The PhD is the main degree granted by the History and Sociology of Science program. Our students quickly become active scholars, presenting their research at conferences, securing funding and prizes, and publishing their work. Recent graduates have won prizes for their work from the Society for the History of Technology and the Business History Society, and published in top-tier journals such as Technology and Culture and Social Studies of Science.
Further information about degree requirements, current graduate students, alumni, and other aspects of the program can be found through the navigation menu to the left. For further information, contact the chair of the Graduate Group.
Requirements
The formal requirements for the doctorate in our department are:
- Participation in our introductory methods seminar (HSSC 505) (Fall, year I)
- A minimum of 18 graduate credits, of which 14 must be in HSSC. This basically means that in your first three years you will be enrolled in at least 18 courses. If you'd like to do more, that's fine. Especially in your third year, some of those courses may be "999" independent studies for reaching courses that essentially prepare you for your orals examination.
- The 18 credits must include: our introductory graduate seminar HSSC 5050 in the first semester; a robust distribution of graduate seminars in all major subfields (determined in consultation with the Graduate Chair); a substantial writing project composed as a paper for one of your seminars, in which you receive and "A minus" or better; and one seminar dealing primarily with the period before 1850, or a research paper dealing with the period before 1850, if written for a course that includes materials from a later period.
- Successful passing of the formal Second Year Evaluation (as required by the University) usually in the first week of May at the end of your second year. This includes one "second year paper" - one of the papers from a seminar that you wish to prepare for eventual publication.
- Regular participation in departmental life, including participation in the weekly workshop and active involvement in special meetings, seminars, and other events. Being involved in these activities is a crucial part of your education; Demonstration of proficiency in two languages, one of which may be statistics (this requirement must be met before the Orals Examination may be scheduled).
- Successful passing of the Orals Examination (usually by the end of your third year), demonstrating mastery of the literature in three special sub-fields, each jointly worked out by the student with a faculty member.
- A dissertation proposal approved by a student's adviser within six weeks of passing the Orals.
- At least two years (4 semesters, or 4 courses) of mentored teaching experience (which may receive course credit, at the student's discretion).
- A dissertation, submitted to and accepted and approved by the student's dissertation committee, usually consisting of three members of the faculty, in accordance with University regulations.
Our Placement Record
Although the job market is competitive, our graduates have fared very well over the years. The majority work at universities, and they are members of the faculty at Binghamton, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Pennsylvania State, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Rutgers University, Stanford, the Universities of California, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Amsterdam, Sydney and New South Wales. Others work in museums, archives, research organizations, foundations and for business corporations. Several of our MD-PhD graduates combine careers in medical history and the clinical practice of medicine.
Penn has an outstanding network of alumni who play a key role in helping us place our current students. Faculty in the department have a strong commitment to training students to learn all the skills they will need to be competitive in the academic job market. The Graduate Group prepares scholars for careers not only in academia but also in other fields where knowledge of both technical work and its social and political contexts is valued, including historic preservation, government service, and technology and health policy.