Graduate Handbook

III – Degree Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in History Coursework requirements

1. Complete History 803 and the historiography courses required in the student’s sub-discipline.
2. Complete 800-900 level courses in a major field of history and in each of two minor fields, at least one of which must be in history, as specified by the student’s guidance committee. The major field should be the field in which the student plans to focus research for the dissertation, drawn from the fields of history listed below; a minor field may be composed with consultation of the guidance committee that emphasizes thematic or interdisciplinary scholarship.
3. Ordinarily doctoral students are required to take at least 12 credits of formal graduate course work (800-900 level) in their major field, of which at least 3 credits are taken in a research seminar or research-focused independent study, and 6 credits in each minor field.
4. Completion of HST 900 (unless waived by Graduate Director)

Foreign Language Requirement

The Department of History ordinarily requires proficiency in two foreign languages for the Ph.D. degree. For students whose research needs and areas of specialization do not require competence in two languages, the Guidance Committee may determine that one foreign language is adequate. A student’s choice of language(s) will be agreed upon in consultation with the Guidance Committee. The student must satisfy the first language requirement by the end of the first year of doctoral study; failure to do so will result in denial of registration privileges in other course work until that language requirement has been met. The second language, where necessary, must be satisfied before the comprehensive examinations are begun.

The Counseling Center Testing Office (207 Student Services Building, 355-8385) offers computerized testing (Guidelines for Certification of Foreign Language Proficiency for Graduate Students) in French, German and Spanish. Students who do not wish to take the examination may meet the German requirement by satisfactory completion of GRM 400 and the French requirement by satisfactory completion of FRN 400. The Department asks that History students taking the above courses register for them for C-NC. There is not currently an equivalent course sequence in Spanish to replace the examination. Under certain circumstances, students may choose to take a language exam that does not appear on their transcript, but nonetheless testifies to their ability to read scholarly work in the chosen language. These exams are arranged with the permission of the Graduate Director and the faculty examiner and result in an exam certificate in the student’s file. Students who need to be tested in languages other than French, German and Spanish should consult with their advisor and the Graduate Director. Students must be enrolled for at least one credit the semester the language examination(s) are taken.