation committee, including the external reader, is at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. All committee members are expected to submit a reader report by the deadline announced by the Graduate Assistant. While it is permissible for one committee member to participate remotely (normally the external reader), the dissertation adviser and first reader are expected to be present for the defense. Recording of the Final Public Oral Examination is prohibited.

Reenrollment and Advancement to Ph.D. Candidacy

Each graduate student must be formally reenrolled for each succeeding year of graduate study. In general, the entering student may assume that if they do satisfactory work in courses and seminars and sustains the general examination, they will be readmitted. Administratively, it is the student’s responsibility to complete the reenrollment application online through TigerHub each year in order to be reenrolled and to complete the annual Academic Year Sign-In by the deadline dictated by the Graduate School.

The reenrollment application for first-year students receives careful scrutiny. Three times per year, the Director of Graduate Studies circulates a memo to all departmental faculty soliciting feedback on each graduate student's performance. The Director of Graduate Studies reviews each student's performance, evaluates all grades and course comments, and recommends to the department for or against reenrollment. The final decision on reenrollment is not based on any rigid standard for grades, but on the Department's overall evaluation of a student's promise and work. A decision against the reenrollment of a first-year student will be taken only in exceptional cases.

When a student has completed the general examination, the Director of Graduate Studies conducts a similar evaluation of their record. After reviewing the reports on the general examinations of each student, and, where appropriate, conferring with the examiners and other faculty with whom the student has worked, the Director of Graduate Studies recommends to the department whether or not the student be reenrolled and either that they be permitted to continue for the Ph.D. or that a terminal master's degree is awarded. Passing the general examination does not guarantee that a student will be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy if the student’s full academic record does not demonstrate satisfactory competence for advancement.

In order for students to be made fully aware of their standing in the Department, the Director of Graduate Studies annually holds a candid discussion with each first and second-year student about their status. In particular, each student whose performance falls at or just above the minimum level required for continuation is made fully aware of the situation.

Students in the third year and beyond receive comments on their reenrollment application from their academic adviser. In all cases, satisfactory progress towards the dissertation must be demonstrated in order for a student’s reenrollment to be recommended to the Graduate School.

Enrollment Statuses

The Graduate School offers various enrollment status options for graduate students. Students should refer to the Graduate School’s policies for more information regarding each of these statuses.

Regular Enrollment

Students enrolled in years one through five who are on campus on a regular basis and utilizing Princeton’s facilities are in Regular enrollment status. Funding does not affect this enrollment status. A student who is supported on an external fellowship may still be in Regular status if they reside locally.

In Absentia

Those students whose thesis research or other studies require that they be absent from Princeton for an extended period of time may apply for reenrollment with “In Absentia” status. In absentia status is normally an option only for those students who have completed the general examination, but requests from pre-generals students may be considered in exceptional cases.

In absentia status is usually granted for only one year but may be approved for as long as two years.  Any requests to hold absentia status for longer than two years must be made to the Director of Graduate Studies. If a student is participating in the Exchange Scholar Program, they are not considered “In Absentia.”

All appropriate University benefits are continued while a student is in absentia. A year in absentia counts as one of the five years of graduate enrollment, whether or not the student is supported by a University fellowship. Students who wish to apply for in absentia status will indicate their intention to be in absentia during reenrollment and also must request absentia status via TigerHub.

Leave of Absence

A student who wishes to interrupt their course of study at Princeton for personal reasons may apply for a leave of absence. Leaves of absence differ from in absentia in two important respects: the student on leave of absence is not enrolled, and the University stipends do not continue during such a leave.

DCE Enrollment and Plan for Completion Meeting

The regular academic program period concludes at the end of the fifth year and the Department encourages all eligible students to apply for Dissertation Completion Enrollment (DCE) status and reenroll. T o qualify for DCE status, the Graduate School requires that doctoral students “must have drafted or written a significant portion of the dissertation (at least one full chapter) and be actively engaged in research and writing.”  As part of the reenrollment process, fifth-year students should satisfy this requirement or its equivalent, and submit a Plan for Completion, consisting of a short narrative of their progress, describing the work they have completed to date and their timeline for completing the dissertation. Students will meet with their dissertation Advisor and First Reader (or co-Advisors) to review the Plan for Completion, after which the advisor should submit a signed form supporting the student’s reenrollment. The purpose of this meeting is to provide an opportunity for the student to meet with their advisory team to check in on the status of the dissertation writing and research. The signed form and approved narrative must be filed with the History Graduate Office before April 15 of the student’s fifth year.

Students who have exhausted their five years (ten semesters) of Graduate School funding and do not hold other outside fellowships may apply for departmental fellowship support for their sixth year. Continuation as an enrolled student and the awarding of such fellowships is contingent on demonstrated good progress toward the completion of the dissertation. 

If students do not elect to continue in DCE status, they will automatically enter Enrollment Terminated/Degree Candidacy Continues (ET/DCC) status at the conclusion of the academic year on August 31.  

ETDCC Status

All university benefits are discontinued in Enrollment Terminated/Degree Candidacy Continues (ET/DCC) status since enrollment has formally ceased. Graduate students are still able to defend their dissertations in ET/DCC status, however, in order to earn the Ph.D.

Students in ET/DCC status are expected to remain in contact with their dissertation adviser to provide updates on their progress towards completion. If a student does not contact the adviser, DGS, or department for one year or longer, they may be removed from ET/DCC status and degree candidacy may be terminated.

Fellowships

Fellowships held by graduate students at Princeton are of three basic types:

• University fellowships both sponsored and administered by the University from its own resources. University fellowship include both the regular UF stipend and other fellowships awarded by individual departments or programs on campus, including FWWS, PIIRS, and honorifics including Jacobus, Dodd, and Proctor fellowships.
• Other fellowships sponsored by government or private agencies, but awarded and administered by the Graduate School and the departments. Examples of this type of fellowship are NSF and ACLS fellowships.
• External fellowships awarded (normally on a competitive basis) by the sponsoring agencies. A student who holds one of these fellowships normally deals directly with the sponsoring agency, and must, therefore, concern him or herself with application and renewal forms, deadline dates, etc. Examples of this type of fellowship are Fulbrights, the Foreign Area Fellowship Program, and Canada Council Awards for Canadian Citizens.

Continuation of Fellowships

The Reenrollment Application that each student completes online via the TigerHub system (annually in early March) serves as an application for the continuation of University fellowship support. In normal circumstances, students who are doing satisfactory work will not suffer any reduction in the level of their fellowship support. Students are also responsible for keeping themselves informed of the deadlines they must meet to renew their fellowships, and should advise the Director of Graduate Studies immediately if they encounter difficulties in this process.

A limited number of students may earn money through a federally funded Work-Study Program. Students may work on campus as research assistants to faculty members, and off-campus for non-profit organizations or a local, state, or federal government agency. Information about eligibility and application procedures may be obtained from the Graduate School.

