History, Ph.D.

Core Courses (9 Credit Hours)

Students take three core courses: HIST 6300 - Historiography which introduces students to the professional study of history; HIST 6306 - Introduction to Digital Humanities, which provides a theoretical and practical introduction to on-line texts, especially in history; and HIST 6395 - History as an Academic Profession, which helps students to develop the skills needed to make the transition from graduate student to practicing, professional historian.

• HIST 6300 - Historiography
• HIST 6306 - Introduction to Digital Humanities
• HIST 6395 - History as an Academic Profession

American History (12 Credit Hours)

The field in American history offers broad preparation. During the first two years, students take a sequence of three to four colloquia (12 credit hours) in which they read intensively in American history from the era of Indian-European contact to the present. The intention is that they should master the historiography of the field. These colloquia emphasize new problems, interpretations and debates vital to the study of American history. With the adviser’s consent, a student may substitute another 6000-level U.S. history course  for one of the four colloquia.

• HIST 6301 - Colloquium: Early American History
• HIST 6302 - Colloquium: American History, 1812-1877
• HIST 6303 - Colloquium: Late 19th-Century to Early 20th-Century America
• HIST 6304 - Modern America, 1929-Present

Global and Comparative History (12 Credit Hours)

The field in global and comparative history introduces students to the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that have guided advanced research in world history in recent decades. Students take four courses, usually beginning with a colloquium, HIST 6315 - Global/Comparative History , which explores influential methodologies and theoretical perspectives of the field. Additionally, students take three courses that treat, in comparative contexts, such themes and topics as urbanization, migration, industrialization, revolution, colonialism, postcolonialism, slavery, and gender.

Specialization (12 Credit Hours)

While the department maintains strong specializations on the U.S. Southwest, borderlands, ethnic Mexicans, and Native Americans, students may instead opt to develop an individualized specialization of four courses in a coherent field, in or beyond the United States, approved by the Graduate Committee. Students may also wish to enrich their historical understandings by taking courses in other disciplines, such as anthropology, literature, or religious studies. The courses should be chosen in consultation with the graduate adviser.

The courses taken in the specialized and global fields may vary in both content and method; these may be graduate courses, graduate level reading seminars, and also individual directed readings. If individual interests and requirements justify doing so, a limited number of these courses may be taken in another department. The field can thus provide broad interdisciplinary views of particular topics of global significance.

The program offers unusual opportunities for students to broaden and deepen their knowledge. Resources include the Clements Center for Southwest Studies, with its symposia, research fellows and distinguished visitors; SMU’s DeGolyer Library, a repository for a remarkable collection of books and manuscripts on Mexico and the Southwest; and the Meadows Museum of Art, which houses perhaps the world’s finest collections of early modern Spanish art outside of Spain.

For students with more interdisciplinary interests, the Bridwell Library provides a wealth of primary sources for the study of religious history; the Underwood Law Library supports the study of legal history, including that of international law; and the Center for Presidential History allows for research in the domestic and foreign affairs of the United States. Naturally, the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute especially addresses the needs of such students.

Ph.D. Research Paper Requirement

Students write two substantial research papers during the first two years of study. The goal is to produce significant work based on primary sources and of a quality comparable to an article in a scholarly journal.

Qualifying Examination

An oral examination on three fields of concentration will be taken in the spring term of the third year of study.

Teaching Preparation

Learning to be an effective instructor is a vital part of the Ph.D. program. The centerpiece of teacher preparation, to occur in the fourth or fifth year, is a mentoring program tailored to the interests and needs of each student. Students enroll in HIST 7000 - Teaching Practicum  (noncredit), where a study of methods and content in the teaching of history is coupled with classroom teaching experience. Students work closely with a professor in the planning and teaching of an individual course. They also meet with the professor to discuss topics related to teaching. Finally, students will teach a course at SMU or a cooperating institution.

Dissertation (3 Credit Hours)

While students complete their dissertation, they enroll in HIST 8398 - Dissertation: Ph.D. Candidates . Upon completion of the dissertation, a formal defense is conducted before an examination committee of four faculty members.

Total: 48 Credit Hours