Program Requirements
Students are required to have a reading knowledge of those foreign languages that are necessary for the satisfactory completion of their program of graduate study. Students in European history must have a reading knowledge of at least two languages, and students in medieval history must also have a reading knowledge of Latin. Students of Chinese history are expected to have reading knowledge of modern and classical Chinese and in most cases should also have reading knowledge of Japanese and/or a European language. Students in the Latin American area must have a reading knowledge of two of the following, depending upon their particular specialties: French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Dutch. In African history, students must have a reading knowledge of three languages including English and French. Depending upon their fields of specialization, students in African history may have other language needs. Students are expected to pass a written examination in one language within a month after entering the department, and they are required to do so before the end of the first year.
All entering students are required to take theAS.100.647 Historical Methods seminar within their first year in the program.
Each student is required to take a seminar under their major professor and to participate in at least one departmental seminar each semester.
The student’s knowledge of four fields will be tested by written and oral examinations before the end of the second year of graduate study.
The student must write and defend a dissertation that is a major piece of historical research and interpretation based on primary sources and representing a contribution to historical knowledge. Its content, form, and style must be adequate to make it suitable for publication.
Normally, each student is required to perform some supervised teaching or research duties at some point during the graduate program, most often as a teaching fellow during the second and fourth years.