Award-winning and internationally recognized faculty serve graduate students in a program that provides opportunities for close mentorship and advising. With a strong commitment to research and teaching, as well as training the next generation of historians, the faculty have published extensively and are active participants in national and international historical organizations.
Admissions
Admission recommendations for all graduate programs in the Department of History at The University of Alabama are made to the Graduate School based on a composite of subjective and quantitative information, including the applicant's statement of purpose and letters of recommendation, an academic writing sample, the academic standing of the programs in which the applicant has studied, evidence of appropriate college or graduate-level work in history courses, previous grades, and the recommendation of the Graduate Committee of the Department of History. Each application is considered in the context of other applications to the program, with due consideration given to the availability of space in the program. Not every student whose credentials meet stated quantitative standards is admitted.
Students applying to the PhD program are expected to have academic records of particular distinction, and must also be endorsed by a faculty member in the Department of History prepared to serve as chairperson of the student's dissertation committee.
See the Admission Criteria section of this catalog for more information.
Curricular Requirements
Course load
Resident students are expected to register for full loads each semester—at least 9 hours, except in the case of .50 FTE teaching assistants, who must take at least 6 hours. All courses must be numbered 500 or above, but HY 699 Dissertation Research does not count toward the course hour requirement for any graduate degree.
Total credit hours
The PhD in History requires 54 credit hours of graduate-level coursework and 24 hours of dissertation research.
History Colloquium
All incoming graduate students (MA or PhD), unless specifically exempted by the Graduate Committee, must take the History Colloquium (HY 665) in the Fall semester of their first year.
Historiography course requirement
All incoming graduate students (MA or PhD), unless specifically exempted by the Graduate Committee, must take at least two of the basic historiography courses (HY 601, HY 602, HY 603, HY 605) in different geographic areas as part of their degree program.
| Historiography Courses | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| HY 601 | Literature Of American History | 4 |
| HY 602 | Lit American History Sc 1865 | 4 |
| HY 603 | Literature European Hist | 4 |
| HY 605 | Lit Latin Amercn History | 4 |
| NOTE: only ONE of HY601/HY602 may count towards fulfilling this requirement | ||
Seminar requirement
All doctoral students must complete at least two research seminar papers. One seminar paper or master's thesis completed during the student's MA program may count towards fulfilling this requirement.
| Code and Title | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| History Colloquium | ||
| HY 665 | Special Studies | 4 |
| Historiography Courses | 8 | |
| Students choose two of these, from different geographic regions | ||
| HY 601 | Literature Of American History | 4 |
| HY 602 | Lit American History Sc 1865 | 4 |
| HY 603 | Literature European Hist | 4 |
| HY 605 | Lit Latin Amercn History | 4 |
| Research Seminar(s) | 4-8 | |
| PhD students must complete two, though may substitute a seminar paper or thesis written in a master's program for one of them | ||
| Elective Courses | ||
| HY 600 | Teaching History | 1 |
| HY 606 | Prosem Us Histry To 1877 | 4 |
| HY 607 | Prosem Us HY Since 1877 | 4 |
| HY 608 | Prosem Southern History | 4 |
| HY 631 | Early Mod Brit Eur Hy | 4 |
| HY 635 | Recent Brit Eur History | 4 |
| HY 639 | Prosem Military/Naval Hy | 4 |
| HY 697 | Directed Readings | 1-4 |
| HY 698 | Directed Research | 1 to 4 |
| NOTE: This list is not comprehensive | ||
| Courses in closely related disciplines may be included with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. | ||
| Dissertation Research | 24 | |
| Total Hours | 78 | |
Transfer of Credit
Graduate School information Transfer Credit.
Doctoral Plan of Study
Graduate School information on the Doctoral Plan of Study.
Comprehensive Examination
The Department of History offers the following Ph.D. fields:
- United States History to 1877
- United States History Since 1877
- European History to 1815
- European History Since 1815
- Latin American History
- History of the U.S. South
- Military and Naval History
- History of Race
- Religious History
- Women’s and Gender History
PhD students may also create their own thematic fields, the exact contours of which will be settled in consultation with the student’s dissertation director and the Graduate Committee, provided that there are professors in the department who specialize in that area. Thematic fields may include material that crosses both geographic and chronological boundaries.
