All CoursesHistory is the study of written facts and records of humanity. It enables us to perceive how our ancestors lived and to study about the various civilisations. Understanding history also equips us to appreciate the varied cultural heritage, scientific discoveries etc. Therefore it is no doubt when a select few decide to pursue their Ph.D. post their Masters Degree.
About the Field
History is not just a subject, but in reality, it is a gateway to visit your past. Though in school most of us find history to be a boring subject because of all the dates we are forced to memorize, but the one question we have been asking is, what is the importance of history, why do we study it? The truth is, we can’t run from our past but what we can do is learn from it and make our future better. Our past holds the secret to our success of future. Living in a country which has served as a slave for centuries, we can learn the lesson from our past of not repeating those same mistakes again and understanding the past to organize and structure the future of humankind.
About the Course
Undoubtedly, Ph.D. in History is an advanced degree acquired in the field of research post a Masters Degree by the candidate. It is awarded based on the performance presented by the scholar in his/ her thesis along with the performance in oral viva voce examination. The successful preparation and presentation of the independent research work carried out by the Ph.D. research scholar is the core purpose of the Ph.D. program. Approximately, it takes eight to ten years to complete a Ph.D. in History, depending on whether you have enrolled in a full-time course or a part-time program.
Every student pursuing a Ph.D. in History gets assistance from one or more supervisors, depending on the need and availability. Supervisors are experts in the respective fields the student is doing his research on, and it is the responsibility of the supervisor to provide all the assistance and guidance that the student seeks to complete his/ her research.
Careers after Ph.D.
A student acquiring a Ph.D. in History has options of growing as a professor or an independent researcher in the Humanities, Arts or Social Sciences, which is equally valuable in both academic as well as non-academics. Apart from being a researcher or a teacher the other career options available are : writers, analysts and consultants in many different fields.
Research Areas
The history doctoral program is fundamentally a research degree, with a lot of literature that has to be read. The colleges prefer a candidate with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree. But some universities do care about the diversity in the research group, and hence select candidates from other backgrounds as well.
The research focus is vast and there are many topics of interest. Most researchers focus on these famous research paths:
- Ancient History
- American History
- South Asian History
- European History
- Latin American History
- African History
- Islam and Middle-East
- Russian and Eurasia
- British History
All the research topics will have focus on various information related to culture, politics, foreign policy, colonialism, gender theory, etc. A part of the course also includes teaching components, where the Ph.D. candidates teach undergraduate classes.
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