Doctor of Philosophy in History - Ancient/Medieval History

Vanderbilt boasts a dynamic group of scholars in Ancient and Medieval history. The faculty represent a range of geographic and chronological periods, including the Roman Empire, Ancient/Medieval Syria, medieval Europe, Judaism, Islam and Asia. The faculty share a mutual interest in reconstructing past through rigorous, source-driven historical reconstruction, with specializations in legal, religious, economic, cultural and military history. They work closely with a distinguished cohort of early modern historians, and in collaboration with the programs in Classical and Mediterranean Studies, the Legal History Seminar, Jewish Studies, Women and Gender Studies, the Pre-Modern Cultural Studies seminar (Robert Penn Warren Center), the departments of English, French & Italian, German, Russian and East European Studies, History of Art, and the Graduate Department of Religion.

We welcome applications from potential graduate students interested both in particular subject areas, but also in the questions and methods shared by all historians of pre-modern societies how to work with patchy or fragmentary evidence, how to reconstruct the world of culture and symbols, how to push beyond the learned texts that predominate in our records, and how to ask meaningful questions about the past.
There is no prescribed graduate curriculum, students are invited to craft their own program within the framework of the History Department Ph.D. requirements during coursework. Particular scrutiny is given, in evaluating applications, to a candidate's prior preparation (including knowledge of languages necessary to undertake Ph.D. level research) and a candidate's writing sample. Applicants are encouraged to contact potential supervisors in advance.

Qualified applicants with bachelor\u2019s or comparable non-U.S. degrees are eligible for admission to the Graduate School. Applications from international students with three- year bachelor\u2019s degrees will also be considered. Applicants must upload an unofficial copy of transcripts from prior undergraduate and graduate work as part of their online application for admission. Official transcripts are required only after an offer of admission is made and accepted. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL PBT (paper- based test) is 570, and for the TOEFL iBT (internet- based test), 88. Many programs, however, require a considerably higher level of proficiency. IELTS, the minimum acceptable score will vary by program. In many cases, a score of at least 7.0 is desirable.