External Fellowships

Students are strongly encouraged to apply for external fellowships. Notices of such fellowship opportunities are posted on the bulletin board in the graduate student lounge and sent via email by The Graduate School and the Graduate History Office.  

Deadlines are usually months ahead of the time that a student would actually receive a fellowship. Indeed, most applications must be filed by early November of the preceding year. Students should also consult the annual volume of the American Council on Education, Fellowships in the Arts and Sciences, as well as other reference materials located in the Career Services Office.

Students who are awarded external fellowships are required to notify the Graduate Administrator and provide a copy of the fellowship offer letter to be included in their academic file. If a student elects to take an external fellowship in lieu of university funding for either 10- or 12-months then eligibility for DCE-1 funding for the 6th year may be earned. The department adheres to all Graduate School policies regarding eligibility for and administration of DCE-1 funding and students who win an external fellowship are urged to discuss their individual situation with the Graduate Administrator before accepting the fellowship.

Graduate students who seek part-time employment while in regular enrollment must request permission from the DGS before accepting any position. The department adheres to the Graduate School’s Employment Policy which dictates that a student may not work more than an average of 10 hours per week.

If the employment is on-campus, the student must notify the department’s Business Manager immediately upon accepting the position for instructions for being paid through the Time Collection system. Students should not commence work until they have received information on how they will be paid.

International students who have employment authorization are eligible to receive a Social Security Number. Requests for SSN letters should be directed to the Graduate Administrator.

The History Department provides funds supplemental to the university fellowship for several purposes: language study, pre-dissertation research, dissertation research, attendance of conferences or relevant short-term academic programs, and travel to attend courses at other institutions if the course will fulfill the coursework requirement for the program.

Of these types of funding, the most important by far is research in preparation for the dissertation. The department considers it crucial for students to work from primary sources, not merely as a matter of professional training but also because the writing of first-rate history requires immersion in documents. Therefore, students may expect to receive funds for research in archives and libraries both before they take their general examinations, when they can sound out the possibilities for a thesis topic, and afterward, when their success in quarrying material from sources may shape their entire career. Funds are limited, and there are specific rules governing the awarding and use of them. It is the responsibility of the student to understand and follow the procedures outlined below.

Before undertaking a funded research trip, students must consult the department for approval of their plans, and they must submit a detailed budget. After returning, they must submit an accounting report, receipts, and boarding passes for all pre-approved expenses funded by the department.

Language Study Funding

Pre-enrolled students.

The department will pay for admitted students to enroll in a language course offered at Princeton the summer before starting graduate study. If a student wishes to study a commonly available language, the department will pay the Princeton University cost to study the language on campus plus the cost of summer housing and SHP for that period. The following languages are normally available for summer study at Princeton University: French, Spanish, and German. If a student wishes to pursue language courses at an institution other than Princeton University, they may apply to the department for consideration of the language study plans. If approved, the department will reimburse up to the cost of Princeton University language course tuition, summer housing, and SHP.

If a language is less accessible, the department will first suggest other institutions in the U.S. but will also consider study abroad on a case-by-case basis.

Enrolled Students

The department will pay for summer language study at Princeton or, with the approval of the Financial Officer and Director of Graduate Studies, for summer study at language institutes or other universities. Students wishing to pursue language study elsewhere should consult with their adviser and the Financial Officer before drawing up plans, and should be prepared to submit a letter outlining their course of study and an itemized budget. Pre-generals students may wish to consider combining language training abroad with pre-dissertation archival research in the summer following the first year of study.

If enrolled students need additional language preparation (beyond one language course) that cannot be provided at Princeton University but is available at a nearby university, the department will consider paying for such preparation at a reasonable level, including reimbursement of travel costs, on a case-by-case basis. The student should consult the Director of Graduate Studies and Financial Officer.

Pre-Dissertation Research Funding

The department will fund one pre-dissertation research trip. Most students schedule this trip for the summer following the first year of study, though it is also possible to schedule it in the summer following the second year or during a break in the academic year so as not to conflict with coursework. If necessary, students may make two or more pre-dissertation research trips, but must submit only one request and, therefore, one combined budget for pre-approval of this arrangement.

Applications for funding may be submitted to the History Department and to other programs and departments on campus which offer funding support for research travel.  More information can be found on the Student Activities Funding Engine (SAFE). Questions should be directed to the center or program to which you are applying.

Dissertation Research Funding

The department will fund one major archival research trip over the course of a student’s graduate career (between years one and five of the student’s regular enrollment period.) Students are expected to apply to internal and external sources of funds relevant to their research; once they have done so the Department will consider individual requests. Please note that the Department cannot cover the travel expenses of family members or of anyone other than the student.

Scholarly Travel Funding

The Department is able to support students’ participation in scholarly conferences and other short-term academic or professional programs with pre-approval. For additional information about the specific policy, please visit Archimedes .

Students are also encouraged to apply to the Dean’s Fund for Scholarly Travel, administered by the Graduate School.

Miscellaneous Funding

The Department can subsidize train travel for a student to attend classes at nearby universities if the student has received departmental approval for enrolling in the course and authorization for travel reimbursement from the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Department will pay for microfilming up to a reasonable amount, if the microfilm is not available in the Princeton libraries.

Graduate students may apply for funding to support student-organized conferences, workshops, and special events. The Center for Collaborative History (CCH) allocates all departmental funding for such activities; the CCH accepts funding requests on a rolling basis. To ensure that students are managing their time effectively, requests to organize an event must first be approved by the student’s adviser and Director of Graduate Studies before the funding request can be submitted. Requests to organize an event will not be approved for pre-generals students except under exceptional circumstances.

Graduate students participate in the work of the Graduate Program Committee. These students are elected by the graduate students as a group under arrangements to be determined by themselves. The President of the Graduate History Association will call a meeting early in the fall for this purpose.

Students should bring concerns, questions, and ideas for new initiatives to the administration of the GHA. The GHA acts as liaison between students and the department, Graduate School, and University.

When a student has advanced far enough in their dissertation work to begin to seek professional employment or postdoctoral fellowships the student should contact the department's Placement Officer. This will normally take place when the student has begun the writing of the dissertation and completed two to three chapters. Early in the fall semester the Placement Officer will meet with all of the students who will be actively seeking employment during the academic year. The Placement Officer will provide a more detailed description of the procedures for finding academic positions, and will seek additional information about the student — for example, what kind of courses the student is prepared to teach, an estimate of the date by which the dissertation will be completed, the kinds of schools at which the student prefers to teach, etc. At that time the Graduate Assistant will prepare a professional dossier for each student actively seeking employment. The dossier consists of:

• A curriculum vitae, prepared by the student
• A record of the student's graduate career at Princeton, which includes a transcript of courses taken and grades received (grades may be omitted if requested by the student)
• Letters of recommendation written at the student's request by the student's dissertation supervisor and other faculty members familiar with the student's work.
• Dissertation Abstract
• Other supporting materials as requested by the student.

