how long is a phd program in history

• PhD History
• Prospective Students
• MA Programs

The Department of History offers a PhD program centered on rigorous research within a vibrant and diverse intellectual community. While most of our students have a history degree (BA) or degrees (BA and MA), we accept students with a variety of backgrounds and interests. 

Admission is highly competitive. All offers include a full university fellowship for the duration of the program. Between 2017 and 2023, a number of excellent students selected for admission were named  Neubauer Family Distinguished Doctoral Fellows and received additional fellowship support over for five years.

Autumn 2023 Admissions Deadline:  December 5, 2023 at 11:55 PM CST

Application Process

Interested students apply to the PhD program through the  Division of the Social Sciences . For questions regarding the application submission and fee waivers, please contact  SSD Admissions.  For questions regarding the History PhD Program or History-specific application components, please contact our  graduate affairs administrator .

Official decisions are sent by the Social Science Admissions Office by late February. The Department cannot release any information on admissions decisions.

Application Advice

The requirements for the application can be found on the divisional  admissions pages . The following advice is specific to your application to the Department of History.

Your  writing sample  should be a complete self-contained work. The ideal sample should be in the field of history (or a closely related field) that you plan to pursue at Chicago. Include the class or publication for which the sample was written. We do not have a page or word limit for writing samples. For papers longer than twenty-five pages, please flag a section for the committee.

Your  candidate statement  provides us with vital insight into the intersection of your intellectual goals and personal trajectory. It should communicate: 1) the ambitions you wish to pursue through doctoral work in history; 2) the specific questions and themes that will shape your dissertation research; 3) the personal and intellectual trajectory that has brought you to those themes and questions and prepared you to pursue them; and 4) the reasons that the University of Chicago and its faculty are well-matched to your doctoral plans.

The most helpful  letters of recommendation  come from faculty members who can assess your ability to work on your proposed historical topic.

Prospective students are asked to identify one or two primary fields of scholarly interest from a list in the application. Our faculty pages are sorted by field. Please see those pages for more information on faculty working in your field of interest. Please note, however, that we highly encourage applicants who work across field boundaries and do not apportion admissions by field.

There is no minimum  foreign language requirement  to enter the program, but successful applicants should possess strong language skills in their proposed research language(s) and be aware of the  language requirements for the various fields . All students are required to take a language exam in the first quarter of the program.

The University sets the  English-language assessment  requirements. Refer to the  Division of the Social Sciences  for English-language requirements and waivers.

Submission of  GRE scores  is entirely optional. Those who choose not to submit scores will not be disadvantaged in the admissions process.

MA Program Consideration

All applicants who are not admitted to our PhD program are automatically forwarded for consideration by our MA programs, unless the applicant specifically opts out of this process on their application. That said, as referred applications are considered later than most other MA applications, scholarship assistance for students admitted to an MA program through the referral process may be limited. If you are interested in our MA programs and would need scholarship assistance to attend, we would encourage you to apply directly to the MA as well as our program (note that this would require a separate application and application fee). MA applications are accepted  multiple times per year  with decisions typically issued within 6 to 8 weeks. Questions about applying to an MA program should be directed to  [email protected] .

Campus Visits

We encourage prospective students to reach out to potential faculty mentors through email. Please consult our faculty page to find professors who share your interests. Our graduate affairs administrator can provide additional information about the program.

The University also offers  graduate campus tours  throughout the year that are led by graduate students. Please check their website for campus visitor updates.

Admitted PhD students are invited to visit campus for "History Day" at the beginning of Spring Quarter.

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Graduate Students

Learn more about our  students' research interests and dissertation projects.

CURRENT STUDENTS

Ph.D. Program

Stanford Ph.D. Program in History aims to train world-class scholars.

Every year we admit 10-12 promising students  from a large pool of highly selective applicants. Our small cohort size allows more individual work with faculty than most graduate programs in the United States and also enables funding in one form or another available to members of each cohort.

Fields of Study

Our graduate students may specialize in 14 distinct subfields: Africa, Britain, Early Modern Europe, East Asia, Jewish History, Latin America, Medieval Europe, Modern Europe,  Ottoman Empire and Middle East, Russia/Eastern Europe, Science, Technology, Environment, and Medicine, South Asia, Transnational, International, and Global History, and United States. Explore each field and their affiliates . 

The department expects most graduate students to spend no less than four and no more than six years completing the work for the Ph.D. degree. Individual students' time to degree will vary with the strength of their undergraduate preparation as well as with the particular language and research requirements of their respective Major fields.

Expectations and Degree Requirements

We expect that most graduate students will spend no less than four and no more than six years toward completing their Ph.D. Individual students' time-to-degree vary with the strength of their undergraduate preparation as well as with the particular language and research requirements of their respective subfield.

All History Ph.D. students are expected to satisfy the following degree requirements:

• Teaching: Students who enter on the Department Fellowship are required to complete 4 quarters of teaching experience by the end of their third year. Teaching experience includes teaching assistantships and teaching a Sources and Methods course on their own.
• Candidacy : Students apply for candidacy to the PhD program by the end of their second year in the program.
• Orals:  The University Orals Examination is typically taken at the beginning of the 3rd year in the program.
• Languages: Language requirements vary depending on the field of study.
• Residency Requirement : The University requi res  135 units of full-tuition residency  for PhD students. After that, students should have completed all course work and must request Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status. 

Browse the Ph.D. Handbook to learn more .

The History Department offers 5 years of financial support to PhD students.  No funding is offered for the co-terminal and terminal M.A. programs. A sample Ph.D. funding package is as follows:  

• 1st year: 3 quarters fellowship stipend and 1 summer stipend 
• 2nd year: 2 quarters TAships, 1 quarter RAship (pre-doc affiliate), and 1 summer stipend 
• 3rd year: 2 quarters TAships, 1 quarter RAship (pre-doc affiliate), and 1 summer stipend 
• 4th year: 3 quarters of RAships (pre-doc affiliate) and 1 summer stipend 
• 5th year: 3 quarters of RAships (pre-doc affiliate) and 1 summer stipend

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students  who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars  (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your studies at Stanford. candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about  KHS admission .

How to Apply

Admission to the History Graduate Programs are for Autumn quarter only.  Interested applicants can online at  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/apply/apply-now and submit the following documents: 

• Statement of Purpose (included in Application)
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
•  Transcripts are required from all prior college level schools attended for at least one year.  A scanned copy of the official transcript is submitted as part of the online application.  Please do not mail transcripts to the department.   We will ask only the admitted students to submit actual copies of official transcripts.
• 1 Writing Sample on a historic topic (10-25 pages; sent via  Stanford's online application system  only)
• The GRE exam is not required for the autumn 2024 admission cycle
• TOEFL for all international applicants (whose primary language is not English) sent via ETS. Our University code is 4704.
• TOEFL Exemptions and Waiver information
• Application Fee Waiver
• The department is not able to provide fee waivers. Please see the link above for the available fee waivers and how to submit a request. Requests are due 2 weeks before the application deadline.

The Department of History welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

The Department of History also recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

Application deadline for Autumn 2024-25 is Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 11:59pm EST . This is a hard -not a postmark- deadline. 

All application material is available online. No information is sent via snail mail. Interested applicants are invited to view a Guide to Graduate Admissions at  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/ . 

Questions? 

Please contact  Arthur Palmon  (Assistant Director of Student Services).

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The Fox Spirit, the Stone Maiden, and Other Transgender Histories from Late Imperial China

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Department of History

Ph.d. programs.

The Department of History’s doctoral degree program seeks to train talented historians for careers in scholarship, teaching, and beyond the academy. The department typically accepts 22 Ph.D. students per year. Additional students are enrolled through various combined programs and through HSHM.  All admitted Ph.D. students receive a  full  financial aid package  from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

History of Science and Medicine

The  Program in the History of Science and Medicine  (HSHM)  is a semi-autonomous graduate track within the Department of History. HSHM students receive degrees in History, with a concentration in the History of Science and Medicine.  There is a separate admissions process for students interested in the History of Science and Medicine. For more information, please see the  HSHM website . 

Combined Doctoral Programs

Joint ph.d. programs.

College of Arts & Sciences

PhD Course of Study

    coursework.

Coursework in our program is intended to provide students with a solid knowledge of historiography in their specialty, substantial experience in archival research, and the opportunity to explore new fields, themes, and methods of inquiry.

Generally, doctoral students take three courses each semester for their first two years in the program. All students must take the Core Colloquium in their first semester and complete a two-semester research seminar.  In addition to choosing from the list of offered courses, students may arrange for individual tutorials with faculty, or seek out a Consortium course from a participating university in the area.  Students who matriculate with an MA degree may petition for advanced standing, which reduces the courseload requirements.  Students are guided in their choice of courses by their Mentor and Advisory Committee.

Entering students are expected to have reading competency in at least one relevant language and are tested before they start their first semester of classes. Students cannot register for the third semester of classes until they pass at least one language exam. All students, except those whose major field is United States History, must pass a minimum of two language exams before scheduling comprehensive exams.

Courses Available in the History Department

    Comprehensive Exams

Our Comprehensive Exams are intended to prepare students to teach in their specialties and launch them towards their dissertation research. Doctoral students usually take their exams some time in their third year.

Ph.D. students at Georgetown prepare three fields: a Major field, a Research field within the Major, and a separate Minor field. While the Major field must be one of our formal fields of study, students have a great deal of leeway and creative license to determine their other two fields. This flexibility is a hallmark of our program of study.

Students prepare a written exam in the Major Field and Research field and a written portfolio in the Minor field. Passing the written work qualifies a student to move on to a two-hour oral exam. Passing the oral exam qualifies the student as a Doctoral Candidate.

    Dissertation

Writing a great dissertation is the goal of every student’s doctoral training. After passing their comprehensive exams, students form a dissertation committee, write a dissertation proposal, and move forward on their research. Ideally, students spend their fourth year doing archival research and their fifth year writing their dissertations. The doctoral students have a standing writing workshop for dissertators to share and critique each other’s work in progress. Our students have won prestigious external fellowships to fund their research and writing, including the ACLS and ACLS/Mellon, Newcombe, Ford Foundation, Fulbright and Fulbright-Hays, among many others. Click here for a list of completed dissertations  and  dissertations in progress.

    Teaching

Our doctoral students have plentiful opportunities to teach. Students on renewable fellowships usually serve as Teaching Assistants in their second, third, and fifth years. Every year, a handful of Davis Fellowships are awarded to advanced doctoral students to teach their own upper-level undergraduate seminars. Students who are nearly done with their dissertations or have recently completed their dissertations sometimes teach their own undergraduate survey-level classes. Ph.D. students in the History Department work closely with Georgetown’s Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship to improve as teachers. Our Ph.D.s enter the academic job market with extensive training and experience as teachers.

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You will work with a stellar faculty in the Department of History and neighboring departments as you acquire advanced skills in historical research, analysis, and writing, as well as teaching.

Nine research centers affiliated with the history program offer further programs in area studies, including The Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, and The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. You also have access to the largest university library system in the world, consisting of 80 libraries and 17 million volumes.

Examples of dissertations students have worked on include “Cold War Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Military Spending from 1949 to 1989” and “Imperial Schemes: Empire and the Rise of the British Business-State, 1914–1939.”

Graduates of the program have gone on to teach at Yale University, Princeton University, NYU, and the University of Maryland. Others have gone on to positions outside academia as startup founders, lawyers, policy analysts, and museum curators.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of History and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

African History | Ancient History | Byzantine History | Early Modern European History | East Asian History | Environmental History | International and Global History | Latin American History | Medieval History | Middle Eastern History | Modern European History | Russian and Eastern European History | South Asian History | United States History

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of History .

Writing Sample

A writing sample is required. While there is not a specific length requirement, most writing samples are around 20 to 25 pages. If you are submitting a sample that is part of a larger work (a chapter from a thesis, for instance) you may include a brief abstract situating the piece in the larger work.

Statement of Purpose

Your statement of purpose should include why you want to study history in graduate school, why you want to study at Harvard, and indicate your research interests and potential advisors. The required writing sample should be of remarkable quality and ask historical questions. Reading ability in two languages other than English is helpful. Most statements of purpose are around 3 to 5 pages.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Optional

In coordination with Harvard Law School, students may pursue both a PhD in history and a JD at Harvard Law School. To learn more about this course of study consult the Coordinated JD/PhD program overview.

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for History

See list of History faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

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Note that the GRE is now optional for our graduate admission process.  

Admissions process for the history phd:.

Each year the department receives nearly 400 applications to the doctoral program and offers admission to about 6% of applicants . The typical incoming class size is 16 students.

The admissions process is extremely competitive , but if you are serious about pursuing a PhD in history, you are encouraged to apply.

Successful applications have shared many of the following characteristics:

Statement of purpose that makes clear why the applicant wants to study history in graduate school, and why the applicant wants to study at Harvard. This statement often illustrates the applicant’s research interests and notes potential advisors Three strong letters of reference from people who know the applicant’s writing Personal Statement that shares how the applicant’s experiences or activities will contribute to the school’s mission to attract a diverse and dynamic community. (Should not exceed 500 words.) Writing sample of remarkable quality that asks historical questions Fluent or nearly fluent in English Reading ability in two languages other than English Strong undergraduate , and, if applicable, graduate record , with excellent marks in history courses

Follow the link for more information about applying to the  History Department PhD program

Harvard Griffin GSAS does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

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2023-24 edition, history, ph.d..

