University General Course Catalog 2024-2025
History, Ph.D
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 Return to: Programs in the College of Liberal Arts
The Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students for careers in higher education and historical research and writing. Areas of emphasis include: - Nevada and the West,
- U.S. history,
- American studies,
- cultural history,
- the history of science,
- the history of medicine and
- specific areas in European and Latin American history.
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Program Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- identify major themes, theoretical or methodological frameworks, and debates within the historiographies of their chosen fields.
- formulate an original research question and develop a plan for investigating it, using appropriate historical sources and methodologies.
- present their arguments clearly and persuasively in written work, oral presentations, or other formats.
- apply historical thinking, research, and presentation skills to a variety of academic and non-academic careers.
Contact Information
Edward Schoolman, Graduate Program DirectorDepartment of History
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nevada 89557-0308
(775) 682-89647
eschoolman@unr.edu
Admission Requirements
Students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. degree in history should read the Graduate School section of this catalog and the department’s Graduate Bulletin.
Applicants to the Ph.D. program must hold a B.A. or M.A. in history or a closely related discipline from an accredited college or university (acceptable fields outside history to be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Graduate Studies Committee).
- Applicants with a Master’s degree must have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher in all undergraduate and graduate work and satisfactory scores on the GRE general test.
- Applicants without a Master’s degree applying for direct admission to our Ph.D. program must have excellent GRE scores and an exceptional academic record.
Potential applicants without an M.A. in history should talk with the Graduate Advisor to determine whether their graduate work in a related field is comparable to that expected. Ph.D. admissions are entirely separate from M.A. admissions; completion of the M.A. program at the University of Nevada, Reno does not ensure admission to the Ph.D. program. More detailed information can be found at https://www.unr.edu/history/graduate/phd I. Program Requirements
In consultation with the Graduate Advisor Director, the student must select three fields of study (leading to comprehensive examinations over a broad spectrum of historical material) from the list of Ph.D. Examination Fields. Usually these fields will be from a minimum of two groups. One field should be in the same subject area as the dissertation. One field may be taken in a department outside History with the approval of the student’s committee. The student’s committee and the Graduate Director must approve the student’s course work. The student’s examination fields, research emphasis, and dissertation topic must be approved by his or her committee and the Graduate Director on the basis of adequate library and archival resources in the field and committed faculty involvement. A. Required Courses (3 units)
One of the following:
B. Additional Course Requirement (3 units)
One of the following: C. Seminar Requirement (12 units)
Three of these units must be chosen from a group other than the major field of study. The student should complete a seminar related to each of his or her examination fields, in order to prepare for the comprehensive examinations. Exceptions to this policy may be approved by the student’s committee. D. Additional Course Work
The student’s committee will assign additional course work at the 600 and 700 level. Some of this course work may be as independent graduate readings in history. Students should note the limits on course units below and should not exceed the maximums. Any course taken under such an arrangement should be documented in writing (Department of History form), before the beginning of the semester and at the completion of the course. Completion of this form, signed by the supervising professor, is required for enrollment in independent-readings courses. E. Language Proficiency
All PhD students regardless of field are expected to demonstrate a current reading knowledge of one language other than English. Language study is a principal component of becoming a professional historian who is able to engage in intellectual conversations that cross national and linguistic borders. Students planning on dissertation research that focuses on non-English sources should expect to be examined in the principal language of those sources. Fluency is determined by the student’s completion with a grade of “C” or better of a fourth-level language course while a graduate student at UNR, by the successful passing of a language examination, or by some other means determined by the student’s committee in concert with the Graduate Program Director. The student’s committee may impose further requirements in concert with the Graduate Program Director if deemed necessary for the student’s program and professional objectives. The language requirement must be satisfied before taking comprehensive examinations.
F. Comprehensive Exam (1 to 6 units), Dissertation (24 units)
Student must pass comprehensive written examinations in each of their fields. Previous exams are kept on file in the Department of History; students may consult those exams in the History office. Exams are offered only during fall and spring semesters. The Graduate Program Director schedules all exams. They are to be taken during the student’s final semester of regular course work. Among the fields of study for the Ph.D., a select number are designated as areas for potential dissertation topics. All topics must be approved by the student’s graduate studies committee based upon factors such as requisite language skills, library and archival resources, and available faculty expertise. The student must secure the agreement of a faculty member to serve as the dissertation advisor. The dissertation is a work of significant original scholarly research and analysis. It should contribute to historical knowledge, exhibit a mastery of the sources and secondary literature of the subject and the techniques of exploiting them, and display a fair degree of literary skill. It should be submitted in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Graduate School. Students should obtain those guidelines at the beginning of the dissertation process, in order to avoid reformatting later. The Chicago Manual of Style, latest edition, will be the authoritative guide to style and form for all doctoral dissertations.
After the doctoral dissertation has been received by the advisory committee, a final oral examination (60-90 minutes) on the dissertation and related topics will be conducted. The final oral exam is a public event, to which the University community is invited. Upon passage of the oral exam and acceptance of the dissertation, the committee members sign the “Doctoral Degree Notice of Completion.” II. Total Units (73 units)
The Ph.D. degree program (73 credits) requires an oral qualifying interview (of which at least 24 must be in approved courses), a current working knowledge of one foreign language, written comprehensive exams, a prospectus colloquium, dissertation and oral defense. The comprehensive examination is for 1 credit and can be used to fulfill the 30 required credits of 700-level course work. Up to 24 credits from an M.A. or previous graduate work may be approved to count towards the degree. More detailed information can be found on the Website of the Department of History. III. Undergraduate Prerequisites
Undergraduate Prerequisites : see under Admission Requirements above. |
Return to: Programs in the College of Liberal Arts
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