Year 1
- Regular PhD program (admitted with an MA degree):
- Direct-entry PhD students:
- Complete five half-year courses.
- All PhD students:
- Beginning of year: Meet with your supervisor to determine the fields you will study.
- Take field seminars.
- Begin working on fulfilling your language requirements.
- By April: Your fields and comp committees should be set. Meet with your committee to agree on a plan of study.
Year 2
- Direct-entry PhD students:
- Complete four additional half-year courses.
- All PhD students:
- Continue working on fulfilling your language requirements.
- Meet regularly with your field supervisors and dissertation supervisor.
- April (normally): Write comprehensive exams. (They are also held in October and January.)
- Six weeks after your comprehensive exams: Draft of your thesis proposal is due to your dissertation committee.
Year 3
- September (normally):
- Dissertation committee meets to approve the final version of your dissertation proposal.
- By end of year:
- Prepare a report on your research in progress for your dissertation supervisor, preferably at the end of the third PhD year and no later than the fourth PhD year.
- Conduct research. (See: Safety Abroad policies and Research Ethics.)
Year 4
- September (normally):
- Dissertation committee meets to review your progress.
- September 30:
- Dissertation committee’s progress report due to graduate office.
Year 5
- September (normally):
- Dissertation committee meets to review your progress.
- September 30:
- Dissertation committee’s progress report due to graduate office.
Year 6 and Beyond
- September (normally):
- Dissertation committee meets to review your progress.
- September 30:
- Dissertation committee’s progress report due to graduate office.
- Regular PhD program (admitted with an MA degree):
- After six years, you will have to apply for an extension from our department.
- Direct-entry PhD students:
- After seven years, you will have to apply for an extension from our department.
- Apply for doctoral completion funding
Before Your Thesis Defence
- Eight (8) weeks before examination date:
- Submit a final, unbound copy of your thesis to each member of your committee
- Submit an abstract (max. 350 words) to the graduate office
After Your Successful Thesis Defence
- Submit:
- One digital copy of your thesis to the School of Graduate Studies
- One bound copy (navy blue cover) to the Department of History’s graduate office, with your name and the year of the oral exam on the spine. (See: the School of Graduate Studies’ guide to producing your thesis.)
- An abstract of your thesis (maximum 350 words) to the Department of History’s graduate office. The abstract will be printed in Dissertation Abstracts.
