History Doctoral Programs in the United States and Canada

Rutgers , The State Univ.

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

U.S., Europe, women, African American, comparative

Program Description

The Rutgers History PhD program offers training in numerous fields: the history of the United States (with concentrations in early American, African-American, cultural and intellectual, social, political, and diplomatic history); the history of Europe (medieval, early modern and modern, with regional strengths in the history of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Spain and Italy); Latin American history (colonial and modern, with regional expertise in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador); African history (particularly West and Southern Africa); and South Asian history. The program also offers major and minor fields of study in several transnational and thematic fields, including women’s and gender history, global and comparative history, the history of technology, environment and health, and the history of the African diaspora.

Special Programs or Resources

Graduate students attend weekly seminars and can become fellows at the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis, the Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture, and the Institute for Research on Women. The History department maintains close ties with—and graduate students often work at—three major archival projects on campus: the Stanton-Anthony Papers, the Thomas Edison Papers, and the history center of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The Graduate School's CHASER program offers information and guidance for students seeking major sources of external funding.

Financial Aid

The program offers 4-year and 5-year packages of support for graduate students. Students coming with an MA receive 4 years of support, those with a BA 5 years of support. The support package consists of complete tuition remission, two years of fellowship, and 2-3 years as a TA or RA.

Degree Requirements

The basic degree requirements consist of 48 credits (16 classes) of course work, and a further 24 credits of research work. Students with prior graduate study in history can transfer in up to 24 credits of course work. Students take qualifying examinations in a major and a minor field. The minor field exam and Stage 1 of the major field exam are usually written, although an oral exam is an option. Stage 2 of the major field exam consists of an oral defense of the student's dissertation proposal. For full program details, see http://history.rutgers.edu/graduate/progstate.htm.

University Information:

University Type: Public

Carnegie Institution Ranking: Doctoral/Research Universities—Extensive

Department Demographics:

First PhD conferred: 1946

History PhDs conferred to Date: 441

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred (2000–04): Large [Explain]

Faculty Mix:
	Full Professor	54
	Associate Professor	36
	Assistant Professor	14
	Instructor/Lecturer
	Joint Appointment	18
	Emeritus Faculty	32
	Part-time faculty

Relative Size based on Number of Full-time Faculty: Large [Explain]

Number of Graduate Students in Program (Fall 2005): 128
(Graduate student counts include those enrolled in terminal Master's degree program)

Proportion of Full-Time Graduate Students: 97%

New Graduate Students Entering Program, Fall 2004: 21

Relative Size Based on Graduate Student Enrollment (2002–04): Large [Explain]

 

Other Information

     Current Dissertations in Progress

     PhDs Conferred by Department