It is the student's responsibility to prepare their own dossier and to request faculty letters of recommendation, all of which must be prepared very early in the fall. The Placement Officer will advise students on the preparation of their dossiers, and they are responsible for helping each student assemble as strong and as complete a dossier as possible.

The letters of recommendation in the placement file may be either open or confidential, depending on whether the student formally waives their right to access to these materials. Students who waive their right or access to their files should know that the Placement Officer is empowered by the Department to remove material from the dossier which, in their judgment, is unfair to the student; and may also ask faculty members to revise their letters of recommendation where that seems appropriate. The student has the right to have their course grades excluded from the placement dossier.

All academic positions in history are publicly advertised in the AHA Perspectives, the newsletter of the American Historical Association, which is received by the Department. Students seeking employment are responsible for keeping themselves informed of job openings, and for notifying the Graduate Program Assistant and the Placement Officer of those positions to which they wish to apply.

Students who wish to consider a career other than teaching, such as government or private industry, are urged to visit the Career Services office at 36 University Place, Suite 200 (above the U-Store). It has a well-stocked reading room and various corporations and agencies have interviews on campus each year.

All materials must be submitted at least three (3) weeks prior to the student’s first deadline. The final version of the dossier will be approved by the Placement Officer and submitted by the Graduate Assistant. The Graduate History Office will maintain and forward dossiers for students until they have secured a tenure-track job.

The Graduate History Office sends announcements of jobs and fellowships to graduate students via email once a week and the job descriptions are posted on the Graduate History website announcements page. The department subscribes to The Chronicle of Higher Education, The History of Science Society Newsletter, and the American Historical Association Perspectives. These are all available for review in the graduate student lounge.

Alumni of the graduate program in History are encouraged to remain in regular contact with departmental administration to ensure that our employment records and contact information remain accurate. Alumni may also be interested in participating in the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA).

Graduate alumni should register for a TigerNet alumni email address to ensure they can access the full range of services for alumni, including the departmental dossier service.

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Ph.D. Program

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The Ph.D. degree in History is offered with concentrations in United States, medieval, early modern European, modern European (including British/Irish/British Empire), Asian, and Middle Eastern history. We also offer course work in African and Latin American history.

During the first semester of full-time study, doctoral students choose a faculty advisor, who oversees the student's progress in preparing for comprehensive exams and in developing a dissertation topic.

The Ph.D. is a research degree and requires special commitment and skills. While the degree is not granted for routine adherence to certain regulations, or for the successful completion of a specified number of courses, there are certain basic requirements.

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Course Requirements

Plan of study, fields of study, language requirement, the comprehensive exam, dissertation proposal, the dissertation.

Students in the Ph.D. program must complete a minimum of 39 credits (13 courses). Thirty-six credits must be completed before the oral comprehensive exam. All students in the Ph.D. program are required to pursue full-time study in the first year. Students must take at least one seminar in each of their first two years and at least three colloquia (the Introduction to Doctoral Studies, one in a major area, and one in a minor area) before the comprehensive exam.

Only history courses numbered 4000 or above count towards the doctoral requirements. In the first year, students take three courses per semester; in the second, two courses per semester. In the third year, students take two courses in the fall, complete their comprehensive exam, and then take the Dissertation Seminar in the spring. By the end of the third year, Ph.D. students should have completed all 39 credits. After the Dissertation Proposal is signed and filed, students officially enter into doctoral candidacy (informally known as All But Dissertation or ABD).

At the start of each academic year, students meet with the Director of Graduate Studies to go over their plan of study, which is a schedule of courses that will prepare students for the comprehensive examination. For the comprehensive exam students must prepare three areas of concentration or fields, typically two major and one minor. In exceptional circumstances students may pick four areas of concentration, two major and two minor. For each area of concentration, students must identify a faculty member who will serve as an examiner.

In consultation with the examiner for each area students develop a reading list of important books and articles. Most faculty members require students to undertake formal coursework in preparation for the comprehensive exam. With the approval of the advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, students may offer for their minor field a discipline related to history or a historical topic that cuts across traditional geographical or chronological boundaries. If necessary to a student’s program, the department may require advanced-level study in a related discipline, either as a minor field or as supplemental work. This plan of study may be reviewed, evaluated and revised as necessary. However, changes must be approved by the faculty advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.

American History

• Early America
• U.S. to 1877
• U.S. since 1860
• Environmental
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Sexuality

Latin American

• Colonial Latin America
• Modern Latin America
• Early Medieval
• Late Medieval

Early Modern European

• Intellectual and Cultural
• Gender and Women

Modern European

• Modern Europe
• Contemporary Europe
• Imperialism
• Modern Germany
• Modern Ireland
• Middle East
• India and South Asia

Transnational

• Atlantic World

The language requirement is specific to Ph.D. candidates’ major field of study. Medievalists must pass three language exams, one of which must be in Latin. US historians must pass one language exam (beginning with the class entering in the fall of 2021). In all other fields (Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East), Ph.D. candidates must pass two language exams. Students will pass one language exam during the first year in the program, and the second (and third, if applicable) exam before taking the oral comprehensive examination. Students may substitute competency in a field of particular methodological or theoretical relevance to their program of study for competency in a second foreign language. To do so, students must petition the Graduate Committee and explain the nature of the field and its importance to the plan of study, particularly the dissertation. Work done in that field must be documented. The student’s faculty advisor is responsible for certifying that the student has satisfactorily acquired the appropriate skills and knowledge.

An oral comprehensive examination for Ph.D. students is conducted by an examining board composed of three faculty members, two from the student’s major area and one each from the minor area. (Students preparing four areas will be examined by four faculty members.) A written examination may be substituted for an oral exam at the discretion of the student and the examining board.

Students must take their oral comprehensive exam before the start of the spring semester in their third year of study. As preparation for the comprehensive exam, students select three areas for study and complete the necessary coursework for those areas. They must ask three different faculty members to serve as examiners and in consultation with the faculty prepare a reading list for each area. Students are advised to constitute their orals committee by the end of their second year so that they can prepare for orals during the summer before their third year. Each student is responsible for setting an exam date and time in consultation with the faculty examiners. After doing this, student should contact the Graduate Assistant who will reserve a room and prepare the necessary paperwork. The exam itself will last two hours, and each professor will have a chance to ask a number of questions regarding their field.

In the spring semester of the third year, students enroll in the dissertation seminar in which they draft a dissertation proposal. The proposal is an overview of the dissertation question, research agenda, methodology, likely source base, relevant historiography, and a timeline for research and writing. The proposal will be graded by the faculty member teaching the dissertation seminar. During this semester, students should also assemble a dissertation committee, which typically will consist of their academic advisor, who will serve as chairand at least two other faculty members. With the permission of their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, students may select committee members from outside the department. The proposal must be approved by the student’s dissertation committee. The proposal and the signed proposal approval form must be submitted to the Graduate Assistant who will add it to the student’s file.

