Program Faculty
Department Chair (Interim)
Jeremiah Dibua, Ph.D.
Professor
Program Coordinator
Jeremiah Dibua, Ph.D.
Professor
BSSC 343
Tel.: (443) 885-3400: Fax: (443) 885-8227
E-mail: Jeremiah.Dibua@morgan.edu
Program Faculty
Brett A. Berliner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Brandi Brimmer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Jeremiah I. Dibua, Ph.D.
Professor
Francis Dube, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Robert Morrow, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Linda Noel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Lawrence Peskin, Ph.D.
Professor
David Taft Terry, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Program Description
The History doctoral program focuses on three main fields: African American History, African Diaspora History, and 20th/21st Centuries United States History. Students are also exposed to aspects of public history.
General Requirements
Candidates for the Ph.D. degree in History must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0 in all course work at the end of each academic semester. Candidates must complete a minimum of thirty-six (36) credit hours, pass the written comprehensive examinations in the major and minor fields, meet or pass the foreign language or research skill requirement, submit an acceptably written dissertation, and successfully complete an oral defense of the dissertation.
Students have the option of retaking a course in which they earned a “C” grade.
Admission
Admission to the doctoral program in History is granted once a year in the fall semester. To be eligible for admission to the PhD Program in History, an applicant must:
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Have a Master’s degree with a thesis or the equivalent thereof in History, or a related field, from a regionally accredited college or university.
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Possess a grade point average of at least 3.0 in all previous post-baccalaureate work.
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Submit an application for admission to the School of Graduate Studies. All required documents must be submitted as directed by the School of Graduate Studies prior to program review and admission decision.
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Provide an official copy of GRE scores and official transcripts submitted to the Graduate School. GRE scores may not be more than 5 years old prior to the date of application. These scores must be delivered by ETS to the Morgan State University School of Graduate Studies.
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Students for whom instruction has not been in English must submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
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Use the application system to arrange for three letters of recommendation to be placed with the application. These letters must be from officials or faculty members of institutions previously attended who are acquainted with the applicant’s ability for graduate study or from employment supervisors where applicable.
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A writing sample (a graduate seminar or research paper) in History.
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A typed exposition regarding the candidate’s personal academic and professional plans and the reasons for selecting Morgan State University. The statement should include the proposed major concentration and two minor concentrations of study.
Additional Requirements
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Students entering the program with GRE verbal scores below 500 in the old GRE or 153 in the new GRE are required to enroll and pass with a grade of “B” or better in HIST 599 Historical Writing (no credit toward the degree).
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Students who have not completed prerequisite credits required for enrollment in the Ph.D. level courses in previous post-baccalaureate study will be required to take up to 6 credits of prerequisite courses at the 500 to 700 levels.
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Students with post-baccalaureate degrees in related fields must have earned a minimum of 9 graduate credit hours in History.
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Students must select one major from the three fields below:
African American History
African Diaspora History
Twentieth/Twenty First Century United States History
The remaining two fields will serve as minor concentrations.
Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant. The decision of the Program Admissions Committee involves a review and analysis of all the elements of the application as well as the availability of positions in the program. The committee then recommends to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that an offer of admission should be made based on that review.
Candidacy
Students achieve candidacy by successfully passing the comprehensive examinations in their major and minor fields, successfully completing HIST. 901 and defending the dissertation proposal, and fulfilling the foreign language proficiency requirement.
Once a student achieves candidacy, enrollment in any course other than HIST. 998 or HIST. 997 is generally prohibited. Students seeking additional skills, knowledge, or a certificate must seek approval through the program up to the School of Graduate Studies. The request must be accompanied with a revised Plan of Study.
Dissertation Completion
The Dissertation Committee consists of the Dissertation Supervisor, two members of the History Graduate Faculty, and an outside reader. The Dissertation Supervisor and the student must agree on the topic selected. If no agreement can be reached, the student must find another Dissertation Supervisor, or change to a topic on which the Supervisor and the student can agree. Dissertation Supervisors and students must commit to work together. The Dissertation Supervisor and the student must both agree to the selection of other members of the committee who in turn should commit to work with the student and supervisor. If the dissertation supervisor and the student believe that the expertise of a non-History graduate faculty within or outside the History Department but a faculty at Morgan State University, is essential for the successful completion of the dissertation, they should request the approval of the Graduate Coordinator to include the faculty on the committee (no more than one non-History graduate faculty can serve on a dissertation committee). The student must officially register the names of the dissertation committee members with the Graduate Coordinator. The Graduate Coordinator, in consultation with the Supervisor, invites the outside reader for the oral defense of the dissertation at the appropriate time to join the committee. The dissertation must be successfully defended in a public oral defense.
Additional Requirements
Students should refer to the university and College of Liberal Arts policies regarding academic integrity, expectation of professional ethics and behavior, accommodations for disability, and appeals and due process regarding grades and other relevant issues.
Program Course Requirements
Writing Skills Requirement: GRE Verbal Score of at least 500 in the old GRE or 153 in the new GRE, or HIST 599: Historical Writing 3 (non-degree) credit hours.
3-6 Credit Hours (non-degree) Prerequisite
Prerequisite History Courses (500-700 level courses) 3-6 (non-degree) credit hours.
3 Credit Hours Research Skills
HIST 804: Advanced Historiography 3 credit hours
12 Credit Hours Content and/or Theory Course (600+ level)
Major Concentration Courses 12 credit hours
15 Credit Hours Elective (HIST 600+ level)
3 Credit Hours (non-degree) Language Proficiency Requirement
Proficiency Competency Requirement in a
Foreign Language at fourth semester (202 level
or above)* 3 (non-degree) credit hours
*Competency in Foreign Language may also be met by a proficiency examination administered by the Department of World Languages and International Studies or by graduation from a foreign four-year college/university where English was not the language of instruction.
Or
HIST 808: Oral History Practicum 3 (non-degree) credit hours
(Prerequisite: HIST 708 Oral History)**
Or
HIST 807: Archival Practicum 3 (non-degree) credit hours
(Prerequisite: HIST 707 Archival Theory)**
**Prerequisite course HIST 708 Oral History may be applied toward the degree as a 3 credit hours US Twentieth/Twenty first Century History course, or as an elective.
**Prerequisite course HIST 707 Archival Theory may be applied toward the degree as a 3 credit hours African American History course or as an elective.
6 Credit Hours Dissertation Courses
HIST 901: Dissertation Proposal 3 credit hours
HIST 997/998 Dissertation Guidance / Dissertation Defense 3/9 credit hours*
Note
The student will continuously register in Fall and Spring terms for ENGL 997 (Dissertation Guidance) until the Dissertation is completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for review. The course is used only when the curriculum has been completed and the student is completing the research and writing of the Dissertation. The ENGL 997 course registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student registers for 3 credit hours each semester, but is acknowledged as having a 9 credit hour load).
After the Intent to Defend the Dissertation form has been received by the School of Graduate Studies, this course registration will be changed to ENGL 998 (Dissertation Defense) for the given semester and count for 3 credit hours of curricular coursework (ENGL 998 will also count as 9 credits of load). ENGL 997 will not count toward curricular credits. Other courses cannot be substituted for ENGL 997 (Dissertation Guidance). The only eligible grade for ENGL 997 (Dissertation Guidance) is the grade of “S” and the only acceptable grade for ENGL 998 (Dissertation Defense) is “P/F” (Pass/Fail).
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