The Doctoral Program in History is designed to provide students with advanced historical research skills and a solid grounding in the theory and methodology of history. This combination reflects the Department’s conviction that scholars should approach significant questions about the past with rigor and sophistication. The Department requires that students develop critical abilities in dealing with primary sources, secondary syntheses, and the interrelationship of history and theory. Candidates for the Ph.D. in History are expected to gain teaching experience as an integral part of their graduate training. This is accomplished through work as a teaching assistant.

Doctoral students take a minimum of 15 formal courses to be completed during the first two years of the program. Ten courses must be taken within the History Department.

History and Theory

Required coursework for doctoral students includes two courses in History and Theory. These courses explore a variety of theoretical issues and methodological concerns that have sparked debate in the humanities and social sciences in the past decades and which remain pertinent to 21st century historical writing. Topics may include the relationship between materialist approaches and cultural analysis; subjectivity and governance; gender and sexuality; ethnicity and racial formation; the politics of religion; "the archive" and archival practice; nationalism and postcolonialism; world history and transnational studies.

History Methods

Required coursework for doctoral students includes one course in History Methods. This course introduces graduate students to some of the most foundational ideas and debates that have shaped historiographical practice over the past half century. This course explores fundamental questions about how historians imagine the past as they try to write about it, how they constitute it as a domain of study, and how (and why) they argue about it.

Field Emphases

Doctoral students are required to take a total of five courses satisfying requirements for specialization in two historical fields, in either area studies or thematic fields. Students take three courses in the first field and two courses in the second field. The Department offers area studies fields in Asian History, European History, Latin American History, Middle East and African History, U.S. History, and World History. Thematic fields vary depending on demand. Students may take courses satisfying field requirements in any order.

Research Seminars

Doctoral students are required to take a two-quarter course sequence in research and writing both their first and second year in the graduate program. In the first year, students take a proseminar on historical methodology ( HISTORY 202A ) followed by a second quarter ( HISTORY 202B ) in which they write a research paper that engages the methodologies and questions explored in the previous quarter. Students who enter the doctoral program with a master's may petition to be exempt from the first-year research sequence, pending acceptance of the M.A. thesis as an equivalent to the final research paper of the sequence.

In the second year of study, Ph.D. students take a two-course sequence ( HISTORY 204A and HISTORY 204B ) in which they research and write a paper on a topic of their choice. The second year research paper is required of all doctoral students.

Professional Development Colloquium

Doctoral students are required to take a three quarter long colloquium (HISTORY 210A-HISTORY 210B-HISTORY 210C) on professional development during their first year in the graduate program. The Professional Development Colloquium introduces graduate students in history to career diversity and life as a professional historian both within and outside academia. It addresses topics including finding support for successful and intellectually rewarding on time degree completion, preparing for different kinds of employment searches, and applying skills learned from academic training to a variety of professional settings.

Language Requirement

All students must demonstrate a proficiency in one language other than English prior to taking the Ph.D. candidacy qualifying exam. Competency in a language may be established either by passing a departmental examination (proctored in the department office) or through extensive language use in one of the research seminars. The language used to satisfy this requirement is subject to their advisors' approval.

Summary of Required Course of Study:

• History and Theory - one course
• History Methods – one course
• Research Seminars - four courses
• Professional Development Colloquium – three courses
• First Field - three courses
• Second Field - two courses
• Electives - three courses
• Foreign Language Proficiency  

First-Year Review and M.A. Conferral

To continue in the doctoral program, students must satisfactorily pass a departmental evaluation at the end of their first year of study; this includes students who entered with a M.A. from another institution.

Doctoral students can be awarded an M.A. from UCI after fulfilling requirements for residence, one language, and successfully completing 36 units, including 28 units in required courses and one of the following: submitting an approved M.A. thesis, passing a one-hour exam in the primary field, or completing an additional 24 units of approved coursework.

The Candidacy Qualifying Exam and Dissertation Prospectus

In the third year of the doctoral program, students prepare for their candidacy qualifying exam and write the dissertation prospectus. Most third year students enroll in the intensive readings course ( HISTORY 298 ) or directed readings ( HISTORY 291 ) to work closely with faculty in preparing for exams and writing their prospectus.

The candidacy qualifying exam is an oral, two-hour meeting during which a student is examined in their first and second field by a committee of four faculty members, plus an additional faculty referee. Upon successful completion of the exam, the student is officially advance to doctoral candidacy (all but dissertation) and presents the dissertation prospectus in a colloquium including all members of the dissertation committee for formal approval. Both the exam and prospectus colloquium should be completed by the end of the third year.

Dissertation Research and Writing

The dissertation is the most important part of the Department's doctoral program. The dissertation is an original piece of historical scholarship, involving extensive primary research and original analysis of secondary source material. Students spend a year or more engaged in intensive research, and another year or more writing the dissertation. Throughout this period, students work closely with the advisor and the dissertation committee members. The finished dissertation must be approved by all members of the dissertation committee.

Most graduate students begin work as a teaching assistant for the Department or School courses during their second year and continue throughout their tenure in the program, except when dissertation research or writing require their residency away from the university. Students have the opportunity to apply to teach their own courses during summer session once they have advanced to doctoral candidacy. Students beyond their second year are required to also apply for teaching positions outside the department, e.g. in Composition or Humanities Core.

Time to Degree for the Ph.D .

Normative time to degree for the doctoral program is seven years. Maximum time to degree permitted is nine years.

Requirements for Admission to the Ph.D. Program

It is desirable that an applicant have the equivalent of an undergraduate major in History; however, the Department also considers students who have previously specialized in other subject areas and who have strong analytical and writing skills. Many students entering the program hold a Masters degree in History, or an associated field. The Department's required grade-point minimums and English Language Proficiency requirements for international student admission are consistent with university policy. A GRE score is not required for admission. Students are accepted for fall admission only.

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How to Get a Doctorate in History

Last Updated: January 26, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Felipe Corredor . Felipe is a Senior College Admissions Consultant at American College Counselors with over seven years of experience. He specializes in helping clients from all around the world gain admission into America's top universities through private, one-on-one consulting. He helps guide clients through the entire college admissions process and perfect every aspect of their college applications. Felipe earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Chicago and recently received his MBA. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 100,734 times.

A doctorate, or Ph.D., in history generally takes between five to seven years to finish. It is the highest degree that you can earn in the field. To graduate with a Ph.D. in history you will need to successfully complete your coursework and write a book-length dissertation. Reaching out to other students and faculty for support along the way will help you to reach your goal. You will also need to devote the majority of your time to the study of history. It is not easy to earn a doctorate in history, but it is worthwhile for many people.

Applying to a Graduate Program

• Make sure to take a handful of your history classes with the same professors so that they will get to know you well and be able to write strong recommendation letters for you. On that note, it is also best to start taking history courses early in your undergraduate career. Don’t wait until junior year, if possible.
• Many Ph.D, programs also admit M.A. graduates as well.
• Whether at the undergraduate or M.A. level, try to publish prior to applying for a Ph.D. program. It may be difficult to find a publication venue, so encyclopedias are often a good option. Ask your professors for publication advice and assistance. [2] X Research source

• Don’t go overboard on specifics. While some people come in to graduate programs with a dissertation topic in hand, that is not necessary. You will spend a good deal of your first year exploring various topics in consultation with your advising professors.

• With a history Ph.D. a wide variety of jobs beyond academia are available to you. Some use their writing skills in the private sector as editors. Others work in historic preservation. Some find places in museums or in other educational outreach organizations.

• If one of your undergraduate professors offers to reach out to a graduate professor or program for you, let them do it. Nothing beats having a professional connection built in advance of your application.
• Remember, however, that your professor’s opinions are just opinions. If you are set on a particular school, be sure to check it out before dismissing it outright.

• Spend a good amount of time on each department’s website. They usually give a program profile that will tell you how many students are currently enrolled, how many are accepted each year, and how many faculty are involved. They usually also contain previews or complete lists of courses offered.
• Given the competitiveness of the current job market, pay particular attention to any information regarding the placement of graduates. Many programs will post placements rates and/or provide lists of recent graduates and their positions.
• Two examples of departmental specialization are Rutgers University, which has a very strong women’s and gender history element, and University of New Mexico, which emphasizes the study of the American West. The points of emphasis can and do change so make sure to look for recent information as you research. [5] X Research source

• Make sure to reach out, in particular, to the faculty member who you are considering working with. Graduate school, unlike undergraduate studies, is very focused on the mentor relationship. You are essentially applying to the university, the program, and the faculty members in your area of interest.
• You might introduce yourself in the email by stating, “Dear Professor Stevens, I’m Michael Smith, a junior currently enrolled at the University of Alabama, and I plan to apply to your doctoral program for the fall of 2017.” Go on to tell them what interests you about their work in particular and the program in general.
• Don’t be surprised if they put you in contact with a few current graduate students. These are great contacts to ask about housing, the culture on campus, etc.

• Be aware that students entering a doctoral program with a M.A. in hand may need to submit additional documents. They may also be able to move into an accelerated graduation path, perhaps ‘skipping’ a few hours of coursework. [7] X Research source

• This is also the time to carefully consider your financial situation. Your admission offer may come with funding in the form of an assistantship or fellowship. Look over the details and be realistic about what you want and need. Be aware that while some programs offer full funding it is often still well below real standard living costs (i.e. $18,000/year in an urban environment).

Excelling at Your Graduate Studies

• Your progress through coursework will be evaluated on a semester or yearly basis by the Director of Graduate Studies along with your advisor and other faculty members. This is standard practice. Be aware that an “A” or “A-“ are generally the only acceptable grades in doctoral history programs. A “B+” in a class is generally a warning sign.
• Some schools work as consortiums, meaning that you may be able to take classes at other universities and count them toward your doctoral coursework. This often allows for a wider range of topics and more flexible scheduling.

• Your advisor’s research interests will often match your own, so they can guide you through the field. They will also oversee your qualifying exams, your dissertation research, and your defense. They are generally a full-time faculty member who has the time to devote to mentoring students.
• You can come into your program with a mentor in mind. However, you usually wait a few months into coursework before formally approaching the professor and asking them to serve in this capacity.

• This is also usually the point where you have to pass a foreign language test as well. This is especially important if your subject area requires a language outside of your primary one.
• From when you conclude your exams you usually have six years in which to complete the program and graduate with your Ph.D.

• When writing a research proposal, try to make sure that you're really clear on what you're doing. Go back to the brainstorming process and try to get more clarity on what exactly it is that you're trying to research. Ask yourself, "Is this something that's feasible? Is it something that's going to provide new and useful knowledge?"
• You need to be interested in the subject, and it needs to be something novel. It's also important that the subject is something useful that contributes to your field of study.
• Now you are called “ABD” or “All But Dissertation.” You’ve completed all requirements except for the dissertation.
• This is the period where you will travel, if necessary, and visit archives. You will possibly spend some time away from the department while still registering for research hours.

• You will generally either be approved, approved pending revisions, approved with a delay, or rejected. Each program comes up with versions of this ranking. If revisions are required, you make them and then submit the properly formatted copy to the university system as directed. If your dissertation is rejected, this is generally a final decision and will result in your removal from the program.

• Aside from contributing to your overall well-being, from a pragmatic standpoint attending these events puts you in an even better position to receive positive reference letters during the pending job search. [11] X Research source

Developing a Professional Profile

• Don’t be shy about presenting your work as a graduate student. It is expected and very much encouraged. Your department will likely provide some sort of funding to assist you if your paper is accepted.

• Be patient when publishing. You should expect to do numerous revisions and will most likely need to wait for months before actually seeing your work in print.

• Make sure to consider jobs outside of academia. They can be quite competitive to land, but they can provide a great deal of professional satisfaction as well. For example, you can work in a museum spreading knowledge to people of all ages. Or, you can find a position in human resources juggling both information and people. Keep your mind open to the possibilities and don't undersell yourself or your abilities.

Community Q&A

• It is a good idea to do some research into the job market for your particular area of history before pursuing graduate studies. You can find history job listings by entering “history jobs” in any search engine. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• You can expect graduate school to be stressful. You may, for example, need to take on another job in addition to your studies or research just to support yourself. Make sure to seek out support from the faculty or other students as you need it. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about doctorate programs, check out our in-depth interview with Felipe Corredor .

