Categories of Graduate Courses Offered by the Department of History
5000-level: lecture, reading, and discussion courses designed for advanced undergraduates as well as graduate students
7000-level: reading and discussion colloquia; writing assignments may be lengthy or relatively brief, but are focused on secondary sources; open only to graduate students
8000-level: seminars devoted to the research and writing of a substantial original paper, based mainly on primary sources; may not be taken as independent study
the following courses are independent study for credit:
9011: preparation for the Ph.D. oral examination
9012: the writing and presentation of a dissertation proposal
9960: an undergraduate course augmented with additional requirements to fulfill graduate credit. It does not fill the colloquium or seminar requirements
9951: preparation for the M. A. thesis
9961: a tutorial
The following non-graded courses for credit are taken to fulfill the requirement that full-time students maintain twelve hours of course work each semester and that part-time students take six hours. These courses can be taken for 3, 6, 9, or 12 hours but do not count toward the number of courses needed for a degree:
8998: master's research before a thesis advisor has been selected
8999: master's research under the supervision of an advisor
9998: research in preparation for the doctorate before a dissertation director has been selected
9999: dissertation research under the supervision of a dissertation director
The grades given for credit courses are A, A-, B+, B, B- and F. For non-credit courses, the grades are S (satisfactory) and U (unsatisfactory). One course almost always carries three credit hours.
Language Requirement
The language requirement for the M. A. may be met either:
- by showing at least two years (or the equivalent) of satisfactory work in a foreign language on the undergraduate transcript, or
- by passing the Proficiency Level exam administered by the language departments.
The History Department strongly suggests, however, that all incoming students who hope to fulfill their language requirement take the Mastery Level exam offered through those departments, since that exam fulfills the requirement for the doctorate as well, while the Proficiency Level exam does not. To sign up for either exam the student must apply to the language department in question.
The Mastery Level exams usually consist of a short translation, a reading comprehension section (with short-answer questions), and a short essay. Texts will be chosen, if possible, from the discipline and area specialization of the candidate. Test results will be forwarded to the History Department. Incoming students should take an exam at the beginning of their first semester. They may take the exam no more than three times.
The language requirement for the Ph.D. may be met in one of the following ways:
- by passing the Mastery Level exam offered a the language departments.
- in Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Latin, Greek, or another language for which no regular mastery level examination is offered, students may prepare a timed translation of a four-page text chosen and graded by a member of the department, chosen by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students should inform the DGS or the graduate secretary early in the term should they wish to take such an exam.
- In certain cases, particularly where a student must use a language such as Chinese, Japanese, or Hindi, the student may petition to receive 12 semester-hours of credit for graduate work in History upon completion of 18 semester-hours of work in a single foreign language after the B. A. This option, which must have the approval of the student's major professor and the Director of Graduate Studies, cannot be substituted for the regular departmental foreign language examination.
Permission to Proceed to the Doctorate will not be granted until the M. A. language requirement has been met; permission to sit for Ph.D. exams will not be granted until the Ph.D. language requirement has been met.
Financial Aid
Applications for financial aid will be distributed early in the spring semester. All professors with whom a student has worked over the preceding year will be asked by the department to submit evaluations of the student's performance. The Graduate Committee will review all students' files, rank students for aid, and allocate funds and teaching positions accordingly. Announcements of aid will be made late in the spring. For additional information, see the financial aid information page.
Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree
All graduate students who enter this department with a bachelor's degree must earn the M. A. degree before going on to the doctorate. The M. A. program comprises thirty hours of graded, graduate-level coursework in history (unless otherwise approved), the foreign language requirement, and a master's essay approved by two readers. All requirements must be completed within five years.
No transfer or extension-course credits may be counted toward an M. A. degree except courses taken in Charlottesville through the School of Continuing Education and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. With the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate School, however, the degree may be taken on a part-time basis in this university.
M. A. in United States History: All students must take a two-semester sequence of six-credit colloquia, HIUS 7001-7002. During the second semester students are also required to take a six-credit general seminar, HIUS 8002. In this course students write a paper that, with revisions over the course of the following summer, will become the Master's Essay. Evaluation by the instructors in HIUS 7001-7002 will be used in lieu of the M. A. oral. The other twelve hours of graded work will be made up of a combination of other courses selected in conjunction with a graduate advisor.
Students seeking the M. A. in United States history who are currently enrolled in the School of Law may fulfill the requirements for the M. A. in fields other than United States history.
