Ph.D. in History

Ph.D. in History

Students must select a primary field, a secondary field, and a research specialization. There is a written qualifying exam in the primary field, a portfolio defense for the secondary field, and an oral exam for the research field. For guidance through the program, students select a supervisory committee of at least three faculty members, with the student’s advisor serving as committee chair. Students also select a separate secondary field committee to evaluate their secondary field portfolio. The primary field qualifying examination is administered by an ad hoc field committee composed of professors who have taught the core courses. The research field oral exam is administered by the student’s supervisory committee.

The doctoral degree requires 84 total credit hours beyond the bachelor's.
Students with a master’s degree in history are allowed to apply 30 credit hours of that degree toward the 84 total credit hours required for the doctoral program. 
Sixty credit hours must be in history courses and must meet the following requirements:

• Fifty-four credit hours in residence at ASU.
• Thirty-six credit hours must be at the 500 level or above (graduate credit for 400 level courses must be approved in advance and documented in the student’s file).
• At least nine credit hours in the primary field and six in the secondary field. (These will normally be HST 598 or HST 591 courses but may include directed readings-HST 790.)
• Three credit hours of HST 500 (historical theory and methodology) required during the first year.
• Nine credit hours of 591 (research seminars). Only one seminar is transferable from a master's degree.
• Six credit hours of “core” field courses (U.S. and European majors only).
• Twenty-four credit hours of dissertation research (12 hours each of HST 792 and 799).

The Doctoral Program of Study

Admission with a master’s degree: For students admitted to the doctoral program with a master’s degree or other graduate credits in hand, the requirements for the doctoral program are an additional minimum 54 semester hours of credit in residence at ASU, consisting of 30 hours of course work and 24 hours of dissertation research and writing. All 54 hours must be taken at ASU after admission to the doctoral program.

Admission with a bachelor’s degree: For students admitted to the doctoral program directly from a bachelor’s degree, the requirements for the doctoral program are 84 credit hours, consisting of 60 hours of course work and 24 hours of dissertation research and writing. A minimum of 54 of these credit hours must be taken while the student is in residence at ASU after admission to the doctoral program.

Course work: The doctoral program includes the following required courses:

• HST 500 Research Methods: this historical theory and methodology class is required of all doctoral students. It provides a rigorous introduction to the intellectual and historiographical foundations of the historical discipline, coordinated by one professor and team-taught by several members of the school.
• HST 598 Special Topics: “core”courses, two courses for each primary field (team-taught for students in the North American and European fields) depict the breadth of knowledge and interpretive trends in these fields and provide preparation for the qualifying exams.
• HST 598 Special Topics: historiography courses, intensive readings in specific areas of study for primary, secondary and research fields.
• HST 591 Seminar: research seminars that provide opportunities to learn advanced research design and prepare article-length research papers.
• HST 590 and 790 Reading and Conference: individualized readings and conferences courses custom-arranged with a single professor are available to support student preparation in fields of specialization.
• HST 692 Research: the doctoral program requires the demonstration of an advanced research skill to support dissertation research.
• HST 792 Independent Study and HST 799 Dissertation: these doctoral dissertation research courses are taken after all other coursework is finished and they complete the program of study.

Supervisory committee and chair: When applying to the doctoral program, students should communicate directly with the faculty with whom they wish to study and attempt to identify a suitable major advisor. The major advisor must be a member of the graduate faculty and must be “endorsed to chair” doctoral dissertations. View a list of graduate faculty for the history doctoral program. For a list of those faculty members who are “endorsed to chair,” contact the Director of Graduate Studies in History. Doctoral students are not admitted to the program unless there is a professor willing to serve as their advisor. The advisor works with the student to select at least two other faculty members to serve on the student’s supervisory committee based on their expertise.  The other two members of the committee must be selected and approved by the Graduate College before the student takes the qualifying exams.  A student may change committee members, including the advisor, with the approval of both the director of graduate studies and the new committee member or advisor.

