Doctoral Fields of Study

Main Areas of Concentration
Definition of Fields
Main Areas of Concentration (by Faculty)

Main Areas of Concentration

The WVU Department of History currently has four main areas of concentration at the doctoral level. The four main areas of concentration are:

Africa
Europe
Latin America
United States

Please note: In addition to these areas, the History Department encourages doctoral research that is transnational and comparative in perspective. Students (in consultation with their main faculty adviser, and with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies) may choose a different main area of concentration than the four listed above.

Definition of Fields

Students in the PhD program prepare four fields of study; a major field and three minor fields. No less than two, and no more than three, of the four fields must be in the student’s main area of concentration. One of these fields must be their major field.

A minimum of at least one of the four fields must be outside the student’s main area of concentration, and students may choose to take up to two of their fields outside of their main area of concentration. This could include a field in another area of concentration, a field in World History, a field in Public History, or even a field outside of the history department. However, students can only take one of their four fields outside of the history department. The four fields must be designed in consultation with the student’s main faculty adviser, and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Major Field – The major field is designed to be both the student’s major research and primary teaching field. The major field of study is chosen by the student in conjunction with their main faculty adviser, who agrees to oversee the preparation and examination in that field. The field should be based on the student’s dissertation interest, but the student should also acquire a broad understanding of the historiography related to that research area.

Minor Fields – Minor fields are designed primarily to provide students with sufficient preparation in that field for teaching at the college or university levels. Each field of study is chosen by the student in conjunction with a faculty adviser, who agrees to oversee the preparation and examination in that field. No faculty member may oversee more than one field.

Currently, students most often take major or minor fields of study in the following areas. Please note that students may (in consultation with their main faculty adviser, and with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies) choose to take major or minor fields of study in areas other than those listed below:

Africa:

British Imperial History
East African History
West African History

Europe:

Britain/British Imperial History
Central European History
Early Modern History
Eastern European History
Medieval History
Russia/Soviet History
Western European History

Latin America:

Latin American/Caribbean History
U.S. – Latin American Relations

United States:

Appalachian/West Virginia Regional History
Colonial American History to 1787
Social History of U. S.
U.S. Diplomatic History
U.S. History 1787-1850
U.S. History 1840-1898
U.S. History 1898 to Present

In addition, students may currently elect to take minor fields only in the following areas:

East Asian History

Public History – PhD students may choose to take four courses for the Public History minor field: HIST 624, 625, 614 (3 credit hours for PhD students), and one elective Public History course. Students with an MA in Public History may examine in this field without taking the courses a second time. Oral and written comprehensive examinations are required.

World History – PhD students may choose to take three courses for the World History minor field, one of which must be the World Readings Course at the 700 level. Courses must be approved by the World History Coordinator. Oral comprehensive examination is required, but there is no written examination.