The department offers comprehensive programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in the history of science .The objective of these programs is to train students to examine the development of science from a wide variety of perspectives through a course of study that will enable the candidate to lay a broad and sufficient foundation for teaching and research in various areas of the history of the natural and social sciences, behavioral and brain sciences, technology, mathematics, medicine, and allied health.

In addition to courses in history, history of science, and the sciences, related work is often selected from fields such as philosophy, government, literature, sociology, law, and public policy. Courses from the Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may be taken by cross--registration.

In the history of science program the methods of historical research are employed to explore the genesis and evolution of the sciences and to analyze the growth of science as part of the intellectual and social experience of humankind. Science is its subject and history its method. To pursue advanced work in the field, therefore, it is desirable to have some preliminary training in the natural and social sciences and in history.

Students in the doctoral program are eligible for financial support administered under the direction of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, as described in the application for admissions and in Financing Graduate Study. Harvard grants are awarded for the first and second years primarily on the basis of financial need as determined by the Graduate School at the time of application. Ordinarily, living stipend support is limited to the first two years, including summer support, and tuition grants are limited to five years. After the completion of two years in residence, candidates for the PhD degree in history of science ordinarily are eligible for appointments as teaching fellows in the history of science to serve as tutors in the undergraduate program of history and science. A candidate may also lead discussion sections in departmental courses and courses given under the Committee on the Core Program. In latter years, students become eligible for awards to support dissertation research and writing. Applicants are encouraged to apply for non-Harvard fellowships, such as those offered by the National Science Foundation, the Jacob Javits Fellowship Program, and the Mellon Foundation.
Students in the master’s program must show the capacity to finance themselves without University help.

Master of Arts (AM)

This program is suitable for postbaccalaureate students in other disciplines and professions who wish advanced training in the history of science. It also is appropriate for students who are advanced degree candidates in foreign universities.

Academic Residence — The minimum residence requirement is one year of full-time study (eight half-courses or equivalent). Of the four full courses required, the student must include the half-course Methods Seminar (History of Science 201), two half-course seminars in the history of science, one half-course seminar in history, and two additional half-courses in the history of science. The remaining two half-courses may be chosen from offerings in science, history, the history of science, or other related fields. An average of B must be maintained throughout the year.

Languages — A reading knowledge of a foreign language other than English is required. All students will be expected to take the language examination in October of the year of their admission.

Essay — An essay of 20-30 pages, on a subject to be determined in consultation with the student’s advisor, must be submitted to the department toward the end of the second term, but no later than the last day of Read-ing Period. A paper written for a seminar may be expanded for this requirement.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Prerequisites for Admission — Undergraduate training should ordinarily include courses in history and a major or strong minor in natural science. Any student who,
in the opinion of the department, has not had sufficient scientific or historical preparation will be required to make up this deficiency by appropriate course work, which may be counted toward fulfillment of the residence requirement. The GRE General Test is required.

Academic Residence — The minimum residence requirement is two years of full-time study (16 half-courses or equivalent of which ordinarily a maximum of four may be reading courses in the history of science or history). A candidate who maintains a record of high distinction in the first year at Harvard may petition for academic credit of up to four half-courses for graduate work of high quality done at another institution, provided these courses are in accepted fields. During the first two years at Harvard the candidate must pass sixteen half courses, with an average grade of B or above. These courses must include: the half-course Methods Seminar (History of Science 201); six additional half-courses in the history of science, of which at least two must be seminars at the 200-level; one half course seminar (at the 200/2000 level) outside the department. Students writing dissertations on a post-1800 topic are required to take two history of science courses on pre-1800 topics, and vice versa.

Program of Study — Studies for the PhDare thought of in terms of fields rather than merely in terms of courses. While each candidate is expected to become generally familiar with the whole subject of the history of science, more specifically, each candidate is expected to attain a demonstrable mastery both of the history of a single scientific discipline (e.g., chemistry, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geology, zoology, botany, health sciences, medicine, experimental psychology, or anthropology) and of either the history of the science of a particular epoch or the relations of science with, for example, society, technology, philosophy, or religion. In addition to these two fields, one oriented toward the history of a scientific discipline and the other oriented either toward a chronological period or toward the interdisciplinary relations of science, at least one additional field must be defined by the candidate in consultation with her or his advisor. Consistent with these aims, students are free to pursue graduate study of a scientific field (for residence credit).

Students must plan the “fields of study” that they intend to submit for the general examination. Study programs, courses, seminars, and fields of study are selected in consultation with the faculty advisor assigned to the student at the beginning of the first year of residence. By the end of the first term, but not later than the end of the second term of residence, all students must give their advisor a written plan for fulfilling the department’s requirements. At the end of the first year, and periodically thereafter, the student’s program, including written work, is reviewed by the department, and a determination is made of the student’s qualification for continuing graduate work.