• ↑ https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/the-education-of-historians-in-the-united-states-(1962)/doctoral-study-in-history
• ↑ https://www.monmouth.edu/department-of-history-and-anthropology/documents/pursuing-a-phd.pdf/
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/jobs-with-history-phd
• ↑ https://history.unm.edu/graduate/current-students/phd-program.html
• ↑ https://catalog.uwm.edu/letters-science/history/
• ↑ https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/the-education-of-historians-in-the-united-states-(1962)/the-masters-degree
• ↑ https://history.unc.edu/graduate-student-life/
• ↑ https://www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/career-resources/the-many-careers-of-history-phds

About This Article

Deciding to get a doctorate in history can be an exciting step in your career. Before you get a doctorate, you’ll need to earn a bachelor’s degree in history. Once you graduate, look for doctoral programs to apply to. If you have a specific focus, like women and gender history, make sure to look for programs that excel in those areas. During your graduate studies, you’ll usually conduct dissertation research on the specific topic you’re interested in. You may even culminate this research into a final project or book. You’ll also need to pass comprehensive exams before you can graduate with your doctorate in history. Most students finish graduate school in 2-3 years. To learn how to develop a professional profile after you graduate, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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In This Section

• Acknowledgments and Sources
• Introduction: As Seen by the Chairman
• Do We Need More College Teachers?
• Graduate Students in History
• History in the Colleges
• The Master’s Degree
• Ph.D.-Training Institutions

Doctoral Study in History

• Major Criticisms of Ph.D. Training
• Experiments with Teacher Training and Tightened Programs
• Recommendations

A majority of history departments training Ph.D.s agree that the aim of doctoral training should be the education of "scholar-teachers." But, while 7% "put more emphasis upon teaching," one-fifth avowedly "put more emphasis upon research." Thus the quality most demanded in doctoral candidates is "research skill and zeal." This is mentioned as a top quality twice as often as any other. "Interest in teaching" and "general intellectual curiosity" are tied as the second most desired qualities, and these are closely followed by "skill in teaching."

These variations in the aims of doctoral education are manifested in the detailed provisions of Ph.D. programs. This chapter shows how history faculties are currently training Ph.D. candidates. It describes the scope of Ph.D. study through a review of "field" requirements, surveys the forms of study, shows how student performance is tested in various examinations, and points to changes that are being contemplated.

What Is Studied: Field Requirements

Ph.D. candidates are usually expected to enroll in at least three academic years of graduate study ("residence") and it is common to specify that one academic year "in residence" must be spent at the institution awarding the doctorate. In actuality, however, it is a rare student who completes Ph.D. training in three years of study. The usual "full course load" for first- and second-year graduate students in Ph.D.-training departments varies from 12 hours—i.e., four courses (reported by 58% of the departments) —up to 15 hours (one-third of the departments) and down to 9 hours (one-tenth of the departments). Just how much study is expected in terms of credit hours the history faculties are reluctant to state explicitly, for in doctoral studies evidence of qualitative scholarship is considered the goal and quantitative efforts only means toward the desired end. Two-fifths of the departments report that they "require" or "recommend" that doctoral candidates take 60 or more semester hours of graduate study, and almost two-thirds (62%) report 48 semester hours or more. The largest requirement reported-90 semester hours-was cited by one of the least well-known departments. Only a small minority expect more than 70 hours of course work.

The basic intellectual dilemma now involved in planning units of study for doctoral candidates was well stated in the early nineteenth century by Leopold von Ranke: to understand universal history one must first know the specific events of history; but to know the specific one must first understand the universal. The accumulation of knowledge since Ranke's time has made the problem enormously more difficult than it was in his day. One cannot master all of history. Deciding how much mastery Ph.D. candidates should demonstrate is complicated by practical considerations. First, the able Ph.D. candidate should earn the doctorate in no more than four years of full-time graduate study. Second, as a potential research scholar and teacher of advanced college students, he needs depth-the mastery of facts and materials in a specialized field of history. The units of historical study must be relatively small if this mastery is to be achieved. But, third, as a man, as a citizen, and as a teacher giving instruction in broad survey courses-and also as a scholar doing research and writing-the Ph.D. candidate needs breadth. This can be acquired most readily in the study of broad units of history.

Large or small, the units of study in Ph.D. programs are usually called "fields." A number of very good Ph.D. programs define these fields broadly and have students study two fields. Some departments require Ph.D. candidates to show some degree of mastery in three, four, five, or even six fields of history, each broadly defined (e.g., all of United States history as one field). Most departments, unwilling to accept the superficial acquaintance with fields so broadly defined, divide history into several relatively small units of study. The divisions sometimes are (or may be) topical as well as geographical or chronological. Through the study of several relatively small fields in differing cultural areas and different periods of time, it is hoped that the Ph.D. candidate will acquire a sense of the universal in history. At the same time he is able to achieve considerable mastery in the field of his specialization, which is also restricted in size.

Definitions of the fields of history and the number to be required of Ph.D. candidates have never been uniform. By the late 1930s the number of history fields required in various institutions ranged from 1 to 6, and most institutions also required 1 or 2 fields in cognate disciplines. 1 Striking variations currently exist in field requirements. Data from the history Ph.D.s of 1958 show that when only 2 fields are required history departments usually define fields broadly (e.g., all of United States history as 1 field; all of modern history as 1 or 2 fields). Departments requiring 3 fields of history tend to define fields of medium scope (e.g., United States history as 2 fields; modern European history as 2 or 3 fields). In departments that require 4 fields the fields are likely to be small (United States history is usually treated as 2 fields but frequently as 3; modern European history is more often treated as 3 than 2). History faculties that require 5 or 6 fields of history restrict the fields even more; they tend to divide United States history into 3 fields and modern European history into 3 or 4.

A survey of the 1959-1960 graduate school bulletins of 49 Ph.D.-training universities shows that 57% require 5 fields or more; 38% require 3 to 4 fields, and only 2 require only 2 fields (these numbers include fields in related disciplines when they are specifically required). Only one-fifth (18%) of the 49 institutions define fields broadly (e.g., all of modern European history as one field). While less than half (21) of the 49 Ph.D. programs in history require as few as 2 to 4 fields, all but 1 of the top-prestige programs require 2 to 4 fields. Since the top-prestige programs train the largest numbers of Ph.D.s, it is not surprising that two-thirds (64%) of the 1958 Ph.D.s took 2 to 4 fields of history.

Usually history faculties demand that Ph.D. candidates achieve greater mastery in one field than in others. This is known variously as the "field of concentration," the "first field," or the "major field." Less concentrated work is expected in other fields ("minor," "first minor," or "second field"; and thus followed by "third field," "fourth field," etc.). When graduate study in another discipline is required it is sometimes described as a "minor," but also often as an "outside field." The bulletins of more than half the institutions (57%) explicitly require one outside field. Two-thirds of the Ph.D.s of 1958 were "required" (58%) or "encouraged" (8%) to study at least one outside field, and another 14% took such work on their own volition. While 5% more took work in two outside fields on their own volition, 6% were "discouraged by the faculty" from studying any outside field.

Two surveys of recent Ph.D.s in history show that political science is the most popular cognate field. All other cognate fields are reported much less frequently. They include English, American, or other literature; economics; religion; philosophy; Education; sociology; and anthropology. 2 In the combined samples of 325 recent Ph.D.s in history, none reported any graduate-level study of psychology, a field in which historians might profitably seek insights. 3 In general, like history majors and master's candidates, Ph.D. candidates have tended to study cognate fields that call for relatively little intellectual reaching out on their part.

Forms of Study

The program of study for the Ph.D. in history typically involves a combination of different types of instruction. Departments offering doctoral training generally agree that lecture courses should constitute no more than half the "full course load" of graduate students, and less during the second than during the first year of graduate study. In an introductory "methods course" 4 or in research seminars the student becomes acquainted with the tools and techniques of critical historical research and develops his capacity for writing history. Students, it is generally agreed, should be enrolled in research seminars during the first and second years of graduate study. One or more courses in historiography or the philosophies of history provide an awareness of the development, theories, potentialities, and limits of historical scholarship. Nine-tenths of the 1958 Ph.D.s believe a course in historiography or philosophies of history should be required of all doctoral candidates.

With usually a minimum of guidance and supervision from a faculty member, Ph.D. candidates in directed reading courses-especially in the second year of graduate study-expand their acquaintance with historical literature and sharpen their ability to judge it critically. Many Ph.D. candidates are introduced to college teaching through participation in survey courses of the department in which they are studying for the doctorate. In some departments their part-time instruction is critically supervised, and at least 11 departments offer either a course, a noncredit seminar, or an informal student-faculty colloquium on college teaching.

Meanwhile, the Ph.D. candidate begins and carries out an intensive research project, presenting the results in a substantial treatise-the Ph.D. "thesis" or "dissertation." There is, too, always a great amount of independent reading required of him in preparation for the various examinations that stand between the candidate and the Ph.D. degree. Departments tend to agree that "individual reading" or "directed research" should constitute less than half of the Ph.D. candidate's program during the first and second years of graduate study, but more than half during the third year.

In practice, lecture courses frequently make up half or more than half the course loads of first- and second-year graduate students. At their best, these lecture courses are given exclusively for graduate students and have relatively small enrollments. Three-fifths of the Ph.D.s of 1958 as graduate students took no courses in which over 50 students were enrolled, and the overwhelming majority of those who did take them agree that they were not as valuable as classes in which fewer than 30 students were enrolled. Asked to rate nine types of work in terms of their value as "preparation for college teaching," the recent Ph.D.s rated lecture courses enrolling only graduate students seventh while lecture courses enrolling graduate students and advanced undergraduates were rated eighth. Only research seminars enrolling 11 or more students were rated lower than lecture courses.

The Ph.D.s of 1958 emphasized the central importance of research seminars, however, by giving first rating to research seminars enrolling fewer than 11 students. In this strong preference for small seminars the recent Ph.D.s are in general agreement with the training faculties: the overwhelming majority (about four-fifths) of the departments state that a seminar should have no fewer than 3 students but no more than 12. As Robert G. Albion put it in the May, 1960, issue of the History Department Newsletter of Harvard University, "the ninth or tenth student joining a seminar does something to damage its effective intimacy." Nine-tenths of the departments report that their research seminars usually enroll no more than 10 students, but large numbers of students and limited faculties cause frequent exceptions to be made. Half the departments report giving at least one seminar in the period 1956-1959 with 13 or more students enrolled.

A majority (55%) of the Ph.D.s of 1958 took at least four semesters (or equivalent quarters) of research seminars for credit; 25% took two semesters and 14% took three semesters. Three-fifths (61%) of the 1958 Ph.D.s took research seminars in two or more fields of history, and three-fourths (75%) state that all candidates should be required to take research seminars in at least two fields. (But in many programs United States history, e.g., is two or even three fields.) Half the 1958 Ph.D.s who took fewer than four semesters of research seminars report that "Ph.D. candidates should be required to take more terms of research seminars than I took."

The Ph.D.s of 1958 were asked to describe the characteristics of a seminar that they found "most useful." Their comments suggest that in an outstanding seminar some or all of the following factors are present. The instructor is provocative, demanding, critical, and yet encouraging. He is himself engaged in research and is informed about the history of the period and topic of the seminar. Introducing students to the bibliographical aids, key sources, and major depositories of his field, the instructor somehow manages to convey to them the intellectual challenge and excitement that he himself finds in his work. He encourages a balance between initiative and aggressive competition on the one hand and, on the other, caution, humility, and a strong sense of responsibility toward past and present. By seeing that papers are prepared by deadlines and within specified space limitations, he develops disciplined work habits. He requires bibliographical and progress reports and, usually, one substantial research paper of each student. The instructor makes certain that each student's paper is criticized by all students in gentlemanly but vigorous and straightforward fashion, and adds his own critique. Comprehensiveness of research, critical use of evidence, logical inferences, technical competence, and literary style are thoroughly evaluated and improved.

The 1958 Ph.D.s acknowledge that the success of a research seminar depends upon the students as well as upon the professor. The qualities needed in students if a seminar is to be outstanding are enviable ones. Among them are: superior intelligence; vigorous interest in the subject area; capacity for hard work under general supervision; a creative, imaginative, inventive turn of mind, tempered by critical faculties; initiative in finding sources and facts; courage to make decisions coupled with caution against making them prematurely and without necessary qualifications; systematic habits in organizing research and collecting data; competence in the use of foreign languages if the seminar treats the history of a foreign area; and ability to write lucid and vigorous prose concisely and in a well-organized pattern. All these qualities are needed as the research project is developed and the paper is prepared. Ability to perceive and accept correction, and sufficient resilience to capitalize upon self-disillusionment-these additional qualities are useful when the student's paper is exposed to criticism.

These qualities in instructor and students can make a research seminar one of the most rewarding of all educational experiences, an apprenticeship that forms the very core of the education of historians. In seminars Ph.D. candidates come to know the excitement as well as the drudgery of scholarly research, the fun as well as the effort of historical writing. But too many or inadequate students and a slow-witted or uninterested professor can make the experience a dreary travesty of scholarship.

Directed reading courses for small groups are rated the third most valuable form of formal instruction by the Ph.D.s of 1958-the first being small seminars and the second, "individual study or research under faculty supervision." As noted in Chapter 6, three-fourths of the Ph.D.-training departments offer directed reading courses. Whether in reading courses or independently, most Ph.D. candidates do much reading. Two-fifths (41%) of the 1958 Ph.D.s estimate that they were expected to read more than 60 books in their first field "apart from dissertation research." But one-third (37%) estimate that they were expected to read less than 40 books in their first field. In each field that is added somewhat less reading is done, as is shown by Table 7-1. Most reading is done in English-language material: 58% of the 1958 Ph.D.s read fewer than 2 books in foreign languages while in graduate school. On the other hand, 25% read more than 10.

