History PhD Program
Admission
Students who are pursuing the combined MA + PhD program at 91社区 are officially admitted to the PhD once they have successfully defended their MA Research Portfolio.
Students applying directly to the PhD who have already received an MA in History from another university will have their work evaluated by the Graduate Committee when they submit an application.
Anyone interested in applying to the PhD program is encouraged to reach out to faculty members in their field(s) of interest before submitting an application. Faculty research specializations are listed under the various profiles on the 鈥淔aculty鈥 tab above.
Coursework
Coursework for the PhD program is typically completed within three semesters. There are three required courses for every student:
- HIST 591: Teaching College History (a course on pedagogy, professional norms, and disciplinary expectations)
- HIST 591: Historiography (a standard survey of historiographical trends in the discipline of History)
- HIST 600: Research Seminar (a guided seminar in which students pursue their own research topics)
Outside of these required courses, students select seminars pertinent to their areas of specialization. Most seminars are taken in the History Department, but students are free to seek out appropriate graduate offerings in other departments. Students may also seek out Independent Studies with relevant faculty members.
All students enter the program with an assigned faculty advisor. All decisions about coursework are made in consultation with this advisor, as well as with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).
Languages
All PhD students must demonstrate competency in at least one language other than their native language; the language, or in some cases, languages, will be determined in consultation with their advisor. International students for whom English is not their first language must demonstrate proficiency in English.
Comprehensive examination
Comprehensive examinations are one of the most important milestones in our program. Most PhD students take these in their fourth semester, after completing all of their required coursework. During the 鈥渃omping semester,鈥 students do not take courses but devote themselves to reading and acquiring expertise in the scholarship of their chosen research fields.
Every student selects one to two major fields in which to ground their identity as a scholar, and one to two minor fields that will serve as further areas of expertise. Through relationships forged while working with faculty in seminars or in other contexts, students select at least four faculty who will serve as examiners. The exact configuration of major and minor fields is outlined in the Graduate Handbook.
All major fields have a written exam. Both major and minor fields are also examined orally, with each examiner having the opportunity to test a student鈥檚 mastery of the historiography.
Dissertation Prospectus
The next milestone, after a student passes the comprehensive exams, is the defense of the dissertation prospectus. After the successful defense of the prospectus, PhD students enter into ABD (鈥渁ll-but-dissertation鈥) status, which signifies their readiness to conduct independent dissertation research.
The prospectus outlines the plan for the entire dissertation鈥攊ts sources, methodology,
scholarly interventions, contribution to the discipline, and so forth. A student has
five months to complete and defend the prospectus after passing the comprehensive
exams. Students form a dissertation committee consisting of at
least three faculty members (and at least two within the History Department), who
will examine them on their prospectus and then continue to guide them in their dissertation
work.
PhD candidacy
Students are officially admitted to PhD candidacy upon satisfactory completion of the prospectus defense. Candidates for the PhD degree must maintain continuous registration until all the degree requirements are completed (barring circumstances that might allow for an official Leave of Absence; see the Graduate School policy and form). This registration amounts to the cost of a one-credit course each semester (though this cost is covered if the student has a TA or GA position within the Department).
Granting of the Degree
After admission to candidacy, the PhD in History is granted on successful completion of the following requirements:
- Submission of a dissertation approved by the candidate's dissertation committee. The dissertation must present a new interpretation of a familiar subject, or an investigation of a subject hitherto neglected, and must be written under the supervision of a member of the History graduate faculty
- Successful defense of the dissertation in an oral examination.
Placement
The History Department's Professional Development Committee helps prepare students
for graduation, offering workshops in writing CVs and cover letters, managing job
interviews and applications, and more. The Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development is another resource at the university; it
assists graduate students in exploring career options beyond academia, including
assembling a resume, finding internships, and matching students with mentors and/or
networking opportunities.
Funding
The Department does its best to provide funding to PhD students who are presenting their research at conferences. The pool of funds is always limited and thus competitive, but the aim is to offer this opportunity to all students at some point in their program.
The Department also has a number of endowed fellowships for archival research travel and language training. These are awarded on an annual basis and are designed to assist students with the preparatory work needed to carry out the dissertation.
Across the university, further resources for conference and research funding for graduate students are available from: the Graduate School, Harpur Edge, and the Graduate Student Employees Union (GSEU).
For any questions, please contact the History Department's
Graduate Administrator:
Christopher Carlini
ccarlini@binghamton.edu
607-777-2255
Library Tower, 706