Doctoral Program in History

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The doctoral program in history is a sixty hour program that culminates in a Ph.D. Normally, students entering the program are required to have an M.A. degree. Usually, the Ph.D. degree is a thirty-three hour program beyond the M.A., but the exact hourly requirement beyond the M.A. will be determined by an advisory committee and the graduate dean. Students in the doctoral program normally attend full time, but students who enter the program with an M.A. may attend on a part-time basis. Full-time students take three courses per semester. Part-time students should complete at least half of the required number of courses in their first twenty-four months in the program (usually five or six courses), and the rest in the second twenty-four months.

Students who have compiled an outstanding record in an undergraduate history major may enter the doctoral program directly through the Accelerated Ph.D. Program. They are not required to obtain a Master's Degree. Admission to the accelerated track is highly selective and limited to a few undergraduates each year. Students are chosen on the basis of our regular criteria (GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, writing sample).

Required or Core Courses

Students who have not taken History 400 or an equivalent course at the master's level must do so in the Ph.D. program. They must also successfully complete at least one seminar (i.e., a formal course at the 500-level) in the major field.Major Field. Students accepted into the Accelerated Ph.D. program must complete History 400 and two seminars in the Major field. All students must take History 598 in which they develop their dissertation proposal under the supervision of their major field advisor.

Major Field

In consultation with their major advisor, students choose coursework and specific research to develop a broad major within the following fields of history:

• Medieval and Renaissance
• Modern Europe
• United States

For those selecting United States history, for instance, the major field might be American urban and social history. Students are required to complete a least fifteen hours (five courses) in the major field. Click here for more detail on fields of study.

Minor Field

In consultation with their major advisor, students will select one minor field in which they must complete at least three courses. This field must be distinct from the major field and from fields taken at the Master's level. Students in the Accelerated Ph.D. Program must complete two minor fields. The minor fields are:

• Ancient Mediterranean
• Asia
• Early Modern Europe
• Gender and Women's History
• Medieval and Renaissance
• Middle East
• Modern Europe
• Public History
• United States

Students wishing to pursue a minor field in Public History must meet with the Public History program director and formally declare a minor in this field. With the approval of the major advisor, students may select a minor field from another discipline. Click here for more detail on fields of study.

Distribution of Courses

The normal distribution of courses in the Ph.D. program is as follows:

Major field (including a seminar)	15 hours
minor field	9 hours
Directed research/readings and electives	6 hours
Dissertation proposal seminar	3 hours
Total	33 hours

Students who must complete History 400 will have a thirty-six (36) hour requirement.

The distribution requirement for the Accelerated Ph.D. Program is as follows:

History 400	3 hours
Major Field (includes 2 seminars)	24 hours
Minor #1	9 hours
Minor #2	9 hours
Dissertation proposal seminar	3 hours
Dissertation research/readings and electives	12 hours
Total	60 hours

Research Tool Requirement(s)

These requirements may be fulfilled in two ways.

(1) A reading knowledge of two foreign languages appropriate to the student's major field. The first language requirement should have been met at the M.A. level.

(2) A reading knowledge of one foreign language appropriate to the student's major field and demonstrated mastery of a special skill required by the student's doctoral research. Either the language or the skill should have been completed at the Master's level. History 583: Quantitative Methods in Social History and History 483: Oral History may fulfill the special skill requirement. When taken for the research tool requirement, History 583 cannot be counted as a seminar nor can History 483 be counted toward the minor field in Public history. With the approval of the Graduate Programs Committee, students may also demonstrate mastery of statistics, computer science, and paleography. To fulfill the requirement in statistics or computer science, students must take six hours of courses in appropriate departments and pass an examination administered by that department. Paleography may be taken at the Chicago Inter-University Consortium for Advanced Studies in Renaissance and Early Modern History at the Newberry Library.

Courses in disciplines for which a doctorate is normally awarded should be taken as a minor field rather than as a research skill.

Examinations

Near the end of their doctoral studies, students must pass a five-hour written examination and a two-hour oral examination in their major field. In addition, students satisfy the examination requirements in their minor field in a two-hour written examination. Those who select a minor field outside of history must successfully pass a comprehensive examination in that discipline. Students in the Accelerated Ph.D. Program take only one minor field exam. The other minor field requirement is satisfied by the successful completion of three courses.

Dissertation Proposal Review and Dissertation

Students will develop a "dissertation field" within the major field in which they intend to write their Ph.D. dissertation. This field must be designated by the eighteenth (18th) hour of coursework beyond the M.A. (normally at the end of the first year in the doctoral program). At this point, students present a dissertation topic and prospectus to their major adviser (History 598 Dissertation Proposal seminar) and the graduate program director for review and approval. Students formalize their proposed committee with the submission of the recommendation of the Dissertation Proposal Committee form to the Graduate School.

Following the successful completion of doctoral examinations, students will make a public presentation of their dissertation proposal to a review panel, which will include the dissertation director and at least two other faculty members acquainted with the research areas of the dissertation. In discussing the proposal, students and members of the review panel should work out problems and address questions the reviewers may have. Upon successfully completing the dissertation proposal review, students submit a formal dissertation outline to the graduate dean. Following its approval and the successful completion of all other degree requirements, students are admitted to Ph.D. candidacy.

Oral Defense

The Ph.D. dissertation must be completed, approved by the designated readers, and successfully defended orally at a public defense.

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