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Graduate Handbook

III - Degree Requirements for Ph.D. and M.A. II

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in History

Research Credit Requirements

For students who do not already have an M.A. in history, the completion of a master's thesis or significant research paper, normally including research in primary sources will be required by the guidance committee. There need be no significant difference between the thesis and paper in terms of length or difficulty, only in form. The thesis, usually completed in the second year of the program, is written under the direction of a History faculty member. Students working on a thesis enroll for six credits of HST 899. If a formal MA thesis is written, a committee consisting of three MSU faculty members, including the research advisor and at least one other History faculty member and representing two fields of history will participate in an oral examination of the student’s work. The nature of the exam will be determined by the committee and student in consultation. A substantial research paper, which demonstrates skills in research and acquaintance with the relevant historiographical materials, will normally be produced as a project in a two-term sequence of appropriate graduate courses (either a two-term course, at least the second term of which is expressly devoted to research, or a one-term course followed by either HST 890, Independent Study or HST 898, Master's Research). The essay also is written under the direction of a member of the History faculty. In fields where separate research seminars are not available, an Independent Study will be required to complete a research project. All doctoral students must register at Michigan State University for and successfully complete a minimum of 24 semester credits of doctoral dissertation research (HST 999).

Fields of Study

Atlantic World
Medieval History
Early Modern European History
Modern Western European History
British and British Empire History
Russian History
East European History
American History
African American History
Comparative Black History
Latin American and Caribbean History
African History
East Asian History
History of Women and Gender Relations
World History
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Migration History
Labor and Working Class History
Sports History

Forming a Program of Study

A report including a statement of the student's proposed program, with a timetable and tentative dissertation topic is filed in the office of the Dean of the College of Social Science within the first two semesters of doctoral study. In the report, the committee recommends the amount of graduate credit beyond the master's degree level from other institutions which should be accepted; what study, if any, may be done in absentia, and under what conditions; what language examinations or alternative programs, if any, the student should take. Ordinarily, the Guidance Committee will recommend students enroll in three seminars (or two seminars and a language course) each semester. This schedule assumes a half time graduate assistantship. The guidance committee is responsible for insuring the adequacy of the overall program, in keeping with the general policy that four or more academic years of study and research beyond the bachelor's degree are required.