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University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Dept. of History
915 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37996-4065

Phone 865.974.5421
Fax 865.974.3915
E-mail: tburman@utk.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

European History and U.S. History

Program Description

Since it awarded its first master's degree, the Department of History has been an integral part of the University of Tennessee and a major graduate program in the College of Arts and Sciences, offering doctoral degrees for almost forty years. The Department is actively engaged in graduate education with a current enrollment of approximately seventy graduate students.
Our program is built on individual mentoring and direction. Each student works closely with a professor who guides and directs the student's course of study of specialized fields in history. The PhDs are awarded in specialized fields in U.S. History and European History.

Special Programs or Resources

The Presidential Papers: In company with a select group of institutions across the country, UT houses two major historical documentary editing projects: The Papers of Andrew Jackson and The Correspondence of James K. Polk. Professor Daniel Feller directs the Jackson Papers, and Professor Wayne Cutler heads the Polk project. A third UT project, The Papers of Andrew Johnson, completed publication of its 16 volumes in 2000. The Jackson and Polk projects draw substantial grant and donation funds to the University from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (a federal agency attached to the National Archives), the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Tennessee Historical Commission, and the Tennessee Presidents Trust.

Center for the Study of War and Society
Founded in 1984 by the late Dr. Charles W. Johnson, the Center for the Study of War and Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of the relationship between war and American society. Under the direction of Dr. Kurt Piehler since 1999, the Center works to preserve the voice of the American veteran through an ongoing oral history program and a large World War II archival collection. The Center administers several graduate fellowships and offers an internship program for undergraduates. It is also very active in community outreach and sponsors a number of public lectures each year, as well as other events and conferences.

Marco Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
In 2003 the interdisciplinary Medieval and Renaissance Studies Curriculum and Outreach Initiative (MARCO) at Tennessee won a $3 million NEH Challenge grant to create a permanent Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Seven history faculty members who specialize in European, Asian and Middle-Eastern history play active roles in the Marco Institute, which also draws faculty expertise from across the College. The Marco Institute draws on the extensive collections of Hodges Library, making The University of Tennessee generally and its history department in particular a leading center for the graduate study of medieval and Renaissance culture.

Financial Aid

The Department of History annually gives out approximately twenty graduate teaching-assistant awards with a stipend of about $10,000 a year and a tuition waiver. Students holding these awards are normally working toward the PhD or MA, and serve as teaching assistants for our large undergraduate survey courses. Typically, these awards are for two years, with the possibility of renewal for a third.

Degree Requirements

PhDs are awarded in Modern European History, Premodern European History, and U.S. History. To receive a doctoral degree from the Department of History, a student must earn at least 24 hours of course credit (post-MA) and an additional 24 hours (at minimum) of dissertation credit, all at University of Tennessee. Students must demonstrate competence in at least one foreign language.

The 24 hours of course work are divided into three "groups." A student must have at least 9 hours of course work in Group I, his or her general field of study (United States, Modern European, or Premodern European History). Group II involves the student's more specialized field of study within United States or European history; the number of hours required in this group is not specified. Finally, a student must take 9 hours in a Group III teaching field in Western Civilization, World History, or U.S. History, depending upon his or her general field. (Hours earned for an M.A. degree may be used to meet the hours required for the different doctoral "groups" of courses.) In addition to course work, students must complete comprehensive examinations related to their work in each of these three groups.



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: 45

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: 2

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: 100%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 66

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

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1965

History PhDs conferred to Date: 127

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