Upon admission to doctoral candidacy, students research and write their dissertation, which is an original contribution to knowledge based on extensive primary and secondary research. The completed dissertation must be approved by a committee of three readers - the faculty advisor and two other faculty members - and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. It must also be defended at a public oral defense.

Ph.D. Placements

Chair and professor of history.

Wheaton College

Distinguished Research Professor

University of California, Los Angeles

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Princeton University, Society of Fellows

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University of Notre Dame

History Teacher

Selma City Schools

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Waseda University, Tokyo

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International Peace Institute

Honors Program, Boston College

Harvard College Writing Program

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How to Apply

The application deadline for the Ph.D. program is January 2. The submission of GRE General Test scores is optional. To start an application, please visit the Admission page of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.

Discernment for Doctoral Students

An internship program through BC's Institute for the Liberal Arts supports career exploration for Ph.D. students.

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Program Rules & Requirements

Program Overview:

The goal of the doctoral program is to train students to become both skilled scholars and conscientious teachers. The curriculum provides year-specific guidelines in which students complete courses of study, participate in teaching, and conduct research for their dissertation.

While most students complete the degree in six to seven years, the university allows for up to ten years to complete all requirements for graduation. See  Student Progress for more details.

Graduate Program Requirements by Year:

The first two years.

The first two years of study are dedicated to fulfilling the language requirement, to coursework, and to preparing for and taking the general exam.

The language requirement , which is based on a student’s field of research, may be fulfilled in two ways: by passing a written translation exam, or by being certified in the language by an instructor of the language or by an advisor. Exams are offered the week before classes begin in September, and also again in January.

Coursework: typically consists of four courses for each of the first four semesters .

All first-year students participate in History 3900: The Writing of History , which is offered in the fall, and is taught jointly by two faculty members. In addition to History 3900, students may take courses offered by faculty members from the department, or with faculty members affiliated with other departments.

In the second year, students usually register for a series of History 3010s in both the fall and spring semesters. These tutorial-style courses are designed to prepare students for the general exam , taken in the spring of the second year.

Passing the general exam qualifies students to begin teaching in the third year.

Coursework : all students participate in History 3920hf , the Colloquium on Teaching Practices , which meets at intervals in the fall and spring semesters under the guidance of a senior faculty member and a teaching fellow.

The Colloquium provides a forum for discussing issues relating to teaching both at Harvard and beyond.

Teaching : Most students teach sections of lecture courses, and, in some cases, in sophomore and junior tutorials.

Dissertation Prospectus Conference: Also in the third year, students formally begin their dissertation by participating in the dissertation prospectus conference held in January.

Year Four and Up

In the fourth year, students may teach or change their residency status to conduct research and write the dissertation away from Harvard.

The fifth and subsequent years are dedicated to completing the dissertation .

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PhD Program

The Department of History offers doctoral degrees in African, American, Asian, and European history. The PhD program is distinguished by the strength of its faculty and by its commitment to training students broadly and as a community. Through guided steps of coursework, preparation for the comprehensive oral examination, archival research, and dissertation writing, students learn to develop and execute original research designs leading to scholarly publications that make original and important contributions to the historical discipline. At the same time, the department also prepares students to become the next generation of effective history teachers, able to instruct on a wide range of topics. To that end, all incoming doctoral students together take a core of classes in African, American, and European historiographies to learn about histories and methodologies outside their chosen field. PhD students also serve as Teaching Fellows in a wide range of lecture courses, acquiring professional and pedagogical skills under the guidance of faculty mentors. The department’s graduates have become professors at research universities, colleges, and community colleges, and staff members at research libraries, museums, and archives.

There are six components to the PhD program. In the first two years, students are asked to complete their coursework : specific courses, major research papers, and language examinations. By the end of their third year, students must pass a qualifying oral examination and submit a dissertation prospectus . After they have completed their dissertation, they engage in a dissertation defense .

See the below for a general timeline of these requirements. For more information about each, see the following pages:

PhD Coursework

Phd qualifying exam, abd (“all but dissertation”), academic progress timeline, end of first year.

Students begin their coursework towards the PhD. Coursework refers to the work undertaken by doctoral students before taking their oral exams. It includes the required courses, original research papers, and certification of language proficiency as described below. See PhD Coursework for more information.

1) Take and pass 8 approved courses, four of which must include the following:

• GRS HI 800: European Historiography
• GRS HI 850: American Historiography
• GRS HI 870: African Historiography
• GRS HI 801: The Historian’s Craft

2) Take and pass a research seminar that results in the production of a major research paper of 25-40 pages. The paper should examine a topic approved by the course instructor as well as the student’s main advisor. HI801 can serve as this research seminar.

3) Pass at least one foreign language exam. This can be accomplished in one of three ways:

• Complete an exam given by faculty members in the history department who specialize in your language of choice. Language exams are normally administered during the semester.
• Complete a language reading course numbered 621 through the Graduate School. Please note that these courses may not be taken for credit toward the doctorate.
• Students who have passed a reading examination at another accredited graduate school can petition the Director of Graduate Studies to waive the departmental requirement.

End of Second Year

1) Take and pass 8 more courses. These courses may take any of the following three forms:

• Courses offered at Boston University numbered 500 and above.
• Approved courses offered within the Boston Consortium
• Directed Reading Seminar
• Directed Research Seminar

2) These 8 courses must include another research seminar that results in the production of a second major research paper of 25-40 pages.

3) Pass a second foreign language exam through one of the three methods described above.

4) Begin preparing for the oral qualifying exams.

• Select a major and a minor field.
• Create an orals committee consisting of four examining faculty in the chosen fields.
• Create reading lists for the minor field and each area of the major field in consultation with the individual examiners.

By the End of Third Year

1) Take and pass qualifying oral exams. See the PhD Qualifying Exam Page for more information.

• Before taking the exam, students must have completed their coursework as well as both research papers and language requirements.
• Before taking the exam, students must submit the PhD Qualifying Oral Examination Approval Form to the department.

2) Students who have completed all coursework and qualifying exams are considered ABD (“All But Dissertation”). See the ABD page for more information.

3) Submit the dissertation prospectus for approval by the first and second reader. Once approved, the student must submit the Dissertation Prospectus Approval Form .

4) Research and apply for grants to fund archival research.

Fourth Year and Beyond

1) Apply for grants and fellowships.

2) Conduct archival research.

3) Write up the dissertation.

4) Complete four semesters of HI 900: Dissertation Workshop, and present annually on research.

5) Complete the dissertation.

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6) File a GRS Intent to Graduate Form for the Doctoral Degree.

Please note that PhD candidacy (and thus financial support) expires on its fifth anniversary – that is, five years after taking orals. When students are entering their seventh year, and anticipate needing more time to complete degree requirements, they can submit a petition to the Graduate School for an extension.

