Ph.D. Policies & Procedures

1. Residence

   a. Three year minimum on-campus time

2. Course Work

   a. Students entering with a bachelor’s degree will complete 54 hours of course work. For these students, the M.A. thesis will be waived, and the student will be granted an M.A. degree after successfully completing course work and written examinations over their preliminary examinations reading lists.

   b. Students entering with a master’s degree will complete 39 hours of course work.*

   c. All entering Ph.D. students will be required to take HIS 5369 The Historian's Craft (first semester) and HIS 5370 Advanced Graduate Research and Writing (second semester), during their first year.

   d. All students must take at least one American/US, one European, and one Global (i.e. Latin America or non-western) course.

   e. All students must take one professional development course, either HIS 5391 History Pedagogy or HIS 5390 Archival Research in History. Students are encouraged to take both seminars if possible.

   f. With GPD permission, Ph.D. students may take up to 6 hours in the following departments/schools: Education, English, Museum Studies, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, Psychology, Social Work (6000-level only), and Sociology.
    

   Students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.A. in history from Baylor may petition to have successfully completed HIS 5369 and HIS 5370 seminars count towards the required hours for the Ph.D. program. If the petition is successful, this reduces the required hours from 39 to 33.

3. Languages 

   a. Demonstrated intermediate proficiency in one foreign language by one of the methods listed below.

4. Preliminary Examination Readings (6 hours) 

   a. Following completion of course work, students will enroll in 6 hours of HIS 6V85 Preliminary Readings. See below.

5. Dissertation (12 hours) 

   a. The capstone of the Ph.D. degree is the dissertation. Students will enroll in a total of 12 hours of HIS 6V99 Dissertation as they write the dissertation.

Proficiency in a foreign language as required for Ph.D. candidacy may be demonstrated by one of the following options.

1.  Presenting an official undergraduate transcript from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning showing that while enrolled the student received a grade of “B” or better in the equivalent of the Baylor University 2320 course (a capstone, fourth semester course in a sequence). Note: This option is valid if the above course was taken not more than five years before the student matriculates into the Baylor graduate program.
2. Enrolling in French, German, or Spanish 5370/5371, or Latin or Greek 5321/5322 and receiving a grade of “B” or better in French, German, or Spanish 5371 or Latin or Greek 5322. These are reading courses designed specially for graduate students; no previous experience with the language is necessary. The Graduate School must receive a petition requesting the foreign language course be accepted as completion of the language requirement. These courses may not be audited, or taken Pass/Fail or Credit/Non-Credit.
3. Taking the reading examination offered by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, or another modern language approved by the candidate’s department), Department of Classics (Greek and Latin), or the Institute of Biblical and Related Languages (Hebrew and related Semitic Languages).
    

For other options to fulfill this requirement, see the Graduate Catalog.

Over the course of the program, most history Ph.D. students will work as Graduate Assistants in various capacities within the department in fulfillment of the terms of their stipend. Assistantships will be assigned by the Graduate Program Director each semester, in consultation with advisors and the Undergraduate Program Director.

• Graduate Assistantships can take several forms (Graduate/Administrative Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Journal Assistant, Teacher of Record)
• The kind of work performed will be variable, depending on the faculty mentor and stage of the program, but may include grading, taking attendance, leading discussion groups, assisting with tasks related to an administrative role, helping to edit an academic journal, assisting with research, etc.
• The regular work load for assistantships is a maximum of 20 hours per week.
• Tasks must be directly related to mentor’s research, teaching, editorial work, or administrative role.
•  A variety of experiences over time is the goal, but is not always possible given departmental needs.
• The departmental norm is for students to serve as a Teacher of Record after candidacy.

Preparation

By the end of spring semester in the second doctoral year if entering with M.A., or the third doctoral year if entering with B.A., students should:

1. Identify and receive approval from a committee of three examiners in a major/teaching field, a minor/outside field, and a dissertation field (usually the presumed dissertation director)

2. In consultation with the examiner in each field, develop three reading lists of books and major articles for each field of study. The fields and lists should be composed as follows:

   a. Major/Teaching field (limit of 125 books/articles): e.g., US History, 1877-Present, Early Modern England, etc.

   b. Minor/Outside field (must be on continent other than student’s major, limit of 50 books/articles): e.g., Modern China, Medieval Women, etc.

   c. Dissertation field (field within the major field in which the student anticipates his or her dissertation work, limit of 125 books/articles): e.g. US religious history, gender in Latin America, etc.

Following completion of course work, students will enroll in 6 hours of HIS 6V85 Preliminary Readings during the semester(s) they are preparing for comprehensive exams.

