History & Art History

Students pursuing this degree must complete a minimum of 72 graduate credits. In addition to core courses, students must complete coursework in a major field of study and two minor fields; pass a comprehensive exam; and complete a dissertation. The dissertation demonstrates mastery of the subject matter, methodologies, and conceptual foundations in the chosen field of study. This requirement is generally achieved through consideration of a problem on the boundaries of knowledge in the discipline. The credits are distributed as follows:

• Six core courses (21 credits): HIST 610 (3 credits), HIST 696 (3 credits), HIST 697 (3 credits), HIST 711/731/751 (3 credits), HIST 810 (1 credit per semester for 6 credits), and HIST 811 (3 credits)
• Major field: 15 credits chosen from U.S. history, European history, world history
• Minor fields: 18 credits in two minor fields (9 credits each)
• Doctoral research skills: Students must demonstrate basic competency in computers. Students whose research requires knowledge of a foreign language must also demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language. The department sets specific research skills requirements for students, depending on their field of study.
• Comprehensive exam: Students need to pass a comprehensive exam that consists of a written field statement for each minor field and an oral exam for the major field.
• Dissertation: HIST 998 (3 credits minimum; 6 credits maximum) and HIST 999 (15 credits)

Once enrolled in HIST 998, students must maintain continuous registration in 998 or 999 each semester until the dissertation is submitted to and accepted by University Libraries.

Students will be terminated from the program if they receive more than one unsatisfactory grade (C or F).

Minor Fields

Minor fields are intended to fulfill a variety of different goals for doctoral students: they provide a body of knowledge or set of skills needed to write a dissertation, to teach a course in a particular area, or to upgrade knowledge and skills for a vocation in applied history. Whatever the case, the choice of minor fields should be made with careful thought and in consultation with the student’s advisor (either the Director of Graduate Studies or the dissertation advisor). The department allows wide leeway in selecting minor fields, from broad bodies of knowledge designed to indicate familiarity with the major historiographical traditions in a particular field such as Colonial America, Reformation Europe, or the 20th-century United States, to narrower and more focused fields such as the French Revolution or the New Deal. Alternatively, students can select a minor field with a practical application, such as new media or teaching, in which a web site or course syllabus may be considered as a contributing part of the field statement. The distinctions between these two kinds of minor fields are relatively slight, however, since whether a student is doing a research field, a teaching field, or a new media field, the idea is to demonstrate a deep familiarity with a body of knowledge in a particular field. So, in teaching fields for example, the purpose of a field statement is not to test pedagogy or whether a student has the aptitude or ability to be a good classroom teacher, but to test whether the student knows enough in a particular field to be able to compose a competent syllabus and teach a course in this field. More detailed information as well as examples of sample field statements are provided below. Think of field statements as substitutes for exams; they should demonstrate a mastery of knowledge in a particular field.

Types of Minor Fields

Research Fields

A research field can be either very broad or somewhat narrow. Students usually choose research minor fields that either help them develop specific knowledge for the dissertation, or that form some kind of sub-field of their major field. Broad fields can be chronologically meaningful sub-fields of a major field: for example, in American history they might include the colonial period, the late 19th century, or the early 20th century. Or research fields can be broad methodological fields: social history, constitutional history, cultural history, etc. Research fields can also be more narrowly defined to develop a more specialized body of knowledge for the dissertation: the U.S. Civil War, the Reformation, the Suez Crisis, the New Deal, etc. Obviously, the more narrowly a field is defined, greater depth is expected in the reading and bibliography. Whether the student (in conjunction with the student’s dissertation advisor) decides to do a broader or a narrower research field, the goal is the same: to provide evidence that the student has mastered a body of knowledge and the corresponding historical literature in a particular field. And the final written field statement itself should be between 20-25 pages (and in no case more than 30 pages) and accompanied by a bibliography of at least 50 books.

