History PhD Program

To be admitted to study in the PhD program, an applicant must complete 24 hours of undergraduate history courses and have achieved a score of at least 500 on the verbal portion of the GRE and 5.0 on the analytical writing portion of the exam.

Students must also present a strong academic record and provide evidence of an ability to do scholarly research and writing. Even though he/she may have earned an MA degree at TCU, the student must reapply to AddRan College before being admitted to work toward the PhD degree. Letters of recommendation, GRE scores, a statement of purpose and writing sample, and three letters of recommendation are required.

The doctorate is offered in the areas of the U.S. and Latin America history. Students are normally expected to earn the MA degree before continuing toward the PhD

Degree requirements are:

  1. A suitable number and variety of graduate courses to prepare the student for the qualifying examination and for the writing of the dissertation. In addition to the major area of specialization, the student also completes coursework in three minor areas, usually nine hours in each. With the approval of the student's graduate committee, as many as 12 hours may be taken outside the department. The doctoral program comprises no fewer than 54 hours of graduate courses for credit exclusive of credit hours for the dissertation.
  2. Reading knowledge of one approved foreign language, usually selected from French, German or Spanish. The language should be the one most appropriate to the student's research and fields of concentration. Reading knowledge can be demonstrated either by superior performance on the ETS examination, by satisfactory completion of a special course offered by the Department of Modern Languages, by independent study and successful examination by a member of the department fluent in the language, or by achieving at least a grade of "B" in six hours of sophomore-level college language courses. The language requirements must be met no later than the end of the first semester of the second year.
  3. A comprehensive qualifying examination consisting of written and oral exams covering two minor fields and the major area of specialization. The student must pass the written minor field and major field exams before taking the oral exam. On both the written and the oral, he/she will be allowed only two opportunities. Upon the completion of the comprehensive qualifying examination, the student is admitted to candidacy. For specifics regarding this examination, see the Department of History Guide to Graduate Study.
  4. A doctoral dissertation constituting an original contribution to scholarship or a new synthesis of existing knowledge. The candidate defends the dissertation in a final oral examination.




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