Online PHD in History

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Kyle, Feb 8, 2009.

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  1. Kyle

    Kyle New Member

    Hello; I am new so please excuse any cultural violations.

    My situation is, I have a family situation where I cannot move, or afford to give up my job. So, now with my MBA finished in mid March, I would like to pursue a PHD in History. No one offers a PHD fully online that I have found.

    My search has been for regionally accredited; any DITEC schools that anyone knows about in History for a PHD? Also are DITEC degrees accepted by the federal government as valid on resumes?

    gain, due to my family situation, I need to find a no residency PHD History program; any in England or Canada; can you teach here in the US with a degree from otherside the country?

    God Bless,
    Kyle
     
  2. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    The Union Institute & University www.myunion.edu offers a PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences with 35 days residency. American Military University www.apus.edu and Sam Houston State University www.shsu.edu have been reported to have online PhD degrees in History in the works. One could also try a good dissertation-only doctorate such as the University of Melbourne www.unimelb.edu.au , the University of New England www.une.edu.au , or the University of South Africa www.unisa.ac.za . DETC schools cannot offer the PhD, though they can offer professional doctorates. Harrison Middleton University www.chumsci.edu offers a Doctor of Arts program based on the Great Books of the Western World that can be self-designed with an emphasis in history; they also offer a Great Books-based EdD that emphasizes the history, philosophy, and politics of education. As to your question of the federal government's acceptance of DETC degrees, I'll have to let some DETC degree holders who work for thw government chime in.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 8, 2009
  3. bazonkers

    bazonkers New Member

    Kyle: If a PhD is your ultimate goal, I'd start looking for a masters program in the meantime while you wait. I'd imagine that most PhD programs are going to require a masters in history first. SHSU and AMU that Ted mentioned above both currently offer online masters degrees in history.

    This part isn't directed at the original poster but I wonder what the wash out rate is going to be for PhD programs in history. There seems to be a ton of pent up demand for a program like this but I'm curious as to how many people are truly ready for distance PhD work in history. A B&M program takes around 5 years full-time to complete. I can't imagine a distance program would take less time and might even take longer. The job prospects are TERRIBLE for history PhD graduates right now as well.

    That all said, I too am waiting for a distance program. :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 8, 2009
  4. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    I figured I'd raise the dead for once, since so many others seem to as well. Anyone with an inside track know of any US schools that have PhDs in History in the works?

    -Matt
     
  5. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    bumpity...
     
  6. Jaskom

    Jaskom New Member

    Bump ... bump ...
     
  7. TomE

    TomE New Member

    This is an interesting question and I think is one that would bring the definition of "online program" into question. With so many history graduate programs requiring research that emphasizes the importance of primary documents, it would probably be pretty difficult to complete a program that is offered completely online without some degree of "getting out there" involved. While one may not be attending a class in person, it would probably be pretty difficult to complete dissertation and other related research completely online.
     
  8. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    Depending on the topic, yes, but there are so many digital archives now, people can access primary source documents from their computers.

    -Matt
     
  9. TomE

    TomE New Member

    I agree, but I question whether or not there would be enough of these documents or enough of the necessary documents to construct an entire dissertation or equivalent document. I'm sure that it is certainly possible, but keeping completely digital might limit the content, topic, etc. to an extent.
     
  10. Paidagogos

    Paidagogos Member

    I think the fact that there are not any traditional, accredited online history Phd's in the US probably stems more from the PhDs that are teaching in history departments across the country. I think that the PhD history faculty who would be supervising/advising on research for potential future PhDs are reluctant to take on dissertations that would have to be advised from miles away.

    I tried to do a big thesis project while at WNMU, and I had great advisers on the project, but found that the whole thing was hard to orchestrate when we couldn't just pop over to one another's office and hash out the next leg of the research. What I ended up doing/completing was more like a capstone paper (~35 pgs.). While writing my thesis (or attempting to), I realized why they encouraged against it, and now I believe they don't allow it at all.

    There is no doubt that the technology exists to make an online PhD in history theoretically possible. But, in reality, its still not an easy thing to do. This may change of course, as Matt Brent and others have pointed out, digitizing historical documents is on the rise, which will serve to make conducting research easier/more readily accessible.
     