The Ph.D.s of 1958 rate the doctoral dissertation as the fourth most valuable phase of training for college teaching . Four-fifths of the 1958 Ph.D.s (82%) strongly believe that the dissertation should be a part of the training of "college" teachers of history, and there is no disagreement about this between the group teaching in colleges and the group teaching in universities. But members of graduate faculties may be surprised to learn that only one-fifth (22%) of the recent Ph.D.s in history describe the dissertation as an "indispensable" part of the training of "college" teachers. The percentages would probably have been different if the recent Ph.D.s had simply been asked to rate the value of their training experiences without regard to the value of these as preparation for teaching. Putting the question that way, Berelson found that the recent recipients of the Ph.D. even more often than graduate faculty members-and three-fourths or more of both-regard the dissertation as the most valuable of all the facets of Ph.D. training. 5

The dissertation is a major part of Ph.D. training. Graduate history faculties generally agree that it should represent twelve to eighteen months of full-time work at research and writing. Dissertations often require more effort than this, and some faculty members strongly believe that they should require more. But a majority of graduate faculty members agree that doctoral dissertations usually should be no longer than 300 typed pages in length (i.e., about 75,000 words); and although there is abundant opposition to setting an arbitrary limit on the length of dissertations, a number of high-prestige Ph.D. programs have set 300 typed pages as the maximum acceptable length. The average (median) history dissertation of 1957-1958 seems to have been about 350 pages in length, longer than those in most other disciplines. The shortest history dissertation of 1957-1958 was 145 pages long; the longest was over 1,000 pages in length. History dissertations of 2,000 pages, while mercifully rare, have been approved by graduate faculties. Faculties training doctoral candidates generally agree, however, that dissertations should be evaluated according to qualitative rather than quantitative standards (see Table 7-2). 6

What, then, is the dissertation supposed to be? It is, in the opinion of the training departments, at once a training experience and evidence of scholarly attainment in research, critical analysis, and writing. Two-thirds of the departments require students to explore original topics. A majority expect the dissertation also to be a contribution to knowledge, but only one-fourth demand the use of unpublished sources in dissertation research. Dissertations usually are detailed descriptive narratives. A few of the departments encourage works of synthesis (10%); a few encourage critical editing or translation (11%); but one-third (34%) of the departments state that works of synthesis are "not permitted" and at least half do not accept critical editing or translations as fulfillment of the dissertation requirement.

A few graduate faculty members believe that the dissertation should be a publishable book. A larger number (but still a minority) think it should be a work of publishable quality though it need not be published. About 1 out of 3 believes that the dissertation should be considerably reduced in scope and length and frankly viewed as a training exercise. It is worth noting, however, that the recent recipients of the Ph.D. surveyed by Berelson were less willing to regard the dissertation primarily as a training exercise than the graduate deans or members of graduate faculties; about half the members of all three groups favored less ambitious dissertations. 7 A majority of graduate faculty members in history favor somewhat reducing the scope and length of dissertations while continuing to demand that they be substantial scholarly contributions.

Most members of Ph.D.-training history faculties believe students should start work on dissertation research fairly early in their graduate study. Most are willing for students to work on aspects of the dissertation in seminars or in doing the master's thesis, and a majority encourage this. For almost one-third (31%) of the Ph.D.s of 1958, the dissertation was, in fact, an outgrowth of the master's thesis; and two-thirds (64%) developed dissertations out of seminar research. Special dissertation-writing seminars exist at Princeton, Notre Dame, the University of Washington, and perhaps at a few other institutions. Two or three faculty members participate in the thesis writers' seminar at Princeton, in which chapters of dissertations are presented and constructively criticized. In most Ph.D. programs, however, the student works almost exclusively under the guidance of a single faculty member (his "sponsor" or "director") in preparing a draft of the dissertation. A faculty committee supervises the completion of the dissertation and is ultimately responsible for its acceptance or rejection.

The doctoral dissertation, net product of student and faculty labor, is fairly often the only substantial work of research scholarship in which the history Ph.D. engages in a lifetime. The dissertation is rarely a historical masterpiece but it is sometimes the beginning of one. In preparing the dissertation all Ph.D. candidates test, refine, and make sustained application of the principles of historical craftsmanship that they have been taught in research seminars. Since this process yields insight into history and historical writing that enriches college-level teaching, the dissertation stands with the research seminars at the very core of the training of historians. The student who completes one with adequate but restrained faculty help has achieved considerable maturity as a scholar.

Examinations

Coming at intervals during the other work for the doctorate in history are a series of formal examinations that, by their nature, contribute to the training of Ph.D. candidates.

Foreign language examinations constitute major obstacles on the way to the Ph.D. for many candidates. Though only about 14% of all high school students in the nation (1958) study even one foreign language, 8 most Ph.D. programs require candidates to pass reading knowledge examinations in two foreign languages. French and German are usually those preferred, but most Ph.D. programs allow the candidate who has good reasons for doing so to substitute another language (e.g., Russian) for French or German. Very often it is specified that the languages must be from different language groups (thus ruling out a combination of French and Spanish, two Romance languages). At least one institution requires one ancient and one modern language. In a few institutions, including some excellent ones, members of the history faculty give the foreign language examinations, and in a few cases they are administered by a graduate school committee. More generally, however, the examinations are given by the respective foreign language departments. In many universities they are based upon historical literature. Quite commonly students are allowed to use dictionaries for part or all of these examinations.

Several departments have tried to ease the burden of the requirement without eliminating one of the languages. At Harvard, where formerly Ph.D. candidates were given only "pass" or "fail" on their examinations, letter grades of A to E are now assigned; it is possible for a candidate whose dissertation demands little or no use of foreign languages to pass the examinations with low grades. Still other institutions have made it possible for some or all students to complete the Ph.D. with a reading knowledge of only one foreign language. At Chicago and Northwestern only one foreign language is required. A few other institutions allow the substitution of other types of graduate training for one foreign language examination. Thus at Stanford the candidate may substitute cognate courses for one of the foreign language examinations: "the proposed courses must form a coherent group and contribute more toward the candidate's proficiency in history than would a second foreign language." Still other Ph.D. programs, instead of reducing the language requirement, have demanded early demonstration of competence in foreign languages. Cornell and, more recently, the University of California (Berkeley) require students to pass one language examination before taking history courses for graduate credit. At least three other Ph.D. programs require that two foreign language examinations be passed before the student begins a second year (or the thirty-first credit hour) of graduate study. 9

Because of the foreign language requirement, some students do not go beyond the master's degree; for others the master's examination is the first insuperable obstacle. Three-fourths of the doctoral programs report that by the end of one year of graduate study or upon completion of the master's degree they formally discourage students who appear to lack promise of completing the Ph.D. degree. One-fourth of the programs seem to wait until the major Ph.D. comprehensive examination to offer formal discouragement to unpromising students. Some graduate history faculties might well ask themselves, therefore, if they are screening students as early, as continuously, as systematically, and as rigorously as they should. Faculty time and institutional funds as well as the student's investment are lost when a Ph.D. candidate, after three or more years of graduate study, fails to pass the major examination for the Ph.D. The loss is especially serious when the place the failing student has filled might have been occupied by a successful Ph.D. candidate.

To avoid this loss, some 22 departments have established a special examination to screen candidates, test their progress, and discover shortcomings while there is time to remedy them. It is sometimes given early in master's training, but more often it is interposed between the master's and the major Ph.D. examination. In some departments this examination is especially designed for new students who have completed the master's degree in other institutions. It is usually relatively brief and sometimes informal, but in one institution it consists of an all-day written test plus a two-hour oral test. At Chicago this examination is written; it can simultaneously serve as an examination for the master's degree and (if passed at a sufficiently high level) pass the doctoral candidate in two of the five fields required for the Ph.D. This examination is known variously as the "validating," "qualifying," or "preliminary" examination.

The terms "preliminary" and "qualifying" are more commonly reserved for a more advanced examination, often also known as the "general" or "comprehensive" examination for the Ph.D. This is the major examination for the doctoral degree. A third of the Ph.D.s of 1958 know it as the "preliminary" examination, though the somewhat less common but second most prevalent term, "general," is more accurately descriptive of the usual scope of the examination. It is taken after two or more years of graduate study, normally after all course and foreign language requirements have been met, but before the dissertation has been completed. Usually the student is officially "admitted to candidacy" for the Ph.D. only after this examination has been passed; it is "preliminary" to admission to candidacy.

In most Ph.D. programs the general examination (as it will be called here) is given in two parts, written and oral. But there are variations. In five institutions the student's faculty committee can decide to make the test oral only, written only, or both; in a number of other institutions it is always one or the other, not both. The examinations, written and oral alike, test the candidate's knowledge and understanding of fields of history, not simply of history courses that have been taken. Princeton and perhaps a few other universities move the candidate from a written examination over several fields to an oral examination covering only the major field of history. A few other universities partly accomplish the same result-narrowing the scope of the oral examination-by giving a written examination over some of the fields and orally examining the candidate over the other fields (cf. the Chicago practice, cited above). Several universities waive both the written and oral examination in one or more (but never all) of the required fields of study (Brown, Clark, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Princeton, Tufts, and Tulane).

But for some reason, when both a written and an oral test are required as parts of the general examination, the oral usually covers more fields than the written examination. This can be illustrated from the experience of the Ph.D.s of 1958. Only one-third of those who were required to take work in 5 to 6 fields report that they took a written examination over that many fields; but half (47%) of them had to stand oral examination over 5 to 6 fields.

Though it tends to cover more fields, the oral examination (usually lasting about two hours) is almost always briefer than the written examination. It appears that the written examinations always last at least four to five hours; in a number of departments they amount to twenty-five or more hours of work, sometimes distributed in two, three, four, or five parts. The written examination typically includes broad questions designed to elicit long interpretative and comparative essays in which generalizations are supported by precisely stated factual information. Both written and oral tests usually seek bibliographical as well as factual knowledge.

The number of professors present at the oral examination varies from one institution to another (three, four, five, six, or more). What the oral examination in history is like has been well summarized in the description George Lyman Kittredge once gave of the examination in English literature: "Questions test ... the candidate's reading and thinking; ... his ability to give a good oral account of himself and of what he knows and thinks. Questions are very varied; some are minute, some general, some specific, some vague. Some call for learning, some for nimbleness, some for thought." 10 The character of the oral examination helps to explain why the Ph.D.s of 1958 rate preparation for it above lecture courses as a valuable part of Ph.D. training.

In short, the general examination is demanding. Ph.D. candidates fear it, learn from preparation for it, and complain about it. The complaints most often heard are those Marcus W. Jernegan voiced in 1927: that the general examination often covers "more ground than should be expected of the candidate, and more minute memory-knowledge, in particular portions of the subject of history, than should be exacted." 11 Student fears of the examination are often exaggerated. Usually the examination can be taken a second time if it is failed on the first attempt. An initial failure somewhat delays the progress of the candidate toward the degree, but students who have survived several years of graduate study are not often permanently barred from access to the doctorate by one failure in the general examination. And it should be reassuring to Ph.D. candidates to know that 93% of the 1958 Ph.D.s passed the general examination in only one attempt.

When the general examination is out of the way and the dissertation has been completed, in the classical pattern of doctoral training the candidate must "defend his thesis." Today this usually is done prosaically and in detail, chapter by chapter, as the dissertation is written. Thus some departments believe that the final examination for the Ph.D. has become a superfluous formality. At Harvard and at Michigan the candidate's faculty committee can waive the final examination if the student's capacity has been proven in a satisfactory fashion. At Brown the final examination is not required. But in at least 60 Ph.D.-training departments (and probably more) an oral final examination follows completion of the dissertation. In 50 of the departments it normally covers only the dissertation or the field of the dissertation. But in 10 departments it covers two or more fields; and one department at this point even adds a field over which the candidate has not previously been examined.

Several years may elapse between the passing of the general examination and the passing of the final examination, for the dissertation is often slowly completed by Ph.D. candidates who teach full time in colleges with high teaching loads and inadequate library resources. In the fall of 1958, when Ph.D.-training departments reported 1,955 Ph.D. candidates (post-master's students) as "enrolled and on campus," they reported 1,210 others as not on campus but working toward completion of the Ph.D. In the fall of 1959 the U.S. Office of Education asked departments offering doctoral training to estimate the number of Ph.D. candidates who had completed all requirements except the dissertation "at least 3 years ago" and whom they would be willing to recommend for a one-year fellowship "to enable them to finish the dissertation." History departments (58) reported 315 such persons, more than in any other discipline except Education and English-and-dramatic arts. 12 Financial support for these people would enable many college teachers to complete the degree and thus raise their own morale along with the degree qualifications of the faculties on which they serve.

Research seminars and the dissertation constitute the core of Ph.D. training in history. A majority of history Ph.D. candidates take at least four semesters of research seminars and a large majority of the recent Ph.D.s would supplement these with a course in historiography or philosophies of history for all doctoral candidates.

The dissertation continues to be an original and a substantial study in which the Ph.D. candidate proves his capacity for critical research and literary craftsmanship. But there is a growing conviction in this as in other matters involved in graduate education that emphasis must be placed on quality of performance rather than on quantity of effort.

Most history Ph.D.s now study several fields of history of medium or small scope, but only about one-third study more than four fields of history. About five-sixths study at least one cognate field. Research seminars are often taken in at least two fields. Lecture courses play a major part in doctoral training but are not popular among recent Ph.D.s.

Most Ph.D. programs continue to require candidates to demonstrate reading knowledge of two modern foreign languages. But two different types of modifications have been made in this requirement in recent years: (1) a few Ph.D. programs have required examination in one foreign language for admission to graduate study in history, or have set early deadlines by which an examination must be passed; but (2) a few other Ph.D. programs have reduced the requirement to one foreign language. It appears that few doctoral candidates offering United States history as a major field read foreign language material as part of their doctoral training, and interviews reveal that few use foreign languages in postdoctoral research.