Teaching Fields

A teaching field is similar to a research field – both provide evidence that the student has mastered a body of knowledge as well as the historical literature in a particular field. And while there would be significant overlap in a research field and a teaching field on the same subject, and the bibliographies might be nearly identical, the purpose of a teaching field is different. Rather than preparing a student to do research in that field, a teaching minor field statement should demonstrate that a student has mastered the field well enough to teach an undergraduate course in this field. This also means that the field statement will likely be organized differently, stressing not just what might be covered in a course on this field, but also how the course would be organized and how it would be taught to undergraduates. Students have a choice of formats in a teaching minor field statement: they can either submit a field statement between 20-25 pages (and in no case more than 30 pages) accompanied by a bibliography of at least 50 books, or they can submit a shorter field statement of 15-20 pages plus the bibliography, along with a sample syllabus of a proposed course in the field. If a syllabus is included, it should provide complete information on readings, written assignments, and exams, as if it were ready to be handed out to undergraduate students.

Applied Fields (such as History and New Media)

An applied field such as History and New Media, Historical Editing, or Museum Studies is usually chosen in order to demonstrate mastery of knowledge, skills, and practices in an applied field necessary for dissertation research, teaching, or a job working in an area of applied history. It is similar to research and teaching fields in that the field statement provides evidence of mastery of a body of knowledge and literature in the field. But because of the applied nature of the field, the field statement might provide a survey of a field of practice rather than a survey of a body of literature. In addition, the applied minor field may also require certain skills and a knowledge of practices relevant to the field. Thus, the field statement in an applied field may include a practicum, such as a web site or other applied medium, as part of the field statement. If a practicum is chosen, students should submit a field statement of 15-20 pages plus a bibliography appropriate to the field. If the practicum consists of software, a copy should be provided in whatever format is most logical. If the practicum is a web site, full details of the URL would be included in the written field statement, as well as printouts of the homepage and main links on the web site. If no practicum is being submitted, then students should submit a field statement of 20-25 pages (and in no case more than 30 pages) plus a bibliography appropriate to the field.

Minor Field Proposal Process

• Download the Minor Field Proposal form.
  
• Signatures must be obtained by the student.
• Students are required to send the Minor Field Proposal form with the proposal to the PhD Graduate Director via email.
• The graduate committee will review the proposal and the student will be contacted by the Graduate Director when the proposal has been approved.

Minor Field Approval Process

A written field statement is required for each minor field. The approved field statement must be submitted to the Graduate Office with the Approval for Minor Field Statement form. Signatures from first and second readers must be obtained by the student.

Major Field Oral Exam Process

The student’s knowledge of the major field will be tested by an oral examination. Three faculty members will conduct the oral examination, including the student’s major field advisor and two other faculty members in the area of the major field. The Graduate Director (in consultation with the student and the major field advisor) will select the other two examiners. When possible the committee will include other faculty with whom the student has studied. Exams must be scheduled at least one month prior to the examination date. Please contact the History Graduate Office when you are ready to schedule your examination.

Students must take the Major Field Oral Exam form to the examination. This form is available in the graduate office. The oral exam will last one to two hours. An oral examination is necessary to pass the major field. Students will be evaluated at each stage in order to assess the advisability of their continuance in the program.

Doctoral Prospectus – HIST 998

Doctoral students are required to present a written prospectus HIST 998 (3–6 credits) of their proposed dissertation research. For details on the prospectus, please see the PhD Rules and Guidelines. To register for the prospectus, please contact the PhD Graduate Director for permission and the History Graduate Office at sbloomqu@gmu.edu to obtain a Course Record Number (CRN) to register via Patriot Web. When the doctoral prospectus has been approved, students are required to submit a hard copy to the Graduate Office along with the Advancement to Candidacy form.

Reduction of Credit

For students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree, the number of required credits may be reduced by a maximum of 30 credits, subject to approval of the program faculty and the dean. Requests for reduction of credit are reviewed by the Graduate Director only after acceptance to the doctoral program. Please make an appointment with the Graduate Director through the Graduate Office at 703-993-1248.

Advancement to Candidacy Process

To advance to candidacy, students must complete all course work required on their approved program of study. Students must also successfully complete and pass an oral comprehensive exam in a major field and written field statements in two minor fields. In addition, students must have a dissertation committee appointed by the Dean’s Office as well as an approved proposal. To gain approval, you must email your committee selection to the PhD Graduate Director who will in turn notify the Dean’s Office if approved. Evidence of the approved proposal must be on file in the Dean’s Office before a student can be advance to candidacy.