|
|
|
Introduction:
The United States history field at UCLA is particularly strong
with a faculty of twenty (not including Emeriti recalled to teaching
and those with Adjunct appointments) and strengths in social,
cultural and economic history. The University Research Library
is one of the five largest in the nation, and there are additional
superb rare book collections in all periods of American history
at the nearby Huntington and Clark libraries. The Center for American
Politics and Public Policy, the Program in Social Statistics,
the Center for the Study of Women, the Cesar Chavez Center for
Chicana/o Studies, as well as the Afro-American, American Indian,
and Asian-American Studies Centers, offer excellent opportunities
for conducting inter-disciplinary research. All faculty listed
below teach in the graduate program and supervise master's theses
and doctoral dissertations. Because of its unusual depth and breadth,
the department prepares students in all fields in American history
and in time periods ranging from the colonial era to the late
twentieth century. The field is very active in scholarly organizations
and includes two former presidents of the organization of American
Historians, the incoming president of the American Historical
Association, and the former president of the Social Science History
Association. Its outstanding research and publishing record make
it visible in all major scholarly journals and university presses.
Full-time faculty include professors
Joyce Appleby, Stephen Aron, Ruth Bloch, Stanley Coben, Ellen
Carol DuBois, Juan Gomez-Quinones, Robert A. Hill, Thomas S. Hines,
Sanford M. Jacoby, Naomi Lamoreaux, John H. M. Laslett, Valerie
Matsumoto, Melissa Meyer, Eric Monkkonen, Janice L. Reiff, Michael
Salman, Brenda Stevenson, Jessica Wang, Joan Waugh, Richard Weiss,
Mary A. Yeager, and Henry Yu.
Foreign
Language Requirements:
One modern foreign language to be
fulfilled through a departmentally-administered reading examination.
Course
Requirements:
As a candidate for the Ph.D., you must
meet (a) the special requirements for admission to the doctoral
program listed above; and (b) the general requirements set forth
under the Graduate Division. An excellent command of English, spoken
and written, the ability to read at least two foreign languages
(except for the field of U.S. History where only one foreign language
is required), and an acquaintance with general history are expected
of all candidates. You are required to complete at least two continuing
two-or three-quarter seminar, or alternatively, a continuing sequence
of at least two graduate courses approved by the GGCC. If you enter
with an M.A., only ONE two-quarter research seminar is required.
This seminar, or its alternative, must include completion of a substantial
research paper based at least in part on primary sources.
All students
must write a dissertation prospectus (which could be written for
credit as a history 596 or 597) expected to contain: (a) a full
statement of the dissertation topic; (b) an historiographical discussion
of the literature bearing on the topic; (c) a statement of the methodology
to be employed; and (d) a survey of the sources sufficient to demonstrate
the viability of the topic. The prospectus must be approved by the
dissertation adviser prior to the oral part of the qualifying examinations.
After approval, copies will be given to each member of the examining
committee.
For students of U.S. History,
the historiography series 246A/B/C, while not required, is highly
recommended for all first year students and limited to them.
Faculty serving on doctoral committees may require such courses
as they deem necessary for preparation for qualifying examinations.
Courses taken to fulfill M.A. degree requirements may also be used
to satisfy Ph.D. requirements.
Written
and Oral Qualifying Examinations:
Before admission to candidacy, you must
pass written and oral examinations. Students with outstanding incompletes
may not be permitted to sit for these exams.
In the written qualifying examinations,
you are expected to show not only a mastery of your special subject,
but also an adequate grasp of the wider field of historical knowledge
and an ability to correlate historical data and to explain their
significance. These examinations are designed to test not merely
factual knowledge, but also your power of historical analysis and
synthesis, critical ability, and capacity for reflective thinking.
A knowledge of the history of any area includes a reasonable knowledge
of its historiography and bibliography; of its geography; and of
its political, cultural, economic, and other historical aspects.
In the oral examination, you are to
be examined in four fields, one of which may be an approved field
in anthropology, economics, geography, language and literature,
philosophy, political science, or other allied subjects. This allied
field must be comparable in size and scope to the history fields
listed above. You should select the fields in consultation with
your faculty adviser and must receive the Department's approval
of all four fields not less than three months before the written
qualifying examination is taken. You will need to obtain the "Field
Committee Orals" form (orals committee) from the Graduate Office.
A copy of "Steps for the Orals" can be obtained from the
Graduate Office. A full-time graduate student must begin the written
qualifying examinations not later than the end of the ninth quarter
of graduate work (See Time-to-Degree).
The written qualifying examination normally
includes the major field only. The oral examination will cover all
four fields and will normally be held after the written examination.
In most fields, the oral examination will be held shortly after
the written examination or, at the discretion of the doctoral committee,
as late as six months after the written examination. Both the written
and oral examinations are to be considered by the committee as a
whole in arriving at a judgment of your performance. The written
qualifying examination is normally prepared and administered by
the chair of the committee and read by the entire committee before
the oral qualifying examination.
The written qualifying examination must
be passed before the oral qualifying examination can be taken. The
members of the doctoral committee determine whether or not an examination
may be repeated (normally only once), based on their prognosis of
your potential for successfully completing both the written and
oral examinations within a specified period of time to be designated
by the doctoral committee, but not to exceed one calendar year.
The written qualifying examination is not to exceed eight (8) hours
and must be turned in to the Graduate Adviser's Office no later
than 5:00 pm of the day of the examination.
Last updated December 20, 2004
|
|