History Doctoral Programs in the United States and Canada

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Georgetown Univ.

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

Atlantic, Asia, environmental, late medieval/early modern/modern Europe, Latin America

Program Description

Georgetown offers a Ph.D.in History and an MA in Global, International and Comparative History. We also participate in joint programs: the joint MA with MSFS , the joint PhD program with Arab Studies (M.A. in Arab Studies/PhD in History) and with German and European Studies (M.A. in German and European Studies/PhD in History). The Ph.D. program is open to students with a B.A. or M.A. in History or comparable background. The key materials to provide with the application are: transcripts; scores from the GRE General Test; TOEFL; a two-page statement of purpose; a sample of major work (a research paper demonstrating ability to work with primary sources); and three letters of recommendation. Georgetown has a highly selective program: we accept approximately 20 percent of those who apply. Incoming classes average 15 students.
The Georgetown Masters of Arts in Global, International, and Comparative History (MAGIC) is open to students who have completed a BA or equivalent degree in History, a social science, or literature and culture. In exceptional cases, it will consider strong applicants with majors in other fields. The key materials to provide with the application are transcripts; a statement that details preparation, general goals, and the outline of a proposed program of study; a short (5-15 page) analytical writing sample; GRE scores, and three letters of recommendation. For students with native languages other than English, strong English skills, as demonstrated by the TOEFL, will be required for admission. The program will be highly selective and is capped at 15 students a year.

Special Programs or Resources

The Department places a high priority on providing teaching assistantship and teaching experience for doctoral students. In addition to the opportunities to serve as a teaching assistantship opportunites there are three opportunities to teach a course: ABDs who have finished the research year are eligible to apply for the Royden B. Davis Fellowship, which allows a student to design and teach an upper-division undergraduate class in one semester, conduct research in the other semester, and provides a stipend. Several ABDs teach sections of general education history classes and are sometimes asked to teach regional history surveys.
Georgetown doctoral students have a superior record in research fellowship competitions. In the past five years, our students have held DAAD, Fulbright-Hays, Fulbright, IREX, Marandon, NEH, SHAFR, SSRC, ACLS and other major grants. In some fields, such as early-modern Europe, modern Germany, modern Russia, Poland, and the Middle East, every eligible student who has applied for an outside research fellowship has obtained one. All students who hold five-year Department Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis one year without a service obligation in order to further their research. The Department also offers a limited number of research stipends for those in fields of study in which research funding is not easily available and for non-U.S. citizens typically ineligible for U.S. research funding (Fulbright, SSRC, etc.). There is in some cases the possibility of a second non-service year.
Georgetown offers the unparalleled research resources of Washington, D.C.: the 26 million volumes of the Library of Congress; the National Archives; the remarkable range of specialized libraries, such as the National Library of Medicine, the Folger Shakespeare Library (which contains a superb collection on early-modern Continental European and English history), the Department of Agriculture, and several others. The University's Lauinger Library contains over 1.4 million volumes and a range of special collections, including the nearly 350,000 items of the Government Documents Depository.

Financial Aid

The Department offers various forms of financial aid to doctoral students. University fellowships provide five years of stipend support (including summer support), five years of tuition support (9 credits per semester in the first two years). These awards differ from the Department's regular five-year Fellowships in that the stipend is more generous, is provided over twelve months, and has a reduced service component. Department Fellowships provide stipend and tuition support (9 credits per semester in the first two years) for five years. These fellowships are awarded on entry to the program to seven or eight students. Students who hold these fellowships will do no service their first year, and may have a second year free from service after they have finished their comprehensive exams, with the specific timing determined in consultation with the student's committee. Competitive Teaching Assistantships are awarded to students in an annual competition. These awards are not automatically renewable, but those who hold an assistantship may re-enter the competition in succeeding years. A number of tuition scholarships are awarded based on an annual competition. These awards are available to students progressing within the seven-year time limit and depend on availability of funds.

Degree Requirements

Doctoral students complete four requirements for the Ph.D.: 36 hours of coursework (minimum 3.3 GPA); appropriate language exams (two, except in the U.S.concentration, which requires one); comprehensive exams; and dissertation. Mandatory courses are an Introductory Colloquium taken in the first semester and a year-long research seminar in the major field, taken in either the first or second year. Students consult the advisory committee (led by a mentor and overseen by faculty in each field of study) to select courses in the major, research, and two minor fields. These fields can be defined geographically or thematically, but major and minor fields must cover separate geographic regions. Students who have done graduate work elsewhere are considered for up to nine credits of advanced standing. Students may also take courses at Washington-area Consortium universities. The first language exam is taken during orientation week, retaken if necessary, and ideally passed during the first year of study; with the exception of those in the US concentration students must pass two language exams before taking the comprehensive exam. Comprehensive exams consist of two written and a two-hour oral exam usually taken by the end of the third year. The dissertation committee consists of three or four advisors. After completing a polished draft of the dissertation, the student makes an oral defense.
MAGIC students complete two requirements: 30 hours of course work (minimum 3.3 GPA); appropriate language exam. The 30 hours of courses will normally be taken over the course of three semesters, but may extend over four (for those needing more language study, or finding work in the area). Students must take at least three courses a semester their first two semesters in the program. Mandatory courses are two colloquia, in Global/International and Comparative History, respectively, as well as a two-semester research seminar. Students will chose from the list of graduate-level courses (500 and above) offered by the History department. In addition, students may take up to two courses outside of the History Department. In consultation with the program Director, students will design their own programs of study, either comparing two regions of the world with respect to a common theme or placing a nation or a world region in international context, and exploring developments from the sixteenth century to the present.
All MAGIC students must demonstrate competence in at least one language other than English by passing a department-administered examination before beginning their third full semester in the program. For students with native languages other than English, the native language plus English will normally fulfill the programs language requirement.