PhD students must test in both chronological halves of the history of their area of primary geographic focus (American, European, or Latin American) with an ‘earlier’ and a ‘modern’ faculty member respectively. Each student will also be required to test in two other fields, at least one of which must have a center of gravity not in the same geographic region as the student’s chief expertise. Students will select their fields in consultation with their dissertation director and the Director of Graduate Studies.
The comprehensive examinations consist of separate, eight-hour written examinations administered by each of the four faculty members on the student’s exam committee, and a two-hour oral examination taken with the exam committee as a whole.
The written and oral exams in each field are considered a unit, which the student will pass or fail as a whole. The student must pass all four fields in order to pass the examination. A minimum of six months must elapse before the student may repeat a failed examination, the time being set by the examining committee. In cases where a student passes some but not all fields, the examining committee will determine whether the student must repeat the exam as a whole, or only the field(s) in which the student failed. A student is permitted to repeat a failed examination one time only.
Students who fail their first examination and wish to make changes to their examining committee before retaking the examination must submit a written request to the Director of Graduate Studies detailing the reasons for the proposed change. The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the departmental Graduate Committee and the student’s main advisor/dissertation director, will decide on the merits of the case whether or not to grant permission for the changes to be made.
Graduate School information on Comprehensive Exams.
Admission to Candidacy Requirements
PhD students in the Department of History are admitted to candidacy after the successful completion of their Comprehensive Examinations (see Comprehensive Examinations above) and successful defense of their dissertation prospectus (see Dissertation below).
Continuous Enrollment Policy
Graduate School information on Continuous Enrollment.
Dissertation Requirements
Dissertations are to be based upon research in history and make an original contribution to knowledge. Each doctoral student will select and obtain approval for a dissertation topic in consultation with their advisors. After the topic has been agreed upon, the student will prepare a prospectus describing the topic and the proposed plan of approach, including the principal sources to be pursued. The student will defend the dissertation prospectus before the dissertation committee in a one-hour oral defense. Once the prospectus has been successfully defended and approved by majority vote of the dissertation committee the student will advance to PhD candidacy.
The Graduate School requires each student admitted to candidacy for the PhD to pursue completion of the dissertation without interruption by enrolling each semester in HY 699 Dissertation Research for at least 3 credit hours. The student must register for a total of at least 24 hours of dissertation research.
Final dissertation defense
The candidate must pass an oral examination on the dissertation in accordance with the rules of the Graduate School. Dissertation committees in History consist of four faculty members from the Department of History plus one additional member from outside the Department of History. Two negative votes constitute failure of the dissertation defense, which the student may repeat one time only, after an interval specified by the dissertation committee.
Graduate School information on Dissertation Requirements.
Time Limits for Degree Completion Requirements
Graduate School information on Time Limits.
Student Progress Requirement
Any student who receives 6 hours of "C" grades or 3 hours of "D" or "F" grades in history courses may be dismissed from the program. Students who are dismissed from the program may petition the Graduate Committee for reinstatement.
A student on probation or whose transcript carries a grade of "I" will ordinarily be ineligible for a teaching assistantship or other departmental financial support.
Additional Academic Requirements
Foreign Language Proficiency requirement
PhD students in American History are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in one foreign language. PhD students in fields other than American History must demonstrate reading proficiency in two foreign languages. Students may fulfill this requirement by passing a translation examination administered by the Department of Modern Languages and Classics, or by passing a translation examination administered by a faculty member in the Department of History with the requisite expertise in the language. PhD students must pass their language exams before taking their PhD comprehensive examinations.
Academic Misconduct Information
Graduate School information on Academic Misconduct.
Withdrawals and Leave of Absence Information
Graduate School information on Withdrawals and Leave of Absence.
Academic Grievances Information
Graduate School information on Academic Grievances.
Grades and Academic Standing
Graduate School information on Grades and Academic Standing.
Graduate School Deadlines Information
Information on Graduate School Deadlines.
Application for Graduation Information
Information on the Application for Graduation.