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University of Cincinnati

Dept. of History
360 McMicken Hall
P.O. Box 210373
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0373

Phone 513.556.2144
Fax 513.556.7901
E-mail: willard.sunderland@uc.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

U.S., Europe (Early Modern and Modern), and World History

Program Description

The Masters program in History at UC offers well-qualified students a diverse and challenging postgraduate training in History. Our MA students typically complete their degrees in two years (6 academic quarters), and most of their coursework takes place in graduate seminars and reading colloquia that offer them the chance to work closely with faculty and their graduate student peers. Over the course of their MA training, all of our students have the opportunity to present papers and conduct primary archival research in the US and abroad, often with funds provided by the Department or through other university-based sources. Many of our MA graduates use their degree to propel themselves into successful careers in museum work, historical societies, government service, and secondary education. Our students also often choose to continue their graduate study by enrolling in doctoral programs in History, both in our own Department and in other top-flight History programs around the country.

The MA requires students to develop one major field of concentration and one minor. Major fields usually include US History, European History (Medieval period to the Present), Public History, Comparative World History, Comparative Womens and Gender History, and the histories of Modern China and Modern India. The minor may include any of the above as well as other thematic or geographical areas, such as urban and environmental history, the history of film, historical preservation, Latin American History, and Middle Eastern history. In addition to study in their chosen major and minor fields, all of our MA students take an Introduction to Historical Methodologies course that challenges them to think critically about the nature of historical thought and practice. We encourage our students to think and study broadly, taking advantage of the wide range of different courses and specializations provided by the Department faculty.

The History Department offers a PhD in History to students seeking to deepen their skills of historical research, teaching,and writing. The program is designed to train future university teachers and researchers, though a number of our PhDs have gone on to successful careers in government service and a range of other professions, including business and law.

Our doctoral program is small  we usually admit between 2 and 5 students a year, and one of the great benefits of our small size is that our doctoral students have ample opportunity to work closely with faculty in their chosen areas. The typical UC doctoral student will pursue a little over a year (4 quarters) of graduate-level course work beyond the MA, taking his/her comprehensive exams in the 5th or 6th quarter. After passing the exams, the student is admitted to doctoral candidacy and begins full-time work on his/her dissertation. Students are awarded their PhD after they have successfully completed and defended their dissertation at a dissertation defense.

Special Programs or Resources

European Studies
The European Studies Program (ES) is a graduate-level interdisciplinary program. The History, German Studies, Political Science, and Romance Languages & Literatures departments cooperate to develop and run this program. It came about on the initiative of faculty, who secured a major competitive grant from the Charles Phelps Taft Memorial Fund, University of Cincinnati. The European Studies program offers students an exceptional opportunity to use a wide array of skills while participating in series of colloquia-style classes.

The ES schedule each year follows this basic pattern:
Fall Quarter: a bi-weekly workshop for ES faculty and students (3 gr. credits)
Winter Quarter: a team-taught graduate research seminar (4 gr. credits)
Spring Quarter: a writing workshop culminating in a graduate student conference (3 gr. Credits)
During each academic year, the curriculum of ES focuses on a particular topic area:
2001-02: "Nation Building & Cosmopolitanism"
2002-03: "Migration and Diaspora"
2003-04: "Cultural Transfer"
2004-05: "European Cinema"
2005-06: "Europe: Traditions and Revolutions"
2006-2007: "Visualizing Europe: Images of Europe in Visual Culture, Past and Present"
2007-2008: "Jews in European Society and Culture"
2009-2010: Unity and Division in the European Experience

Each year the ES program invites internationally renowned scholars to lecture and conduct workshop-discussions at suitable intervals during the academic year. ES students have the rare opportunity to interact in a small group environment with these speakers. In addition, the guest speakers and ES faculty are regularly interviewed by a local station of National Public Radio, an opportunity made possible by the program's affiliation with the World Affairs Council of Greater Cincinnati. Guest speakers have included: Geoff Eley, Michigan; Anthony Grafton, Princeton; Silvana Patriarca, Fordham; Alexander Stephan, Ohio State; Mary Poovey, New York University.

Those faculty members and graduate students interested in ES may contact the Graduate Program Directors for further information.

Historic Preservation
A Certificate Program in Historic Preservation is jointly offered by the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. This program requires 37 quarter hours of credit. The course work for the Certificate will also assist a graduate student in the history department in preparing for a field in historical preservation at the MA or PhD level.

Women's Studies
Students enrolled in a history graduate degree programs can complete a Certificate of Concentration in Women's Studies, which consists of three core courses and two electives.

Financial Aid

All incoming doctoral students receive a promise of four years of full scholarships and a combination of assistantships and no-service fellowships. Most incoming Masters students receive two years of financial support, including full scholarships and teaching assistantships. Some additional summer support is available.

Degree Requirements

Majors and Minors
PhD students choose one major area of concentration: European History, US History, or World History.
PhD students also prepare two minor fields. These are decided upon by the student with consultation from the Graduate Director. Each PhD student chooses minors that best suit their interests and research. One minor must be a subset of the student's area of concentration (e.g. US Civil War for a US History PhD). One minor may also be from a discipline other than history. Some samples of PhD minors are Public History, Comparative War, Comparative Environmental History, and the British Empire.

Program Requirements
PhD students are required to take a research seminar sequence their first year. This course is designed to provide them with effective primary and secondary source research skills. PhD students must also take a minimum of two courses outside of the history department.

All PhD students are required to pass at least one foreign language reading exam. Those with a European History concentration must pass two. These must be completed before the PhD exams. The University of Cincinnati offers foreign language courses designed for graduate students. These can be taken for graduate credit.

PhD students must pass a series of written exams and an oral exam. The students determine the faculty who compose their exam committee, although it must include appropriate experts in the students' area of concentration and minor fields. Upon the completion of the exams PhD students normally begin dissertation research.



University Information:

Information from Department of Education
(Includes information on the size, location, and general characteristics of faculty and student body)

Information from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
(Includes rating of the institution's rating of the graduate instructional program and size and setting)

 

Faculty Information (Fall 2011):

Full-time Faculty: 23

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

 

Student Demographics (Fall 2011):

Number of Doctoral Students in Program: 17

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: 4

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: 60%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 47

Relative Size Based on Graduate Student Enrollment: Small [Explain]

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1965

History PhDs conferred to Date: 130

Number of PhDs Conferred (2011–12): 2

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred: Small [Explain]

Current Dissertations in Progress

PhDs Conferred by Department

 

 

Last Updated: October 19, 2012