Admission to the Graduate Group is suspended for the forseeable future. For further information please contact Dr. Melvyn Hammarberg at (215) 898-0981 or by email at mhammarb@ccat.sas.upenn.edu.
The core of the Graduate Group program consists of a year-long seminar designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the different histories that the different peoples of the different cultures in America have both experienced and produced. In addition, this course offers an introduction to the conceptual tools commonly used in the interpretation of culture and history. Students are also required to take two other courses selected from a varied set of disciplinary offerings. These courses change regularly, but are selected by members of the Graduate Group to provide both a theoretical understanding and knowledge of a disciplinary approach. Beyond these courses, a student selects others that will form a specialty or concentration in American Civilization, drawing specific coursework from related departments, including the history and sociology of science, history of art, landscape architecture and historic preservation, folklore, sociology, political science, anthropology, literature, and history. The faculty members of the Graduate Group engage in a wide spectrum of research and writing on American cultures, and students are encouraged to choose their own areas of specialization in consultation with a faculty member of similar interests.
The Graduate Group in American Civilization welcomes applications from undergraduates in a wide range of fields as well as from professionals, persons seeking new career options, and scholars pursuing advanced work. The application for admission and a current catelogue (at a cost for postage and handling of $5 domestic and $10 international) are available from Graduate Admissions, School of Arts and Sciences, 16 College Hall, Univeristy of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6377. All candidates for admission are required to take the Graduate Record Examination offered by the Educational Testing Service. The University of Pennsylvania's institutional code is 2926 and the American Civilization Program code is 2206. Applicants should take the GRE so that scores reach the Program office by February 15 in the year admission is sought.
Admission of new students commences with the Fall semester only. A new class admitted to the Ph. D. program usually numbers between five and eight students. A small number of others may be admitted to the A. M. program or as submatriculants. Admissions decisions are made by a committee of the Graduate Group in relation to strengths of the applicants and strengths of the faculty participating in the American Civilization Graduate Group.
The Graduate Group has a small number of one-year fellowships available for applicants who have demonstrated excellence in their previous work. Multi-year fellowships are awarded through a university-wide competition. In addition, the Graduate Group has a limited number of teaching assistantships, which are generally awarded to second- or third-year students of outstanding achievement.
The University maintains an Center for Graduate and Professional Student Finance, in the Office of Student Financial Services, 100 Franklin Building, 3451 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6270, which assists in developing a financial plan to meet educational expenses. This center can be reached by phone at (215) 898-1988 or fax at (215) 573-5428. The center provides information on university, federal, and non-university fellowships, loans, jobs and other funding sources.
Graduate instruction and supervision of graduate students are under the governance of the faculty comprising the Graduate Group in American Civilization. A listing of these faculty with brief descriptions of their research interests is provided on the last pages of this handbook. Advisors and advisory committees are generally drawn from among these faculty members, but may include others as well if that best suits the students interests.
Initial advising upon entering the program is usually done by the Graduate Group Chair until such time as the student establishes his or her own intellectual direction and builds faculty advising and mentoring relationships. In consultation with the Graduate Group Chair during the first year of residency, but no later than the Fall term of the second year, an Advisory Committee will be formed to support and guide the student in preparation for the Ph. D. comprehensive examinations, usually taken during the third year. The Advisory Committee will be comprised of a chair and two other members, chosen and formally appointed by the Graduate Group Chair in consultation with the student. The membership of this committee may change as the interests and directions of the student change.
The Chair of the Advisory Committee is responsible for convening the committee as necessary, and should do so at least once a semester.
The course program for the A. M. degree provides a basic substantive survey of the field of American Civilization, directed research, and training in theoretical approaches and methods appropriate to the student's interests. A total of eight (8) course units are required in this and related graduate groups, with the combination of courses to be chosen in consultation with the Graduate Group Chair.
The Master's program ordinarily requires a minimum of two semesters of study in residence, and may involve summer sessions as well. A two-semester proseminar is generally required of all incoming students, with the remaining courses distributed among core disciplinary courses fitted to the students interests, and electives that comprise a specialty concentration. At least one of these courses must include directed research and a major research paper. The Master's examination and Ph. D. preliminary examination will be given prior to the end of classes in the first year, and will require the student to integrate material and ideas across each student's selected set of courses. Each exam will have at least two readers. The A.M. degree will be awarded upon passing the Master's exam and the successful completion of all courses and the major research paper.
The Ph. D. in American Civilization signifies a high level of scholarship and a demonstrated ability to conduct independent research. Following successful completion of the requirements for the Master's degree, a student may be admitted into the Ph. D. program. The total program for the Ph. D. requires twenty (20) course units of study (including the A.M.), selected work in fields of the student's special interest, successful completion of the comprehensive examination, oral defense of the dissertation proposal, and completion of the Ph. D. dissertation and defense.
The course program of study for the Ph. D. degree is developed in consultation with the student's Advisory Committee, which has specific responsibility for framing the student's comprehensive examination. The Ph. D. comprehensive examination is a six-hour written exam over three days, covering three fields--a disciplinary field, a field of theoretical and methodological approaches, and the student's own selected specialty field. Each field will have two readers. The comprehensive examination may not be scheduled until the student has completed at least 16 course units of study (at least 8 of which must be in residence).
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Revised 16 June 1998