The Tri-University Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program is committed to the pursuit of excellence in graduate research and teaching. Students enter the doctoral program for a variety of reasons, but we believe all of them are motivated by a strong desire to pursue the most advanced education for history teaching and research. In the first year of the program, students normally complete their three PhD fields. PhD field preparation provides a wide intellectual basis for scholarship and teaching and the fields are designed in such a way as to encourage reading complementary to a student's proposed area of doctoral research. Field seminar discussions are intended to develop skills in critical analysis and historical synthesis. Through the process of completing required research papers and a doctoral thesis, students acquire the capacity to conduct independent research and to produce written work of a sufficient standard to be acceptable for scholarly publication.
Admission Requirements
All inquiries and applications concerning this program should be addressed to the Director, Tri-University Doctoral Program in History.
All applications requesting financial support for the Fall term must be received and be complete by the preceding 1 February of that year. Successful applicants will start their graduate studies in September.
The program uses an online application. The application requirements are as follows:
- payment of $100.00 (Cdn) application fee;
- three letters of reference;
- transcripts from previous institutions;
- resume of the applicant's academic and work experience;
- statement of the applicant's research interests;
- sample of the applicant's scholarly writing;
Students will be admitted only after they have obtained a Master of Arts (MA) degree in which they have received at least an A- standing. Only students who are graduates of accredited Universities and Colleges are eligible for admission. Since not all applicants can be admitted, close attention is paid to samples of applicants' written work, to applicants' transcripts and past record as a whole, and to their statement of research interests. Applications are considered by the Coordinating Committee of the Tri-University Graduate Program.
Students will not be accepted into the program without the agreement of the Coordinating Committee, the local graduate committee and the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the university at which they must register. No student will be assigned to a doctoral supervisor without approval from the supervisor. There will be no part-time admissions.
Applicants whose first language is other than English are required to submit evidence of proficiency in the English language or pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A net score of 600 is required (250 on the computerized version) and a score of 4.0 on the TWE. See the English Language Proficiency page for other acceptable tests of English.
Degree Requirements
Professional Development Seminar
All doctoral students must attend the professional development seminar in their first year of the program. The seminar is designed to prepare students for success as a PhD student and for their future careers. A pass/fail grade will be assigned for the seminar. For details regarding the Professional Development Seminar, students should consult the Tri-University Graduate Program handbook.
PhD Fields
Each student is required to demonstrate competency in one major field and two minor areas. In the minor areas, competency is demonstrated by successful completion of two area seminars. In the major field, students must successfully complete a major field seminar (HIST 710-719), a written qualifying exam (HIST 704) and oral qualifying exam (HIST 701). All the major field seminars within the following areas of study are offered each year: Canadian history; early modern European history; modern European history; race, imperialism and slavery; Scottish history; and war and society. The coordinating committee, in collaboration with the student, will establish the minor field seminars appropriate for that student.
The major field is the student’s primary area of concentration; it provides the background and context for thesis research and will, in all likelihood, serve as the area in which graduates apply for academic jobs. The basis of the major field is the major field reading list. Students are examined on their knowledge of their field list through a seminar, a major field written exam and a major field oral qualifying exam. These components of the major field will each be graded separately.
The major field reading list will consist of the equivalent of 100 books, approximately half of which will be read in the major field seminar and half by students independently. The major field seminar (HIST 710-719) must be successfully completed in the first year of the student’s program. The major field qualifying exams are normally taken at the beginning of the students’ fourth term in the program. In the major field qualifying exams students will be examined on their knowledge of the entire major field reading list. The exam will consist of a written portion (HIST 704) and an oral portion (HIST 701) with a separate grade assigned for each part. The oral portion of the exam will normally be held within two weeks of the successful completion of the written portion. Students may not complete the oral portion if they fail to pass the written, but they must pass the oral to successfully complete the examination process.
The minor areas represent the secondary areas of concentration; they are intended to provide students with a supplementary teaching area and a comparative understanding of works in their dissertation research area. These two goals may be combined in each minor area course or the director, in consultation with the student, the thesis advisor and the seminar instructors, may coordinate a program in which one area is primarily geared towards a second teaching area and the other towards developing an understanding of the students’ primary research areas beyond their major field. The reading list for each minor area seminar (HIST 759-771) will consist of the equivalent of 50 books. The minor area seminars are normally completed during the first two terms of the student’s program, however, students may choose to take their minor area seminars in their fourth and fifth terms.
For details regarding field and area requirements, students should consult the Tri-University Graduate Program handbook.
The Thesis Proposal
All doctoral students will present a thesis proposal of no more than 2000 words including citations by the end of the fall or winter term (whichever comes first) following the completion of their three fields. The student will be examined orally on the proposal by the advisory committee within four weeks of submission of the proposal to the director and a pass/fail grade will be assigned.
The Colloquium
The colloquium is a public presentation of a chapter, significant portion, or summary of the student’s thesis. In exceptional circumstances, the advisory committee may also approve the presentation of a paper on another topic. The colloquium paper will be presented within three terms of the completion of the thesis proposal. A grade of pass/fail will be assigned for the colloquium. For details regarding the colloquium, students should consult the Tri-University Graduate Program handbook.
PhD Thesis Requirements
Following successful completion of all other requirements, the student must complete, under the supervision of a tri-university doctoral program faculty member, an original research project on an advanced topic. Each student will be required to write and successfully defend a thesis of such cogency and originality as will represent a significant contribution to knowledge. The thesis will normally be between 50,000 and 90,000 words in length. The regulations and procedures at the university in which the student is enrolled will govern the thesis format and the thesis examination.
Second Language Requirement
If no specific language is required for the student’s research (as authorized by the student’s advisory committee), the second language will be French. The determination of the second language will be made by the student’s advisory committee in the first term of the student’s registration in the program. The language exam will be offered every fall and winter term and it is expected that a student will successfully complete the test no later than the 6th term following admission into the program.
The same requirement will hold for students whose native language is French except that it will be applied to a reading knowledge of English.
For details regarding second language credit, students should consult the Tri-University Graduate Program handbook.