How does a PhD work?

A lot of people ask me about my what my PhD is in and what I plan on doing with it.

So I wanted to write a little about how a PhD in history works for the most part and what kind of job I am striving for. So I want to break this down into two parts: The components of a PhD and what kind of job I want or expect.

When one gets a PhD in history there are a lot of factors that come into play. Generally you have one major field and two secondary fields of study – there are some variations, but for the most part this is how most PhD programs work. The major field is a geographic area where your main focus is. The secondary fields are generally a second geographic area and a thematic field. Examples of thematic fields are economic, diplomatic, cultural, science, environmental and world history. Within the last twenty years there are several PhD programs that now offer a thematic as a major field. At KU environmental and women & gender history are some examples. However, this thematic still needs to be tied down to a geographic area, which normally leads to someone selecting two geographic areas as their secondary fields. There are “strategic” reasons for doing this, but lets just drop it cause this is not what I am doing and I probably should of never brought it up.

Before I explain my fields it is important to explain my research and what I am interested in. This will help you understand the fields I choose. The short and sweet version is that I am interested in interactions (cross-cultural exchanges) between Japan and Europe/China during the 16th-19th century. I break this down exchanges into three main categories: environmental (disease, plants, etc.), goods, and knowledge. I am interested in all three, but the two I have focused on are goods and knowledge. I have done a lot of research on the silver trade in Japan and the world during the 16th-18th century and have moved on . . . it was just to boring. Now I am focusing on the exchange of medical and geographic knowledge during the 16th century. I am looking at the first Western style orphanages and hospitals established by the Jesuits and Franciscans in Japan and how Japan absorbed or “discovered” the Americas through knowledge shared by the Europeans. Okay so that is the very basic plot of what I am interested it. I hope you are all alive and did not die from boredom.

Okay so here are my fields:

Major field: East Asian History
Secondary: Modern Europe
World History

But, wait I thought you were studying Japanese history?

I am, but KU does not offer a field in Japanese or Chinese history. There are several universities that do, but his is not one of them. I actually think this is a good thing because it gives me training in Japan and China. However, that Chinese training really only composes of one to two classes . . . lets keep that to ourselves. I will explain more about why this is important later on when I get to the job section. The history department breaks down East Asia into smaller areas so students can focus on a particular region and period. My focuses in on 16th-19th century Japan, though I have had courses and done stuff on all of Japan.

My secondary field in modern Europe has focused on 16th-19th century. I have done a lot of reading and research on Spain and Portugal during this period. But I have had to read a lot of other stuff. I can honestly say I know way to much about Louis XIV then any person should ever have to know. I am interested in European interactions with Japan so knowing more about Spain and Portugal and what is happening their really helps and puts things into perspective. Do you know what three kingdoms make up Spain?

The world history field as a thematic is because I am interested in global interactions and how people interact with each other. For me history is all about interaction – everything is interacting on different levels.

Okay so at KU 30 units for an MA and 33 units for the PhD. Most places you need the MA to get into the PhD. FYI 6 units (two classes) a semester is full-time for a graduate student. 9 units a semester is considered crazy . . . I have been taking 11 since I got here, 2 classes and a 5 credit language class. Put things into perspective I read 56 books last semester. The term reading is very subjective sometimes . . . I am grateful for book reviews. Plus I am trying to learn a language.

Good news if you do the 30 units for the MA at KU it transfers over for the PhD, which means just one more class. For those who come to KU with an MA from somewhere else, they can sometimes count some of their MA class towards their PhD at KU . . . but I think most have to do the 30 units. I am not leaving!!!!!

Okay now that we are done with that job.

I have no clue where I will teach. You just kind got to take the one of the first job offers you can get and then go from there. There is a BIG difference between research and teaching. Some big universities need someone who can just teach 16th-19th century Japan. They generally care less about what you can teach and more about your research. I think my research is interesting and plays into a large field of debate among scholars. But that's just me.

Though, a smaller university may need some one to teach all of East Asia from hunter-gathers to yesterday’s newspaper. With the major field in East Asia it shows I have training in both China and Japan, just keep that one or two class thing to yourself. Also the modern Europe field allows me to say I can teach some European courses. Though I actually would only really want to teach a class on Spain and its Empire, 16th-18th century. The world history field backs up the notion that I not only teach the general world history survey course, but also thematic courses like, disease in history or history of exploration etc. This is a BIG selling point to smaller and liberal arts universities.

Hopefully this explains why I choose my fields, it makes me more marketable and it fits my research. Also if I choose a program with a major field in Japan, then I would have to choose either China or Europe as one of my secondary fields. The set up I have makes me more marketable when I go on the job market.

As far as a type of university I want to work at, well I do not want to teach at a community college. Teaching five or six survey courses each semester I think would eventually drive me insane. Plus you do not have to do research. I am pretty sure I will end up at either a liberal arts school or a smaller university, like a CSU or something along that line. I have no ambition to go to an Ivy League School . . . I prefer keeping my soul. I want to teach somewhere that allows me to teach 2 or 3 classes each semester while allowing me to do my research. I guess we will cross this bridge when it comes about.

One quick note because terms like East Asian and Modern Europe are so broad you generally break it down like this so it's a little more obvious of where you focus is. This is what is on my CV:

Major Field: East Asian History – Early Modern Japan (16th-19th century)
Minor Fields: Early Modern Europe – Iberia (16th-19th century)
World History


Well I hope this explains more about what is involved in the whole PhD process and how it works in relation to getting a job after you are done. I hope this is not confusing.