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Brown University

Dept. of History
79 Brown St.
Providence, RI 02912-9114

Phone 401.863.2131
Fax 401.863.1040
E-mail: history@brown.edu

Department Web Site

Areas of Specialization:

East Asia, U.S., Latin America, Europe, Ancient World

Program Description

The Brown History Department annually enrolls a cohort of 10-12 promising students in its doctoral program. They come from a diverse range of backgrounds and academic careers, though most have majored, or taken significant coursework, in history. They come from the United States and diverse countries around the world. Each cohort is unique, with a distinct blend of regional, national, and topical interests among its members. The average student takes 5-7 years to complete the doctoral degree.

Special Programs or Resources

No information provided

Financial Aid

The Graduate School grants incoming doctoral students five years of guaranteed support, which includes a stipend, tuition remission, and a health-insurance subsidy. All promises of student support are subject to students' making satisfactory academic progress as determined by their programs of study. No such aid is available for master's degree students.

The History Department encourages applicants to apply for grants such as The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies to help fund their graduate studies.

Beginning in the second year, doctoral students in history normally win appointments as teaching assistants or proctors. Contingent upon satisfactory progress toward the degree, these awards are usually renewable for two years. The awards provide tuition and stipends, which have steadily increased in recent years.

The Department also recommends advanced students (writing dissertations) for financial aid in furtherance of research. These help to cover a variety of expenses, including travel and living expenses incurred in the process of research.

Degree Requirements

The first two and a half years of the doctoral program are devoted to coursework and the fulfillment of the foreign language requirement. We expect graduate students to take the qualifying examination in the middle of the third year (at the end of the fifth semester). The remaining time in the program is devoted to the writing of the dissertation. We expect this project to involve substantial archival research and to demonstrate potential to become a publishable book during the early years of the student's career as a college or university professor. Though non-academic career options are less plentiful in history than in other fields, the department can assist students in job searches outside academia.



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: 25

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

 

Student Demographics (Fall 2011):

Number of Doctoral Students in Program: -1

New Doctoral Students Entering Program: -1

Proportion of Doctoral Students Receiving Financial Aid: -1%

Number of Graduate Students Enrolled: 65

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

 

Degree Information:

First PhD conferred: 1889

History PhDs conferred to Date: 245

Number of PhDs Conferred (2011–12): 7

Relative Size Based on PhDs Conferred: Large [Explain]

Current Dissertations in Progress

PhDs Conferred by Department

 

 

Last Updated: October 19, 2012