Further Program Requirements

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History offer all PhD students who maintain satisfactory academic progress five years of guaranteed full funding. Funding is restricted to students in the PhD program. This support will primarily be in the form of teaching fellowships; non-service fellowships are offered the first full year and the fifth year with an approved Dissertation Prospectus. There are also internal grants available aimed at supporting research during the summer or academic year. Graduate students are also strongly encouraged to apply for external funding for their research priorities. For more details regarding funding, see the Financial Assistance page and the Graduate Student Resources page .

Academic Advisors

All entering students are referred to an appropriate member of the faculty for advising. They can and should also consult the Director of Graduate Studies in matters concerning their intellectual and professional development. Students may change advisors at any time should the student’s intellectual interests change. Normally, the faculty advisor sits on the qualifying examination committee and serves as first reader for the dissertation.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

The Graduate School of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History guarantee five full years (12 months each) of financial support for Ph.D. students who maintain satisfactory academic progress. This support will be primarily be in the form of teaching fellowships; non-service fellowships are offered the first full year. Only those students who are making satisfactory and sustained progress toward the completion of their degree within the specified time periods will be awarded financial support.

The Department of History is committed to ensuring that all PhD students fulfill their requirements in a timely and successful manner. Note that financial aid is linked to continued academic progress. The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Department Chair and the student’s advisor, will normally award financial aid only to those students who are making satisfactory and sustained progress toward the completion of their degree within specified time periods.

In the Department of History, making Satisfactory Academic Progress toward the doctorate is defined as:

• Earning no more than two failing grades in their coursework. History defines a grade of B- or lower as a failing grade. The Department regards any incomplete grade (I) older than 12 months and any withdrawal (W) as a failing grade.
• Maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher .
• PhD students who do not meet these standards over two semesters – who fail two courses or whose GPA falls below 3.0 – will be placed on academic probation . This status automatically triggers a conversation with the student, their advisor, and the DGS about past performance and how best to improve that performance going forward. PhD students who remain on academic probation risk withdrawal of their funding.
• Taking and passing qualifying exams by the end of their third year.
• Submitting and receiving approval for a dissertation prospectus within 12 months of their qualifying exams.

PhD Student Self Assessment

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Doctoral Degree

Earning a ph.d. in history, we are dedicated to training first-rate historians for careers in and out of the classroom..

Graduate students have access to all the benefits of one of the largest history departments and one of the largest research libraries in the country. With more than fifty faculty members, the Department of History provides a rich range of choices for graduate study. Yet the graduate program is not impersonal: the faculty take pride in providing small classes and supportive advising for students.

A doctoral degree in history provides opportunities for employment in academic research and college teaching. Some graduates also take positions working in public history, for museums, historical organizations, and government agencies.

Successful applicants who do not hold a master’s degree (in history or a closely related discipline) from another institution will be admitted at the MA level and must complete the requirements for the MA degree (see “Master of Arts Degree Requirements” below). Students who successfully complete the MA degree and field review  automatically  proceed to the Ph.D. program. Applicants who intend to pursue a  doctoral degree  should apply to Ph.D. program regardless of whether they hold an MA degree.

Time Limits, Expectations, and Advising

• Time Limits and Expectations: There are two notable timelines when pursuing a Ph.D. in History. First is the time you spend completing coursework, languages, and qualifying exams. All of these tasks must be completed within seven years. Once a student has successfully completed the qualifying exam procedures they are formally nominated to "candidacy" by the department. A student is then in the next stage known in the profession as A.B.D., or "all but dissertation." During this time the student will research and write a dissertation. Another seven years of time is permitted for this A.B.D. stage. However, it is reasonable for students to complete the first stage of study in three to four years with and additional two to four years for the A.B.D. stage. Variables influencing these timelines are determined by fields of study and language requirements.
• Advisings: A new graduate student in the Indiana University Department of History is assigned a faculty advisor who works in the general field of the student's interest. As the student refines and focuses that interest, she or he is encouraged to seek out the most appropriate faculty members with whom to work. Students are free to change advisors at any time after the first semester, subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies. Effective and continuous advising provides the basis for satisfactory development of education and career plans. Students should meet with their advisors at least once each semester to review thoroughly both their current programs and future plans. Each student is required to schedule a formal "progress meeting" with her or his advisor during the spring semester of every year in which s/he is enrolled in the graduate program. Each you the advisor will complete a brief report that summarizes the student's academic progress to date. The Director of Graduate Studies is also available to clarify degree requirements and to discuss long and short-term goals.

Credit Hours and Course Requirements

• Ph.D. History Majors: The minimum course requirements for the Ph.D. degree are six colloquia (courses H600-H699) distributed in two or more fields, two seminars (courses H700-H799) taught by different instructors, one of which must be in the major field, H601 (“Introduction to the Professional Study of History,” during the first semester at IU), and courses to complete the outside minor. For those students transferring MA credits, a maximum of 2 colloquia and 1 seminar may by transferred from another institution, the remainder of the history course work must be completed at IUB. Students may take dissertation credits (H899) to fulfill the 90 credit hours required by the University Graduate School to complete the Ph.D. Students enrolled in the dual concentration program in Cultural History must complete H680 and H780 in addition to the requirements listed above.
• The Outside Minor: The University Graduate School requires all Ph.D. students to complete a minor field outside the student's major department. The relevant department or program determines the requirements necessary to complete the minor, including the number and type of courses.
• Ph.D. Outside Minor in History: Students in other departments may minor in History by completing, with a grade-point average no lower than B (3.0), at least 12 hours of course work in history in courses numbered 500 or above, including one colloquium. No more than 6 hours of work transferred from another university may be applied toward this requirement, and such credit must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in the History Department. To arrange for a history minor, students should consult the Director of Graduate Studies in History.

Language Requirements

• Languages of Scholarship: Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in at least one foreign language with most fields of study requiring two languages, and a few specialized areas requiring even more. Certification of reading knowledge in one of the following foreign languages is most common: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Ancient Greek, Italian, Latin, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish. However, another foreign language may be substituted with the approval of the University Graduate School. A language requirement may be replaced by a tool skill (if the field allows), but only in fields that normally require at least two foreign languages. The student should consult with his/her adviser about appropriate languages. Entering students should obtain certification of reading knowledge or begin appropriate language study in the first term of enrollment. International students may be eligible to use English as a second language to fulfill the graduate language requirement.
• The above requirements should be met by the time the student has completed the qualifying exam and dissertation proposal defense.

Field Review

• Graduate students who enter with an M.A. from another institution will be reviewed a year after beginning graduate work at IU. The student will at the end of her/his first year at IU present two papers, one from a seminar, and at least one of them written at IU, to the field committee or advisory committee. The field or advisory committee will review the student’s papers and overall record, meet with the student to clarify any necessary issues and recommend whether the student should be invited to continue in the Ph.D. program. (The department anticipates that the answer will be “yes” in almost all cases.)

