university of utah phd history

The Graduate School

Office of graduate education and postdoctoral affairs, main navigation, ph.d. degree requirements.

Ph.D. Degree   •   Supervisory Committee   •  Program of Study   •  Residency Enrollment   •  Approval of Program of Study   •  Qualifying Examination   •  Registration   •  Language Requirements   •  Dissertation   •  Final Examination   •  Time Limit   •  Exceptions

• The Doctor of Philosophy degree is awarded for high achievement in an advanced specialized field of study. It requires competence in independent research and an understanding of related subjects.
• The degree is not awarded simply for the fulfillment of residence requirements and the accumulation of credits.
• The committee chair and the majority of the committee must be tenure-line faculty in the student’s department.
• The outside member is normally from another University of Utah department.
• The dean of The Graduate School may approve requests to appoint a committee member from another university where appropriate justification and supporting documentation is provided.
• approving the student’s academic program,
• preparing and judging the qualifying examinations (unless delegated to a departmental examination committee),
• approving the dissertation subject and final dissertation,
• and administering and judging the final oral examination (dissertation defense).
• Some departments require more, check department’s handbook.
• More time may be required.
• In truly exceptional cases, a shorter period of time in graduate work may be approved by the dean of The Graduate School. 
• If a supervisory committee finds a graduate student’s preliminary work deficient, the student may be required to register for and complete supplementary courses that do not carry graduate credit.
• This form, which lists course work and research hours, is due one semester before graduation in order for the graduate coordinator to enter that information online in a timely manner.
• Faculty Consultation, course number 7980, does not count toward dissertation hours or the fulfillment of degree requirements, and should not be listed on the program of study.
• Courses taken through alternative delivery methods (e.g., via EDNET or the Internet) are approved on a programmatic basis through the Graduate Council.
• When a student proceeds directly from a master’s degree to a Ph.D. degree with no break in the program of study (except for authorized leaves of absence), the residency requirement may be fulfilled at any time during the course of study.
• Three hours of Thesis Research: Ph.D. (course number 7970) is also considered a full load after the residency requirement is fulfilled.
• The Graduate Council may approve departmental or programmatic exceptions to the minimum residency requirements and proposals for new programs or academic offerings using distance-learning technologies and/or off-campus sites, as provided by Graduate School policy.
• *Does not refer to or fulfill State Residency Requirements
• One semester prior to graduation, graduate students are required to meet with their graduate advisor to check that they have met all the requirements for their degree.
• Once enrolled in all required coursework, the graduate advisor will move coursework from the graduate student's transcript to their program of study in the Graduate Student Summary .
• They verify the graduate student has met all degree requirements then approve the program of study with their electronic signature.  
• After all approvals have been submitted, the graduate student's program of study will show as complete in the Program Plan Audit page of the Graduate Student Summary .
• The nature and format of these examinations are established by individual departments subject to approval by the Graduate Council.
• An examination or parts of an examination may be repeated only once and only at the discretion of the student’s supervisory committee .
• A department has the option of appointing a departmental examination committee that administers the qualifying examinations and ensures that examinations are properly prepared and evaluated.
• Once a graduate student has passed their Ph.D. Qualifying Exam this advances them to candidacy.
• The candidate must complete at least 14 hours of Thesis Research (course number 7970, Thesis Research: Ph.D.).
• The candidate must also be regularly enrolled at the University and registered for at least one course during the semester in which the final oral examination (dissertation defense) is taken.
• For details, see Minimum Continuous Registration as well as departmental and program requirements.
• The degree of proficiency in foreign language(s) required of candidates is determined by the policy of the academic departments.
• In some instances, language proficiency may be verified by individual departments if appropriate procedures have been approved in advance by the dean of The Graduate School.
• In most cases, however, fulfillment of the language requirements must be verified by the Department of World Languages & Cultures.
• The Language Verification form for certification is available in the Department of World Languages & Cultures .
• The candidate must submit a dissertation embodying the results of scientific or scholarly research or artistic creativity.
• The dissertation must provide evidence of originality and the ability to do independent investigation and it must contribute to knowledge or the creative arts.
• The style and format are determined by departmental policy and registered with the thesis and dissertation editor, who approves individual dissertations in accordance with departmental and Graduate School policy.
• At least three weeks before the final oral examination (dissertation defense), the student should submit an acceptable draft of the dissertation to the chair of the supervisory committee ; committee members should receive copies at least two weeks before the examination date.
• The entire dissertation is submitted to UMI Dissertation Publishing, ProQuest Information and Learning, and copies are made available for public sale.
• The abstract only is published if the entire dissertation has been previously published and distributed, exclusive of vanity publishing. The doctoral candidate may elect to microfilm the entire previously published work.
• Regardless of the option used for meeting the publication requirement, an abstract of each dissertation is published in UMI Dissertation Publishing, ProQuest Information and Learning, Dissertation Abstracts International.
• Detailed policies and procedures concerning publication requirements, use of restricted data, and other matters pertaining to the preparation and acceptance of the dissertation are contained in A Handbook for Theses and Dissertations .
• The student must pass a final oral examination before graduation.
• The examination must follow the receipt of the dissertation by the supervisory committee .
• The committee schedules and announces a public oral examination at which the candidate must defend the dissertation.
• This final oral examination may be chaired by any member of the supervisory committee consistent with departmental policy.
• The time limit for completing a Ph.D. degree is determined by individual departmental policy approved by the Graduate Council.
• Requests to exceed established time limits must be recommended by a candidate’s supervisory committee and approved by the departmental director of graduate studies and the dean of the Graduate School.
• Students whose studies have been interrupted for long periods of time and who have been granted extended time to complete their degrees may be required to complete additional courses, to pass examinations, or otherwise to demonstrate that they are current in their field. (PPM 6-203 III.B).
• Most departments require a seven year time limit for their PhD students.
• Petition for an extension of a Graduate student career
• Individual student exceptions to these general requirements for the Ph.D. must be approved by the dean of The Graduate School upon the recommendation of the student’s supervisory committee and director of graduate studies or department chair.
• Each program requires a distinct, complete set of courses. Course work used to meet the requirements of one program may not be used to meet the requirements of another.

