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Examination in the Outside Field |
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To complete work in the Outside Field, the student has two options. Under
the first, the student must take six hours of graduate-level course work
with grades of B or better, and must write a paper demonstrating grasp of
both the theoretical foundation of the field and practical application,
with suitable papers written during course work eligible for selection.
The course work and paper will together constitute the comprehensive examination
in the outside field. The student's advisor, in consultation with an expert in the field, will rate the quality of the paper as distinction, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. In the event that the advisor and expert are uncertain whether the student has sufficient knowledge of the field, the student may be asked to discuss the paper and related questions with them. After such a conference the advisor and expert will supply the grade for the field. |
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The second option is a four-hour written comprehensive examination in the
outside field. The student must find members of the History Department and/or
outside experts acceptable to the Graduate Committee willing to write and
grade this examination. D. Fourth Comprehensive Examination Field (Dissertation Field) Each Ph.D. student must write a dissertation and successfully defend it before a dissertation committee. The dissertation is an original work of substantial scholarship that expands the frontiers of historical knowledge in some way. The History Department encourages dissertations on a variety of historical subjects and interdisciplinary topics, within constraints set by the available expertise of the faculty. The Dissertation Field is the immediate preparation for the writing of a doctoral dissertation. The student needs to develop a suitable topic, find faculty competent to judge his or her work on that topic, locate and explore the published literature on that topic, and identify an opportunity for original research and findings. Some of this work may be done through research seminars. A good strategy is to use the research seminars to test potential dissertation topics or to conduct research on a portion of the dissertation topic. Between the third and fourth comprehensive examinations the Doctoral student has the responsibility of designating the members of his or her Dissertation Committee. The chair of the dissertation Committee need not be the same person as the student's faculty advisor. The Dissertation Field comprehensive exam, the fourth and last of the student's field exams, is an examination about the student's projected dissertation. In consultation with the student's faculty advisor or dissertation advisor (should they be different faculty), the student prepares for the dissertation examination by submitting to all prospective members of the dissertation committee a full-fledged dissertation proposal, including a bibliography. The composition of the projected dissertation committee must be approved by the Graduate Committee. The student and his or her advisor will determine between themselves how much consultation there will be in the preparation of a dissertation proposal. The fundamental purpose of the oral dissertation field examination will be to allow faculty to question the student thoroughly about the proposal they have been given. The student must fill out a form to register for the dissertation field comprehensive, as with the other field examinations. The appropriate numbers for the field are listed in the Appendix, pp. 15-17 below (normally HIST-100 for a dissertation in Modern European history and HIST-200 for a dissertation in the history of the United States. If the student passes, he or she will have the basic text of a dissertation proposal (and supporting bibliography) to submit to the College of Arts and Sciences for approval. As in the case with other forms of comprehensive exams, students may resubmit and retake the dissertation comprehensive exam once, but a second failure is terminal. Return to Ph.D. Completion Requirements |
