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University of Wisconsin–Madison

Dept. of the History of Science
210 Bradley Memorial Bldg.
1225 Linden Dr.
Madison, WI 53706-1393

Phone 608.262.1406
Fax 608.262.3984
E-mail: mail@histsci.wisc.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

History of Science, Medicine, and Technology

Program Description

We are the oldest Ph.D.-granting department in the history of science in the United States, and also one of the largest. Our department seeks to advance the historical understanding of science, medicine and technology, both on their own terms and in their broader contexts. We have a vibrant graduate program training M.A. and Ph.D. students. Most of our Ph.D. graduates take academic positions. Our students have been successful in a variety of other fields, including science journalism and publishing.

Special Programs or Resources

Our students benefit from the department's close connections to a number of related programs, most importantly the Department of Medical History and Bioethics, which functions as a seamless part of the graduate program in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. UW-Madison's highly regarded Department of History provides another key resource for our graduate students, who often have History faculty on their dissertation committees, and can also participate in a joint Ph.D. program with History. The Program in Science and Technology Studies (STS) provides further opportunities for cross-disciplinary interactions, bringing together faculty and students from a wide range of related fields, including sociology, philosophy, journalism, and policy studies. Students in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology can take their Ph.D. minor in STS. Faculty members are also active in a variety of other interdisciplinary programs across campus, including the Institute for Environmental Studies and Womens Studies, making the department a lively center of intellectual exchange across academic departments within the university. UW-Madison has outstanding library resources for research in the history of science, including an extensive collection of rare books and manuscripts. Especially noteworthy are the holdings of early scientific journals and special collections of early works relating to the history of chemistry, medicine, and pharmacy. Campus libraries are also strong in the history of physics and mathematics, in works relating to science in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and in nineteenth-century German scientific journals. The history of medicine collection provides outstanding opportunities for research in the history of European and American medicine from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. The library of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, which is one of America's great research libraries in its own right, provides a tremendous resource for historians of American science. The campus also has very strong collections of engineering and trade journals from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

Financial Aid

Graduate students in the department receive financial support through research and teaching assistantships, as well as a variety of fellowships, including the John Neu Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, the David C. and Greta J. Lindberg Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, campus-wide University Fellowships, and various national fellowships. In addition, the Department of Medical History and Bioethics provides financial support for some students concentrating in the history of the biomedical sciences. We offer a number of multi-year support packages to incoming students, depending on their background and qualifications.

Degree Requirements

Admission to the Ph.D. program is contingent upon successful completion of the M.A. degree, which requires an M.A. paper and 30 credit hours of graduate courses, of which 21 must be in the History of Science department. Ph.D. students must complete a graduate minor outside the department (10 credit hours minimum), along with combined written and oral preliminary examinations in three fields selected by the student.



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:

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

 

Student Demographics (Fall 2011):

Number of Doctoral Students in Program: 15

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: 5

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: 80%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 24

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

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1948

Total History PhDs conferred to Date: Not reported

Number of PhDs Conferred (2011–12):

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred: Specialized Program [Explain]

Current Dissertations in Progress

PhDs Conferred by Department

 

 

Last Updated: October 19, 2012