History (PhD)
Program Description
The program for the PhD degree provides a framework within which students can acquire the following training and experience:
- broad exposure to a general area of interest and to its current literature and controversies;
- more intense training in the special field in which the student intends to conduct research and do his or her primary teaching;
- a sound but more limited introduction to a second field;
- training in research procedures and methods;
- appropriate linguistic competence; and
- the completion of a dissertation judged to be a significant piece of historical research and writing.
Admissions
All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the general application requirements, which include:
- Academic Transcripts
- Test Scores (if required)
- Applicant Statements
- Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
- Letters of Recommendation, and
- A non-refundable application fee.
See History for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.
Program Requirements
The program requires the completion of 72 credits, and offers a concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. See concentration requirements below.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Requirements | ||
| HIST-GA 3603 | Approaches to Historical Research and Writing I | 4 |
| Select course in your major area Literature of the Field 1 | 4 | |
| Electives | ||
| Other Elective Credits (chosen in close consultation with an academic adviser) | 64 | |
| Total Credits | 72 | |
- 1
Taken in the first year.
Concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies
The concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies is interdisciplinary in nature and creates a framework and community for diverse approaches to the study of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. it complements doctoral students’ work in their home departments with interdisciplinary study of the broad range of culture in the medieval and early modern periods, as well as of the theories and methods that attend them. The concentration is designed to train specialists who are firmly based in a traditional discipline but who can work across disciplinary boundaries, making use of varied theoretical approaches and methodological practices.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Courses | ||
| MEDI-GA 1100 | Proseminar in Medieval & Renaissance Studies | 4 |
| MEDI-GA 2100 | Studies in Late Latin and Early Vernaculars: 1 | 4 |
| MEDI-GA 2000 | Medieval & Renaissance Workshop 2 | 4 |
| Select one approved course in the area of Medieval and Renaissance Media: Visual and Material Cultures | 4 | |
| Select one approved course in a medieval or early modern topic | 4 | |
| Total Credits | 20 | |
- 1
Or other approved course.
- 2
2 credits per semester taken twice in an academic year.
At least one course, not counting either the Proseminar or Workshop, must be taken outside a student’s home department. In addition, students pursuing the concentration will present a paper at least once either in the Workshop or in a conference offered by the Medieval and Renaissance Center.
Major Fields
- Africa
- African Diaspora
- Atlantic World
- East Asia
- Medieval Europe
- Early Modern Europe
- Modern Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- South Asia
- United States
Additional Program Requirements
Field Requirement
Each doctoral student must designate a major field, within which the subject of the student’s dissertation falls and presumably the field in which the student expects to be principally involved as a writer and teacher. Major fields should be broad enough so that they can prepare students to teach an upper-level undergraduate course or a graduate colloquium, but narrow enough so that students can develop professional competence in a body of literature. Major fields may be defined in chronological and geographical terms, or they may be partly thematic. In each case, a student’s major field should be worked out in discussion with his or her advisor and with at least one additional faculty member who has agreed to participate in examining it. Each doctoral student also must choose, by the end of the third semester, a second field and a second field advisor, who will examine the student in the qualifying exam. A second field maybe defined geographically or thematically. In every case, however, the second field may not be contained within the student’s major field but must introduce some significant new area or dimension. Second fields may also be arranged in some fields in which no major fields are available and may be comparative or transnational. Archival management and historical editing also qualify as second fields, without respect to the major field. Women’s history and public history, if comparative, also qualify as second fields without respect to the major field.
Language Requirement
PhD students should satisfy the foreign language requirement for their field of study within the first year of graduate study and must do so by the time they complete 48 credits of course work. The minimal departmental requirement is one foreign language; additional languages may be required by the student’s advisory committee. Students must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language that has direct relevance to their area of study. Students may satisfy proficiency either by passing the proficiency examination in the language given by the Graduate School of Arts and Science or by having earned a grade of B+ or better in an intermediate or advanced language course in a college or university no more than two years prior to enrollment. Exceptions may be made for languages required for primary research, by which a student’s advisor may specify some other procedure as necessary to demonstrate sufficient competence. Native speakers of a foreign language can satisfy this requirement by having their advisor inform the DGS as such.
Written Qualifying Exam
Students must pass a written qualifying examination at the end of the second year of study. The examination occurs over three days and covers three separate lists of material aimed at familiarizing students with key aspects of historical literature preparing students to teach courses on that material. Two of the exams may cover material in a student’s major field, with the third exam covering their secondary field, or students may choose, in consultation with their advisors, to take exams in three distinct fields. Students with more than 3 incompletes will not be allowed to take the exam. A student who does not pass the examination has the right to retake it once. The qualifying examination is not a comprehensive examination. It is intended to test how well each student understands and can explain historical arguments and issues and bring to bear pertinent information and knowledge in discussing them within the chosen field of specialization.