M. A. in European History All students must take one colloquium from the sequence HIEU 7001-7004 in their first year. Students who continue in the program beyond the first year must take a second colloquium from this sequence. In addition, all students are required to include in their programs one history seminar (800-level), and HIST 9951. This last course is designed to enable students to begin work on choosing and researching their Masters' essay. The grade for HIST 9951will be 'incomplete;' the final grade assigned will be the same as HIST 8002, taken in the fall of the second year (a letter grade will be assigned for students who are not returning after the first year). The other twenty one hours of the program will be made up of a combination of tutorials and other courses chosen in conjunction with a graduate advisor.
Students will also be required to submit a Master's Essay. This is to be a work only slightly more ambitious than a seminar paper. Students will complete this essay in HIST 8002, a general history seminar to be taken in the first semester of the second year. Students who are not returning for a second year may use their work in HIST 9951 as the basis for the essay, to be completed independently.
M. A. in Other Fields: All students will be required to include in their programs one history seminar, one colloquium or additional seminar, and HIST 9951. The other twenty one hours of the program will be made up of a combination of tutorials and other courses chosen in conjunction with a graduate advisor.
Students will also be required to submit a Master's Essay. This is to be a work only slightly more ambitious than a seminar paper. Students will complete this essay in HIST 8002, a general history seminar to be taken in the first semester of the second year. Students who are not returning for a second year may use their work in HIST 9951 as the basis for the essay, to be completed independently.
Requirements for the Ph.D.
Click here for Forms for Current Graduate Students
Seminars and Colloquia: Students must complete at least 54 semester-hours of graded work, including the 30 hours of the M. A. program. At least 15 semester-hours of these courses after the M. A. coursework must be in history seminars and colloquia, including at least two history seminars under different professors. If students not in American history have taken, in their first year, more than the one seminar and colloquium required for the M. A. degree, these 'extra' seminars or colloquia may be applied to this requirement.
Students Admitted With an M. A.: Such students are required to take at least 30 semester-hours of course work at UVA, including at least 6 semester-hours of seminars and 9 hours of colloquia. Students in United States history are required to take the HIUS 7001-7002 sequence.
Courses Outside the Major Field: At least 6 semester-hours of history course work must be taken outside the student's Major Field. Since these courses provide the basis for the outside field on the doctoral exam, they should be selected in conjunction with a prospective examiner to provide a coherent field of study.
Students must also take 3 graduate-level semester-hours in related fields in another department of the university, selected in consultation with the advisor. Students may not use cross-listed courses to fulfill this requirement. Students may take more than 3 hours in other departments, with the permission of the advisor, if it is thought beneficial to their intellectual development. Any student who wishes to take more than 9 hours outside the department should petition the graduate committee.
HIST 9011 and 9012: All students must complete HIST 9101 and 9012, normally in the third year.
Residency: At least two consecutive semesters must be spent in full-time residence between the M. A. and the Ph.D. degrees.
Additional Language Requirement: In addition to the language requirement described above, major professors may, at their discretion, require a second, or even a third, foreign language for all candidates.
Permission to Take the Ph.D. General Oral Examination Form: Before a student may take the oral examination for the doctorate, he or she must complete and have signed the Permission to Take the Ph.D. General Oral Examination Form. This shows that:
1) the requirements for the M. A. degree have been completed,
2) A's or A-'s have been received in at least half the courses taken at UVA,
3) The Ph.D. coursework is on track for completion at the end of the third year.
4) The Ph.D. language requirement has been passed.
Qualifying Examination: After the Permission to Take the Ph.D. General Oral Examination Form has been signed by a student's major advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, the candidate must take a qualifying examination. The examination will be conducted by at least four examiners, chosen by the student in consultation with his or her advisor, covering three fields of history:
the Major Field (2 examiners)
the Special Field within the Major Field
the Special Field outside the Major Field
The qualifying examination for the doctorate combines a written and an oral component. During the spring break in March of each year, there will be a six-day examination period in which third-year students will be required to take a written examination in three parts. There will be another session in early September for those who failed the exam in March or have been given permission to postpone the exam.
Students, on two weekend days and two weekdays of their choice within the examination week, will answer two sets of questions that they pick up in advance from the graduate secretary. Each examiner may ask as many questions as seem feasible for the time and space allotted for the answer. The two professors responsible for the major field will confer beforehand to produce two sets of questions, the answers to which they will both read. The major professor may suggest that the examiners revise or clarify the questions. Each essay will be no longer than 4,000 words, must be written on a word processor or typewriter, and must be written between the hours of 9 to 4, at which time it must be handed in to the graduate secretary. The exams must be pledged.