The Qualifying Examination

• Assessment of a student’s learning takes place in a set of examinations at the end of formal course work and before full-fledged work on the dissertation begins. The examination consists of an oral examination in the major field and inside minor fields and defense of the dissertation prospectus. The outside minor field has the option of participating in the exam or waiving their right to examine. Students will take their Ph.D. examinations no later than the sixth semester of graduate work (fourth semester after entering IU for those who have entered with an M.A. from another institution).
• To take the exam, a candidate must complete all graduate courses and other Ph.D. requirements, including the outside minor, by the end of the term during which she or he plans to take the examination. It is a rule of the Graduate School that graduate courses must be completed within the seven years prior to the qualifying examination (see Graduate School Bulletin ). Satisfactory performance on the examination entitles the student to proceed to the prospectus defense.
• After passing the qualifying exam and prospectus and completing all courses, language, or tool skill requirements, including the requirements for the outside minor field, the student is formally nominated to "candidacy" by the department. This is the stage known in the profession as A.B.D., or "all but dissertation."

The Dissertation

• The culmination of the Ph.D. program is the writing of the dissertation, which is required of all doctoral students.
• The dissertation must be an original contribution to knowledge and of high scholarly merit. The dissertation is written under the supervision of a research director and a research committee. The student must have received acceptance of his or her dissertation and must submit a copy to the University Graduate School within seven years after passing the qualifying examination.

Two historical fields—a major and minor—from the following list form the core of the doctoral degree. Alternatively, students may elect to pursue the dual concentration in Cultural History and one of the geographic major fields listed below; students enrolled in this program do not complete an inside minor.

We have a field-by-field list of resources available at the IUB campus, but they are also listed here for the sake of convenience.

Geographic major + minor fields

• African History
• Ancient History
• Asian History
• British History
• Early Modern European History
• East European History
• Latin American History
• Medieval History
• Middle Eastern History
• Modern European History
• Russian History
• United States History
• World History

Thematic Major + Minor Fields

• African Diaspora History
• Cultural History (available for double-major)
• History of Gender + Sexuality
• Jewish History

Thematic minor fields

• Family History
• History of Medicine
• History of Philanthropy
• Historical Teaching and Practice

These guidelines will apply to all fields. They do allow for a degree of flexibility and do not include any reference to the content of the exam. Each field also describes what they expect of major and inside minor field examinees for the oral exam as well as specific guidelines for the prospectus. The GAC agrees that these statements should contain no references to numbers of books. Generally speaking the new exam format envisions a process of negotiation and discussion between examiners and examinee to craft an appropriate exam.

Field-by-field exam requirements are available in the Student Portal

The Committee

The exam committee will consist of two or three major field examiners, one or two inside minor field examiners, and one outside minor field examiner. The major and inside minor field members will represent fields from the History Department list; the outside minor examiner will represent a department or program other than History. The outside field representative may, at his or her discretion, waive participation. All examiners must be IU faculty members. The same committee presides over the oral exam and the prospectus defense.

The oral exam will run for no more than three hours. The major field examiners will have no more than two hours for their part of the exam. The inside and outside minor fields, combined, will have no more than one hour. All convened examiners should participate in the whole of the exam. In conference prior to the exam the examiners should determine the order of the exam and how best to organize the time. The examination will be tape recorded. The examination committee will provide the graduate secretary with written comments describing the student’s performance on the oral examination.

Defense of the Dissertation Prospectus

For the dissertation prospectus the graduate school requires a substantial piece of writing taking the form of a grant proposal. It should explain the potential significance of the proposed dissertation project and place it in historiographical context. It should include a bibliography. Individual fields will provide specific guidelines. The examinee should consult with, at least, his or her primary adviser regarding preparation of the prospectus. The defense should take place between one week and six months following the oral examination at a time when all examiners can participate. No later than one week prior to the defense, the prospectus should be submitted to the graduate secretary and to the examination committee members. The graduate secretary will make available paper copies of the prospectus for whomever is interested. The graduate secretary will make an announcement of the defense to history faculty and graduate students and will make arrangements for a room large enough to accommodate whoever would like to come. The examination committee will provide the graduate secretary with written comments describing the student’s performance on the prospectus defense.

Failed Exams and Defenses

As stated in the University Graduate School Bulletin, students have two chances to pass each part of the qualifying exam. No prospectus defense will be held until the oral exam has been passed. Should the student, having passed the oral exam, fail to produce a prospectus within the allotted time he or she may have to retake the entire exam. Should the student, having passed the oral exam, fail the prospectus defense, he or she will have four more months to successfully defend the prospectus. Should the student fail that second time, the DGS will use his/her discretion in determining whether to terminate the student’s program at that point or make further arrangements. See the “Termination of Enrolment in the Doctoral Program” section of the University Graduate School Bulletin for the department’s overall policy on this issue.

(Formerly Preparing Future Faculty)

The History Department prepares students for employment as professional historians. Training students for careers in teaching is an important focus of the graduate program in history. The majority of our students plan to teach at a university or liberal arts college. We offer support in the form of pedagogy courses as well as workshops designed to assist students in preparation to teach. For more than two decades the Indiana University History Department has been at the forefront of the movement to prepare graduate students to become college teachers. Graduate students in our program have the opportunity to explore the rapidly expanding scholarship on teaching and learning history through three graduate courses: Teaching College History, Teaching World History and Teaching U.S. History. These courses expose students to pedagogical theories and issues in the field. Students are given assistance with course preparation, lecturing, and exam creation. Each student will prepare a syllabus, exams, and other course materials for a course in his or her field. Graduate students may also choose to pursue a minor in Historical Teaching and Practice.

Faculty from our department are making important contributions to the development of this field. They have delivered papers on learning history at national and international conferences, have contributed articles to this growing literature and are participating in the creation of an international society for the teaching and learning of history. The department has received a large grant in a competition sponsored by the I.U. Dean of Faculties Office that will allow it to undertake two projects: a web site that will coordinate the efforts of historians throughout the world to develop a more systematic understanding of how learning can be increased in college classrooms and an inventory of the kind of skills required of the undergraduates in our upper-level courses that will serve as the basis for new attempts to model these skills more effectively in our lower level classes.

Graduate students in our department have access to what may be the most systematic program for exploring the scholarship of teaching and learning history in the nation. Former students report that what they have learned in these classes has been a key element in their successful job searches and that they have begun their careers as college teachers with a solid foundation of knowledge about what works in the history classroom.

Graduate students in history at Indiana University have a variety of other opportunities for more practical experience and instruction in college teaching. Graduate students in our department receive practical training in teaching through their close work with faculty as Associate Instructors and Course Assistants. Associate Instructors lead discussion sections attached to large undergraduate courses and grade student work. Course Assistants grade student work in large undergraduate courses. The department also hires students to develop and teach summer courses for undergraduates, and sometimes students have the opportunity to teach their own courses during the regular academic year. Indiana University's Future Faculty Teaching Fellowships provide students with the chance to teach at other IU campuses and receive mentoring from the full-time faculty at these campuses. The Department also regularly helps students find part-time teaching experiences at other nearby institutions. Indiana University's Campus Instructional Consulting office offers a busy schedule of workshops on teaching discussion sections and lecture classes, grading, etc.

