History Graduate Study

The purpose of the history program is to develop historians who possess both intellectual range and specialized competence. Instruction is in small classes by the seminar method or some appropriate modification of this approach. Faculty advisers for individual guidance and direction are available throughout the entire period of enrollment. The department offers many opportunities for students to gain experience as teaching assistants during the latter part of their degree program.

During the first two years of study, students normally take twelve term courses, at least eight of which shall be chosen from those offered by the department, and must achieve Honors in at least two courses in the first year, and Honors in at least four courses by the end of the second year, with a High Pass average overall. If a student does not meet this standard by the end of the first or second year, the relevant members of the department will consult and promptly advise the student whether the student will be allowed to register for the fall of the following academic year. Courses graded in the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory mode count toward the course work requirement but do not count toward the Honors requirement.

Three of the twelve courses must be research seminars in which the student produces an original research paper from primary sources. All graduate students, regardless of field, will be required to take two seminar courses in a time period other than their period of specialty.

In the second year, there are two special seminar requirements:

• Prospectus Tutorial: this course, normally taken in the second year, must result in a draft prospectus for the dissertation. Its purpose is to familiarize the student with debates in the relevant field and to prepare the student for fieldwork. The prospectus tutorial (HIST 995) counts as one of the three research seminars.
•   Orals Tutorial: another of the twelve courses, normally taken in the second year, must be a tutorial in any one of the selected orals fields (see below). The orals tutorial (HIST 994) provides an opportunity for students to read for an orals field with one of the future orals committee members and can take the form of one-on-one meetings, small group meetings, or a normally scheduled reading seminar on the topic of the orals field. In some cases, orals tutorial credit will be retroactively granted to students who have taken a course in a reading seminar subject provided that they submit an orals reading list to the DGS for approval. Students seeking retroactive credit for an orals tutorial will still need to complete twelve term courses. The completion of these tutorials is a precondition for enrollment in the third year.

In the third year, students are expected to hold a prospectus colloquium and sit an oral examination.

All students must pass examinations in at least two foreign languages, one by the end of the first year. Students are urged to do everything in their power to acquire adequate linguistic training before they enter Yale and should at a minimum be prepared to be examined in at least one language upon arrival. Typical language requirements for major subfields are as follows:

• African Either ,French and German or Portuguese or Dutch-Afrikaans;
•  French or German or Portuguese and Arabic;
•  French or German or Portuguese or Dutch-Afrikaans and an African language

Approved by the director of graduate studies (DGS) and the faculty adviser.

Most graduate students in the Ph.D. program in History receive fellowship support from the Yale Graduate School. As of 2012 this support typically covers full tuition for the four years in which full tuition is due, a living stipend of a minimum of $26,500 for the first two years (September 1 through August 31), and a teaching fellowship of at least that amount for the next two years. In addition to fellowships, many students also receive some support in the form of loans. Current information on the standard aid package  is available from the Financial Aid Office of the Graduate School at the time of admission.

All students are eligible to receive a final dissertation year fellowship administered by the Graduate School. In 2012 this fellowship provided a stipend of $26,500 for twelve months. The final year fellowship cannot be held after the sixth year of registration.

The History Graduate Office maintains a file of information on outside fellowships, primarily for dissertation research. There is also a small fund controlled by the Director of Graduate Studies to which students may apply for assistance with such expenses as travel to academic conferences.