Program Overview

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History, Ph.D. - COLA, UNH

The Ph.D. in History at UNH offers rigorous doctoral training in historical research with particular emphasis on U.S. history and colonial America. Students work alongside award-winning faculty experts in cultural, religious, Atlantic, and African American history while developing advanced research skills and foreign language competency.

Program Description

The Ph.D. is intended to prepare students for professional careers in historical research. In this department, all Ph.D. students specialize in U.S. history/colonial America. Students with a particularly strong secondary field outside of U.S. history may write dissertations that involve comparative studies of U.S. history/colonial America.

Program Highlights

Members of the department have won some of the most important prizes in the profession, including the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and Fulbright fellowships, as well as many teaching excellence awards. Surveys of scholarly productivity among faculty at research universities have placed the department among the top 20 history departments in the country.

Potential Career Areas

• Academia
• Biographer/author
• Historical researcher
• Policy analyst
• Political consultant
• Public sector historian

Curriculum & Requirements

Degree Requirements

A doctoral student's program, which must be approved by the graduate committee of the department, shall include each of the following requirements:

• Two research seminars (HIST 981) in which students will write a research paper in early U.S. History and a research paper in modern U.S. History
• Two reading seminars (HIST 939 and HIST 940)
• A course in historical methods
• Correction of any deficiencies in the student's previous program
• Proficiency in one foreign language
• HIST 970 (Graduate Seminar in Teaching History) applies to all doctoral candidates awarded teaching assistantships
• HIST 971 (Professionalization for Historians)
• Preparation through reading and coursework in the entirety of U.S. history, with emphasis upon either early or modern U.S.
• Preparation through reading and coursework of two subfields outside of U.S. history, one of which may be a cognate field outside of history entirely
• Qualifying exams
• Dissertation proposal
• Dissertation and successful defense

Apprenticeship and Degree Regulations

The department considers that graduate work in history, and particularly doctoral work, is professional training. The department recognizes the dual concerns of the historian's life: teaching and research. When feasible, all doctoral students are expected to undertake teaching in the department during a part of their residence.

Student Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

• Students will be able to demonstrate broad knowledge of historical events and periods and their significance
• Students will be able to explain and critique the historical schools of thought that have shaped scholarly understanding of their fields of study
• Students will be able to deploy skills of critical analysis
• Students will be able to design and conduct major research projects
• The skills listed above can lead to positions outside academia, such as in museums, archives, and government service
• Students will be able to engage in professional dissemination of their work by presenting their research at conferences or submitting manuscripts to academic journals

Application Requirements & Deadlines

Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

• Fall: Jan. 15
• Spring: N/A
• Summer: N/A
• Special: N/A
• Application fee: $65
• Campus: Durham
• New England Regional: RI VT
• Accelerated Masters Eligible: No

Transcripts

If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, the university will retrieve your transcript internally. If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.

Letters of Recommendation

3 letters of recommendation are required. Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:

1. Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives
2. Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field

Additional Department Requirements

All applicants must submit a writing sample with their application.

International Applicants

Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language.