  11. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

  12. Paidagogos

    Paidagogos Member

    I think that would be a great program. Although, you'll grow into an old man (or woman) trying to catch up on those Latin pre-reqs. The price tag of taking said Latin pre-reqs is not cheap, either. Also, in the historical realm, teaching in the classics is the MOST rare to obtain employment, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong. This is also the subsection of academia that tends to also be the MOST snooty over credentials.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 22, 2016
  13. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    Would a PhD in Humanities work? Both Faulkner and Salve Regina offer them.
     
  14. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    I can attest, you can earn a PhD in Humanities from Faulkner, with a specialization in History
     
  15. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Well, it is a degree in Classics. I imagine one could argue the same thing about say, the Doctor of Jewish Studies at Spertus. If you're into Jewish Studies you're going to need to study some Hebrew. If you're into Classics you're going to need to know some Latin or Greek.

    It is true that many schools typically have small Classics departments if they have one at all. Only one of my attended schools had a Classics program. It consisted of a single professor who held dual appointments in History and Philosophy.

    That said, just because you have a PhD in Classics does not mean you are "teaching Classics." I had philosophy professors whose PhDs were not in philosophy (Religious Studies, Theology and Women's Studies were prominent disciplines in that department at the time).

    "Classics" is an interdisciplinary subject bound together by a common time period. There are classicists who are into literature, history, philosophy etc. If you focus on history then there is no reason you couldn't find work as "just" a History professor (as opposed to a Classics professor).

    As for academic snobbery I think it's a pretty tight race as to which discipline takes it to the max. It's also fairly hard to track. Overall school prestige often doesn't impact things. So a PhD from Harvard might be scoffed at in favor of a graduate of "the best" program at a smaller school with far less institutional name recognition. We can use program rankings and things to try to understand that but those rankings seldom delve into the minds of hiring committees.

    My department chair, for example, absolutely hates Empire State College and thinks it is a black mark on the SUNY system. He has stated numerous times that he would hire a Phoenix grad over an ESC grad any day and, perhaps to really stick it to them, he hired a UMT grad (me). Objectively, ESC is a much more solid choice than UMT. But there is no way to account for this bias.

    In any case, while an interesting find, the Classics program is only applicable to the OP if his/her research interests focus on the classical period. Still a good find.

    As an aside, to the OP, why is it important, exactly, for this degree to be accepted for federal employment? The short answer is that a DEAC doctorate would be. I'm just trying to figure out why it would be so important for a PhD in History to be acceptable at the federal level.
     
  16. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    When you can't find what you want you can either give up or compromise. So the desired PhD in History from a US university can turn into a PhD in Humanities or a PhD in Classics. Another type of compromise would be geographical. Look to the UK (or OZ, or ZA). There are at least a few in the UK. Here's one:

    PhD History course - Postgraduate degree study - University of Birmingham
     
  17. TomE

    TomE New Member

    From the website:

    "Applicants to the PhD program are required to complete an on-campus visit before the application deadline. Please allow at least a half-day for this visit, which will include a 90-minute sight translation exam of standard Latin authors, and short interviews with the Director and available faculty."

    Time to bust out the Latin reader and flashcards!
     
  18. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    From the Great State of Alabama: Faulkner University www.faulkner.edu offers a PhD in Humanities/History based on the Great Books of the Western World.

    From the Great State of Arizona: Harrison Middleton University Harrison Middleton University offers a DA degree based on the Great Books of the Western World. They are accredited by DEAC which is NA which is less prestigious than RA.

    From the Great State of Florida: The University of Florida University of Florida offers a PhD in Classical Civilization.

    From the Great State of Ohio: The Union Institute & University www.myunion.edu offers a PhD in Humanities & Culture.
     
  19. AMTZ

    AMTZ New Member

    Any updates?? I'm going to finish my MA in History in November. Are there any schools in the U.S. Offering a PhD in History? Fully Online or Distance Learning style works.. PLEASE let me know...
     
  20. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    Nope. Not pure History. Not in the US. Not online. Closest is Faulkner PhD in Humanities with a History track..
     

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