Most Ph.D. programs try to discourage students who show in master's training that they lack ability to do satisfactory work for the Ph.D. But some Ph.D. programs need to screen students earlier and more rigorously than they do.

The general examination continues to be a serious trial for history doctoral candidates, though more than nine-tenths of all those who actually earn the Ph.D. degree pass it in only one attempt. What follows-completing the dissertation-is the obstacle in doctoral studies that most prolongs the process of earning a Ph.D. Financial aid that will enable Ph.D. candidates to complete the dissertation before accepting regular teaching appointments is the only real solution to this basic problem, though somewhat less ambitious dissertation topics can sometimes help.

Candidates who complete satisfactory dissertations seldom-it appears-fail the final examination for the Ph.D.; its partial or complete abolition has been accomplished by at least three Ph.D. programs and is being considered by others.

Until a few years ago direct efforts at teacher training had no part in Ph.D. programs in history, but many departments now make some attempt to prepare candidates as teachers of history (see Chapter 9). There is a widespread belief that more should do so, as the next chapter shows.

1. Hesseltine and Kaplan, "Doctors of Philosophy in History," 769-770.

2. Prepublication data on 143 Ph.D.s from a study by the Southern Regional Education Board, 1958-1960; our own data on 182 Ph.D.s of 1958.

3. See the American Historical Association presidential address by William L. Langer, "The Next Assignment," American Historical Review , LXIII (January, 1958), 283-304; and the similar recommendation by Wilhelm Dilthey in the late nineteenth century.

4. A survey of a related discipline in 1951 recommended that a course in scope and method during the first year of graduate study should be "an inflexible requirement of all graduate institutions." (From Dimock and Hawley [eds.], Goals for Political Science , 266.)

5. Berelson, Graduate Education , 176.

6. The reader may readily form an impression of the scope of doctoral dissertations in history and current trends by consulting the lists published periodically by the American Historical Association. See, e.g., List of Doctoral Dissertations in History in Progress or Completed at Colleges and Universities in the United States since 1955 (Washington, 1958).

7. Berelson, Graduate Education , 174.

8. Report by William R. Parker in Byrnes (ed.), The Non-Western Areas in Undergraduate Education in Indiana , 56. James Bryant Conant's observation during an intensive study of American high school education needs to be repeated here: "Almost without exception, I found a deplorable state of affairs in regard to foreign languages." (From The American High School Today: A First Report to Interested Citizens [New York, 1959], 69.) In 1958 only 44% of the public high schools of the United States offered foreign language instruction. By contrast, every secondary school child in the U.S.S.R. received instruction in one foreign language for six years, beginning in the fifth year of schooling. U.S. Office of Education, Soviet Commitment to Education , 10.

9. It may be worth noting that a committee of the American Political Science Association in 1951 recommended that "if there is any validity" in the foreign language requirement "it should be rigidly enforced, and at the very beginning of graduate study." (From Dimock and Hawley [eds.], Goals for Political Science , 274.)

10. Quoted by Wilson, The Academic Man , 47.

11. Jernegan, "Productivity of Doctors of Philosophy in History," 15.

12. Chase, Doctoral Study , 31.

Ph.D. in World History

World history concentration.

The Doctoral Program in history, with a core focus on world history, trains research historians who plan to teach at the college and university levels. Emphasizing global approaches to historical study, the program encourages students to think beyond national boundaries, comparatively, and in terms of themes that span geographically dispersed areas of the world-trade, migration, disease, religion, state formation, colonialism, and post-colonialism. Studies also include long-term historical processes, major global transformations, and interactions between states and colonial societies. Candidates for the Ph.D. in history may examine African, Asian, European, Latin American, or U.S. history in a world historical context. The program emphasizes mentoring of students in their courses, supervised teaching, and in the doctoral dissertation.

Systematic training in theory and methodology and preparation for college teaching are distinctive features of the Northeastern program. All doctoral students undertake intensive reading in the theoretical literature that informs historical analysis, as well as in global historiography. Each student develops a deliberate methodological focus in an area such as cultural history, social history, environmental and biological history, or public history. Students are mentored in the practice of teaching and are encouraged to lecture and lead discussion sections under the supervision of faculty.

A mix of reading courses and research seminars in area studies and comparative or transnational history provide students with the bedrock of training in the literature and research methods of history. Students may also take a limited number of courses outside the department.

The Department of History maintains close ties with interdisciplinary programs such as Asian Studies; Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies; Law and Public Policy; Women Gender and Sexuality Studies, and with the Departments of African American Studies; Art and Architecture; English; Sociology and Anthropology; and Political Science. Graduate students may obtain a  certificate in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies .

All doctoral candidates must develop and demonstrate a strong reading knowledge of the languages in which they will undertake research. In cases where students require training in languages not offered at Northeastern, the department helps them arrange to take courses at nearby institutions.

The doctoral dissertation presents an original interpretation of a topic of historical significance based on detailed research into primary sources, a survey of the relevant literature, and skilled application of the theoretical and methodological apparatus germane to the topic.

In recent years, the Department of History has been able to provide funding to Ph.D. students for five years.

The GRE will not be required as part of graduate admissions to any certificate, master’s, or doctoral program in CSSH or across the university for matriculation in 2022-2023

Applicants and admitted students are invited and encouraged to join one of our Welcome Days. Please click  here  for more information and to RSVP.

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in History Online

Transfer credits, next start date, become a professional historian with an online phd in history.

Are you interested in a career in education, research, politics, archaeology, or management of national landmarks and museums? Whatever your career goals are, Liberty University’s PhD in History can provide a theoretical background as well as research nd writing experience. These tools can help you excel in either academic or non-academic career fields related to humanities and social sciences.

An online doctorate in history can prepare you to pursue a variety of career opportunities. You might join the world of academia as a professor, professional researcher, or publisher. Or you could pursue a position as a museum curator, international development specialist, author, archaeologist, or federal government employee.

Academics and many other career fields need people like you who are knowledgeable about the undercurrents, culture, and societal standards surrounding historical events. Prepare to excel in whichever career field you choose when you pursue Liberty University’s online PhD in History.

Annual median salary for professionals with a doctorate*

All PhD in History courses are available online

Is a PhD in History worth it?

If you love history and want to increase your career options and earning potential, then a PhD in History is worth your effort. The types of jobs you could qualify for range from positions in the federal government to academia to private companies. 

Your earning potential will also increase because you hold a terminal degree. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, professionals with a doctoral degree earn an annual median salary of $94,900.* This is a 27% increase from the salaries of their counterparts who only have a master’s degree.

Can you get a PhD in History online?

Yes – with Liberty University’s online programs, you can earn your PhD in History 100% online. Our goal is to provide you with quality academics that are both affordable and flexible. We understand that you are a working professional with commitments. That’s why you have the flexibility to complete your doctorate wherever and whenever is most convenient for you.

How many years does it take to get a PhD in History?

Most students pursuing our PhD in History can complete the program in just 4 years. This includes a combination of full- and part-time attendance as well as dissertation work.

What can you do with a PhD in History?

When you’re considering career options, a PhD in History is one of the most flexible doctorates you can earn. You will have job opportunities with the United States government, universities, private organizations, and more. Some of the specific careers that may be available to you include:

• Academic publisher
• Archaeologist
• Higher education administrator
• International development specialist
• Museum curator

Is a PhD from Liberty University respected?

If you plan to choose Liberty for your PhD, you can rest assured that your degree will be respected. Liberty University is regionally accredited through SACSCOC . This means our program has to meet rigorous academic standards that are respected by future employers.

Why Choose Liberty University’s History PhD Program Online?

When you choose Liberty, you’re choosing to pursue a degree from an accredited university. We offer a Christ-centered curriculum, flexible course scheduling, and affordable rates. Our goal is to provide you with academic excellence that is grounded in faith and consistent support throughout your academic journey.

Liberty University holds regional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges ( SACSCOC ). This means we have earned accreditation that demands high academic standards. Employers can have confidence in your knowledge and abilities gained through the program. And you can rest knowing that your degree will benefit both your personal and professional life.

At Liberty, our mission is Training Champions for Christ . That means each of your professors is a Christian who incorporates a biblical worldview into every course. Your professors are professionals who have doctorates like our online history PhD degree. 

You can complete our PhD in History through distance education with 8-week courses and no set login times. This flexibility allows you to pursue your online doctoral degree while maintaining commitments to your family, career, community, and church.

Military Tuition Discount We want to help you find the doctoral degree you want — at a price you’ve earned. As a thank-you for your military service, Liberty University offers eligible current and former service members like you or your spouse multiple pathways to earn a doctoral degree for only $300/credit hour . Find out how you can take advantage of this unique opportunity as you work towards your goal of reaching the pinnacle of your profession — for less.

What Will You Learn in Our Online PhD in History Program?

When you pursue our doctorate in history, you’ll learn historical concepts and how to educate others from a Christian perspective. Upon successful completion of this program, you will be able to do the following:

• Apply a Christian worldview to the study of history
• Apply historical methodology to professional settings
• Conduct original research that is based upon knowledge of the literature of the discipline
• Evaluate historiographic positions, like scholarly literature and interpretations, at the doctoral level

Featured Courses

• HIST 502 – Historiography*
• HIST 701 – Historical Professions
• HIST 711 – Development of Western Freedoms
• HIUS 713 – American Entrepreneurship since 1900

*Course guide coming soon

Highlights of Our Online History PhD Program

• We are recognized by multiple institutions for our academic quality, affordability, and accessibility . Our commitment to excellence also helped us rank in the top 10% of Niche.com’s best online schools in America . Earning your PhD online from a nonprofit university with this kind of recognition can help set you apart from others in your field.
• Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
• This program is offered in an 8-week course format, with 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times!
• You will benefit from networking opportunities with other professionals in the program from around the country.
• The PhD in History is the first program of its kind offered from a conservative Christian, accredited university.
• Your degree requires experience both inside and outside the classroom to help you become fully prepared for any professional setting you choose.

Liberty’s PhD in History Online Degree Information

• This program falls under the College of Arts and Sciences .
• Download and review the Degree Completion Plan .
• View the Graduate Arts and Sciences Course Guides   (login required).
• View the PhD in History Handbook .

Apply Now      Request Info

Career Opportunities for History PhD Online Graduates

• Federal government employee
• Professional researcher

Admission Requirements for the PhD in History at Liberty University

A regionally or nationally accredited master’s degree in history, or a related field,* with a 3.0 or above GPA is required for admission in good standing. Please visit our admission requirements page for more detailed admissions-related information.

All applicants must submit the following:

• Admission application
• Application fee**
• Official college transcripts indicating successful completion of a doctorate or master’s in history or a related field*
• Proof of English proficiency (for applicants whose native language is other than English)

*Examples include but are not limited to: public or applied history, social sciences, political science, philosophy, government, international relations, geography, English, theology, church history, economics, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), museum studies, and library sciences.

** There is no upfront application fee; however, a deferred $50 application fee will be assessed during Financial Check-In. This fee is waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required.

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, at Education Pays (viewed online August 19, 2020). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.

*Some restrictions may occur for this promotion to apply. This promotion also excludes active faculty and staff, military, Non-Degree Seeking, DGIA, Continuing Education, WSB, and Certificates.

Apply FREE This Week*

Other programs you may be interested in

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You have to have a lot of self-motivation and self-discipline when you are going to school online, but the amazing thing is at Liberty you do not need to do it by yourself. You really do have resources like someone who is going to school on campus.

– Janae Fleming ’15, B.S. in Education

How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree?

Earning a Ph.D. from a U.S. grad school typically requires nearly six years, federal statistics show.

How Long It Takes to Get a Ph.D. Degree

Caiaimage | Tom Merton | Getty Images

A Ph.D. is most appropriate for someone who is a "lifelong learner."

Students who have excelled within a specific academic discipline and who have a strong interest in that field may choose to pursue a Ph.D. degree. However, Ph.D. degree-holders urge prospective students to think carefully about whether they truly want or need a doctoral degree, since Ph.D. programs last for multiple years.

According to the Survey of Earned Doctorates, a census of recent research doctorate recipients who earned their degree from U.S. institutions, the median amount of time it took individuals who received their doctorates in 2017 to complete their program was 5.8 years. However, there are many types of programs that typically take longer than six years to complete, such as humanities and arts doctorates, where the median time for individuals to earn their degree was 7.1 years, according to the survey.

Some Ph.D. candidates begin doctoral programs after they have already obtained master's degrees, which means the time spent in grad school is a combination of the time spent pursuing a master's and the years invested in a doctorate. In order to receive a Ph.D. degree, a student must produce and successfully defend an original academic dissertation, which must be approved by a dissertation committtee. Writing and defending a dissertation is so difficult that many Ph.D. students drop out of their Ph.D. programs having done most of the work necessary for degree without completing the dissertation component. These Ph.D. program dropouts often use the phrase " all but dissertation " or the abbreviation "ABD" on their resumes.

According to a comprehensive study of Ph.D. completion rates published by The Council of Graduate Schools in 2008, only 56.6% of people who begin Ph.D. programs earn Ph.D. degrees.

