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Ph.D. in History

Students may enter the doctoral program with an M.A. degree (usually from another university), or earn an M.A. in history en route to the doctoral degree. Admissions decisions are based solely upon demonstrated achievement and scholarly promise, without regard to field, region or method of study.

The Graduate Program in History at Brandeis trains students to research, write and teach history at the highest level. It emphasizes the need for broad perspectives on urgent problems, rooted in a thorough and in-depth knowledge of the past. Through courses, supervised research, and teaching fellowships, history faculty at Brandeis prepare future historians for the excitement and challenges of a career devoted to exploring and explaining the past.

All doctoral students receive tuition waivers and fellowships, renewable for a total of up to five years based on satisfactory progress. Students must maintain an average of A- or above. In their second and third years, students staff department courses as Teaching Fellows. We strive to match students with courses that will best serve their professional interests. Students also teach a University Writing Seminar in their fourth or fifth year, the specific timing to be arranged in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies in History and the Director of University Writing.

Program of Study

The doctoral program in history embraces the eclecticism of the discipline and the initiative of graduate students to design flexible courses of study that advance their unique interests. The first two years in the PhD program are devoted to coursework intended to provide the foundation of knowledge and experience necessary for embarking on a dissertation. Students normally take a total of sixteen semester courses over these two years. These courses include Directed Research, Regional Colloquia, Thematic Seminars, Field Courses, and Pedagogy. The specific requirements for coursework are minimal; in addition to their Directed Research, all students normally complete Introduction to Doctoral Studies in History, at least one Colloquium, and at least one Thematic Seminar.

The sine qua non of preparation for dissertation work is primary-source research, which is a central focus of the first year. Half of a student’s workload each semester that year consists of Directed Research, working with a Brandeis historian (chosen in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies) to complete an article-length essay analyzing primary sources.

First-year students also enroll in a fall course, Introduction to Doctoral Studies in History, where they read and discuss exemplary and influential works that reveal the extraordinary variety of approaches to the study of the past.

During the first or second year, each student typically takes at least one course designed to introduce major themes and scholarly approaches to historical study of a given region. These Regional Colloquia are currently offered in American, European, and World history.

Additional courses are selected in consultation with faculty members to best meet the specific needs and interests of individual students. These electives may include Field Courses devoted to in-depth study of a particular era or methodological approach, and Thematic Seminars, broad and transnational courses of interest to historians irrespective of regional specialization. In addition, students normally take at least one course outside the discipline of history, whether at Brandeis or within the Graduate Consortium.

Pedagogy courses are taken in the second year, accompanying students’ work as Teaching Fellows.

Residency Requirement

The residency requirement for doctoral students in History is three years.

Language Requirement

All students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in at least one foreign language by the end of their second year. Many specializations require proficiency in two or more foreign languages. Proficiency is normally tested by a written translation exam, offered each semester. Students may use alternative means of demonstrating proficiency on petition to the Director of Graduate Studies.

Comprehensive Examination

Certification of Fields

In order to display the broad and deep knowledge acquired through their studies, students complete at least two Field Certifications. Through the Major Field Certification, students demonstrate that they have engaged with the sources and scholarship in their primary area of specialization, typically defined by a combination of region, period, and method. In the certification of an Outside Field, students show proficiency in another area of historical scholarship or another discipline that will further their future research. Each certification is based on the recommendation of a faculty member to the Director of Graduate Studies; students should seek different faculty mentors for each certification.

Qualifying Oral Examination 

After completing the certification of the Major and Outside Fields, students must pass a comprehensive oral examination. This exercise enables the student to demonstrate substantial understanding of the broad contours of history and historical study in a chosen region of specialization over a long period of time. The oral examination is administered by a committee of faculty members appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the student. Students must take their exam before the end of the fifth semester.

Dissertation

After completing the qualifying examination, students begin research on their dissertation. Working with a primary advisor and a second reader (both from the Graduate Faculty in History unless approved by the Director of Graduate Studies), students prepare a proposal of 15-30 pages describing the dissertation’s topic, source base, and historical significance. The prospectus will be presented publicly to the faculty and graduate students in the History Department. After the proposal is presented and accepted, the student will be considered advanced to candidacy.

When ready to defend their completed dissertations, students consult with their primary advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies to constitute, formally, the dissertation committee. Normally that committee includes the primary advisor, second reader, and an outside reader drawn from the faculty of another university. With the approval of their committees, students arrange a public dissertation defense.