Two of the sets of questions will focus on the student's major field, one set on the outside field, and one set on the special field. The examiners who submitted the set of questions will decide whether the answers are satisfactory.
Once all four sets of answers have been approved, the major professor will read each set and coordinate an oral examination in a joint session with all four professors and the student. Students who fail this exam must retake it, but will have only two opportunities to take this exam.
That oral examination, which will take place before the end of the spring term, will last for no more than two hours. While examiners will ask questions about the student's essays, they may also ask questions about any issue in the field for which they are responsible. The student will also give a brief oral presentation about his or her proposed dissertation. Following the examination, the four examiners will decide whether the student qualifies to pass to the dissertation stage of the doctorate.
Dissertation: The candidate must write and defend a dissertation on a subject approved by the major professor. The completed dissertation must be submitted to a committee chosen by the student in consultation with her or his advisor and composed of four members of the Graduate Faculty: the student's major professor, a second reader from within the department, and two other faculty members, at least one of whom must be from another department. That committee will meet with the student to discuss the dissertation, a defense presided over by the student's advisor. Members of the committee may require any revisions they deem necessary before approving the dissertation.
Two copies of the completed and approved dissertation must be signed by the major professor and second reader. The defense of the dissertation may be held during the nine-week period of the Summer Session provided that the student is properly registered.
Time Limitations: All requirements for the Ph.D. must be met within seven years from the time a student first enrolls in the graduate program at Virginia. Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate School.
Admission to Candidacy: Any graduate student who wishes to become a candidate for a degree must file an application with the Dean of the Graduate School on a form available in the Graduate School office. The application must be submitted not later than October 1 if the degree is to be conferred in January, not later than February 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May, and not later than July 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August. The application must be signed by the major professor and the chair of the department. Every graduate student, whether resident or non-resident, must be registered in the Graduate School during the semester in which he or she is an applicant for a degree.
Permission to Proceed to the Doctorate
In the late spring of the first year, the Graduate Committee will meet and, on the basis of the student's performance during the year, decide on one of the following courses of action:
- the student should continue in the program;
- the student should complete the master's essay, but because his or her record has displayed some weaknesses, he or she should give serious consideration before returning for a second year of course work; financial support is unlikely;
- the student should complete the master's essay but may not return to work for the doctorate in this department.
Each student will be notified by letter by the Director of Graduate Studies.
The records of students entering with the M.A. will be reviewed after their first year. If the review is unfavorable, dismissal or suspension of funding is possible, even though said students have been technically admitted to the PhD program at the time of acceptance to the department. If given permission to proceed, students entering with M.A.s should file a Permission to Proceed to the Doctorate Form with the Director of Graduate Studies.
If students not entering with M.A.s have been allowed to proceed to the second year, they should submit at the end of their second year a "Permission to Proceed to the Doctorate" form to the Graduate Director (or earlier, if the M. A. degree has been completed). This form will show that:
- The requirements for the M. A. degree have been completed
- A's or A-'s have been received in at least half of courses taken at UVA
- The M.A. language requirement has been passed
- A member of the faculty has agreed to direct the research for the dissertation.
The graduate committee will evaluate the student's progress and determine whether the student should be allowed to proceed to the doctoral sequence (HIST 9011-9012). Students who are denied 'Permission to Proceed' may not take graduate-level courses in the History Department under any authority. This form must be completed and approved before the beginning of the third year.
Dismissal
The Graduate Committee will review the work of all students on a regular basis and may recommend dismissal of, or suspend funding to, any M.A. or Ph.D. student in any year of study whose work the committee deems unsatisfactory. Unsatisfactory work may include, but is not limited to, failure to receive A's and A-'s in at least half of courses taken at UVA, or failure to complete requirements on schedule. Students who have been dismissed or who have been denied Permission to Proceed may not take graduate level courses in the History Department under any authority.
Petitions
In exceptional circumstances the Graduate Committee will consider petitions for individual exceptions to these Rules and Regulations. Petitions should be written and addressed to the Director of Graduate Studies. Should students still not be satisfied, they may appeal to the Graduate School or, if appropriate, to the compliance officer on racial and sexual harassment.