Graduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology can pursue PhDs either in History, through its PhD field in History of Science, Medicine and Technology, or in Philosophy, through its PhD field in Philosophy of Science. Students completing the requirements of the HPST program graduate with a diploma stating their concentration in HPST.

All students participating in the program are required to attend the HPST colloquium series and are expected to present their own research at least once in the course of their studies at Stanford. The colloquium series meets three times per quarter as a one-unit course.

All students in the program also take the HPST core graduate seminar (a one quarter, 5-unit course). This course is offered every other year, crosslisted in HPST, History, and Philosophy, and is team-taught by two faculty, one from each department, as an introduction to historical and philosophical perspectives on science and technology.

In alternate years, both History and Philosophy offer their departmental core seminars in history or philosophy of science and technology respectively. PhD students in HPST are required to take the relevant departmental core seminar.

Masters students in either History or Philosophy and students in other programs can also receive statements of concentration in HPST on their diplomas by fulfilling the following requirements:

1. participation in the HPST colloquium series
2. HPST core seminar
3. elective in history of science
4. elective in philosophy of science

PhD IN HISTORY OF SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY

I. Language requirements

All students must have reading knowledge of two foreign languages, certified by either a formal exam or the appropriate level of course completion. For some fields, reading knowledge of additional languages may be necessary to undertake doctoral-level research, so students should consult with their advisors regarding specific languages requirements for their areas of specialization.

II. Course requirements

All students must take the following courses during their first two years in the program:

1. the HPST colloquium series (1 unit per quarter)
2. the HPST core seminar
3. the History Department core seminar in History of Science, Medicine and Technology
4. 4 other courses in the history of science, technology and/or medicine
5. 1 course in the philosophy of science
6. 4 additional courses in a given geographical or national field of research, one of which must be a core course

III. University Oral Examinations

You should plan to take the University Oral Examination by the Winter quarter of your third year. Two of your fields must be within the history and philosophy of science, technology and medicine and one field must cover the geographic or national area in which you plan to do your dissertation research. Your examiners in these three fields must be members of the History Department. You will determine your fourth field in collaboration with your advisor.

In addition to reading lists for each examination field, in preparation for the exam, you will design a syllabus for an introductory lecture class that surveys a broad area of the history of science, technology and/or medicine. You will submit this syllabus to your examination committee for discussion during the exam.

IV. Dissertation

Students begin their dissertations in the third year and should complete them by the fifth or sixth year. This means they will typically devote the fourth year to intensive research off campus. Application deadlines for research funding usually come in the autumn. Therefore, you should aim to have a proposal suitable for such applications ready by the early autumn of your third year. By the end of your third year, you must submit a full dissertation prospectus to your dissertation committee. This committee will consist of your principal dissertation advisor and two additional members of the History Department or, with the permission of your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, you may have a third reader from another department. It often makes sense for students in HPST to have a third reader in the Philosophy Department.

PhD IN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Graduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science pursuing PhDs in Philosophy must fulfill departmental requirements for the PhD and the following requirements for the HPST credential:

1. the HPST colloquium series (1 unit per quarter)
2. the HPST core seminar
3. the Philosophy Department core seminar in Philosophy of Science
4. one elective seminar in the history of science and/or technology
5. one elective seminar in the philosophy of science and/or technology