Dissertation
Each student must submit a dissertation proposal and defend it during the course of a 90-minute oral examination no later than the end of the first week of the sixth semester. The committee for the examination consists of three faculty members: one is the student’s major advisor; the other two are normally readers of the dissertation. Where appropriate, one member of the committee may be from outside the department. These three faculty members constitute the “core” of the student’s dissertation committee.
Each student must write a dissertation under the supervision of a member of the department (joint advisors are permitted). The dissertation committee, including the advisor, has five members; a minimum of three must be Department of History full-time faculty.
Departmental Approval
All Graduate School of Arts & Science doctoral candidates must be approved for graduation by their department for the degree to be awarded.
Sample Plan of Study
| 1st Semester/Term | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| HIST-GA 3603 | Approaches to Historical Research and Writing I | 4 |
| Literature of the Field | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| 2nd Semester/Term | ||
| Seminar in primary field | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| 3rd Semester/Term | ||
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| 4th Semester/Term | ||
| HIST-GA 3020 | Independent Reading in History (Exam Prep) | 1-4 |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| 5th Semester/Term | ||
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| 6th Semester/Term | ||
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 72 | |
Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation (MAINT-GA 4747) course. All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.
Additional Program Requirements
Field Requirement
Each doctoral student must designate a major field, within which the subject of the student’s dissertation falls and presumably the field in which the student expects to be principally involved as a writer and teacher. Major fields should be broad enough so that they can prepare students to teach an upper-level undergraduate course or a graduate colloquium, but narrow enough so that students can develop professional competence in a body of literature. Major fields may be defined in chronological and geographical terms, or they may be partly thematic. In each case, a student’s major field should be worked out in discussion with his or her advisor and with at least one additional faculty member who has agreed to participate in examining it. Each doctoral student also must choose, by the end of the third semester, a second field and a second field advisor, who will examine the student in the qualifying exam. A second field maybe defined geographically or thematically. In every case, however, the second field may not be contained within the student’s major field but must introduce some significant new area or dimension. Second fields may also be arranged in some fields in which no major fields are available and may be comparative or transnational. Archival management and historical editing also qualify as second fields, without respect to the major field. Women’s history and public history, if comparative, also qualify as second fields without respect to the major field.
Language Requirement
PhD students should satisfy the foreign language requirement for their field of study within the first year of graduate study and must do so by the time they complete 48 points of course work. The minimal departmental requirement is one foreign language; additional languages may be required by the student’s advisory committee. Students must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language that has direct relevance to their area of study. Students may satisfy proficiency either by passing the proficiency examination in the language given by the Graduate School of Arts and Science or by having earned a grade of B+ or better in an intermediate or advanced language course in a college or university no more than two years prior to enrollment. Exceptions may be made for languages required for primary research, by which a student’s advisor may specify some other procedure as necessary to demonstrate sufficient competence. Native speakers of a foreign language can satisfy this requirement by having their advisor inform the DGS as such.
Written Qualifying Exam
Students must pass a written qualifying examination at the end of the second year of study. The examination occurs over three days and covers three separate lists of material aimed at familiarizing students with key aspects of historical literature preparing students to teach courses on that material. Two of the exams may cover material in a student’s major field, with the third exam covering their secondary field, or students may choose, in consultation with their advisors, to take exams in three distinct fields. Students with more than 3 incompletes will not be allowed to take the exam. A student who does not pass the examination has the right to retake it once. The qualifying examination is not a comprehensive examination. It is intended to test how well each student understands and can explain historical arguments and issues and bring to bear pertinent information and knowledge in discussing them within the chosen field of specialization.
Dissertation
Each student must submit a dissertation proposal and defend it during the course of a 90-minute oral examination no later than the end of the first week of the sixth semester. The committee for the examination consists of three faculty members: one is the student’s major advisor; the other two are normally readers of the dissertation. Where appropriate, one member of the committee may be from outside the department. These three faculty members constitute the “core” of the student’s dissertation committee.
Each student must write a dissertation under the supervision of a member of the department (joint advisors are permitted). The dissertation committee, including the advisor, has five members; a minimum of three must be Department of History full-time faculty.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:
- Conduct archival or other primary research.
- Respond analytically and critically to ideas and texts, synthesize relevant materials, and formulate an original argument.
- Demonstrate originality and creativity in developing ideas and drawing conclusions.
- Effectively use library resources and document sources; Use the relevant electronic research tools to identify primary and secondary texts.
- Engage productively in class discussions concerning historical problems, methodologies, and theories and produce a seminar papers based on original research that critically analyze existing scholarship, add new observations based on primary research, and argue a clear and coherent thesis.
Policies
NYU Policies
University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.
Graduate School of Arts and Science Policies
Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page.