Doctor of Philosophy in History
Satisfactory Progress & Evaluation of Doctoral Students
The principle considerations in evaluating PhD students are whether they are performing at a level to be expected of doctoral students, and whether they are proceeding expeditiously with a coherent program of studies. To be considered making satisfactory progress toward the degree, a PhD student must meet the following criteria:
1. A PhD student must receive grades of at least 3.5 in History graduate courses or other graduate-level content courses (400-500 level), and credit (CR) for HIST 600 and HIST 800. A student must maintain quarterly and cumulative GPAs of at least 3.5.
2. The student’s written and oral work must demonstrate a solid capacity for graduate-level work at the PhD level, as evidenced by the quarterly written evaluations provided by their faculty, and faculty assessments of student progress such as those included in letters of support for funding, etc.
3. The student must complete the requirements for the degree in a timely fashion:
- The PhD seminar paper must be completed and the PhD language requirement must be fulfilled no later than the quarter preceding the PhD General Exam.
- Incompletes, X grades and N grades must be removed from the student’s transcript by the end of the following quarter. (Students intending to take the PhD General Exam must remove all Xs, Is and Ns from the transcript prior to the quarter in which the PhD exams will be taken.)
- Students who completed the two-field History MA at UW are expected to take one year (from the quarter of promotion to the PhD program) to get to the PhD General Exam. Students admitted to the History Department at the PhD level are expected to take the PhD General Examination no later than the end of their second year in the PhD program. Extending the time to the PhD exams beyond these limits can be cause for concern about the student’s progress in the doctoral program; consequently an extension will be granted only in cases of extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. A student who must postpone the PhD exams beyond the expected norms must submit an explanatory petition, supported by a letter from the Chair of the PhD Committee, for the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Please note that Teaching Assistants normally are not allowed to hold their appointments for more than two years following the receipt of the MA degree without achieving candidacy.
At the end of each school year, the Graduate Studies Committee in conjunction with the History Graduate Office and the student’s supervising faculty will review the student's progress. At this review, the Committee and faculty will examine the courses the student has taken, the student's performance in those courses, and the student’s overall progress toward the degree. Students who are judged not to be performing at a level expected of doctoral students and/or who are not making satisfactory progress will receive written notification of this assessment and will be advised on what steps they should take to correct any problems or concerns expressed by the Committee or faculty. Failure to comply with these instructions may lead to a recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate School for alteration of a student's standing, i.e. warning, probation or final probation. See Graduate School Memorandum #16.