Ian Curtis, a founding partner with H&C Education, an educational and admissions consulting firm, who is pursuing a Ph.D. degree in French at Yale University , says there are several steps involved in the process of obtaining a Ph.D. Students typically need to fulfill course requirements and pass comprehensive exams, Curtis warns. "Once these obligations have been completed, how long it takes you to write your dissertation depends on who you are, how you work, what field you're in and what other responsibilities you have in life," he wrote in an email. Though some Ph.D. students can write a dissertation in a single year, that is rare, and the dissertation writing process may last for several years, Curtis says.

Curtis adds that the level of support a Ph.D. student receives from an academic advisor or faculty mentor can be a key factor in determining the length of time it takes to complete a Ph.D. program. "Before you decide to enroll at a specific program, you’ll want to meet your future advisor," Curtis advises. "Also, reach out to his or her current and former students to get a sense of what he or she is like to work with."

Curtis also notes that if there is a gap between the amount of time it takes to complete a Ph.D. and the amount of time a student's funding lasts, this can slow down the Ph.D. completion process. "Keep in mind that if you run out of funding at some point during your doctorate, you will need to find paid work, and this will leave you even less time to focus on writing your dissertation," he says. "If one of the programs you’re looking at has a record of significantly longer – or shorter – times to competition, this is good information to take into consideration."

He adds that prospective Ph.D. students who already have master's degrees in the field they intend to focus their Ph.D. on should investigate whether the courses they took in their master's program would count toward the requirements of a Ph.D. program. "You’ll want to discuss your particular situation with your program to see whether this will be possible, and how many credits you are likely to receive as the result of your master’s work," he says.

How to Write M.D.-Ph.D. Application Essays

Ilana Kowarski May 15, 2018

Emmanuel C. Nwaodua, who has a Ph.D. degree in geology, says some Ph.D. programs require candidates to publish a paper in a first-rate, peer-reviewed academic journal. "This could extend your stay by a couple of years," he warns.

Pierre Huguet, the CEO and co-founder of H&C Education, says prospective Ph.D. students should be aware that a Ph.D. is designed to prepare a person for a career as a scholar. "Most of the jobs available to Ph.D. students upon graduation are academic in nature and directly related to their fields of study: professor, researcher, etc.," Huguet wrote in an email. "The truth is that more specialization can mean fewer job opportunities. Before starting a Ph.D., students should be sure that they want to pursue a career in academia, or in research. If not, they should make time during the Ph.D. to show recruiters that they’ve traveled beyond their labs and libraries to gain some professional hands-on experience."

Jack Appleman, a business writing instructor, published author and Ph.D. candidate focusing on organizational communication with the University at Albany—SUNY , says Ph.D. programs require a level of commitment and focus that goes beyond what is necessary for a typical corporate job. A program with flexible course requirements that allow a student to customize his or her curriculum based on academic interests and personal obligations is ideal, he says.

Joan Kee, a professor at the University of Michigan with the university's history of art department, says that the length of time required for a Ph.D. varies widely depending on what subject the Ph.D. focuses on. "Ph.D. program length is very discipline and even field-specific; for example, you can and are expected to finish a Ph.D, in economics in under five years, but that would be impossible in art history (or most of the humanities)," she wrote in an email.

Kee adds that humanities Ph.D. programs often require someone to learn a foreign language, and "fields like anthropology and art history require extensive field research." Kee says funding for a humanities Ph.D. program typically only lasts five years, even though it is uncommon for someone to obtain a Ph.D. degree in a humanities field within that time frame. "Because of this, many if not most Ph.D. students must work to make ends meet, thus further prolonging the time of completion," she says.

Jean Marie Carey, who earned her Ph.D. degree in art history and German from the University of Otago in New Zealand, encourages prospective Ph.D. students to check whether their potential Ph.D. program has published a timeline of how long it takes a Ph.D. student to complete their program. She says it is also prudent to speak with Ph.D. graduates of the school and ask about their experience.

Online Doctoral Programs: What to Expect

Ronald Wellman March 23, 2018

Kristin Redington Bennett, the founder of the Illumii educational consulting firm in North Carolina, encourages Ph.D. hopefuls to think carefully about whether they want to become a scholar. Bennett, who has a Ph.D. in curriculum and assessment and who previously worked as an assistant professor at Wake Forest University , says a Ph.D. is most appropriate for someone who is a "lifelong learner." She says someone contemplating a Ph.D. should ask themselves the following questions "Are you a very curious person... and are you persistent?"

Bennett urges prospective Ph.D. students to visit the campuses of their target graduate programs since a Ph.D. program takes so much time that it is important to find a school that feels comfortable. She adds that aspiring Ph.D. students who prefer a collaborative learning environment should be wary of graduate programs that have a cut-throat and competitive atmosphere, since such students may not thrive in that type of setting.

Alumni of Ph.D. programs note that the process of obtaining a Ph.D. is arduous, regardless of the type of Ph.D. program. "A Ph.D. is a long commitment of your time, energy and financial resources, so it'll be easier on you if you are passionate about research," says Grace Lee, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is the founder and CEO of Mastery Insights, an education and career coaching company, and the host of the Career Revisionist podcast.

"A Ph.D. isn't about rehashing years of knowledge that is already out there, but rather it is about your ability to generate new knowledge. Your intellectual masterpiece (which is your dissertation) takes a lot of time, intellectual creativity and innovation to put together, so you have to be truly passionate about that," Lee says.

Curtis says a prospective Ph.D. student's enthusiasm for academic work, teaching and research are the key criteria they should use to decide whether to obtain a Ph.D. degree. "While the time it takes to complete a doctorate is an understandable concern for many, my personal belief is that time is not the most important factor to consider," he says. "Good Ph.D. programs provide their students with generous stipends, health care and sometimes even subsidized housing."

Erin Skelly, a graduate admissions counselor at the IvyWise admissions consulting firm, says when a Ph.D. students struggles to complete his or her Ph.D. degree, it may have more to do with the student's academic interests or personal circumstances than his or her program.

"The time to complete a Ph.D. can depend on a number of variables, but the specific discipline or school would only account for a year or two's difference," she wrote in an email. "When a student takes significantly longer to complete a Ph.D. (degree), it's usually related to the student's coursework and research – they need to take additional coursework to complete their comprehensive exams; they change the focus of their program or dissertation, requiring extra coursework or research; or their research doesn't yield the results they hoped for, and they need to generate a new theory and conduct more research."

Skelly warns that the average completion time of a Ph.D. program may be misleading in some cases, if the average is skewed based on one or two outliers. She suggests that instead of focusing on the duration of a particular Ph.D. program, prospective students should investigate the program's attritition and graduation rates.

"It is worthwhile to look at the program requirements and the school's proposed timeline for completion, and meet current students to get their input on how realistic these expectations for completion are," Skelly says. "That can give you an honest idea of how long it will really take to complete the program."

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Program FAQs

Jump to a section, preparation, program offerings, program practices.

Must I be a history major to apply for graduate studies in history?  Can someone look over my transcript and tell me what courses I should take?

Most students admitted to our history graduate program have a BA or an MA in history, but we welcome applications from able students who have a historical foundation while majoring in other disciplines. We have admitted students over the years from majors such as American studies, sociology, economics, medieval studies, East Asian studies, Latin American studies, religious studies, philosophy, various sciences (mainly for history of science). The most qualified non-history majors are those who have taken history courses in their area of declared interest. We regret that we do not have the resources to individually advise prospective applicants about their curriculum. Rather, one can get a sense of the kinds of courses taken by a typical history major by visiting  our undergraduate section .

Should I start on the foreign language requirements prior to entering the program?

Each field (e.g., Africa or Early Modern Europe) sets its own guidelines for how much language an applicant should already have at time of entry into the program. For most fields there are no hard and fast rules, but it is clearly advantageous for an individual to enter with as much relevant foreign language preparation as possible, so that once in the program s/he can spend less time on language acquisition and more time on history subject matter. The foreign language requirement for graduate students in history varies from one to four languages, depending on the field. Our graduate students aim to fulfill at least one language by the end of the first year.  They must fulfill all required languages before they can take the orals and advance to PhD candidacy (by the end of the third or fourth year, depending on field). Prospective applicants should keep these guideposts in mind when planning their pre-graduate language training.

Further, the reviewers do look favorably upon evidence on an academic transcript that the applicant is capable of handling foreign language courses. A couple of fields have clearly defined their language prerequisites for entry into the program. For example, applicants hoping to enter the field of Medieval history should already have Latin at the intermediate-level upon entry. Applicants to Ancient Greece or Rome should have Ancient Greek and Latin – at least two years of one of these ancient languages and three years of the other. For more information about the language requirements, see the appropriate field guide(s) in the  Program Guide.

Are there special or additional application requirements for international students?

Please refer to  Minimum Degree Requirements and Required Records of Academic Work  on the Graduate Division website.

On what criteria will my history application be reviewed and by whom?

The department considers all components of an applicant file and in general no single metric will make or break a person’s chance of admission. Each history application is first reviewed by at least two history faculty members (usually in the stated field of interest). These “field reviewers” evaluate the applicant's academic degrees and record, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, foreign language training, test scores (general GRE or TOEFL), writing sample, and the fit between the applicant's goals and the program's degree offerings and faculty research interests. The reviewers select the strongest applicants and recommend names to the admissions committee members, who make the final decision. By the end of the process, applications of those admitted will have been evaluated by at least seven faculty members.

What are the average GPA and test scores of those offered admission? 

We offer the following data only because many prospective applicants request it. Remember that these are only averages (not a range) and the averages vary from year to year. Our department receives around applications and selects a class of around 15 students each year. The data for a recent cohort of domestic admits were average GPA of 3.82 undergraduate, 3.93 graduate, and 3.83 in history coursework and average GRE scores of 96% verbal, 71% quantitative, and 5.42 analytical writing on a scale of 1 to 6. We do not set a minimum for GRE scores. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 570 out of 677 for the paper test and for the Internet-based test the aggregate minimum is 90 with minimum sub-scores of 18 writing, 17 speaking, 16 listening, and 17 reading. (A score of at least 26 in speaking satisfies the language proficiency requirement for student teaching positions.) The TOEFL scores of our admitted foreign-educated students usually far exceed the minimum. A recent cohort of foreign admits averaged 613 (paper test) and 109 (IBT TOEFL test) with sub-scores of 29 writing, 27 speaking, 29 listening, and 24 reading.

If admitted, when must I register my decision to accept or not?

April 15 is the deadline for admitted students to accept or decline their offers of admission. This deadline is a national deadline for all schools that are a part of the  Council of Graduate Schools .

Please see the  Program Guide  for complete program details.

What graduate degrees do you offer in history?

We only admit applicants committed to obtaining the PhD degree in history. We do not offer a terminal master’s degree.

What fields of study does Berkeley offer?

The Berkeley History Department offers fifteen established first fields: Africa, Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantine, Early Modern Europe, East Asia: China, East Asia: Japan, Jewish, Late Modern Europe, Latin America, Medieval Europe, Middle East, North America, Science, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Can I pursue a Berkeley history graduate degree part-time, through evening courses, or through distance learning or correspondence?

No. Ours is a full-time program which requires the full-time commitment and presence of our students. We offer no evening or correspondence classes.

If I am not a Berkeley student, can I take just one or two courses at Berkeley?

During the academic year, Berkeley courses are normally not open to individuals not formally matriculated to Berkeley as an undergraduate or graduate student. Individuals not enrolled at Berkeley are permitted to enroll in undergraduate history courses during the Berkeley Summer Session, which is open to the public. No graduate courses are offered during Summer Session (see  summer.berkeley.edu ). In limited cases it may be possible for a non-Berkeley individual to obtain the permission of a Berkeley faculty member, the Chair, and the Dean to take a regular Berkeley course during the academic year through University Extension's "concurrent enrollment." Be aware, however, that you are considered an Extension student, not a Berkeley student, when enrolled through Concurrent Enrollment and that Concurrent Enrollment is not intended as a means of accumulating credit toward a Berkeley degree by a student who has not been formally admitted to Berkeley. For more information about University Extension, see  extension.berkeley.edu .

I am a graduate student attending university in a foreign country. I would like to apply to Berkeley to be a visiting international student for just six months to a year. How do I go about it?

The  Global Engagement Office  (GEO) oversees the development of bilateral and multilateral exchange agreements that allow for graduate student and faculty exchanges with international partner instructions. The maximum stay is one academic year. Your first step is to find out if your school has a partnership agreement with Berkeley and if you are eligible to apply to your school to be nominated to be an exchange student. Nominated applications will be collected by GEO and then routed to the department where a department committee will decide which applicants can be accommodated. Prospective GEO applicants should refrain from contacting our faculty directly for a promise of sponsorship because only the committee can make the offer of a slot. Students accepted via this route are not registered students (so are not assessed fees) but can usually audit history courses and have access to the libraries.

International visiting students who wish to take full advantage of Berkeley's graduate courses while visiting and who want to enroll in a regular load of courses for credit should apply for "coursework-only" via the  Education Abroad Program (EAP).  You can find more information about EAP’s reciprocal exchanges here.  An EAP applicant is nominated by the partner institution and submits applications to both the EAP office as well as directly to the department by the regular deadline for admission (December 1). If accepted by EAP and the department, the student's tuition and registration fees will be paid by the University (as part of the exchange agreement). The EAP student will be expected to register for a regular course load and will begin studies the following fall term for a maximum of one academic year.

