PhD in History
Degree Requirements
-
72 credit hours of approved graduate work
- Two of the following as tools of research: relevant foreign languages, quantitative methods, digital history, oral history, or a methodology approved by the graduate committee of the Department of History
- Comprehensive examinations in three fields: Comprehensive examinations are offered in areas such as ancient history, United States history, modern European history, British history, Latin American history, modern Asian history, Russian history, Middle Eastern history, and diplomatic history. One field must be a historical field outside the student’s main area of concentration, a comparative or multidisciplinary field, or a field in another discipline.
- Dissertation proposal and oral defense
- Dissertation and oral defense (Dissertation work is not usually available in ancient, Asian, or Latin American history.)
Course Requirements
Specific course requirements depend on whether students received their MA in History from American University. For more information, consult the Department of History.
- HIST-744 The Historian’s Craft (3) with a grade of B or better, taken in the student’s first semester of course work
- HIST-799 Doctoral Dissertation Seminar (12–24)
