Admission and Program Guidelines
Admission Guideline
Full Admission to the History of Technology and Science Program normally
requires graduation from an accredited college or university and class
rank in the upper quarter of the class. Provisional or Restricted Admission
is possible for academically promising applicants. Student admitted
on provisional or restricted status will be required to demonstrate,
during the first year in the program, better-than-average ability in
course work. Graduate College rules state that transfer from Restricted
to Full Admission status usually requires completion of at least ten
semester credit hours of graduate-level courses with a grade point average
of B (3.00) or above.
Applicants must take the general graduate record examination and send
those scores to the Program Director.
Students whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL examination
and send that score to the Program Director. A score of at least 600
or its equivalent is expected to merit consideration for admission to
the program.
Additional information about applying to the HOTS program can be found on the Iowa State University graduate college website dedicated to the program.
Application forms can also be accessed from the Iowa State graduate college web site
Program Guideline
Assistantships:
The Department of History has available teaching assistantships, as
well as opportunities for stand-alone teaching before conferral of the
doctorate, and predoctoral research fellowships, such as the Garst Fellowship
or the Edison Institute Associateship. All applicants will be automatically
considered for financial aid.
Each student will be eligible to hold a teaching or research assistantship
during the four to five years that it takes to complete the Ph.D. program.
The Graduate College specifies that only students with Full or Provisional
Admission status are eligible to hold graduate assistantships. Assistantships
are competitive and merit based; not everyone meeting Graduate College
eligibility standards should expect to receive an award. Upon completion
of the candidacy examination, a student can be considered for the Garst
Dissertation Research Fellowship. HOTS students receiving the Garst
Fellowship cannot hold another position.
Grades:
Students must maintain an average of at least a "B" in all
work taken for graduate credit and a grade of "B" in each
course taken in the Department of History. Course grades, however, are
only a small part of the evaluation of student performance.
Following the mid-term of each spring semester, the Program Director
and the relevant program faculty will review each student's academic,
research and teaching performance. Information from that review will
provide the basis for a formal recommendation to the Chair of the Department
of History concerning the student's continuation in the program and/or
the continuation of an assistantship.
Program Requirements:
The History of Technology and Science Program grants the Master's degree,
which requires a minimum of thirty hours beyond the bachelor's degree,
and the Ph.D., which requires a minimum of forty-two hours beyond the
Master's degree or a total of seventy-two hours of graduate credit for
both degrees. Both Master’s and Ph.D students will conduct an original
research project. All students who pursue graduate degrees must take
an oral examination on their project. Ph.D. students must also pass
candidacy examinations.
The HOTS Program stresses the period since about 1750. It is conceived
from the premise that a close relationship exists between a technology
or science and the culture in which it is pursued or implemented. The
program recognizes that cultural/intellectual history is important in
understanding science or technology history and therefore requires students
to develop competency in either American History or Western Civilization.
Master of Arts Degree:
Before March of the first year in residence, each student must select
a major professor from the HOTS program faculty. The major professor
in conjunction with the student will then select a Program of Study
Committee. In addition to the major professor, the committee will include
a Western Civilization/American History advisor from the faculty in
the history department and a committee member outside the History Department.
The outside faculty member's expertise should be relevant to the student's
area of specialization. The Program of Study Committee should be selected
and the appropriate form filed with the Graduate College in March of
the first year in residence. It is expected that a student will complete
the requirements for the M.A. in two years of residence. Students should
plan their Program of Study accordingly.
The Major Professor, the Program of Study Committee, and the student
will decide the Program of Study for the Master's degree and file the
appropriate forms with the Graduate College no later than May of the
first year in residence.
The M.A. degree requires the writing and successful defense of a Master’s
research essay. This essay counts as a creative component for the Graduate
College, and is defined as a research paper (perhaps built on work done
in a graduate seminar) in which the student demonstrates a mastery of
their scholarly area and the ability to do primary source research.
The thesis topic must be approved by the entire Program of Study Committee,
and the thesis should be completed by May of the second year in residence.
Doctor of Philosophy Degree:
Students need to choose a major professor and in conjunction with that
major professor establish a Ph.D. Program of Study Committee by September
of the first year in residence in the PhD program. In addition to the
major professor, the Ph.D. committee will include an American History/Western
Civilization advisor; a graduate faculty member from outside the department;
and two other faculty members. At least one of these two other members
should be HOTS program faculty. A Ph.D. Program of Study should be filed
by the end of the first semester in residence as a PhD student.
In conjunction with the major professor and the appropriate members
of her/his committee, the student will designate three (3) areas for
Ph.D. study. These areas will generally be 1) the history of technology
or history of science, from the Scientific Revolution or Industrial
Revolution to the present); 2) American history or Western Civilization
post-1700; and 3) a specialized field in the history of science or technology
, (such as the history of 19th century biology) In special cases, the
student and the major professor can designate a specialized field in
general history (such as 20th century international relations).
Each member of the committee, with the student, will develop a reading
list for each field upon which the exams will be based. In addition,
students are expected to be familiar with the broad themes and issues
in their field that are not explicitly represented on the reading list.
Admission to Ph.D. Candidacy Examinations should be taken by the end
of the summer of the second year in residence in the Ph.D. program.
Students will be examined in each of the three Ph.D. areas. Students
will take each of the written examinations on a different day. They
will be given from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM for each examination. A two or
three hour oral examination by all members of the Program of Study committee
will follow a few days after the third written examination. Students
failing all or part of this examination will be required to take it
again no less than six months nor more than twelve months later. If
they fail again, they are removed from the program.