How long does it take to complete the MA/PhD or the PhD program?

The time by which students are expected to complete the PhD program is six or seven years depending on the field in which they entered. Fields with six year time-to-degree (three years to the qualifying exam and three years in doctoral candidacy): Early Modern Europe, Late Modern Europe, Latin America, North America, Science, and Southeast Asia. For fields requiring extensive language training the time-to-degree is seven years (four years to the qualifying exam and three years in doctoral candidacy). The seven year fields are: Africa, Ancient Greece and Rome, Byzantine, East Asia: China, East Asia: Japan, Jewish, Medieval Europe, Middle East, and South Asia.  Prospective students should be advised it is not uncommon for students to take longer to file than the prescribed normative time (and it is very rare to file early).

Can I apply credits from my MA program at another institution to the History PhD program at Berkeley?

After you complete one year of coursework toward the PhD here at Berkeley, you may petition to have typically no more than two graduate courses taken elsewhere applied to our PhD course requirements. You should be prepared to produce syllabi, exams, and papers so that equivalency can be established. If approved, the course will not appear on the Berkeley transcript but will be accepted internally toward PhD requirements.

How much does a graduate education cost?

Information on Berkeley's tuition and fees can be found on the Registrar's website . The graduate student budget can be found on the Financial Aid Office's website .

What financial support is available for history graduate students? 

All admitted students are offered a multi-year fellowship, the current standard version of which is

Six year fields Year 1: tuition & fees (including health insurance) + NRST + stipend Year 2: T&F + salary + stipend top-off Year 3: T&F + salary + stipend top-off Year 4: Department Research Year Grant – T&F + stipend Year 5: T&F + salary + stipend top-off Year 6 or 7: Doctoral Completion Fellowship – T&F + stipend Note: For international students only, NRST is also covered in Years 2 and 3. The university then waives NRST for three years following advancement to doctoral candidacy.

Seven year fields Year 1: tuition & fees (including health insurance) + NRST + stipend Year 2: T&F + salary + stipend top-off Year 3: T&F + salary + stipend top-off Year 4: T&F + salary + stipend top-off Year 5: Department Research Year Grant – T&F + stipend Year 6, 7, or 8: Doctoral Completion Fellowship (DCF) – T&F + stipend Note: For international students only, NRST is also covered in Years 2, 3, and 4. The university then waives NRST for three years following advancement to doctoral candidacy.

In Year 1 through Year 5, the fellowship includes $29k for the academic year and $5k for the summer. In the DCF year, the fellowship includes $30k for the academic year.

The teaching and reading obligations in the standard departmental fellowship package are

Six year fields Year 1: no teaching Year 2: Graduate Student Instructorship (GSI) each semester Year 3: GSI one semester and read (grade) one semester Year 4: no teaching/reading Year 5: GSI one semester and read one semester DCF year: no teaching/reading

Seven year fields Year 1: no teaching Year 2: Graduate Student Instructorship (GSI) each semester Year 3: GSI one semester and read (grade) one semester Year 4: GSI one semester and read (grade) one semester Year 5: no teaching/reading DCF year: no teaching/reading

Do I have to file a FAFSA to be eligible for financial aid and graduate fellowships?

Yes. If you wish to be offered a need-based graduate loan, work-study, or low-income parent grant from the University's Financial Aid Office, you should file the FAFSA and have the report sent to Berkeley in March. In addition, if you accept a University or department fellowship you must still file the FAFSA but you have until June to have the FAFSA sent to Berkeley. UC Berkeley’s FAFSA school code is 001312.

UNC-Chapel Hill graduate programs ranked among best in nation

U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 “Best Graduate Schools” list named multiple Carolina graduate degree programs in the top 10, including UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at No. 1.

Numerous UNC-Chapel Hill graduate programs received high rankings – 20 were among the top 10 in the nation in their respective categories – as part of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” list.

For the third time in a row (2016, 2020 and 2024), UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is the top pharmacy school in the U.S. The rankings are based on a survey of peers from accredited pharmacy schools across the country and are published every four years.

The Gillings School of Global Public Health was ranked second out of 213 schools and programs of public health in the U.S. for the seventh consecutive rankings period. The Gillings School has also maintained its position as the top public school of public health and has been ranked among the top schools and programs of public health by U.S. News since the magazine first ranked public health schools in 1987. U.S. News & World Report does not rank all graduate programs each year.

“Carolina’s graduate programs are exceptional, and it’s no surprise that our schools are ranked so highly among peer institutions by U.S. News and World Report, as well as other measures,” said UNC-Chapel Hill Interim Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “Carolina is always proud to be recognized for our dedication to a world-class education. Every one of our graduate programs contributes to making us the leading public research university.”

Altogether, 23 programs increased their rankings, including multiple programs in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, School of Nursing, School of Education, Kenan-Flagler Business School and UNC School of Law.

“These rankings represent the hard work of our faculty, staff and students who are dedicated to moving Carolina forward through their incredible efforts each day,” said UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Chris Clemens. “It is gratifying to see this public recognition of their commitment to the mission of our graduate programs in research, teaching and public service. Even more than in the rankings, the proof of their work is the quality of our students and our passionate alumni who lead in so many fields.”

The School of Social Work moved up three spots in the latest rankings to a tie for fourth overall and is tied for second among public universities.

This year marks the first time since U.S. News & World Report began ranking law schools in 1987 that UNC School of Law has reached No. 20 out of 196 law schools. The UNC School of Law is also the seventh-ranked public law school.

Additional UNC-Chapel Hill rankings for 2024 follow.

Please note: Not all graduate programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report every year. For a complete list of rankings for UNC-Chapel Hill, visit the U.S. News & World Report website .

UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Gillings school of global public health.

• First public, second overall

Specialty Areas

• Health Behavior, second
• Biostatistics, third
• Epidemiology, third
• Health Policy and Management, fourth
• Environmental Health Science, eighth

School of Social Work

• Tied for fourth

School of Nursing

• Nursing Schools, Master’s Programs, tied for eighth
• Nursing Schools – DNP Programs, tied for 17th
• Nursing Master’s, Administration/Management, fourth
• Nursing Master’s, Nurse Practitioner: Psychiatric/Mental Health, fourth
• Nursing Master’s, Nurse Practitioner: Family, tied for sixth
• Nursing DNP, Psychiatric/Mental Health, third
• Nursing DNP, Family, tied for sixth

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

• Tied for 20th
• Real Estate, ninth
• Accounting, tied for 13th
• Executive MBA, 14th
• Management, 16th
• Production Operations, 16th
• Finance, 20th
• Marketing, tied for 25th

UNC School of Education

• Tied for 25th
• Special Education, tied for 13th
• Elementary Teacher Education, tied for 14th
• Educational Psychology, tied for 15th
• Education Policy, tied for 16th
• Secondary Teacher Education, tied for 17th
• Educational Administration, tied for 17th
• Curriculum and Instruction, tied for 22nd

College of Arts and Sciences

Computer science.

• Overall, 27th

Public Affairs

• Overall, 39th (Master of Public Policy)

As part of the public affairs category, U.S. News and World Report ranked Carolina programs and specialty areas based in the School of Government and the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of public policy.

School of Government

• Public Affairs, 23rd (Master of Public Administration)
• Local Government Management, second
• Leadership, 10th
• Public Finance, 18th

UNC School of Law

• Legal Writing, tied for 20th
• Criminal Law, tied for 20th
• Tax Law, tied for 20th
• Business/Corporate Law, tied for 22nd
• Clinical Training, tied for 23rd
• Contracts/Commercial Law, 23rd
• Health Care Law, tied for 28th
• Constitutional Law, tied for 29th
• Environmental Law, tied for 45th
• International Law, tied for 52nd
• Intellectual Property Law, tied for 53rd
• Trial Advocacy, tied for 118th

UNC School of Medicine (additional Rankings will be available at a later date)

• Audiology, tied for third
• Occupational Therapy, fifth
• Physical Therapy, 11th
• Speech Language Pathology, 12th

School of Education students networked in Raleigh with representatives from 11 state agencies.

Global studies scholar aspires to diplomacy

After earning a master’s degree, Kat Goodpaster became assistant director of Carolina’s Russian Flagship Program.

Public Service Awards go to 7 people, 2 groups

The Carolina Center for Public Service honored work on health disparities, refugee aid and more.

Broadway writer brings new comedy to PlayMakers

Fresh off the debut of her musical adaptation of “The Notebook,” Bekah Brunstetter ’04 will debut “The Game” in Chapel Hill.

Arts Everywhere Day set for April 12

The eighth annual campus-wide event celebrates artists creating in all mediums.

Are you ready to run, hide and fight/defend?

Active Shooter and Critical Incident Response training customizes emergency preparedness to your workspace.

EcoStudio matches Tar Heels with internships

Since 2018, the program has helped 466 students explore careers in environment and sustainability.

Morrison Art Studio provides place to create

In this video, learn how one student uses this residence hall space to pursue her passion outside the classroom.

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4.8 magnitude earthquake rattles NYC, New Jersey: Live updates

NEW YORK – A 4.8 magnitude earthquake recorded in New Jersey that shook residents in surrounding states and New York City on Friday morning was one of the strongest in state history.

The temblor was reported about 5 miles north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, at about 10:23 a.m. Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 45 miles from New York City, where residents reported shaking furniture and floors.

“Earthquakes in this region are uncommon but not unexpected. It’s likely people near the epicenter are going to feel aftershocks for this earthquake in the magnitude 2-3 range, and there’s a small chance there can be an earthquake as large or larger, following an earthquake like this,” Paul Earle, a seismologist at the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program told reporters. “In terms of our operations, this is a routine earthquake … Immediately we knew this would be of high interest and important to people who don’t feel earthquakes a lot.”

People reported feeling the shaking as far north as Maine and as far south as Norfolk, Virginia, following the quake, according to USGS. Scientists said those in the affected area should listen to local emergency officials and be prepared to seek cover if aftershocks occur.

“If you feel shaking, drop, cover and hold,” Earle said.

No major disruptions or damage have been reported in New Jersey or New York.

"We have activated our State Emergency Operations Center. Please do not call 911 unless you have an actual emergency," said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

President Joe Biden spoke with Murphy about the earthquake and the White House is monitoring the situation.

“He thinks everything's under control,” Biden told reporters before leaving the White House for a trip to Baltimore. “He’s not too concerned about it, the governor of New Jersey, so things are all right.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the quake was felt throughout New York, and officials are assessing impacts and any potential damage.

In Yonkers, New York, Mayor Mike Spano said City Hall shook but no injuries were reported.

"A few moments ago our entire house shook for about 25 seconds or so here in Mendham, New Jersey," former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said.

USGS is still investigating the exact fault line at the center of Friday’s quake and said it occurred in a region with dozens of fault lines that were more active millions of years ago.

4.0 magnitude aftershock strikes hours after earthquake

Officials in New York and New Jersey alerted residents to an aftershock Friday evening, nearly eight hours after the earthquake.

A 4.0 magnitude aftershock slammed New Jersey at around 6 p.m., with an epicenter about four miles southwest of Gladstone, according to the USGS. New York City’s emergency notification system alerted residents to the aftershock minutes later, urging people to remain indoors and call 911 if injured.

Hochul said there were no reports of serious damage after the aftershock, and officials were continuing to assess critical infrastructure.

The aftershock Friday evening was at least the third that USGS recorded after the quake struck.

As of Friday afternoon, the USGS aftershock forecast predicted a 36% chance of aftershocks at a 3.0 magnitude or higher, an 8% chance of aftershocks at a 4.0 magnitude or higher, and a 1% chance for aftershocks at a magnitude of 5.0 or higher over the next week.

USGS scientists said informal observations can be a big help in understanding earthquakes, especially in a region where they’re less common.

“We encourage people to fill out the ‘Did You Feel It?’ reports on our website,” said Sara McBride, a scientist with the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. “This citizen science project is critical in terms of building our knowledge around earthquakes.”

By midafternoon on Friday, the agency said it had received more than 161,000 reports, and extrapolated that the quake had been felt by millions of people. McBride acknowledged that earthquakes can be nerve-wracking for people who don’t live in seismologically active regions, and said knowledge is power in combatting that discomfort.

“The best thing you can do to relieve any unsettling feelings you might have is to learn how to protect yourself during shaking and how to prepare for earthquakes in the future,” she said.

Man getting vasectomy during earthquake recounts experience

One Horsham, Pennsylvania, man shared his unusual earthquake experience, saying the tremors hit when he was in the middle of receiving a vasectomy.

"The surgeon sort of froze and all of us kind of seemed a bit confused," Justin Allen told USA TODAY . "Even when the surgeon said 'that’s gotta be an earthquake,' I thought he was joking."

Luckily, Allen's doctor was able to resume the procedure after a brief pause, and the rest went off without a hitch. Now recovering at home, Allen said it's an experience no one involved will forget, especially because his social media post about the incident has since gone viral.

"My wife says that 'this is a clear and obvious sign that we should not have any more kids,'" Allen said.

New Jersey resident thought sound from earthquake was an explosion

Madeline Nafus had just finished feeding her 7-week-old baby when, simultaneously, she was thrown off balance and the loudest sound she’d ever heard rang out.