Planning the program of study: The student’s supervisory committee should meet at least once with the student during the first year of study to help the student determine an appropriate secondary field and research specialization, to select courses for the program of study, to identify one or more suitable advanced research skill(s) to support dissertation research and to develop a written plan for how the research skill will be acquired and competency demonstrated. The research skill proposal and the official Program of Study must be submitted by April 1 of the first year of study. The program of study is filed electronically online with the Graduate College, while the advanced research skill proposal is submitted to the history graduate coordinator after being approved by the student’s advisor and the director of graduate studies. Audited courses cannot be included on the official program of study.

Advanced research skill: The school requires candidates for the History Ph.D. to demonstrate an advanced research skill important to their research work in the discipline. Demonstration of advanced skill in a foreign language will be expected from some supervisory committees, particularly those in the East Asian, European, and Latin American fields. Some committees may require more than one foreign language or more than one non-linguistic advanced research skill. Foreign language skills may be demonstrated in advanced courses, by degrees already completed, undergraduate course work, examinations, etc. The supervisory committee is responsible for determining the appropriate benchmarks of proficiency.

While the supervisory committee determines the foreign language competency needed, other advanced research skills require a proposal to state how proficiency in the skill will be developed and demonstrated. Research skills may include such things as quantitative methods of analysis, oral history training, GIS mapping, documentary editing, training in archival management and historic preservation; or may involve interdisciplinary training in fields relevant to the student’s research interests, such as geography, anthropology, sociology, political science or public administration, literature, ethnic studies, women’s studies, ecology, etc. These interdisciplinary skills may be developed and demonstrated through appropriate course work in that discipline.

Advanced research skill proposal and demonstration of competency: In the first year of study, the student must prepare a short proposal that describes the advanced research skill, its relevance to the student’s research field, and how the skill will be acquired and competence demonstrated. The proposal must be approved by the supervisory committee and the director of graduate studies at the same time that the program of study is filed (April of the first year). Competence in the advanced research skill will be indicated on the program of study by the course designation HST 692. All doctoral students must enroll in at least one credit of 692 during the semester when they intend to demonstrate their competence in the research skill. A student’s major advisor or a designee approved by the advisor will serve as the instructor of record for the 692. The student must receive a passing grade in this course before s/he will be allowed to take the oral qualifying exam in the research field.

Primary field preparation: The faculty members in each of the primary fields have developed a required reading list of 100-150 monographs and offer a set of two required core courses based upon those reading lists. Due to higher enrollments, the European and North American core courses are offered every year and normally team-taught by two professors. The Latin American and East Asian core courses are normally taught by one professor and offered whenever demand is sufficient, occasionally as directed readings courses (HST 790). The reading list and the two affiliated core courses provide preparation for the qualifying examination. Students will have opportunities to take additional readings and research courses in their primary field that will further prepare them for the exams and for dissertation research.

Qualifying examination: The school administers a written qualifying examination that tests the student’s competence in the primary field and determines whether the student is ready to move on to dissertation research. The qualifying examination will normally be administered at the start of the fall semester of a student’s third year in the program for students entering with a master’s degree and the start of the fourth year for students entering directly from a baccalaureate program. Before taking the qualifying examination, doctoral students must complete all course work on the program of study except for the advanced research skill and dissertation research credits (HST 692, 792 and 799).

All students will take a common exam administered and evaluated by at least three faculty members drawn from the teaching teams for the core courses. Students will have seven calendar days to complete this take-home exam, which will require students to answer two to four questions. The written responses to the questions should be no more than 50-60 pages total, double-spaced, 12-point font. Citation requirements will be provided to students prior to the exam. The examination is pass/fail, although the committee may recommend to the director of graduate studies a “pass with distinction” for extraordinary performance.

After the written exams are evaluated, students who passed the written portion may begin preparing for their oral exam in the research field. A student who fails the exam may, with the support of his or her committee and the graduate director, petition the Graduate College for permission to retake the exam. If permission is granted, the exam will be rescheduled not less than three nor more than six months after the date of the first exam. Failed exams can be retaken only once. A student may not continue in the program without passing the qualifying exam.