The Ph.D. degree requires the writing and successful defense of a doctoral
dissertation in which the student demonstrates a mastery of their subject
area, the ability to do primary source research, and makes an original
contribution to their scholarly field. The topic of this dissertation
must be approved by the entire Program of Study Committee and by September
of the third year in residence.
Foreign Languages/Research Tools:
This area is left to the discretion of the major professor, in conjunction
with the student. Students who undertake research projects requiring
particular research tools (foreign languages, quantitative methods,
etc.) will be expected to demonstrate competence in those tools.
Core Course Requirements:
Master’s students are expected to complete the following requirements
before the end of their second year in residence. Ph.D. students who
have not fulfilled these or equivalent requirements are expected to
do so as soon as possible. Note that the courses listed for each required
area are examples only: the student’s major professor in conjunction
with the DOGE may approve other qualifying courses.
- All students must take the two semester general surveys of the History
of Technology (574-575) and the History of Science (570-571). These
seminars are to be taken in conjunction with the appropriate undergraduate
lectures (284-285 and 280-281) and should be completed during the
first two years of residency.
- Students must take at least three specialized HOTS courses, such
as Hist 482 History of the Life Sciences and Medicine, Hist 489 History
of American Science, Hist 323 History of Science and Religion, Hist
383 Science and European Public Culture, Hist 388 History of Cosmology,
or other appropriate courses. 300-level courses should be taken as
Hist 590 in conjunction with the undergraduate lectures.
- To provide the beginnings of a solid grounding in either American
History or the History of Western Civilization, the student must take
at least two courses in either area.
Western Civilization courses include Hist 304 Cultural Heritage of
the Ancient World, Hist 305 Cultural Heritage of the Modern World
, Hist 512b Proseminar in Medieval European History, Hist 512c Proseminar
in Modern European History (can be taken twice with different professors),
Hist 583 Historical Methods, or other appropriate courses. 300-level
classes should be taken as Hist 590 in conjunction with the undergraduate
lectures.
American History courses include Hist 462 History of American Thought
From Colonial Times to the Late Nineteenth Century; Hist 463 History
of American Thought Since the Late Nineteenth Century; Hist 351/352
Social and Cultural History of American People I and II, Hist 511b
Proseminar in Nineteenth Century American History; and Hist 511c Proseminar
in Twentieth Century American History, or other appropriate courses.
300-level classes should be taken as Hist 590 in conjunction with
the undergraduate lectures.
- To provide depth and research experience in American History and/or
Western Civilization, students must take at least one research seminar
in these areas.
Appropriate courses include proseminars in American and European history
(Hist 511, 512, 530, 550, 552), Hist 593 Seminar American History,
Hist 594 Seminar in European History (may be taken twice with different
professors); Hist 608 Seminar in European Rural Life; and Hist 610
Seminar in American Rural Life.
- To provide depth and research experience in the History of Technology
and Science, students must take at least three research seminars in
this area.
Appropriate courses include Hist 600 Seminar in Eighteenth Century
Science; Hist 602 Seminar in Nineteenth Century Science; Hist 603
Seminar in Nineteenth Century Technology;
Hist 604 Seminar in American Science; Hist 605 Seminar in American
Technology; Hist 606 Seminar in Twentieth Century Science; and Hist
607 Seminar in Twentieth Century Technology.
- To keep students and the faculty abreast of current work both inside
and outside the profession, students will be asked to register for
and attend Hist 576 Historiography of the History of Technology and
Science one semester each year. Visiting scholars, program and other
faculty and students will present the fruits of their research and
discuss issues of importance to the profession at this occasional
colloquium. Students are expected to present summaries of their masters'
research essays or other work to this group. Hist 576 carries no credit
hours and has no assignments.
Hist 699 may be taken to cover time dedicated to research and writing
for both the MA and PhD thesis. M.A. students may receive credit for
Hist 699 no more than two times. PhD students have no limit.
The remainder of the student's program of study will be determined in
consultation with the program advisor to fit individual needs.
Professional Development:
Ph.D. students are expected, with the support of the HOTS faculty, to
engage in professional development activities to prepare them for the
job market throughout their time in residence. Minimum expectations
include presentation of their research at professional conferences,
demonstration of competence in teaching, and competition for grants,
awards, and fellowships.
- Students should look regularly for conferences and meetings at which
they can present their research. Faculty will suggest meetings and
organize practice presentations. Students should take advantage of
the History 576 Colloquium to present their research within the university.
- The program expects every graduate student to engage in at least
one class of stand alone teaching. Stand alone teaching need not be
done at Iowa State.
- Successful competition for awards and grants is increasingly
important in today’s tight academic job market. Students are expected,
in conjunction with major professors, to develop proposals and
apply for at least two major awards outside the university. The
HOTS faculty will maintain a list of suggested grants, such as
Smithsonian Institution grants, National Science Foundation awards
and American Historical Association/NASA grants.
HOTS Termination Policy:
Students can be dismissed from the HOTS program for failure to perform
satisfactorily, which may be defined as:
- inability or unwillingness to fulfill the duties of and meet the
requirements of the graduate program in a timely manner, including
failure to take qualifying examinations in a timely manner
- inability or unwillingness to share the fruits of research with
others, either in written and/or oral form through professional media
and gatherings
- violating professional canons as expressed in American Historical
Association documents and ethical guidelines
- a semester or more with a GPA for that semester of less than 3.0
Procedure: In each case, the HOTS faculty must notify
the student in writing of his/her deficiencies and then meet to decide
the disposition of the case. The student will be notified in writing
of the outcome.
