The Doctoral Programme in History

 The aim of the studies   |  The structure of the studies  | Practices in supervision/Agreement on supervision

Professor in charge: Irma Sulkunen

The Aim of the Degree

The aim of the doctoral programme in History is to produce researchers who are qualified to analyse social and cultural phenomena in a historical context. This means especially understanding historical change – in other words, comparing historical phenomena in terms of time, location and concepts. Critical historical knowledge is a key to understanding the contemporary world and the world of the future. A doctoral degree in History gives the graduate the skills to work as a researcher and in various duties in administration, education and the civic society, where most of our graduates are employed.

The research subjects of history students are broad and manifold, but they tend to concentrate in the strong fields of the discipline: the history of modernisation and the civic society, international interaction, and the history of everyday life in Finland and early Europe. The doctoral programme has a unique profile focused on social history and emphasising temporal and regional comparison, as well as stressing methodological and theoretical knowledge.

Number of students: About 85 students in 2012, half of whom are active. Four to five new students are accepted each year.

Degrees: The goal is to award three doctoral degrees in History every year, which has been exceeded in recent years.

Resources: There are four Professors and four University Lecturers in the discipline in History, all of whom participate in postgraduate education. In addition, there is a professor in North American Studies, as well as and Docents and other Senior Researchers. The University of Tampere coordinates the national doctoral programme in History (funded previously by the Academy of Finland), and hosts the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Historical Research, which also supports postgraduate studies.

The Structure of the Studies

The studies of the doctoral programme in History consist of three modules as follows:

1.      Joint doctoral studies 20 – 30 ECTS
2.      Broad and profound knowledge of the student’s own discipline and research subject 30–40 ECTS
3.      Dissertation 180 ECTS

1. Joint doctoral studies 20 – 30 ECTS

Joint doctoral studies are compulsory: students must earn at least 20 ECTS for this module, mostly according to the curriculum of the University’s Doctoral School. Doctoral students in History are required to take the courses entitled ‘Research Ethics’ (5 ECTS) and ‘Philosophy of Science’ (5 ECTS). The remainder (10-20 ECTS) consists of optional studies that students and their supervisors agree the student should take.

2. Broad and profound knowledge of the student’s own discipline and research subject 30 - 40 ECTS

Studies in the student’s own discipline (History) consist of attending the doctoral seminar over several terms and of optional studies that support the student in writing his or her dissertation.

Working in the seminar (15 ECTS) means attending a seminar for postgraduate students organised by the discipline and, in addition, attending a themed seminar chosen according to the student’s research topic.

A joint seminar for all doctoral students is organised twice a year, in the autumn and spring terms. In these seminars, each doctoral student presents his/her research three times as follows: 1) a research plan, 2) a presentation of the methods and 3) a presentation of the dissertation itself after the manuscript is ready.

The theme seminars (research groups) in which the students present their research are held regularly during the semesters. Doctoral students are required to attend the joint doctoral seminars and the theme seminars regularly for three years.

Other studies (at least 15 ECTS) are divided into modules (a-d below), and students must earn credits in at least three of the modules (5 ECTS each). What exactly these studies consist of is agreed upon between student and supervisor.

a)      Participating in the teaching of the student’s own discipline (5 ECTS)

b)      Participating in national or international postgraduate studies (one or two postgraduate courses equal 5 ECTS)

c)      Scientific publishing (one refereed scientific publication equals 5 ECTS)

d)      Presentations at scientific conferences (two scientific presentations equal 5 ECTS)

3. Dissertation 180 ECTS

A dissertation is an independent work of scientific research written on a topic accepted by the School. Writing a dissertation requires full-time work for about three years. The recommended length of a monograph is approximately 250 pages

Supervision Practices and Supervision Agreement

Each doctoral student has two to three supervisors, at least one of whom is a Professor. The other supervisors can be Docents or people with corresponding qualifications. A research discussion in which the student and all his or her supervisors participate is organised once a year.