Oneof the oldest, most prestigious academic programs of its kind in the United States,History of Science, Medicine, and Technology (HSMT) draws together faculty members in History and inMedical History & Bioethics. Collectively, we offer broad coverage of the field, with expertise that spans Europe, the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, stretches from the Middle Ages to the recent past, and ranges across the physical, biological, and social sciences to medicine and technology.
Our degree program in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology is designed to meet the needs of the Ph.D. candidate, and we offer funding only to students who intend to pursue the Ph.D. However, we also welcome applications from students who wish to earn only the M.A. if they have external funding or are self-funded. Students with doctoral training in one of the health professions may earn an M.A. in History of Medicine. It is also possible to earn a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree through the School of Medicine & Public Healths Medical Scientist Training Program and the HSMT degree program.
History of Science, Medicine, and Technology at UWMadison is known for the strength and diversity of its areas of study and its warm, collegial environment. All historical aspects of science, medicine, and technology receive attentionfrom their internal development to their broader institutional, philosophical, religious, and literary contexts, as well as their relationships with print culture, visual culture, and material culture. Students and faculty regularly participate in the programs weekly Brown Bag and monthly colloquium series, both of which provide opportunities to present work, discuss professional issues, and engage with a wide range of on-campus and outside speakers.
Graduate students come to the HSMT degree program from a variety of backgrounds in the sciences and humanities and with diverse professional goals. The program maintains a policy of maximum flexibility and, insofar as possible, tailors the work required for the degree to fit the individual. Students are encouraged to undertake work in related programs such as history, philosophy, science and technology studies, and the various sciences. Joint degrees in HSMT and another degree program are also possible (see below). Our graduates pursue research and teaching careers in the history of science, medical history, history of technology, intellectual and cultural history, science in general education programs, science writing, and museum work.
Students who wish to obtain a joint Ph.D. in History and the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology are initially admitted to one of the degree programs, and should indicate interest in the joint Ph.D. program at that time. After completion of a masters degree in History or History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, the student applies for admission to the other degree program and, at the same time, to a standing committee of the two programs for admission to the joint program.
Having been admitted to the other degree program and to the joint Ph.D. program, the student then applies to the Graduate School for approval of the joint Ph.D. (See the Graduate School's academic policy regardingjoint degreesfor more information and deadlines.) The students application to the standing committee should take the same form as required by the Graduate School and should be prepared in close consultation with department faculty/staff.
Students in the joint Ph.D. program are assigned a home degree program and follow the regulations of that degree program with regard to seminar requirements, language requirements, financial aid, and regulations for satisfactory progress. Since the joint Ph.D. meets the doctoral minor requirement of the Graduate School, no formal minor is required of students receiving a joint Ph.D. However, students who wish to have a minor field recorded on the transcript may complete a regular Option A or Option B minor, or the internal minor of the department.
The joint Ph.D. students work is supervised by a committee consisting of three faculty members (two from the home degree program). The preliminary examinations test the students competence in both history and history of science, medicine, and technology, balancing the material and fields between the two departments (e.g. two in each, or three in one and two in the other). The number of prelim fields must equal the number required of students majoring exclusively in history or in history of science, medicine, and technology, plus one. Preparation of the Ph.D. dissertation is guided by the student's supervising committee. Satisfactory completion and defense of the dissertation constitute the final requirements for the joint Ph.D. degree.
Students in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology degree program who wish to pursue a joint Ph.D. (one degree, two majors) with another degree program must first be admitted to the other degree program. The proposal for the degree must be approved by the Department of History's Graduate Council before it is submitted to the Graduate School. Students admitted to a joint Ph.D. will satisfy all the normal requirements of their field in History except the minor requirement.
In past years, HSMT students have successfully completed a joint Ph.D. with the Philosophy, Classics, Psychology, History, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics degree programs.
For more information on joint Ph.D. options, please contact the graduate program coordinator.
Working under the supervision of a PGWH faculty member, History of Science, Medicine, and Technology students may organize their studies to emphasize gender, womens history, or sexuality. They meet all their HSMT requirements, take the PGWH core seminar on transnational gender history, and take at least two additional History or HSMT graduate seminars that are gender-specific.
Applicants to the HSMT degree program who wish to be considered for the concentration in gender and women's history should indicate this on their Graduate School application.
For more details, seeProgram in Gender and Women's Historyor contact the graduate program coordinator.