Course Requirements

Three years of coursework are required for the Ph.D. degree. In their first year, students must complete all course requirements for the William & Mary M.A. degree. Students who begin the M.A./Ph.D program with a William & Mary Master’s Degree in hand will go directly to the second year of the M.A./Ph.D program. In their second year, candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete at least 18 hours of graduate coursework in History 715, 712, or the equivalent, and six hours of credit in HIST 800 - Dissertation). In the spring of their third year, students take History 705 (Teaching - 1 credit) and History 706 (Dissertation Prospectus - 3 credits). A total of 24 hours of credit in HIST 800 is required to satisfy the degree requirements for the award of a Ph.D. in Arts & Sciences.

*Upon approval by the Director of Graduate Studies, students may take up to 6 credits in History 590 or graduate-level courses in other departments/programs not cross-listed under History. These courses will usually serve as a substitute for History 715, and if appropriate, History 712.

Qualifying Exam Requirement

In the fall semester of their third year, Ph.D. students take a written and oral comprehensive qualifying examination in four fields. To qualify to take the comprehensive examinations, students must have completed any outstanding requirements by the end of the previous semester.

Dissertation Requirement

See Graduate Regulations.

Foreign Language Requirement

Candidates must demonstrate by departmental examination a reading knowledge of a language other than English. Ph.D. students must complete the Foreign Language requirement by the end  of their fourth semester in residence.

Residence Requirement

See Graduate Regulations.

Satisfactory Progress

PH.D. students must complete all requirements for the M.A. degree by the end of their fourth semester in residence.

To be eligible to graduate, all students must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all courses undertaken for graduate credit at William & Mary after admission to a degree program. A student who receives a grade of C+ (2.3) or lower in a course may repeat that course one time for credit, upon approval of both the instructor of the course and the graduate director for the student’s program. When such a repeat attempt is approved, the grades for both attempts will count in the cumulative GPA, but only the most recent attempt will count toward the degree. No credit toward a degree will be allowed for a course in which a student receives a grade below C (grade point = 2.0).

All requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed within seven years from the first term of enrollment in the Ph.D. program, excluding periods of approved leave and military service. For a student enrolled in a master’s program in the College of Arts & Sciences who subsequently advances to candidacy in the doctoral program in the same field, the terms of enrollment in the master’s program will count towards the seven-year limit for the doctoral degree unless otherwise stated in the letter of admission.