Degree Program

The Ph.D. Program

Director of Graduate Studies: Katherine B. Crawford

The purpose of the Ph. D. program is to train professional historians as scholars and teachers. The course of study provides the scholarly tools for an academic career. Students will acquire and demonstrate expertise in a general field as well as appropriate subfields. They will also pursue training outside their area of scholarly interest as part of their proficiency in the teaching of history.

Course work at Vanderbilt is designed to familiarize students with significant historical problems and debates, to train them in the techniques of archival research, and to involve them intellectually in interdisciplinary engagement so as to enrich their inquiries into the past.

To that end, faculty offer courses in multiple methodologies (social, cultural, economic, comparative history). Areas of specialization include:

African Diaspora
Atlantic World
Early Modern Europe
Economic and Business History
Gender and Sexuality
History of Medicine
Indigenous and Frontier History
Intellectual History
Latin American and Caribbean History
Medieval
Modern East Asia
Modern Europe
Political History
Post-Colonial History
Religious History
History of the American South
U.S. History

Students can also take advantage of a number of academic interdisciplinary programs at Vanderbilt, as well as the expertise of faculty in the graduate programs in other departments and graduate schools. Programs include African-American and Diaspora Studies, Classical Studies, Religious Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, Jewish Studies, and Latin American Studies. Other schools include Vanderbilt Law School, Owen School of Management, and the Divinity School. Students are encouraged to take courses in other departments as well. English and Comparative Literature, Anthropology, Spanish and Portuguese, Sociology, and Political Science regularly offer classes at the graduate level that are in many cases appropriate for history graduate students to take as part of their program.

Courses

The University requires that every Ph. D. candidate complete a total of 72 hours of course work with passing grades before taking the preliminary examination and beginning dissertation research. Recognizing the need for maximum flexibility in meeting the course requirement, the History Department encourages students to work closely with the Director of Graduate studies, as well as with their advisors and advisory committees to develop a plan of study appropriate to their interests.

History 300
The History Department requires all students to take a two semester methods and research course, History 300. This course is taught in conjunction with History 390, an independent study in which students develop a reading list and prospectus in the first semester, and turn it into a research essay in the second semester under the dual supervision of the 300a/b professors and their 390 professor. History 300 is designed to make the student familiar with a range of theoretical and methodological approaches. In addition to writing as substantial research essay, students will present their findings to the department as a whole at the end of the second semester.

History 301
This course is an introduction to teaching methods and teaching practicum designed to familiarize students with techniques for lecturing, discussing, examining, and grading students.

The remainder of course work is divided between field coverage courses and research seminars. The majority of courses for field coverage are seminars and advanced lecture classes, but occasionally, students will design independent studies with individual professors to deepen their knowledge in particular areas. Independent studies and lecture courses must be approved by the DGS, who reviews all course proposals to maintain standards in terms of the level of work expected of the students.

Second-Year Research Requirement
Graduate students are required to write a second primary-source based research paper that may be part of a graduate course or an independent study. The DGS and the student's committee will review the second year paper, along with the student's record more generally, to determine if the student shows sufficient promise to continue on to take exams and write a dissertation. If the committee feels the student has not demonstrated such promise, the student who has fulfilled the requirements for a Master's degree will be awarded that degree, but will not pursue a Ph.D. in the Department.

Examinations
Under normal circumstances, PhD candidates must take their exam following two years of coursework. The exam must be completed sometime during the third year, but no later than the end of January of the sixth semester, the timing to be determined by the student and his/her Graduate Committee in consultation with the DGS. Students must have removed all incompletes before they will be allowed to take the exam. The student must demonstrate mastery of his or her major field, speciality field, and minor field. Students are advised to plan course work with these examinations in mind.

The major field is typically defined as a long time span and a national or regional geographic framework. Mastery of the major field is integral both as grounding for the dissertation project, and as a demonstration of the ability to teach standard survey courses (such as US, Latin American, Early Modern Europe).

The specialty field is more precisely defined within the general field. Among the ways to define a specialty field are by topic, chronology, and/or geography. Examples include US Diplomatic History, Colonial Latin America, Early Modern France, and Modern German Political History.

The minor field must be distant from the major and specialty fields in terms of topic, chronology, and/or geography. Typically, the minor field will be theoretical, cross-cultural, or methodological in scope. (e.g. Comparative slavery, Postcolonial theory and history, Comparative nationalisms).

The scope the secondary fields, the relationships between and among them, and the program of study to prepare for exams in them will be worked out by each student in consultation with his/her advisory committee and the DGS.

Third Year and forward
The first semester of the third year, students will sign up for Dissertation Proposal Preparation. By the end of the semester, they will defend their proposal to their committee in an oral examination. Once the proposal is passed by the committee, the student will begin dissertation research and writing. When in residence (ie. not away on research trips), the student will sign up for the dissertation writing seminar. Each student in the seminar is expected to present material each semester. The seminar will provide critical feedback and provide some structure to keep the dissertation project moving along.

The Dissertation
The principal academic advisor of a Ph.D. candidate directs the research and supervises the writing of the dissertation. Other members of the committee may read preliminary drafts and suggest changes where appropriate. The dissertation must be read and approved by the candidate's advisor as first reader while another member of the committee must serve as second reader. The dissertation committee must have a minimum of three members of the department and one member from outside the department.

Candidates are strongly advised to familiarize themselves with the rules and formatting procedures pertaining to the dissertation. Failure to abide by University guidelines may likewise delay graduation. As the student is approaching the completion of his/her project, he/she should make certain of University deadlines and filing procedures.

The doctoral dissertation must be submitted and accepted within six semesters of passing the dissertation prospectus. Extensions may be granted by the Graduate School by means of petitioning through the department. The DGS will handle all such petitions in consultation with the student's committee. Failure to complete the dissertation in a timely manner will result in the student being from the PhD candidacy.

The student must submit his/her dissertation for public defense. Candidates should schedule the defense allowing sufficient time for revisions should the committee require them. The committee will then read the final draft and approve it, communicating this to the DGS, who in turn will communicate it to the Graduate School.

Teaching Requirement
All students gain experience as teachers through the teaching practicum course and as teaching assistants for at least two semesters while in the program. Teaching assistants will be supervised by the faculty member appropriate to the course to which the student is assigned. The faculty member will evaluate the student and report to the DGS on the student's progress in the classroom.

Some advanced PhD students will have the opportunity to teach free-standing courses in the summer sessions as needed by the department and allowed by the Graduate School.

Students are encouraged to make use of the resources of the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt to increase their effectiveness in the classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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