All or part of these requirements may be waived if a student can present an equivalent preparation successfully completed elsewhere.

Languages — A good reading knowledge of two foreign languages is required. Ordinarily these languages are French and German. However, by petition one alternate language may be substituted. The student’s proficiency is tested by written examinations or as otherwise -specified by the department. As a rule, the student is expected to pass one language examination prior to the end of the first year of residency and the second language examination prior to the end of the second year of residency. The language requirement must be fulfilled by the time the student sits for the General Examination.

Teaching — As part of the program that prepares students for careers in teaching and research, the department requires each student to participate as a teaching fellow or course assistant in at least one course offered by a member of the department faculty.

General Examination — The General Examination, which is oral, will ordinarily be taken at the end of the fourth term. Prior to scheduling the General Examination, the student must submit for departmental approval an application to take the examination.

No encyclopedic command of detail is expected. Rather, the general exam committee will seek evidence of an understanding of the main intellectual developments within a branch of science, familiarity with the chief historiographic traditions associated with a particular content area, and the ability to set a particular branch of science within its institutional, political, and social contexts.

The General Examination ordinarily includes at least three fields:

1. The history of a recognized scientific discipline (e.g., astronomy, botany, chemistry, physics, psychology, etc.) during an interval covering at least two recognized historical periods (e.g., the history of physics from Aristotle to Newton, the history of biology from the Renaissance to Darwin).
2. Selected topics that bring the history of science into constructive dialogue with other theoretical traditions in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, cultural studies) or topics that address relations between the history of science and “other” histories (e.g., science and religion, science and philosophy).
3. One field outside the History of Science.

Dissertation — After passing the General Examination, generally in the fifth term, a candidate for the doctorate is required to submit to the department a dissertation proposal. The proposal should follow the departmental Dissertation Proposal Guidelines. The student should discuss a draft of the proposal with the intended dissertation advisor at least one month prior to submitting it to the administrative coordinator of graduate studies. In conjunction with her or his advisor, the student selects a prospectus committee, which gives its recommendation for the department’s approval. The names of faculty members ordinarily available for the direction of the doctoral dissertation are listed in the course catalogue under History of Science 300. The dissertation director is assigned by the faculty of the department in consultation with the student.

Work for the degree must be completed within a total of five years, or in certain fields where additional preparation is necessary, a total of six years. An extension is considered only upon submission of a petition to the department, showing just cause.

Advising — A student entering the program is assigned a preliminary, primary advisor
(the individual most likely to serve as dissertation director post-generals), who serves as the primary front-line advising resource for the student during the first two, and sometimes three, terms. In addition, all first year doctoral candidates will be assigned a continuing graduate student (post-generals) who will act as a peer mentor during the first year, helping the candidate to acclimatize to departmental expectations and routines.

Once the fields for generals have been set, the three persons who will be working with the student to prepare her or him for the exams are consolidated into a formal Generals Advising Committee. The coordinator of graduate studies, working with the student and primary advisor, will generally arrange for this committee to meet once with the student, generally some four-six weeks before the actual exam; outside examiners will have been informed by the department chair of this requirement at the beginning of the generals process. Following the successful completion of the generals exam, the committee will no longer meet, but will generally remain available as a collective resource until the dissertation prospectus, overseen by the primary advisor, has been completed.

When the student’s dissertation proposal has been approved by the full faculty (follow-ing a vetting by the dissertation prospectus committee), a Dissertation Advising Committee will be set up. This will generally consist of the primary advisor/dissertation director and at least two additional dissertation consultants. Two members of the dissertation committee must be members of the department. Together, these three individuals act as a collective intellectual resource for the student.

In addition, there is an expectation that the student will meet with each member of the dissertation advising committee, as convenient, each term and that the committee as a whole will meet with the student once each year to review progress until the student submits the dissertation. The annual meeting schedule can be modified at the student’s request, if a student is doing research abroad, or if other circumstances dictate a different rhythm of review.

Further information regarding courses and programs of study in history of science may be obtained by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies, Department of the History of Science, Science Center 371, Cambridge, MA 02138, (617) 495-9978; www.fas.harvard.edu/~hsdept . Information concerning admission, grants, tuition, and registration policies may be obtained from the Admissions Office, Harvard -Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center, 3rd floor, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, (617) 495-5315; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . We encourage online submission of the application. See https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS.

