History Doctoral Programs in the United States and Canada

Nevada at Las Vegas, Univ. of

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

U.S. West, European intellectual and cultural, Latin America, modern Asia

Program Description

The Doctor of Philosophy in History is the ultimate expression of the History Department's mission to generate and disseminate new knowledge of the past through research, reflection and publication. The doctoral program in History at UNLV has two tracks: the History of the American West; and the Cultural and/or Intellectual History of the United States or Europe. Students enter one of the two tracks, though they may do coursework in both. The majority of the doctoral students also do a field in Public History. The degree aims at providing graduates with the capacity for original research and thought as demonstrated by the completion of a doctoral dissertation of substantial length combining imagination and excellence. The Department of History offers a Master of Arts degree with concentrations in the following areas: United States, Europe, Modern Asia, Latin America (minor), and Public History (minor), or a comparative topical field (minor). Students in the MA program may choose a thesis or a non-thesis track. The program is designed to broaden and deepen the student's understanding of the heritage of human experience. It also sharpens scholarly skills and provides for some specialization in specific fields or periods of History.

Special Programs or Resources

Through the Public History program and various other Public History faculty initiatives, doctoral students are provided opportunities for paid research internships at various National Parks and other important historical sites. The Lied Library Special Collections house the nation's largest collection of materials on gaming. Lied Library also houses a very extensive collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century western American newspapers.

Financial Aid

The department has a number of Graduate Assistantship positions available to incoming PhD and MA students. The majority of these positions are Teaching Assistantships, though some Research Assistantships are also available. Doctoral students upon completion of qualifying examinations have the opportunity to receive additional funding in the capacity of Part Time Instructor/Graduate Assistants (PTIGAs); these positions allow doctoral students to offer their own introductory level survey courses. The department also has an active public history program that includes many opportunities to secure project-specific funding.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 56 credits beyond the B.A. or 38 credits beyond the M.A. in History or closely related disciplines. In either case, credits must be distributed as follows:
1a. American West Track: Doctoral students in the American West track must complete: nine credits of colloquium (HIST 724, 726, 728, 730, 732, or 769), three credits of which must be in the non-U.S. field; eight credits of seminar (725, 727, 729, 731, or 733); nine credits of historiography (including 740f: American West, and 740g: United States Cultural/Intellectual or 740h: European Cultural/Intellectual); and twelve credits of work in an appropriate academic discipline/s other than history, and/or in a non-US field of history.
1b: Cultural/Intellectual Track: Doctoral students in the Cultural/Intellectual History track must complete: nine credits of colloquium (HIST 724, 726, 728, 730, 732, or 769); eight credits of seminar (725, 727, 729, 731, or 733); and nine credits of historiography (including 740g and 740h). Students must take twelve further credits in fields of inquiry outside of their major field of Europe or the United States. In consultation with their advisor, students may take six credits of work at either the 600- or 700-level in one appropriate academic discipline other than history. Students must take a minimum of six credits in the minor field, of which at least three should be colloquium (where possible).
2. Satisfaction of the foreign language requirement. This requirement can be met in any of the following three ways, though the chosen option must be approved by the chair of the student's examination committee:
i. Demonstrated reading knowledge of two foreign languages.
ii. Demonstrated reading knowledge of one foreign language and the successful completion of SOC 604.
iii. Demonstrated reading knowledge of one foreign language and advanced reading knowledge of the same language, assessed through the writing of a substantial historiographical essay in English based on scholarly literature in that foreign language.
3. Satisfactory performance on written and oral qualifying examinations.
3a: American West Track: Students in the American West track take exams in four required fields: I) Major Field: American West. II) Topical Field in U.S. History other than the American West. III) Theory and Methods in American Western History. IV) Regional Field outside U.S. History, or Public History (oral exam only). Students write on a total of five of ten essay questions.
3b. Cultural/Intellectual Track: Students in the Cultural/Intellectual track take exams in four required fields: I) Major Field: Cultural and/or Intellectual History of the major geographic area of specialization (Europe or United States). II) TopicalField within the history of the major geographic area of specialization (Europe or United States). III) Theory and Methods in Cultural/Intellectual History. IV) Topical Minor Field in the history of a geographic area other than the geographic area of specialization, or Public History (oral exam only). Students write on a total of five of ten essay questions.
4. A dissertation of substantial length and quality containing original research and interpretation on a topic in the field of either U.S. Western History or European or American Cultural and/or Intellectual History. The student must take a minimum of twelve dissertation credits.
5. An oral defense of the dissertation.
6. A total of at least 68 credits beyond the B.A. or at least 50 credits beyond the M.A.

University Information:

University Type: Public

Carnegie Institution Ranking: Doctoral/Research Universities—Intensive

Department Demographics:

First PhD conferred: 1996

History PhDs conferred to Date: 6

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

Faculty Mix:
	Full Professor	7
	Associate Professor	11
	Assistant Professor	6
	Instructor/Lecturer
	Joint Appointment
	Emeritus Faculty	4
	Part-time faculty

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

Number of Graduate Students in Program (Fall 2005): 82
(Graduate student counts include those enrolled in terminal Master's degree program)

Proportion of Full-Time Graduate Students: 35%

New Graduate Students Entering Program, Fall 2004: 23

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

 

Other Information

     Current Dissertations in Progress

     PhDs Conferred by Department