St. John's University

What you'll study

The PhD combines advanced coursework, language training, comprehensive examinations and an original doctoral dissertation on a topic in medieval or early modern European cultural history. Students follow a customised programme of seminars and research modules that explore themes such as religious practice and devotional culture, book history and print culture, urban and courtly life, material culture and visual arts, intellectual and intellectual networks, and the social history of knowledge.

• Core seminars: advanced historiography, research methods for early modern and medieval studies, and seminars on comparative cultural approaches.
• Specialist modules: focused courses on topics such as monasticism and reform, the history of the book, gender and family in medieval Europe, early modern political culture, and science and medicine before the eighteenth century.
• Language training: supervised training in relevant research languages (commonly Latin, Medieval/ Early Modern French, German, Italian, Spanish, or other regional languages) to the level required for primary-source work.
• Research preparation: methods workshops in palaeography, codicology, archival practice, digital humanities tools for historians, and grant-writing for research and travel.
• Comprehensive exams and prospectus: preparation and oral/ written examinations that lead to the approval of a dissertation prospectus.
• Doctoral dissertation: independent original research, typically based on primary archival or manuscript sources, culminating in a substantive dissertation and an oral defence.
• Teaching and professional development: opportunities to teach undergraduate modules, to present at departmental research seminars and conferences, and to gain experience in public history, curatorial practice or digital projects.

Entry requirements

Applicants are expected to hold a recognised master’s degree in history or a closely related discipline, with evidence of high academic achievement and prior research training. A strong application will normally include:

• Transcripts showing graduate-level coursework in relevant subjects.
• A research statement or proposal that outlines a feasible doctoral project in medieval or early modern European cultural history.
• A writing sample such as a chapter of a master’s thesis or a published article demonstrating archival engagement and historiographical awareness.
• Letters of recommendation from academic referees who can speak to your research potential.
• Evidence of language competence in one or more research languages, or a plan for attaining it in the early stages of the programme.

Admissions may also consider professional experience in archives, museums or heritage organisations. Applicants whose first language is not English will need to meet the university’s English language requirements.

Career prospects

Graduates go on to careers across academia, cultural institutions and beyond. Typical outcomes include university teaching and postdoctoral research, museum and archive curation, special collections librarianship, heritage management, publishing and historical consultancy. The programme’s emphasis on language skills, primary-source research and public-facing projects also prepares graduates for roles in cultural policy, education, digital humanities, and research management within non-profit or governmental organisations.

Why study at St. John's University

St. John’s offers a faculty with active research interests in medieval and early modern Europe and a supportive supervisory model that emphasises close mentorship and interdisciplinary collaboration. Doctoral students benefit from access to the university’s libraries and special collections, and from proximity to the wide archival and museum resources of the New York region for comparative and primary-source research. The university’s Vincentian tradition fosters community engagement and opportunities for public history work, while departmental seminars and research networks give students regular forums to present work and develop professional skills. The programme also encourages external fellowships, archival fellowships abroad, and collaborative projects that broaden career-ready competencies beyond the dissertation.