Individual Plan of Study
Information for Prospective Students
In response to increasing student interest in historical studies that transcend geographical areas, History PhD students have the option of crafting an Individual Plan of Study (IPS), which allows students to work formally with faculty who specialize in different geographic areas. IPS is aimed at students who wish to gain equal depth of training in more than one geographical area.
Students considering this option should bear in mind two considerations:
- Pursuing an Individual Plan of Study might have job-market ramifications. Although there has been movement away from the traditional definition of academic jobs in terms of a single geographical area (e.g., US/NA history, African history, or East Asian history) in recent years, many academic positions are still defined in geographic terms.
- Because an Individual Plan of Study offers equal grounding in the history and historiography of more than one geographic area, it may require more time to complete than a major in one program of study.
Students should discuss their interests in an Individual Plan of Study with the faculty members who would serve on the student’s supervising committee (two co-advisors, one from each field of study, and a third committee member). This is usually the cluster of faculty who nominated the student for admission.
With your supervising committee and the Graduate Program Manager, students prepare a petition to the Graduate Council Executive Committee that explains the plan of study and specifies the MA course requirements, PhD language requirements, doctoral minor, and the format and timing of preliminary exams.
Students admitted to the Individual Plan of Study can opt to pursue a single geographic field provided they have the support of the faculty working in that field of study. Similarly, students admitted to a single geographic field can decide to pursue the Individual Plan of Study in their first 2 years in the program.