About PhD Program,
Students admitted to the Ph.D. program are awarded fellowship packages renewable for up to six years. The program is the same whether or not the student has received an M.A. degree from another institution.
During the first three years of the program, students complete the required coursework (including a master’s essay), take the general examinations for the Ph.D., work as graduate teaching assistants, complete a prospectus for the Ph.D. dissertation, and begin dissertation research. During the remaining years the student will research, write, and defend the doctoral dissertation. Students are expected, by the terms of their fellowships, to serve as half-time teaching assistants for an undergraduate course (defined as 10 hours per week) in 8 out of 12 semesters. A funded student who receives an external award that pays the cost of living for a semester in which they would normally be expected to serve as a teaching assistant will not be required to teach during that semester.
The graduate program in history is small, highly selective, and well supported by the University. If a student is admitted, the University will provide a competitive financial package that will include a stipend for living expenses, remission of tuition, and cover the cost of University fees and single-coverage health insurance. The Ph.D. living support stipend for the 2024-25 acdaemic year is set at $31,518 per annum. Continuation in the program and renewal of the fellowship is contingent on meeting standards for academic performance judged in the annual evaluations mentioned later in this guide. The University and the Department also provide other financial support, awarded on a competitive basis for student research including travel to archives, presentations of research at scholarly conferences, and language study at the University or at some other US or foreign institution.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
The Corcoran Department of History graduate program at the University of Virginia offers a terminal M.A. degree in addition to the combined M.A.-Ph.D sequence. Students pursuing a J.D. in the Law School are also able to apply to receive an M.A. in Legal History, through our joint degree program with the Law School. We also encourage the terminal M.A. degree program to serving military officers who need an M.A. but not a Ph.D. in order to teach at the service academies. However, in no case is UVA financial aid available to students seeking a terminal M.A.
Students cannot enter the program on a part-time basis. Classes are offered only on-site at the university, and there are no distance-learning options. Students are expected, by the terms of their fellowships, to be in residence in or near Charlottesville during coursework and graduate teaching assistantships.
Graduate study in history is specialized, and your experience in graduate school may depend largely on the mentorship of a principal advisor. Familiarize yourself with the department’s faculty in your intended field of study, both geographical and thematic. (You will find profiles of the faculty members and relevant fields of study here.) Feel free to contact faculty members individually to discuss your interest and the professor’s expectations for graduate students and applicants. By investigating the university web site or contacting department faculty, you might also discover resources or people at UVA of interest to you outside of the History Department.
PhD Funding Coverage,
As a Ph.D. candidate, each student focuses on dissertation research and continues their pedogogical development as a graduate teaching assistant.
During candidacy, the student should enroll in 12 credit hours of HIST 9999 Non-Topical Research (Preparation for Doctoral Research), unless they are enrolled in additional courses, in which case they should enroll for the number of credits of HIST 9999 necessary to have 12 credit hours total.
From the third year onward, students are encouraged to apply for internal and external research grants that will allow them to develop their doctoral dissertations and conduct research trips. Those awarded financial support sufficient to defray the costs of their living expenses through such grants or fellowships will not be required to teach during that external funded period. Students also receive four “fellowship” semesters in which they are not required to teach as part of their package. Generally, the first fellowship semester is taken in the first semester of the program. Currently, the Ph.D. program follows a continuous enrollment model, meaning that external funding may replace a semester or year of graduate teaching assignments, but those assignments may not be deferred, i.e. whether or not a student receives outside funding, they are expected to finish their Ph.D. within the six-year term.
In their final year of the program, students will focus completing and defending their dissertation while applying for postdocs, jobs, other postgraduate opportunities. The Ph.D. candidate defend their dissertation before a committee chosen by the advisor in consultation with the student. The advisor should set an intended date for the dissertation defense (no later than one week prior to the final deadlines for submission of the approved dissertation on December 1, May 1, or August 1), and set a date for the submission of a final draft to members of the committee (typically three-to-four weeks prior to the defense). At minimum, the committee, chaired by the advisor, must consist of three current members of the graduate faculty in History as well as a UVA member of the graduate faculty from another department who serves as the “dean’s representative.” Other qualified members, from within or beyond the University, may be appointed in addition to this required minimum. The dissertation should represent an original and significant contribution to historical knowledge, be concise and well written, and display strong primary research. If the dissertation is successfully defended, it can be approved as is or with required revisions completed.
All requirements for the Ph.D. degree should be completed within seven years after enrollment in the graduate program. Exceptions to this time limit must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Application Requirement,
1 Statement of Purpose
2 Standardized Test Scores
3 Transcripts
4 Letters of Recommendation
5 Writing Samples
6 Fees
Application Deadline,
Dec 15, 2024
Application Fee,
A non-refundable fee of $85 is due at the time the application is submitted.