Secondary field preparation: The secondary field is designed to provide breadth of training and opportunities for comparative study across geographic regions. Consequently, the secondary field can be one of the other geographic regions from which students select their primary field or a theme-based field that involves training across two or more geographic regions. For example, if a student chooses North America as the primary field, then the secondary field can be either Europe, Latin America, East/Southeast Asia or a comparative field such as gender studies, race and ethnicity, environmental history, urbanism, migrations and borders, imperialism/colonialism, war and revolution, etc. Students may also custom-design a secondary field or may choose a “certificate program” as their secondary field (e.g., scholarly publishing, urban studies, global history, etc.). Study in the secondary field consists of course work (at least 6 credits) and mastery of a reading list of approximately 100 books agreed upon by the student and the secondary field committee. If a student chooses a secondary field outside of history, the field must be approved by the student’s advisor and the director of graduate studies. When the student receives approval for an outside field, he or she will establish an appropriate secondary field committee and prepare a portfolio as described below.

Secondary field committee: During the first year of study each student must establish a secondary field committee to guide him/her through course work, directed readings, and the development and defense of the portfolio for that field. The secondary field committee must be comprised of at least three faculty members. If the secondary field is a comparative theme, the committee must include professors with expertise in more than one geographic region. If public history is selected as the primary field, one of the other four geographic fields will serve as a second primary field in lieu of a secondary field.

Secondary field portfolio and defense: Prior to taking the qualifying exam, the student must prepare and defend his or her secondary field portfolio. Ideally, the portfolio defense would be held at the end of the fourth semester of study in the program for those who came in with a master's or the sixth semester for those who came in with a bachelor's. The portfolio includes:

• A one-page description of the secondary field.
• A 15-20 page historiographic essay about the field based on the reading list.
• Papers written for any courses taken in the secondary field.
• A statement of how the scholarly literature of the field informs the student’s work as a historian (research or pedagogy).
• Plus one of the following:
  • An original syllabus for a course in the field.
  • A prospectus for research in the field.
  • A grant or fellowship proposal relevant to the field.

Research field: The student must select a research field, normally a specialization within the primary field that provides training in preparation for the dissertation. The research field is custom-designed with the assistance of the student’s advisor and supervisory committee, but must be based upon one of the areas of specialization of our graduate faculty. Normally, the student’s research field will be closely aligned with that of the student’s advisor. The school offers a number of historiography courses (HST 598) and research seminars (HST 591) in the areas of specialization of its faculty; however, because most graduate courses cover a broad field of inquiry students may need to enroll in directed readings with their advisor to complete their training in their research field.

Research field oral exam: This two-hour exam will be conducted by the student’s supervisory committee. Its purpose is to determine whether the student has adequate foundational knowledge in the research field to support the preparation of a sophisticated dissertation prospectus. It may be scheduled any time after the written qualifying exam is passed, but ideally no later than the end of the fall semester in which the written exam was taken. The exam will be based on a reading list for the research field of approximately 50-100 books, established in consultation between the student and the supervisory committee during the program of study. The examination is pass/fail. After completion of the exam, the committee will complete the Examination Report form and return it to the history graduate coordinator. A student may not continue in the program without passing this oral exam.

Dissertation prospectus: Upon satisfactory completion of the written and oral examinations, the candidate will immediately begin to prepare for the submission of the dissertation prospectus, which the candidate should defend no later than the close of the spring semester following the oral exam. The student will prepare a prospectus of approximately 10-15 double-spaced pages (plus a single-spaced bibliography appended at the end) that includes the following:

• A clear statement of the topic and the proposed thesis, including all the major questions to be explored.
• A discussion of the historiographical and theoretical context of the study and the contribution that it will make to the scholarly literature on the topic. Students should address in particular the originality of their study and its significance.
• An explanation of the research methods to be used and the types of primary source documents to be consulted. The student should comment on the ways in which the sources and methods will shape the analysis and justify the choice of sources and methods.
• A tentative chapter outline, with brief summaries (one paragraph) of each chapter’s contents.
• A tentative schedule for research, writing, and completing the project. This section should include an accounting of the preliminary research that the student has already completed on the topic and what research remains to be accomplished.
• A preliminary bibliography, listing the principal secondary sources and the major archival or other primary sources to be used.