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Ph.D. Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. requires 36 units in your major field, as well as 9-12 units in a minor field and 18 units of dissertation.

Residence and Credit Requirements

The Ph.D. degree requires the equivalent of at least six sem esters of full-time graduate study beyond the B.A. At least half of the units in your major and minor fields must be in regularly graded courses. (A, B, C, D, E)

During your first year in the program, you must fill out a form listing all potentially transferable courses. List the specific courses to be transferred on your Ph.D. Plan of Study (see below), made out in conjunction with your committee.

Course Requirements

Hist 695k: historiography.

• Must be taken during your first year of the program.
• This three-unit course cannot count toward your major/minor field requirements.

HIST 695/696 Seminars

During the terms in which you are doing course work, you will be expected to take at least one 695 or 696 course each semester. Two 696 seminars must be completed before you complete coursework, preferably in your major field. Only in unusual circumstances may this requirement be waived by the Director of Graduate Studies and the Department Head.

Major Field (36 units)

You must complete 36 units in your chosen major field. Options include:

• Early European History
• Modern European History
• Latin American History
• United States History
• Middle Eastern Histories

Minor Field (9-12 units)

You must complete nine to twelve units of course work in the minor field (as recommended by your Major Advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies): nine units if all are at least 600-level, twelve if not, depending on the field.

Minor field options include all the major fields of study above, as well as:

• Asian History
• Comparative Women’s History
• World/Comparative History
• Interdisciplinary Minor

You may also choose a minor in another department as proposed and approved by your Major Advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Dissertation (18 units)

You must also complete a minimum of 18 units of History 920 Dissertation.

Competence in statistics can be demonstrated when appropriate and approved by faculty advisors through 6 units of study, such as Political Science 582, 681, 682, with a grade of B or above.

Second Languages

A reading knowledge of two second languages is required, except in United States History, where one language is required. The requirement must be completed before the written/oral comprehensive examination. See language requirements for more details.

Qualifying Review

Select an ad-hoc Advisory Committee no later than your second semester of residency for the purpose of conducting a Ph.D. Qualifying Review. This committee will consist of your Major Advisor plus at least two other faculty members, one from your major field and one from your minor field.

It is best to convene a full committee of five if possible, three from the major field and two from the minor field. This review, which normally will last one hour or less, is intended to assist you in planning your course of study in both the major and minor fields, including language preparation and a tentative timetable for scheduling your comprehensive examinations.

Doctoral Plan of Study

In the second semester in residence, you must submit a plan of study to the Graduate College for approval. The Plan of Study must be approved by your committee, Major Advisor, and the Director of Graduate Studies. It includes courses to be transferred, courses taken at the UA, and courses to be taken to fulfill program requirements.

The Plan of Study can be completed through the Graduate College's GradPath Program. GradPath is an audit process that allows students to submit their forms almost completely online through UAccess Student . Additional information can be found at GradPath . A list of program deadlines is available via the graduate college at Important Degree Dates and Deadlines or through the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Review Semester

During the semester when you plan to take the written and oral comprehensive examination, you should give full time to review. You should enroll for Supplemental Registration units.

Written/Oral Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination tests your readiness to teach and to undertake dissertation research. You will be required to demonstrate broad empirical knowledge of your major field, familiarity with significant trends in historiography, and the capacity to participate in the intellectual debates regarding interpretation and analysis that are central to your areas of interest.

Ph.D. Exam Committee

You must select a Ph.D. exam committee by the end of your third semester in residence. It should consist of at least five faculty members, chaired normally by a senior professor. Choose a mix of senior and junior faculty.

Well-constructed committees offer strong academic direction and stability. Apart from the Major Advisor, two members must represent your major field and two your minor field.

Written Examinations

• You must pass a written examination in one of the major fields. The examining committee for the major will be composed of your major professor and at least two others you select in consultation with your major professor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
• You must also pass a written examination in a minor field. The examining committee will be composed of two professors in the minor field. Minor fields tend to be more specialized and may not require as wide of readings as major fields; you should your individual committees for advice regarding preparation and reading.
• The written exams for both fields will ordinarily be completed within a three week period. Some fields have shorter exam periods. You will get your questions from the Graduate Coordinator and submit the answers to the Graduate Coordinator, who will distribute them to examining faculty. 

If a student fails any portion of the written exams, it is up to the committee whether the student may retake all or part of the exam.

Oral Examination

• Once you successfully complete the written examinations in a major and a minor field, you must then pass an oral examination in both fields. Normally the oral examination committee will be the same as the written examination committee.
• The oral examination must be held within 6 months after successful completion of the written examination and no later than three months prior to the defense of the dissertation. The oral examination will be scheduled no earlier than two weeks, after the completion of the written examination. The oral examination paperwork must be submitted to the Graduate College no later than seven working days before the exam date.

Consult the Graduate College Catalog for additional information regarding University policy and the conduct of the Comprehensive examination.

Committee Appointment (Advancement to Candidacy)

Once you pass the written and oral comprehensive examination and satisfy all language requirements, you should submit the “Committee Appointment” (Advancement to Candidacy) form for the doctoral degree to the Graduate College no later than six months before the defense. Approval of the advancement is required for you to be eligible for certain grants and fellowships offered by the University and other funding sources.

Dissertation Committee and Prospectus

By the time of Advancement to Candidacy, you will constitute a dissertation committee composed of your major advisor and two other faculty members. Committee members who are not UA faculty or who have been retired from the UA for more than one year may be added to the required three UA faculty members. If appropriate, you may select someone who did not participate on the examining committee. Arrangements between students and their thesis or dissertation advisors are strictly voluntary. In no case will a faculty member be assigned to work with a student; faculty members may, at any time, accept students with whom they wish to work. The student must decide upon a research topic acceptable to the faculty.

Within six months of the oral comprehensive examination, and no later, you must submit a written prospectus of your dissertation and meet formally with your committee to have the prospectus of your dissertation approved. Approval of a dissertation prospectus also is required by some University units and other agencies that fund doctoral research. The nature and scope of the prospectus will be worked out in consultation with your committee. 

Candidates must be able to develop a proposal of sufficient academic merit and on a topic to satisfy their committee. Generally, the prospectus is no longer than 15 pages and provides a working title, an introduction to the topic, and a research plan, including the identification of archives, libraries, and collections in which you hope to work. Some faculty may require a tentative chapter outline and/or a literature review.