Selection of PhD Dissertation Titles

“Agricultural Education and Research in Mexico (1934-1970)

”“As Plain as the Nose on Your Face: Physiognomy in Nineteenth Century England”

“Belief without Proof: From Ancient Geometry to Renaissance Algebra”

“Bitter Roots: African Science and the Search for Healing Plants in Ghana, 1885-2005”

“Building a Natural Scientific Age: Science and Public Culture in Germany, 1770-1850”

“Darwin’s Mutant Phoenix: Macroevolution in Twentieth Century Debates over Synthesis and Punctuated Equilibria”

“Human Nature and Mother Love: A History of the Maternal Instinct”

“Interpretation and Utility: The Renaissance Commentary Tradition on Aristotle’s Meteorologica IV”

“Making Sense of Ryoshiron (Quantum Theory): The Introduction of Quantum Physics into Japan, 1920-1940”

“Materializing the Modern, Middle Class Body: Menstruation in the Twentieth Century United States“

“Medicalizing Addictions, Criminalizing Addicts: Disjuncture in the Formation of U.S. Drug Policy, 1980-1992”

“‘The Most Important Single Statistic’: The Consumer Price Index and American Political Economy, 1880-1955”

“The Pathological Family: A Cultural History of Family Therapy in Post-World War II America”

“Practical Mystic: Religion and Science in the Life and Work of A.S. Eddington”

“Radium and the Secret of Life”

“Salvador Luria’s Unfinished Experiment: The Public Life of a Biologist in a Cold War Democracy”

“A Scientific Dynasty: Probability, Liberalism, and The Exner Family in Imperial Austria”

“Screen-memories: Temporality, Perception, and the Archive in Cybernetic Thought”

“Sensational Differences: Individuality in Observation, Experimentation and Representation (France 1853-1895)”

“The Therapeutic Transition: Pharmaceuticals and the Marketing of Chronic Disease”

Current Research Interests of Members of the Department of the History of Science

Biagioli, Mario, Professor of the History of Science (on leave 2007–2008). Cultural histories of early modern science and the Scientific -Revolution; science and intellectual property; scientific authorship; science and literature.

Blair, Ann, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History. Early modern France; intellectual and cultural history, history of the book, history of science.

Brandt, Allan M., Amalie Moses Kass Professor of the History of Medicine (HMS), and Professor of the History of Science (FAS) (on leave 2007–2008). History of American medicine and science; health and public policy; medical ethics.

Browne, Janet, Aramont Professor of the History of Science. History of biology; natural history and exploration; 1700-1900, Darwin and Darwinism; evolutionary thought; scientific biography.

Canales, Jimena, Assistant Professor of the History of Science. 19th century physics, astronomy, and philosophy of science; epistemological and psychological aspects of the modern physical sciences; science, modernity and postmodernity; science and representation.

Elshakry, Marwa, Assistant Professor of the History of Science (on leave spring term). History of modern Arabic sciences; science and empire; Darwin and Darwinism.

Galison, Peter L., Joseph Pellegrino University Professor. History and philosophy of 20th-century physics; instrumentation; relationship of physics to engineering.

Hammonds, Evelynn, Professor of the History of Science and of African and African American Studies. History of US medicine and public health, history of race in science, medicine, and technology; gender, sexuality, and science.

Harrington, Anne, Harvard College Professor and Professor of the History of Science. History of psychology and the brain sciences, 18th through 20th centuries.

Jansen, Sarah, Associate Professor of the History of Science (on leave 2007–2008). History and epistemology of the life sciences; environmental history; history of biopolitics; history of science policies; history of formalization; science and gender.

Jasanoff, Sheila, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Kennedy School of Government. Special focus on the relationship between law, science, and politics in contemporary democratic societies. Environmental policy, science, and technology policy, and comparative regulatory policy.

Murdoch, John E., Professor of the History of Science (on leave spring term). History of ancient and medieval science, philosophy, and logic.

Park, Katharine, Samuel Zemurray, Jr. and Doris Zemurray Stone Radcliffe Professor of the History of Science. History of science in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance; history of medicine and the life sciences; history of gender, sexuality, and the body.

Picon, Antoine, Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology at the Graduate School of Design. History of architectural technologies from the 18th century to the present.

Rosenberg, Charles E., Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of the History of Science. History of medicine and science; history of conceptions of disease during the past two centuries.

Shapin, Steven, Franklin L Ford Professor of the History of Science (on leave spring term). Sociology of scientific knowledge; early modern science; the social role of the scientist in 20th- and 21st-century America; science and entrepreneurship; the history and sociology of dietetics.

Voskuhl, Adelheid, Assistant Professor of the History of Science. Modern and modern history and philosophy of technology; 1