Dissertation prospectus defense: The supervisory committee will administer the prospectus defense and mentor the student on the work of the dissertation. The discussion at the defense will include a thorough review and critique of the prospectus to ensure that the student is well-prepared for independent research and that the dissertation will meet rigorous scholarly standards. Following the prospectus defense, the candidate will be excused for the committee to deliberate. The committee may recommend the student for “admission to doctoral candidacy” to the Graduate College, or ask that further work be done on the prospectus, or refuse to advance the student to candidacy. If revisions are required, approvals of the revisions can be the responsibility of the committee chair, or require full committee review or necessitate another oral exam/defense. The committee chair will report the results and any conditions in writing to the student and the director of graduate studies.

After the committee has approved the prospectus and signed the Exam Report form recommending candidacy, the form is submitted to the Graduate College. The dean of the graduate college approves candidacy. Once a student is admitted to candidacy s/he may enroll in HST 799 (dissertation research). Prior to admission to candidacy, the student must enroll in HST 792 for dissertation-related research. It is the responsibility of the student to verify that the Graduate College has formally granted candidacy.

Dissertation: The dissertation must be an original contribution to knowledge and demonstrate the candidate's proficiency in independent research and historical exposition. The committee chair determines the style guide for the dissertation, the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian’s Manual for Writers, for example. The Format Manual published by the Graduate College must be used in preparation of the dissertation for format review prior to the final dissertation defense. As the candidate nears completion of research and writing, each committee member must be provided an opportunity to review a draft of the dissertation before the final draft is prepared for the oral defense. Members of the committee should be given the draft manuscript at least one month prior to the date of the defense to make critical comments about the arguments, narrative, footnotes, and bibliography, so the student has an opportunity to make revisions before the defense. A schedule for submitting materials to the committee should be determined in consultation with the committee chair and each member of the committee. Each member of the committee must be provided a copy of the final draft for the oral defense.

Oral defense of the dissertation: The three faculty members who officially make up the supervisory committee must agree prior to scheduling the oral defense that the dissertation is ready to be defended. The oral defense is open to the public and advertised to the whole school. Defenses include a presentation of the argument of the dissertation by the candidate and questions from each of the committee members. Normally, defenses take no more than two hours. At the time of the defense, members may approve the dissertation, delay their decision at the orals pending further revisions by the student, or approve leaving the revisions to the supervision of the committee chair. According to Graduate College regulations, the candidate must complete the final oral defense of the dissertation within five years after passing the qualifying examinations. A one-year extension of this deadline may be granted if approved by the supervisory committee and the dean of the Graduate College. In 2008, the Graduate College implemented a rule stipulating that a doctoral degree must be completed in 10 years, from start to finish.

Summary of milestones for the doctoral program of study for students with a master's degree:

First Year

• Complete 18 credit hours of course work, including HST 500, one core course for the primary field, one course for the secondary field, at least one 591 seminar, and the first semester of PFF.
• Establish supervisory committee (fall semester).
• Establish secondary field committee (fall or spring semester).
• Define secondary field and research field (fall or spring semester).
• Prepare advanced research skill proposal (spring semester).
• File the program of study and research skill proposal by April 1.
• Prepare first-year review portfolio by date of commencement (early May).
• First-year review of progress by ad hoc faculty field committee (mid-May).

Second Year

• Complete the remainder of required course work, including the second core course for the primary field, the second course for the secondary field, one or more 591 research seminars, and two more semesters of PFF (fall and spring semesters).
• Demonstrate competency in the advanced research skill (HST 692).
• Study for written qualifying exam (fall, spring, and summer semesters).

Third Year

• Take written qualifying exam for primary field in August at the start of the semester.
• Prepare for oral exam in research field and dissertation prospectus (fall semester).
• Enroll in HST 792 “research” (fall semester).
• Enroll in HST 700 “College Teaching,” the first course of a two-course sequence for those who plan to teach (fall semester).
• Take oral exam in research field (November or December).
• Enroll in second course of HST 700 “College Teaching” (spring semester).
• Begin teaching courses as a graduate teaching associate (spring semester).
• Prepare and defend dissertation prospectus (spring semester).
• Prepare travel grant proposals to support research (spring semester).
• Travel to archives for dissertation research (summer semester) .

Fourth Year

• Research and write dissertation (all year).
• Teach courses (all year).
• Seek additional funding to support research.
• Enter the job market.
• Defend dissertation.