The innovative Ph.D. in World History at St. John’s redefines and reclaims the vital roles that professionals with advanced humanities training play in our complex, global society.
Earn a Ph.D. in World History at St. John's University in New York City!
The innovative Ph.D. in World History at St. John’s redefines and reclaims the vital roles that professionals with advanced humanities training play in our complex, global society. It combines traditional academic rigor in research with an emphasis on new pedagogies, interdisciplinary study, technology, collaborative work, community engagement, and a unique approach to internship training.
Our program distinguishes itself with internship rotations that allow you to apply your knowledge and training in history to practice in the community. You have the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience in fields such as:
The Department of History’s full-time faculty members are active scholars with fields of expertise that include African, American, Asian, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern studies. As a doctoral student at St. John’s, you will benefit from close mentoring relationships with these professors and be part of our vibrant and diverse intellectual community. We also offer flexibility to accommodate both traditional full-time doctoral students and working professionals seeking a degree part-time.
Please see a list of our History faculty.
Philip Misevich, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Graduate Director
718-990-5238
[email protected]
To apply to the Ph.D. in World History, you must submit official transcripts showing conferral of your bachelor’s degree and at least 24 credits in history. You must also possess at least a cumulative GPA of 3.0 at the undergraduate level, with a 3.5 or higher in history courses.
In light of the impact of COVID-19, the GRE requirement has been suspended for the 2023-2024 admission cycle.
You must submit three letters of recommendation, at least one of which attests to your research ability. You must also submit a recent sample of written work, as well as a personal statement detailing your research agenda, professional goals, and experience.
Applicants who already hold a master’s degree in history may qualify for up to 18 credits of advanced standing with approval from the graduate director and the Dean’s office.
The deadlines for admission to the Ph.D. World History program are as follows:
Office of Graduate Admission
718-990-1601
[email protected]
The University awards a limited number of graduate assistantships and doctoral fellowships to highly-qualified students each year. These positions provide tuition remission and a stipend and involve assisting faculty with their research. The University also awards a limited number of University Doctoral Fellowships that offer tuition remission for students who work full-time and attend the Ph.D. program part-time. For more information, please visit Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships and Tuition and Financial Aid.
The Department of History offers the Nickolas Davatzes Scholarship to qualified graduate students who are committed to teaching History in high school or community college, and who demonstrate high financial need. The scholarship fund was established in 2007 by Nickolas Davatzes ’62C, ’64G, ’95Hon, who established the A&E Network and the History Channel, and Dorothea Hayes Davatzes ’66Ed. Scholarships are granted by the department on a competitive basis and provide $5,000 for summer research or tuition assistance.
The Ph.D. requirements include 60 credits of coursework, internship, and dissertation research. The breakdown of program requirements is as follows:
This course, which you will complete in your first semester of coursework, provides a general background in theory, historiography, research skills, and methodology.
You may choose your elective credits from a wide range of thematic and geographically-based offerings. You may also apply additional world history seminars as electives.
With the approval of your advisor and the program director, you may complete an interdisciplinary area of concentration in the complementary fields of public history, library and information science, museum administration, or education. You may also use these credits to take additional history electives in a thematic or regional concentration.
In your first semester of internship, you’ll engage in six rotations in each of the following areas:
In the second semester, you’ll commit to one of these areas for another semester of supervised practical experience that may include teaching an undergraduate history course; working in a public history setting such as a museum, archive, or restoration project; a film-making, editing, or digital media project; or another approved activity that appropriately reflects your professional interests.
You must demonstrate reading proficiency in at least one foreign language appropriate to your dissertation research by translating a faculty-approved passage. You must complete the foreign language requirement before registering for dissertation research.
To help the faculty assess your progress toward degree candidacy and the dissertation, you will maintain an annual portfolio of departmentally-approved examples of your work, as well as evidence of your progress in developing professional skills and experiences. You will present the portfolio, along with a summary essay discussing your evolving body of work and professional interests, for annual review while in the program, and the final summary essay and oral presentation of your portfolio will constitute your dissertation prospectus.
Once you’ve met the above requirements, you’ll register for a three-credit, semester-long dissertation proposal workshop to develop a research project best suited to your professional aspirations, in collaboration with peers and faculty mentors from across and outside the department.
Unique to our program is the ability to combine a research specialization with teaching, public history, or other appropriate professional applications in the dissertation. We encourage a variety of original, high-quality dissertation formats, including: a digital media project; a museum exhibit and catalog; an archival project and guide; a website; a curriculum guide; and an oral history project. While the format of the project is flexible, we expect the dissertation to provide original in-depth research and demonstrate mastery of the field.
As a student in the Ph.D. World History program at St. John's, you have the opportunity to gain valuable internship experience with the following prestigious and dynamic institutions:
| Bowne House Historical Society | Brooklyn Historical Society | Brooklyn Museum |
| Children's Museum of Manhattan | Fire Island Pines Historical Preservation Society | Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum |
| King Manor Museum | Lefferts Historic House | Lewis H. Latimer House |
| Louis Armstrong House Museum | Morgan Library & Museum | Museum of Chinese in American (MOCA) |
| Museum of the City of New York | Museum of Jewish Heritage | Museum of the Moving Image |
| National Jazz Museum in Harlem | New-York Historical Society | New York Transit Museum |
| Queens County Farm Museum | Queens Historical Society - Kingsland Homestead | Queens Library |
| Queens Museum | Voelker Orth Museum |
The communication skills, analytical thinking, and historical perspectives you gain through the Ph.D. program in World History will prepare you for tenure-track faculty positions in history as well as careers in museums, libraries, cultural agencies and institutions, consulting firms, and digital and traditional media companies. The distinctive socially-aware, problem-solving, and service-oriented education you receive at St. John’s will help you excel in the areas of teaching, public history, and public service. Thanks to the internship experience built in to the program, you will be entering the job market with not only an advanced degree and body of original research, but also professional experience in a field that suits your interests and goals.
You will meet once a month in our doctoral colloquium to present research and publications and gather for workshops and roundtable discussions. You’ll also be able to gain professional training through planning the History department's international World History Theory and Practice conference and through joining the World History Group that discusses teaching history in the core curriculum. For teaching experience, you may shadow faculty members teaching undergraduate courses. Through St. John’s Center for Teaching and Learning, you have access to professional development workshops in grant writing, fundraising, digital humanities, web and social media marketing, and organizational leadership. And you will always have the individual attention of the faculty members in the Department of History who will work with you on articulating and developing your career aspirations.
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The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in History and Business Administration offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete both undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
Earning a degree in history provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the issues and events that shape today’s global society. Studying history is also a proven way to develop the analytical and communication skills necessary for success in most fields, including business, law, journalism, public policy, and teaching.
Your history degree will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the issues and events that shape today’s global society. Studying history is also a proven way to develop the analytical and communication skills necessary for success in most fields, including business, law, journalism, public policy and teaching. Jobs for history teachers alone are expected to rise 13 percent over the next few years.
The combined Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) / Master of Arts (M.A.) program in History offers highly-motivated students the opportunity to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees in five years of full-time study.
In the Master of Arts (M.A.) program in History at St. John’s, you will enjoy seminar-style classes that build a broad knowledge of history’s main currents, along with the opportunity to specialize in an area of concentration.
Earn an ALA-accredited master's degree in Library and Information Science online!
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