The First Two Years

Master of Arts (AM)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
• Minimum one year residence of full-time study.
• Eight half-courses or the equivalent are required. These must include the half-course Methods Seminar (History of Science 200), 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.
• A reading knowledge of a foreign language other than English is ordinarily required. All students are expected to take the language examination in October of the year of their admission.
• An essay of twenty to thirty 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 reading period. Ordinarily a paper written for a seminar is expanded for this requirement.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
• Minimum two year residence of full-time study.
• In the first term of study, in consultation with the advisor, the student must establish a plan of study for fulfilling the degree requirements.
• Sixteen half-courses or equivalent, of which ordinarily a maximum of four may be graduate level reading courses in the history of science or in other divisions, departments or committees. A candidate, who maintains a record of high distinction in the first term in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 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.
• Eight of the sixteen half-courses required for the degree must fulfill the following requirements: the half-course methods seminar (History of Science 200); 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. The professionalization seminar (described below) do not fulfill these requirements. Students who receive credit for graduate work done at another institution may petition to waive a maximum of two of the course requirements outlined here; the methods seminar (History of Science 200) may not be waived.
• During the first year, four full courses must be passed at a grade level of B or above.
• Students writing dissertations on a post-1800 topic are required to take two history of science courses (200 or 100-level) on pre-1800 topics, and vice versa for students writing dissertations on pre-1800 topics.
• Studies for the PhD degree are 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 of
1) the history of a single scientific discipline (e.g., chemistry, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geology, biology, medical sciences and health care, psychology and the neurosciences, or anthropology), and
2) the history of the science of a particular epoch or the relations of science with, for example, society, technology, philosophy, or religion. At least one additional field must be defined by the student in consultation with her or his advisor. Consistent with these aims, students are free to pursue graduate study of a scientific or other disciplinary field (for residence credit).
• Students must plan both their course distribution requirements and the three or four “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.

INCOMPLETES
• The grade of Incomplete is given only in extraordinary circumstances. The work must be completed and the grade converted to a letter grade before the end of the next registration period. Before a student is permitted to teach, all courses must be graded.

LANGUAGES
• A good reading knowledge of two foreign languages is required. Ordinarily these languages are French and German. Students may fulfill these language requirements by passing, with a grade of B or higher, French Ax. Reading French and German S. German for Reading Knowledge. Otherwise students will be expected to take their first language examination in October of the year of their admission and their second language examination in October of their second year of residency.
• By petition, one alternate language may be substituted for French or German, when required for the student’s research. The Administrative Coordinator for Graduate Studies maintains a list of courses that may be taken to fulfill the language requirement The Department reserves the right to make other accommodations for students to fulfill the foreign language requirement.
• It is strongly suggested that one language examination be taken by the end of the first year, and the second be completed no later than the end of the second year: the language requirement must be fulfilled by the time the student sits for the General Examination.

Teaching

• As part of the program for preparing students for careers in teaching and research, after the first two years, the department requires each student to participate as a teaching fellow or course assistant in at least one course offered by members of the department faculty.

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 advising resource for the student during the first two, and sometimes three, terms. In addition, all first year PhD candidates will be assigned an older 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 examinations 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 to six weeks before the actual examination; 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 general examination, 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 prospectus has been approved by the full faculty (following 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 twice each year to review progress until the student submits the dissertation. The semi-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.
• The director of graduate studies and the department chair are available at all times to provide additional support and advice at any stage of the graduate student program. Students are encouraged to seek help from either or both of these individuals if any part of the advising process seems not to be working as it should.

General Examination

• The general examination, which is oral, is to be taken at the end of the fourth term, or the very beginning of the fifth term. No encyclopedic command of detail is expected. Rather, the general examination 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 three or four fields. The number and definition of the fields is determined by the student in consultation with her or his advisor. At last two (2) fields should be in history of science and directed by faculty in the department. The remaining field or fields should be outside the history of science. All general examinations must include at least one outside field. For a general examination comprising four fields, possible combinations include (but are not limited to):

• Two fields in history of science and two fields in history
• Two fields in history of science and two fields in literature
• Two fields in history of science and two fields in sociology
• Two fields in history of science, one in history, and one in science
• Two fields in history of science, one in history and one in anthropology
• Two fields in history of science, one in government, and one in sociology
• Two fields in history of science, one in Art History and one in VES
• Three fields in history of science, and one in history

• Fields for the general examination are submitted for approval in the third term of residence. The fields of the general examination must be approved by the director of graduate studies and the Faculty of the Department.

Professionalization

• The department offers a professionalization seminar, which a student may take in the third or fourth year and which must be accomplished before the fifth year. The course is graded SAT/UNS.

Dissertation

Dissertation Prospectus

• The student discusses a draft of the prospectus with the dissertation prospectus committee, which gives its recommendation for the approval of the dissertation. Within six months after passing the general examination, the student must submit the prospectus that has been recommended by the committee to the administrative coordinator for graduate studies. The coordinator of graduate studies will arrange for the whole faculty to review the prospectus at a faculty meeting no earlier than one month after the prospectus has been submitted to the director.
• A prospective fourth-year student must have obtained approval of a prospectus.

Dissertation Committee

• When the whole faculty approves the prospectus, at that time, ordinarily, the selection of the dissertation director and other members of the committee is also approved. The names of faculty members available for the direction of the PhD dissertation are listed in the course catalogue under History of Science 300. The director of the dissertation must be an eligible member of the department. Dissertation committees comprise at least three members. The department requires that two members of the committee be members of the department. Students in the History of Science are encouraged to include junior faculty on their dissertation committees.

After the prospectus is approved, the student is required to meet with the whole committee at least twice a year. The department leaves Tuesday afternoons between noon and 2:00 free for committee meetings, on Tuesdays when no Faculty meeting is scheduled. The administrative coordinator for graduate studies assists in the scheduling of these meetings.

Ordinarily the dissertation committee has the opportunity to review the dissertation in its middle stage. In any case, the review must be completed no later than three months prior to the departmental deadline for submission of the final unbound copy, so that the student is able to meet the registrar’s deadlines for submission of the dissertation.

Dissertation Submission

• A final unbound copy of the dissertation is submitted by the first Monday in April for a June degree, the first Monday in August for a November degree, and the first Monday in December for a March degree to the dissertation director and each of the additional readers. Once the dissertation is approved, the student submits three copies: one bound copy (double-sided) to the department; one bound copy and one boxed copy to the Office of the Registrar. The copies to the registrar must be accompanied by the original and one copy of the signed dissertation acceptance certificate.
• The dissertation should be an original contribution to knowledge. It must conform to The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Dissertation Defense

• The dissertation defense ordinarily will happen after the final draft of the dissertation has been submitted to the members of the dissertation committee.

Duration of Graduate Study

• 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.