Examinations

There are two portions of the comprehensive exams: written and oral.

Written Exams:

1. By early fall of the third year if entering with M.A., or early fall of the fourth year if entering with B.A., students should agree on dates for written exams with their examiners and schedule an oral exam to take place ideally by the end of the semester and no later than the end of the academic year.
2. Written exams will be offered across three days, typically with one day or weekend between (such as MWF, or T/R/following T), 9am-1pm.
3. Students should reserve a room for the examinations through the department’s administrative associate, agree on the dates for each examination with examiners and notify the GPD which written exams are designated for each day.
4. Students should meet with each examiner no later than 2-3 weeks before the exam to discuss format and potential questions. The format of each written examination, including materials allowed (i.e. book lists, notes, etc.), scope and number of questions, etc., is up to the individual examiner in that field. Thus, each written examination may be different in format, scope, and materials allowed. These details should be clearly communicated to students by examiners.
5. Examiners will send their questions to the GPD one week in advance of scheduled exam. The GPD will send the questions to the administrative associate.
6. Students will pick up their exam questions from the administrative associate the morning of the exam.
7. Students complete the exam within four hours on a computer in a private location and may only use materials allowed by their examiners (i.e. notes, books).

8. At the conclusion of the exam period, students should email their exam to their examiner, the GPD, and the administrative associate.

   Your exam responses will be circulated among your entire committee (not just to each individual examiner). However, written exam grades will be determined solely by your examiner.

   If the student fails any area of his/her written examination, he/she must make up that deficiency no sooner than two months after his/her first attempt. The privilege of taking a second examination will be given at the discretion of the committee. The committee may decide (a) that the initial failure is terminal, (b) that the student must take the entire written examination again, or (c) that the student must repeat only those area examinations failed at the first attempt. Under no condition will the student be allowed to take any area examination more than two times. The director is responsible for arranging any makeup parts of the examination.

Oral Exams:

Oral exams should be scheduled within one week of the completion of written exams, and must include all three examiners. Oral exams may constitute questions related to the written portion and may also cover general field knowledge. The goal is to ensure both broad knowledge about research/teaching fields as well as mastery of the historical conversation in these areas. Students will be notified of exam results (both written and oral) at the completion of their Oral exams. Upon notification of the successful completion of the written and oral examinations, GPD submits Results of Preliminary Examination form to the Graduate School.

At any time following the successful completion of comprehensive exams, but no later than the end of the semester following comprehensive exams, the student will present a prospectus of the dissertation to his/her dissertation committee for review.

This is a different committee than the committee formed for comprehensive examinations, although some members of the committee may be the same.

According to the Baylor Graduate School, the composition of the dissertation committee should be, at minimum:

• A committee chairperson who is graduate faculty from the student's department
• Another committee member who is graduate faculty from the student's department
• A committee member who is graduate faculty from a Baylor department other than the student's home department (a "Baylor outside reader")
• A committee member that may be graduate faculty from the student's department, graduate faculty from another department, or faculty from another institution as approved by the committee chair and the department GPD

A dissertation committee may include more than four members.

Presentation Process

Once the dissertation chair and student have agreed that the prospectus is ready for presentation, the dissertation chair will schedule a meeting of the committee, usually for one hour.

•  Attending the review will be the student and his/her dissertation committee.
• The format of the meeting will be determined by the director of the dissertation committee.
• A majority vote of the committee is required for the prospectus to be approved. Upon notification of a successful review, and after confirming that all other requirements have been met (see below), the Graduate Program Director will file the Application for Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form with the Graduate School.

Students are recognized as candidates for a doctoral degree only after they have met the foreign language requirement, passed the comprehensive examinations and the prospectus review, completed all departmental requirements including all coursework (except the dissertation), and received approval by the Graduate School of their formal application for admission to candidacy. An Application for Admission to Candidacy form must be filed with the Graduate School by the Graduate Program Director upon successful completion of the above requirements, and is required before a student may defend the dissertation.

Beginning either during the semester in which the student presents the prospectus or the following semester (at the discretion of the dissertation director and Graduate Program Director), students will gain teaching experience by serving as a Teacher of Record (TOR) in the history department in fulfillment of the terms of their graduate stipend.

• In the first semester as a TOR, a student will usually teach one section of a course, which will fulfill the work hours required by the terms of the graduate stipend.
• In every semester after the first semester as a TOR, the student will usually teach two sections as assigned by the Undergraduate Program Director in consultation with the GPD and dissertation director. However, there are also a variety of other ways that a student may fulfill the terms of the graduate stipend as determined by the GPD in consultation with the dissertation director and according to department need.

