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State University of New York at Buffalo

Dept. of History
546 Park Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260-4130

Phone 716.645.2181
Fax 716.645.5954
E-mail: hischaos@buffalo.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

American History, Asia, Caribbean, Early Modern Europe, Modern Europe, Latin America, and North and South Atlantic History

Program Description

The aim of the Ph.D. program is to train applicants for careers at the highest levels of the historical profession, such as college and university teaching and research. The program at UB has three stages: coursework, taken in the first two years, followed by preparation for written and oral exams in three fields, then researching, writing, and defending a dissertation. (Although the process can be condensed into a single sentence, one should note that it typically takes from six to eight years to complete a Ph.D. in history.) At present, the department offers the Ph.D. in six major fields: American History, Early Modern Europe (1400-1789), Modern Europe (1789-present), North and South Atlantic History, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Special Programs or Resources

No information provided

Financial Aid

With rare exceptions, the Department regularly offers a minimum of four years of support--usually in the form of a T.A. (Teaching Assistant) line--to all applicants to whom we extend an offer of admission for full-time study.

All new full-time, supported students in the first four years of our Ph.D. program receive an academic year stipend ranging from $15,000-22,000, plus a full tuition scholarship and health care.

In addition, many of our students successfully compete for a variety of departmental, College, and external fellowships and grants that provide generous stipends for dissertation research and for the final stages of dissertation writing. Opportunities also exist for advanced Ph.D. students who have served as Teaching Assistants for four years to teach their own undergraduate courses as paid adjuncts, or teaching associates. Thus, most students can count on an additional fifth year of support, while our very best students frequently receive six, or even seven, years of support.

Degree Requirements

The course work of the first two years emphasizes key aspects of the profession. The required seminar in historical inquiry, for instance, aims to acquaint students with the various methodological and theoretical considerations involved in "doing" history, while core courses in the major field areas are designed to help students gain the knowledge and background necessary to teach a particular field. These courses are supplemented by research seminars, which offer in-depth exploration of a particular field of specialization and allow students to become accustomed to conducting original research. This course work also helps students prepare the three areasone of the five major fields, a field of specialization within the major field, and a minor fieldin which they will take comprehensive oral and written examinations.

The final part of the Ph.D. is researching and writing the dissertation. The process begins with the preparation of a dissertation prospectus in the semester following successful completion of the comprehensive examinations. It customarily entails an extended period of research away from the university, and usually takes several years from start to finish.



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: 24

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

 

Student Demographics (Fall 2011):

Number of Doctoral Students in Program: 32

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: 5

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: 81%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 65

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

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1949

History PhDs conferred to Date: 220

Number of PhDs Conferred (2011–12): 3

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred: Medium [Explain]

Current Dissertations in Progress

PhDs Conferred by Department

 

 

Last Updated: October 19, 2012