Final Examination for the Doctorate

The final examination for the doctorate is primarily an oral defense of the dissertation, though additional questions related to your course of study may be asked. The committee is composed of three examiners, normally the members of your dissertation committee, who have been formally nominated by the Department of History. According to the rules of the Graduate College, the examination is open to the public for the first half-hour, and the time and place for the examination are announced in the University newsletter, as well as on the University master calendar. The final examination will begin with a public lecture by the candidate, followed by the defense of the dissertation which is closed. While there is no minimum time required for the final examination, it may not last longer than three hours.

All dissertation committee members are expected to attend the defense. Attendance may be via a conference call. If a committee has only three members, all must approve the dissertation; on committees with four or five members, a dissertation can pass with one dissenting vote. To maximize the chances of the dissertation being approved, you should furnish all committee members with regular progress reports and interim draft chapters while researching and writing the dissertation, furnish the final draft well before the defense, and communicate with all committee members beforehand to be sure the dissertation is ready to defend.

Timing of dissertation defense: Student and committee must keep in mind the Graduate College deadlines for defense and for filing. Because of the difficulty of coordinating faculty research schedules, you should plan for the defense to take place during the regular academic sessions; only in extraordinary circumstances should a summer defense be scheduled.  Presentation of final pre-defense draft of the dissertation to the committee should take place no later than six weeks before the anticipated date of defense; further revisions may be required by the committee after the defense. The Graduate College policy allows up to a year for such revisions before filing of the final approved manuscript of the dissertation.

The Graduate College has formal guidelines that must be followed for microfilm publication and archival filing of the dissertation. Guidelines can be downloaded from the Graduate College website. You must provide the Department of History with a bound copy of your dissertation prior to receiving your degree.

Admissions & Requirements, PhD History

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*Statement of purpose: explain how your research interests are relevant to the research conducted by the department's faculty

Admissions and Program Requirements

How admissions decisions are made.

Admission to the PhD program is at the discretion of the Department's Graduate Committee and Chair, who act within the framework of American University and College of Arts and Sciences standards. Admission is normally contingent upon the student's prior achievement of an MA degree, but on occasion some exceptionally well-qualified students may be admitted directly to the PhD program from their undergraduate work, although they must fulfill MA requirements on the way to the PhD.

The student's MA need not necessarily be in the discipline of history, provided that he or she has a good background in history and a strong record of course work in history at the undergraduate and graduate level. The holder of an MA degree in another field who has a limited background in history is better off applying to the History Department's MA program.

Please include a statement of purpose indicating educational and career objectives, areas of interest within history, and relevant academic or practical experience.

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Admission Steps

Art history - ma, admission requirements.

Terms and Deadlines

Degree and GPA Requirements

Additional Standards for Non-Native English Speakers

Additional standards for international applicants.

For the 2025-2026 academic year

See 2024-2025 requirements instead

Fall 2025 quarter (beginning in September)

Priority deadline: January 31, 2025

Final submission deadline: July 15, 2025

International submission deadline: May 5, 2025

Priority deadline: Applications will be considered after the Priority deadline provided space is available.

Final submission deadline: Applicants cannot submit applications after the final submission deadline.

Degrees and GPA Requirements

Bachelors degree: All graduate applicants must hold an earned baccalaureate from a regionally accredited college or university or the recognized equivalent from an international institution.

University GPA requirement: The minimum grade point average for admission consideration for graduate study at the University of Denver must meet one of the following criteria:

A cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the baccalaureate degree.

A cumulative 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for the last 60 semester credits or 90 quarter credits (approximately two years of work) for the baccalaureate degree.

An earned master’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution or the recognized equivalent from an international institution supersedes the minimum GPA requirement for the baccalaureate.

A cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all graduate coursework completed for applicants who have not earned a master’s degree or higher.

Official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), C1 Advanced or Duolingo English Test are required of all graduate applicants, regardless of citizenship status, whose native language is not English or who have been educated in countries where English is not the native language. Your TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test scores are valid for two years from the test date.

The minimum TOEFL/IELTS/C1 Advanced/Duolingo English Test score requirements for this degree program are:

Minimum TOEFL Score (Internet-based test): 80

Minimum IELTS Score: 6.5

Minimum C1 Advanced Score: 176

Minimum Duolingo English Test Score: 115

Additional Information:

Read the English Language Proficiency policy for more details.

Read the Required Tests for GTA Eligibility policy for more details.

Per Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) regulation, international applicants must meet all standards for admission before an I-20 or DS-2019 is issued, [per U.S. Federal Register: 8 CFR § 214.3(k)] or is academically eligible for admission and is admitted [per 22 C.F.R. §62]. Read the Additional Standards For International Applicants policy for more details.

Application Materials

Transcripts, letters of recommendation.

Required Essays and Statements

Writing Sample

We require a scanned copy of your transcripts from every college or university you have attended. Scanned copies must be clearly legible and sized to print on standard 8½-by-11-inch paper. Transcripts that do not show degrees awarded must also be accompanied by a scanned copy of the diploma or degree certificate. If your academic transcripts were issued in a language other than English, both the original documents and certified English translations are required.

Transcripts and proof of degree documents for postsecondary degrees earned from institutions outside of the United States will be released to a third-party international credential evaluator to assess U.S. education system equivalencies. Beginning July 2023, a non-refundable fee for this service will be required before the application is processed.

Upon admission to the University of Denver, official transcripts will be required from each institution attended.

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required (professors that are able to comment on research and writing are best, but one can be from a museum or gallery employer).  Letters should be submitted by recommenders through the online application.

Essays and Statements

Personal statement instructions.

Most personal statements are two pages.  Things to include: 1. What are the field or topics in art history that excite you and why? Which faculty members in our department do you see as potentially providing guidance in helping you pursue an M.A. in these fields. If you are applying for the museum studies concentration, also discuss what aspects of museums excite or motivate you and why. 2. What special skills, preparation or experiences do you bring to the program that will help you succeed here? Feel free to consider experiences beyond the academic realm, including your personal experiences, background and unique perspectives you may have to offer to the fields of art history and museums. 3. What are your goals and motivations (personal/professional) in applying to the M.A. program, and how would the degree assist you towards your long-term objectives (career, further education, personal)? 4. (optional) If you feel that your academic record and experience are not representative of your abilities and potential in graduate school, please let us know any details you wish to share.

Writing Sample Instructions

Advice on your writing sample: Submit a research paper (with notes and bibliography, art history preferred). We use this to assess your writing, ability to formulate a research question, research skills and understanding of citation methods. There are no word count requirements, but most essays are 8-15 pages.

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Financial Aid Information

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Your submitted materials will be reviewed once all materials and application fees have been received.

Our program can only consider your application for admission if our Office of Graduate Education has received all your online materials and supplemental materials by our application deadline.

Application Fee: $65.00 Application Fee

International Degree Evaluation Fee: $50.00 Evaluation Fee for degrees (bachelor's or higher) earned from institutions outside the United States.

Applicants should complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 15. Visit the Office of Financial Aid for additional information.