The capstone of the Ph.D. degree is the dissertation. Students will enroll in a total of 12 hours of HIS 6v99 as they write the dissertation. The dissertation must make an original scholarly contribution to the student's chosen area of study. The student will be required to make an oral defense of the written dissertation to a dissertation committee composed in accordance with Graduate School regulations.

Dissertation Defense

• Early in the semester in which the student intends to graduate, the director and the student will schedule a defense date that falls before the deadline for that particular semester. Students should consult the Graduate School website for all appropriate deadlines, processes, and forms related to the defense and graduation.
• At least ten business days before the defense, the Graduate Program Director will file the Announcement of Oral Examination form with the Graduate School.
• Attending the review will be the student and his/her dissertation committee. Others may attend at the invitation of the candidate with the approval of the director of the dissertation committee. These may include other faculty from within or without the department, fellow graduate students, family members, etc. A majority vote of the committee is required for the dissertation to be approved.
• Upon notification by the dissertation director of a successful defense, the Graduate Program Director will file the Results of Oral Examination form with the Graduate School.

Professional Meetings

1. Before applying to the department for travel funding to a professional meeting, graduate students, if presenting, should apply for funding through the Graduate School:

   a. Travel to Professional Meetings to Present Research

   b. Two awards of up to $400 each are available each year (June 1-May 31 of the following calendar year). Any one award may not exceed $400. However, students may request less than $400, thereby possibly allowing support for more than two meetings in a year. 

   Students are required to be enrolled in the semester of travel to be eligible for a travel award.

2. After applying to the Graduate School, if presenting, students may apply to the history department for supplemental funding by completing the History Graduate Student Travel Request form online.

   a. Department of History will generally match up to $400 for one professional meeting per academic year at which the student will be presenting.

   b. The Department of History will also generally reimburse the student up to $200 for one professional meeting per academic year at which the student will not be presenting.

   c. Additional travel must be approved by the GPD and your advisor, and approval is dependent on departmental budget at the time of the request.

   d. There will be an exception for graduate students attending a non-presenting professional meeting if it is required for a graduate class. The department may fund up to $400 if the budget allows.

Doctoral Research

Before applying to the Graduate School for travel funding in support of doctoral research, graduate students should first secure GPD assurance of matching departmental funds. Then students should apply for funding through the Graduate School:
 

Travel to Support Doctoral Research

This award is designed to support travel for doctoral research directly related to the completion of a candidate's dissertation. The student's dissertation proposal must be formally approved by the program at the time of application. The Graduate School will match funds with the student's department, up to $400. A doctoral student is eligible for one such award during her/his doctoral studies at Baylor University.

The following policies can be found in the Baylor Graduate School Catalog.
 

Probation

A student who is admitted to Graduate School on probation must maintain a “B” (3.0) overall grade point average for the first nine semester hours of graduate course work. Failure to do so will result in notification of dismissal by the Graduate School. The Graduate School is not required to hear student appeals of this decision. Students will have an option to appeal the dismissal one time. The form to be completed for the appeal will be included in the dismissal letter received. Students are automatically removed from probation upon completion of the first nine semester hours of graduate-level course work if an overall 3.0 grade point average is attained.

Any fully admitted student whose overall GPA falls below a “B” (3.0) average during any semester will be placed on probation for the next nine semester hours of graduate course work. If, after completion of the ninth semester-hour credit, the student’s overall grade point average is still below 3.0, the student will receive notification of dismissal from the Graduate School. Students receiving assistantships must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 to avoid being placed on probation. Probationary status prevents the student from Graduate Assistantships and tuition scholarships eligibility.

Dismissal

Individuals who do not attain the required minimum grade point average of 3.0 during the probationary period will be notified in writing by the Graduate School of their dismissal. Students may be placed on probation or be dismissed without being placed on probation for failure to complete program degree requirements.

The student will be precluded from all registration and enrollment privileges at that time. Should the student’s circumstances be so unusual as to warrant special consideration, the dismissal letter will include directions and provisions for engaging in an appeals process. A student can appeal a dismissal one time. Should a student be dismissed a second time, they will be unable to appeal the decision.

Professional Conduct

In keeping with Baylor University’s commitment to mutual respect and personal integrity, the Graduate School expects that all students will conduct themselves in a manner fitting their professional identity. This includes personal conduct towards faculty, staff, peers, and colleagues both on and off campus. Failure to display professional conduct may result in disciplinary action, including dismissal from the graduate program.