• Home
• About the Department
• Events
• Resources
• Contact
• Courses
• Courses
• Faculty and Staff
• Undergraduate Concentration
• Why AmCiv?
• Course of Study
• Advising Worksheets (PDF)
• Honors Program
• The Prospectus
• Directors and Readers
• The Thesis
• Sample Senior Year Schedule
• Application Form (PDF)
  
• Faculty Recommendation Form (PDF)
• Model Cover, Signatory and TOC Pages (PDF)
• Recent Honors Theses
• Current Concentrators
• Concentration Advisors
• Graduate Programs
• Courses of Study
• Admissions and Financial Aid
• Graduate Applicants FAQ
• Current Graduate Students
• Recent Dissertations
• Advisors Outside AmCiv
• Graduate Handbook
• I. Program Description
• II. Fields, Exams, and Dissertations
• III. Evaulation and Financial Assistance
• IV. Amendment Procedures
• Advising Worksheets
• Preliminary Exam Field Lists
• Public Humanities Initiative
• American Civilization Alumni
• Selected Alumni Publications
• Ph. D. Dissertations
• Websites

Ph.D. in American Civilization

Students in the Ph.D. program spend their first year taking eight courses, one of which must be an introductory seminar. Upon successful completion of these courses, they are awarded an M.A. in American Civilization. Students may opt for an MA in Public Humanities instead of the MA in American Civilization. The MA in Public Humanities calls for an internship (practicum), usually taken during the summer after the first year, and additional coursework taken during the second year. In their second year, Ph.D. students complete one graduate professionalization seminar and one graduate research seminar as well as begin preparing for their preliminary examinations. Students select four faculty to be on their examination board and design with each a bibliography in the specific field of study on which they will be tested. The four proposed fields, along with a statement of their unifying themes or elements, are then submitted to the department faculty for approval. In the third year, students are examined by their four field advisors in a two-hour oral examination. After passing the preliminary examination and completing the required coursework, students are advanced to candidacy for a Ph.D. With the approval of the American Civilization faculty, each student begins the doctoral dissertation under the guidance of a thesis director and two readers chosen from the university faculty. Students are expected to complete the research and writing of their dissertations within five years. In order to receive the Ph.D. in American Civilization, students are also required to gain teaching experience. They serve as teaching assistants to faculty or, when possible, teach undergraduate seminars of their own design within the Department of American Civilization.

Students Entering the Ph.D. Program with an M.A.

The Department does accept into the Ph.D. program some students who already hold a master's degree. Students with M.A.s may either: 1) follow the same schedule as those entering with B.A.s, or 2) after consultation with the Graduate Advisor, choose to accelerate their program, designing their fields in their second and third semesters and taking their oral examinations in their fourth semester. Students who matriculate with a master's degree may transfer up to eight course credits toward graduation.