Department of History

College of humanities, main navigation.

Link Items:

By Time Period | By Area of Interest | By World Region | PostDoctoral Fellows |  Faculty Emeriti | In Memoriam  

Julia Ault Associate Professor, Associate Chair (801) 585-7405 Office Location: CTIHB 327 FACULTY PROFILE

Hugh Cagle Associate Professor, Director IAS (801) 585-7804 Office Location: CTIHB 329 FACULTY PROFILE

Nadja Durbach Professor (801) 581-7605 Office Location: CTIHB 223 FACULTY PROFILE

Mira Green Assistant Professor (801) 585-1725 Office Location: CTIHB 219 FACULTY PROFILE

Eric Herschthal Assistant Professor (801) 585-1196 Office Location: CTIHB 315 FACULTY PROFILE

Eric Hinderaker Distinguished Professor (801) 585-0335 Office Location: CTIHB 227 FACULTY PROFILE

Rebecca Horn Associate Professor (801) 581-5294 Office Location: CTIHB 225 FACULTY PROFILE

Chris Low Assistant Professor, Director MEC  (801) 581-3028 Office Location: CTIHB 367 FACULTY PROFILE

ShawnaKim Lowey-Ball Associate Professor (801) 585-2776 Office Location: CTIHB 231 FACULTY PROFILE

Rachel Mason Dentinger Assistant Professor, Student Groups Faculty Advisor (801)581-8592 Office Location: CTIHB 357 FACULTY PROFILE

Colleen McDannell Professor Sterling M. McMurrin Prof. of Religious Studies (801) 581-4748 Office Location: CTIHB 245 FACULTY PROFILE

Ryan Moran Assistant Professor (801) 581-3146 Office Location: CTIHB 345 FACULTY PROFILE

Isabel Moreira Distinguished Professor (801) 581-7636 Office Location: CTIHB 337 FACULTY PROFILE

Danielle Olden Associate Professor (801) 587-8896 Office Location: CTIHB 325 FACULTY PROFILE

Susie Porter Professor, Presidential Societal Impact Scholar (801) 585-5693 Office Location: CTIHB 365 FACULTY PROFILE

Paul Reeve Professor, Department Chair (801) 585-9231 Office Location: CTIHB 323 FACULTY PROFILE

Brandon Render Assistant Professor (801) 581-3146 Office Location: CTIHB 321 FACULTY PROFILE

Peter Roady Assistant Professor (801) 213-3691 Office Location: CTIHB 317 FACULTY PROFILE

Daniela Samur Assistant Professor (801) 581-8311 Office Location: CTIHB 247 FACULTY PROFILE

Gregory Smoak Professor (801) 587-9575 Office Location: CTIHB 313 FACULTY PROFILE

Janet Theiss Associate Professor (801) 585-5477 Office Location: CTIHB 243 FACULTY PROFILE

Faculty Emeriti

W. Lindsay Adams

Byron Cannon

Ronald Coleman

F. Alan Coombs

Edward J. Davies

Larry Gerlach

Robert A. Goldberg

James Lehning

Glenn Olsen

Roger V. Paxton

Wesley Sasaki-Uemura

Peter von Sivers

Ronald Smelser

Richard S. Tompson

In Memoriam

We are very grateful to our emeritus faculty for all the wonderful years of service they gave to the department, and w e would like to recognize and remember the contributions of former members of the faculty who have recently passed away.

James L. Clayton ( Obit )

Alan Coombs ( Obit )

Jeanne A. Ojala ( Obit )

Floyd O'Neil ( Obit )

Bradley Parker ( Obit )

Peter Sluglett ( Obit )

Department of History

College of humanities, main navigation, why history, why study history.

History provides the intellectual and entrepreneurial tools to thrive in a world that is highly specialized and globally interconnected. Students develop the ability to write well and to interpret complex information. They can offer creative solutions to challenging problems, handle ambiguity, and work across cultures —and those are just some of the many learning outcomes that benefit history graduate and undergraduate students .

What Is History?

Watch the video to learn about the importance of learning History.

This project was made possible by the department of History and Project Muse, both of the University of Utah. Created by Professor Hugh Cagle and Nicholas Cockrell.

What can I do with a   History Degree?

Career fields of history majors:, 18% education.

Education, Training, & Library Sciences

Business Operations

Information and Communications Technology

Manufacturing

Life, Physical, and Social Science

Construction

Architecture and Engineering

15% Management

Business, Science, & the Arts

10% Administration

Community and Social Services

Transportation

Food Preparation

Personal Care and Service

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

Protective Service

Financial Services

Agriculture

Further Links on the Value of History

"What Can You Do with That History Degree?" American Historical Association

"How Art History Majors Power the U.S. Economy" Washington Post

"What to do with a degree in history" The Guardian

"What can you do with a History Degree?" U.S. News

"Careers for Students of Histor y" The Serenus Press