“I thought it was either an explosion or a bombing because of how loud it was,” said Nafus, who lives in Long Valley, New Jersey, a few miles from the earthquake's epicenter. “It was just terrifying.”

Nafus, 29, watched as her light fixtures swung and wine glasses, framed photos and a 6-foot elk head crashed onto the floor. Feeling as if her “house was going to crumble,” she picked up her baby boy, grabbed some blankets and headed outside. Meanwhile, her friend came running downstairs and picked up Nafus’ quivering dog, Olivia, a small golden doodle.

After about 15 seconds, the rumbling went away and only occasional, minor tremors could be felt. Nafus called her husband, who was teaching a golf lesson at the time, and then their 2-year-old’s day care.

“They said the children were all confused and asking a lot of questions but that they were OK,” she said.'

How common are East Coast quakes?

Earthquakes are less frequent in the eastern part of the country than in the west, but they have occurred in every state east of the Mississippi River, according to the USGS.

"Since colonial times people in the New York – Philadelphia – Wilmington urban corridor have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones," according to the USGS. "Moderately damaging earthquakes strike somewhere in the urban corridor roughly twice a century, and smaller earthquakes are felt roughly every two to three years."

USGS officials also said that even smaller-magnitude quakes are more likely to be felt more widely on the East Coast than similar size quakes on the West Coast due to the rock properties of eastern soil, which can cause concern to East Coasters not used to the tremors.

Rocks in the eastern part of the country are much older than in the west, by up to millions of years. Those older rocks have been exposed to more extreme temperatures and pressure, and faults have had more time to heal. Seismic waves travel across the resulting harder and denser faults much more efficiently, so the effects of a quake are felt across a larger area. In the West, faults are newer and absorb more of the seismic wave energy without spreading as far.

Quake felt in Massachusetts

In Auburn, Massachusetts, more than 200 miles from the earthquake's epicenter, Jerry Steinhelper was on a video call for work when his house began to tremble. His dog Maize started barking, and books and trinkets fell from their shelves. He looked out the window and saw trees shaking.

“I thought at first it may be ice falling off the roof. But it kept going and the entire house was shaking,” he told USA TODAY. “Then I just knew it was an earthquake.”

Steinhelper, 55, lived in San Diego in the 1980s and experienced temblors there, but he’s never felt one in Massachusetts, where he’s been for over 25 years.

“It was an interesting 10 to 15 seconds,” he said.

'It felt like a plane crashed outside' near epicenter

Nicole Kravitz, 33, was baking muffins at the cafe she co-owns with her husband in New Jersey when the floor began to shake. She and the cooks looked at each other for a few moments, and then at some stacked plates and glasses that had started vibrating.

Their eatery, Branchburg's Best, is located in New Jersey's Somerset County, near the epicenter of Friday’s earthquake.

“It felt like a plane crashed outside,” she said. “No one knew what was happening.”

Some workers ran out the door to see if something had smashed into the building while she checked the basement for damage. Meanwhile, Patrick Tucker, her husband, who was picking up beef from a nearby farm, watched agitated chickens and cows run around in their pens, visibly shaken by the quake.

Kravitz said the intensity of the earthquake made her feel like she was back in Southern California, where she had lived for several years before she returned to her home state in 2016.

Quake was one of the strongest to ever impact New Jersey

Friday's earthquake was the most significant in New Jersey since 1884 , when an Aug. 10 earthquake somewhere near Jamaica Bay, New York, toppled chimneys and moved houses off their foundations as far as Rahway, New Jersey, 30 miles away.

Other than that quake, there were only  three earthquakes in modern history  that caused damage in the state: 1737 (New York City), 1783 (west of New York City) and 1927 (New Jersey coast near Asbury), according to New Jersey Office of Emergency Management records.

The Dec. 19, 1737 earthquake is believed by modern experts to have been a 5.2 magnitude quake. Charted as taking place in the greater New York City area, some accounts say its epicenter was near Weehawken. State records show it threw down chimneys. Chimneys were also hurled down during the Nov. 29, 1783 quake. Estimated at a 5.3 magnitude that originated in modern-day Rockaway Township, according to state records, it was felt from Pennsylvania to New England.

The Aug. 10, 1884 quake, estimated at a 5.2 magnitude was the last the state has seen of its significance and was felt from Virginia to Maine, according to state records.

  Read more about New Jersey's earthquake history.

– David M. Zimmer, NorthJersey.com

New Jersey business owner describes worst quake ever felt but went right back to work

It was a busy day for La Bella Salon & Spa in Lebanon, New Jersey, when an earthquake struck near the rural township.

About a dozen stylists and customers, some whom were getting their hair dyed while others got manicures and eyelash extensions, all froze as the building rattled for about 30 seconds.

“People started to feel the shaking, and it got worse and worse. We were like ‘Oh, my god, what is going on?’" said shop owner Rosanne Drechsel. “I thought a truck hit the building or something.”

After the tremor subsided, nearly everyone in the building started receiving texts and phone calls from friends and family, Drechsel, 61, said.

Nothing was damaged and no one was injured, but Drechsel, who was born and raised in New Jersey, said it was “by far the worst earthquake” she had ever felt.

“We all went back to work and finished the appointments,” she said. “Customers are calling now to see if we're still open and if they can still make their appointments later on today.”

'It was scary': Quake rattles shelves in Brooklyn bodega

In Brooklyn, residents said they felt their buildings shake and many went outdoors after the rumbling stopped to check in with neighbors.

Julio Melo, a deli worker, said he thought the sounds of the earthquake resembled those of a large truck going down the street. But when Melo, 32, looked around and saw beer bottles rattling on store shelves, and a potted plant shimmy down the counter, he thought it might be something bigger, he told USA TODAY.

“I looked at my employee and he had the same tragic face on as me, it was scary,” he said at Jenesis’ Grocery Corp. in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

– Claire Thornton

Where was the earthquake felt?

Residents and officials said the earthquake was felt throughout New York, as well as in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. It was also felt as far away as Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 250 miles away from the reported epicenter.

Charita Walcott, a 38-year-old resident in the Bronx borough of New York, said the quake felt "like a violent rumble that lasted about 30 seconds or so."

"It was kind of like being in a drum circle, that vibration," she said.

Earthquakes common in the region, but the size is unusual: Expert

Chuck Ver Straeten, a geologist and curator of sedimentary rocks at the New York State Museum, told USA TODAY it’s not surprising this earthquake happened where it did.

“New York, around New York City going into New Jersey, there’s a lot of earthquakes historically down there. Happens every year,” he said. But it’s less common for them to be of such a high magnitude. It’s not surprising that many people felt it, he said. Usually, earthquakes in the region are at a lower magnitude and less likely to be felt.

Ver Straeten said the real question now is if this is just a precursor to a larger quake.

“You never know what is the earthquake, what is a pre-earthquake, what is an earthquake happening after the main earthquake, you just have to see,” he said. “One slip along the rock fault, when one happens, it makes other areas around there more tense also and they start to slip and you slip again and slip again.”

But, he added, it would be unlikely for a larger quake to follow this one. In the Northeast, it’s more common for one large quake to be followed by smaller aftershocks, rather than a mounting series of tremors. 

What does magnitude mean in an earthquake?

Magnitude is a measurement of the strength of an earthquake . Officially it's called the Moment Magnitude Scale . It's a logarithmic scale , meaning each number is ten times as strong as the one before it. So a 5.2 earthquake is moderate while a 6.2 is strong.

The magnitude and effect of an earthquake, according to Michigan Technological University :

◾ Below 2.5: Generally not felt

◾ 2.5 to 5.4: Minor or no damage

◾ 5.5 to 6.0: Slight damage to buildings

◾ 6.1 to 6.9: Serious damage

◾ 8.0 or greater: Massive damage, can totally destroy communities

Intensity scales, measured in Roman numerals, are used to describe how strong the earthquake felt to people in the area.

According to the California Earthquake Authority , an intensity of I is typically felt only under especially favorable conditions. A IV, which leads to light shaking, is felt indoors by many, but not typically outdoors. It might awaken some people at night and lead to a sensation like a truck striking a building. A parked car would rock. Intensities VI and above would be strong, frightening and felt by all, with the damage increasing up to a X where the shaking would be violent. Some well-built wooden structures would be destroyed and most masonry and frame structures along with their foundations would be ruined.

While you might have heard the term " the Richter Scale " used to describe earthquakes, it is no longer commonly used because it was only valid for certain earthquake frequencies and distance ranges.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Contributing: Reuters

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Middle East crisis — explained

The conflict between Israel and Palestinians — and other groups in the Middle East — goes back decades. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them.

How Iran and Israel became archenemies

Peter Kenyon

Emergency and security personnel extinguish a fire at the site of strikes that hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus on April 1. Iran blames Israel for the attack. Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Emergency and security personnel extinguish a fire at the site of strikes that hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus on April 1. Iran blames Israel for the attack.

ISTANBUL — Israel is on high alert for a possible attack from Iran, following an airstrike that hit the Iranian consulate in Syria two weeks ago and killed several senior Iranian military officers. Iran blames Israel for the attack, and has vowed to retaliate.

Iran's regional flashpoints are increasing. Here's what to know

Many countries have issued warnings to their citizens not to visit the region, as tensions flare and fears grow that an Iranian attack may be imminent — and the war in Gaza may spread.

Iranian leaders have been among the sharpest critics of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. Tehran has made no secret of its praise for those who attack Israelis, including the Hamas-led attack that Israel says killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7.

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Israel compiled a video showing Hamas gunmen killing civilians, including babies, and burning corpses. Human Rights Watch verified some of the videos of the attack, and called on the International Criminal Court to investigate the attacks as war crimes.

People attend the funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran, April 5. Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty hide caption

People attend the funeral procession for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran, April 5.

Iranian officials accuse Israel of a deadly attack on Iran's consulate in Syria

Iran, however, wasted no time in hailing the Hamas attack as a "victory." Hours after news of the attack broke on Oct. 7, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told Iran's ISNA news agency that "What took place today is in line with the continuation of victories of the anti-Zionist resistance in different fields, including Syria, Lebanon and occupied lands."

Iran blames Israel for the April 1 airstrike on Iran's consulate in Damascus that killed seven members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two IRGC generals . Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind the attack.

If Israel was responsible, it would be the latest in a long line of attacks against Iranian targets.

1979 was a pivotal year

While Iran was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty for more than a half-century, Iranian-Israeli bilateral relations were far from hostile. Iran was one of the first Muslim countries to recognize the new state of Israel .

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Palestinians saw that recognition as a tacit international acceptance of what they call the "Nakba," or catastrophe — the forced dispossession and displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians when Israel was created in 1948.

For its part, Israel was quick to establish ties with non-Arab states, including military and security cooperation with Iran.

Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, though, sent relations between the two nations into a tailspin. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted, and the new supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, pursued a policy of standing up to "arrogant" world powers. During his regime, the United States became known in Iran as the "Great Satan," and Israel as the "Little Satan."

Even so, limited cooperation between Israel and Iran continued into the 1980s. But later a hostile rivalry emerged as Iran built up and funded proxy militias and other groups in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. A shadow war between Iran and Israel grew over the years.

Iran's nuclear program is a main target

Iran's nuclear program — which it has always insisted is entirely peaceful — has been a primary focus of Israeli attacks. Tehran believes Israel and the U.S. introduced the Stuxnet computer virus in the early 2000s to target the centrifuges enriching uranium for Iran's nuclear program

A series of sabotage attacks continued into the 2020s, as Israel sought to damage Iranian nuclear facilities. Nuclear scientists were also targeted. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018 was seen as a blow to Tehran and a victory for Israel.

Middle East

Iranian commandos seize an israeli-linked container ship near strait of hormuz.

Iran continues to insist that its program is 100% peaceful, although certain incidents, such as an unexplained discovery of uranium particles at sites Iran never disclosed to the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, trouble critics who doubt Iran's motives.

With Iran firmly under the control of Islamist hard-liners, and conservatives leading Israel, there seems little likelihood of a return to cordial Iranian-Israeli relations anytime soon.

War by proxy

Iran has long backed armed groups around the region that target Israel as well as the U.S. military. The main one is Hezbollah in Lebanon, formed in the 1980s to fight the Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah has been firing rockets into northern Israel since the Gaza war began in October.

Iran also supports Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that led the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the current war, which Gaza health authorities say has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, over the past six months.

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Iran also has provided support to Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have fired ballistic missiles at the Israeli resort town Eilat on the Red Sea, and attacked shipping vessels — attacks which the Houthi rebels say are in support of Hamas.

Iran supports the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad, and Israel says Tehran uses Syrian territory to ship missiles and other weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has carried out numerous airstrikes in Syria to halt that flow of weapons, and said the Iranian general killed in the consulate strike was a key figure in that logistical chain.

Now, however, American and Israeli officials are warning of the risk of a direct attack by Iran against Israel. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said the April 1 attack on the consulate building in Damascus, for which Iran blames Israel, was tantamount to an attack on Iranian territory. He has threatened that Israel "must be punished and shall be."

Israel has said that an attack from Iranian soil would be met with a direct response against Iran. That could trigger a major regional war.

U.S. officials say that they have sent messages to allies with closer ties to Tehran to urge Iran to exercise restraint. The U.S. officials noted that the U.S. has also relayed the same message directly to Iranian officials.

• Israel-Hamas war