Doctoral degree requirements

The doctor of philosophy in history requires completing 30 hours of course work beyond the master’s, satisfying the language requirement, passing the qualifying examination, and writing a sound dissertation based on original historical research that is approved by the student’s committee. The qualifying examination includes separate examinations in a geographically and chronologically defined general field (medieval, early modern, or modern Europe; United States; or modern South Asia) and three special fields, one of which must offer a mode of understanding that is significantly different from the dissertation field or be from outside history.

To satisfy the language requirement for the Ph.D., the student must demonstrate either a reading, writing, and speaking knowledge of one foreign language at the “intermediate-mid” level or a reading knowledge of one foreign language at the “advanced-plus” level as these terms are defined in the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language guidelines. All Ph.D. students must complete the foreign language requirement prior to the taking of the qualifying examination. Students whose specializations in history require skills in more than one foreign language may be required by their supervisory committees to demonstrate such proficiency.