History, Ph.D.

Degree Requirements

• Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum number of 34  credit hours in History at the 400 level and above.

• Grade Point Average: Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 in courses applied to the degree.

• Program of Study: A candidate must complete a program of study in four fields (a major field and three minor fields) developed in consultation with faculty field examiners. 
  • Students may be required to take additional coursework depending upon their preparation in exam fields. Decisions about required coursework will be made in consultation with field examiners and the director of graduate studies.
  • At least three fields must be in History while the fourth may be in a related field with the approval of the director of graduate studies. 
  • At least one of the four fields must be in a geographic area outside the student’s main area of concentration for dissertation research.
     
• Comprehensive Examination: For each of the four fields of study, students take a comprehensive examination (written and oral) based on knowledge derived from coursework and readings from a book-list prepared in consultation with the faculty field adviser.
• Dissertation: Dissertation work should normally be in the history of the United States, Europe, or modern Africa.
• Benchmarks: For details, go to the History Degree Progress tab

Curriculum Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Historiography Requirement		3
HIST 700	Historiography
Primary Field: *		9
Select at least one Reading/Seminar sequence
HIST 701 & HIST 702	Readings in Medieval History and Seminar in Medieval History
HIST 705 & HIST 706	Readings in Early Modern History 3 Hr and Seminar in Early Modern History
HIST 717 & HIST 718	Readings In Modern European History and Seminar in Modern European History
HIST 725 & HIST 726	Readings in African History and Seminar in African History
HIST 731 & HIST 732	Readings In American History: 1585-1763 and Seminar in American History: 1585-1763
HIST 757 & HIST 758	Readings in United States History: 1787-1850 and Seminar in United States History: 1787-1850
HIST 759 & HIST 760	Readings in United States History: 1840-1898 and Seminar in United States History: 1850-1898
HIST 763 & HIST 764	Readings in United States History: 1898-Present and Seminar in United States History: 1898-Present
HIST 765 & HIST 766	Readings in United States Diplomatic History and Seminar in United States Diplomatic History
HIST 773 & HIST 774	Readings in Appalachian Regional History and Seminar in Appalachian Regional History
Select at least one additional related course: **
HIST at the 400, 500, 600, or 700 level
Minor Field 1: *		6
Select an additional Reading/Seminar pair
HIST 701 & HIST 702	Readings in Medieval History and Seminar in Medieval History
HIST 705 & HIST 706	Readings in Early Modern History 3 Hr and Seminar in Early Modern History
HIST 717 & HIST 718	Readings In Modern European History and Seminar in Modern European History
HIST 725 & HIST 726	Readings in African History and Seminar in African History
HIST 731 & HIST 732	Readings In American History: 1585-1763 and Seminar in American History: 1585-1763
HIST 757 & HIST 758	Readings in United States History: 1787-1850 and Seminar in United States History: 1787-1850
HIST 759 & HIST 760	Readings in United States History: 1840-1898 and Seminar in United States History: 1850-1898
HIST 763 & HIST 764	Readings in United States History: 1898-Present and Seminar in United States History: 1898-Present
HIST 765 & HIST 766	Readings in United States Diplomatic History and Seminar in United States Diplomatic History
HIST 773 & HIST 774	Readings in Appalachian Regional History and Seminar in Appalachian Regional History
Minor Fields 2 & 3: *		12
Select at least four courses: **
Any HIST at the 400 level or above
Research Requirement ***		4
HIST 797	Research
Total Hours		34

*

Courses selected for this section should not be used for another field.

**

Excluding HIST 490, HIST 590, HIST 690, HIST 697  HIST 700, HIST 789, HIST 790, and  HIST 797

***

Students are expected to be involved in research throughout their graduate career, and enrollment in HIST 797, should reflect this activity.  Students must complete at least four hours, however most students complete more than 60 credit hours of research.

Major Learning Outcomes

History

Students earning a Ph.D. in History will be able to:

• Examine and evaluate primary and secondary sources, historiographical methods, and debates among historians.

• Communicate their understanding of the content and context of the past by teaching about history to a variety of audiences.

• Assess the contours of historiographical debates over time and suggest future developments in the historiographical literature.

• Compose a research question and agenda that identifies the state of their field, potential weaknesses of our current historiographical understanding, or the limits of current debates.

• Use their understanding of the historical and historiographical literature to conduct historical research and produce and defend an original doctoral dissertation that makes a contribution to their field of study.