Candidacy
Admission to candidacy requires successful completion of:
- Qualifying examination and
- 24 hours of course credit (satisfying the residency requirement for the state of Illinois)
The Qualifying Exam Committee will consist of at least four faculty:
- Three examiners, one of which is the student’s advisor
- One additional outside reader
At least one of these four faculty members must be from SIUC. It is recommended that these same faculty members also serve on the student’s dissertation committee.
Dissertation
A dissertation must be written under the direction of a historical studies faculty member and approved by a dissertation committee of at least five faculty members:
- Three historical studies faculty, including at least one member from both SIUE and SIUC
- Two additional readers who may be from other departments or disciplines within SIUE and SIUC, or may include one person from outside SIUE and SIUC who has expertise in the student’s dissertation subject.
It is recommended, but not required, that the committee be composed of the same faculty who served on the student’s Qualifying Exam Committee.
Within one semester of passing their qualifying exams, candidates shall prepare a 15-20 page dissertation prospectus in which the candidate provides a narrative of the project to be undertaken, including relevant historiography, statement of project objectives, a plan of research that identifies key archives and collections relevant to the subject, and a bibliography. At least three weeks after the committee’s receiving the candidate’s prospectus, the candidate will defend the prospectus before the committee.
Upon successful defense of the prospectus, candidates will spend at least one year researching and typically spend at least one year writing their dissertations under the close supervision of their chair. Dissertations must be prepared in accordance with the SIUC Graduate School’s “Guidelines for Dissertations, Theses and Research Papers.”
Completed dissertations must be defended orally before the committee. At the defense, the committee will evaluate the candidate’s dissertation based on its method, place in the relevant historiography, interpretation of evidence, conclusions, and/or other criteria relevant to the candidate’s work. The committee will also assess the candidate on oral exposition, research skills, use of primary and secondary sources, style, organization, and clarity.
Upon successful completion of the dissertation and defense, the committee will recommend the candidate for the doctoral degree.
