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Ph.D. Program Requirements and Restrictions

1.  A minimum of 60 credits of coursework beyond the bachelor's degree, excluding dissertation credit. It is up to the Advisory Committee to determine if you are fully prepared in each field. In some cases the Advisory Committee may require that you take additional course work.

2.  12 hours of History 9000 (Doctoral Dissertation), for a minimum total of 72 graduate credits.

3.  The final 30 hours of the 72 hours must be taken at The University of Memphis.

4.  At most 6 credits of MA courses and 6 credits of PhD courses at the 6000-level, none of which may be in the major field, unless the advisory committee approves it. In special cases, the advisory committee may allow up to 15 credits at the 6000 level. Those in the Ancient Egypt concentration may take more than 6 hours with the permission of the Egyptology faculty.

5.  A historiography course in the major field. We recommend historiography courses in the other fields, and your field advisors may require it. If your major field is one without a formal historiography class, you must arrange with your major advisor to create a Directed Readings course to substitute for the historiography class.

6.  At least one three credit Research Seminar (History 8070 or the equivalent).

7.  History 8011 (Philosophy and Theory of History) or its equivalent.

8.  3 credits in History 8990 (Reading for and Writing Comprehensives) in each of the fields, for a total of 9 credits of 8990 that count toward the degree.

9.  No more than 6 credits of History 8012 (Directed Readings), although you may petition the Director of Graduate Studies for up to an additional 6 credits. For any Directed Readings class you will need to fill out and have the professor sign a form. See Nature of the Course Offerings for the procedure.

10. No grade of C+ or lower may count toward the fulfillment of degree requirements.

11. History 8991 (Independent Readings), and History 9000 (Doctoral Dissertation) do NOT count toward the required 60 credits of coursework.

12. Review of the student's progress by the Advisory Committee at the end of the first and second year, or the equivalent for part-time students. The committee will normally meet without the student and will always provide written feedback to the student. This will be detailed if the finding is that the student's performance is satisfactory but needs improvement or is unsatisfactory. In either of these cases the student should immediately consult with each committee member to develop a plan for improvement. Although this review is primarily designed to give guidance to the student, a committee's finding that the student's work is not satisfactory will be considered a potential cause for dismissal.

13. The university requires that the student commit to full-time study (9 credits) for a minimum of two successive semesters at some point during the degree program. This can include a summer semester, but graduate history courses are limited at that time. If this is a problem for you, be sure to discuss options with the Director of Graduate Studies, since there is usually a solution. In particular, note that four Reading for and Writing Comprehensives courses (the maximum allowed) plus two more courses, taken over two consecutive semesters will fulfill the requirement.

14. A language exam in at least one foreign language (see Foreign Language Requirement) for all those with a non-US major field. For those with a US major field (US before 1877, US after 1877, or African American History) it is up to the Advisory Committee to decide whether you need to pass a language exam.

15. A written and oral comprehensive examination (see Comprehensive Examination).

16. A dissertation (see Dissertation).

Concentration in Egyptian History:

If you are admitted to this concentration you must take at least 12 hours of courses in the dissertation field of Ancient History that focus specifically on ancient Egyptian history. You are also expected to deepen your proficiency in Middle Egyptian, which you should have studied before entering the Ph.D. program. Further, you must demonstrate reading knowledge of French and German before you will be allowed to take research seminars in Ancient Egypt or write your dissertation.