Dear Ph.D. Students,

I write to send good wishes as you work to complete whatever assignments/writing goals you might have at the end of the Fall 2022 semester. I also want to offer my personal congratulations to any students graduating this December as well as students who have advanced to candidacy this fall!

In terms of the upcoming Spring 2023 semester, if you are enrolling in HIST 998 and plan to present your prospectus in HIST 810 next semester, please let me know as I am planning the schedule for Ph.D. Colloquium in the coming weeks.

Program Updates:

NEW mid-semester deadline:
In an effort to offer more clarity and efficiency to the doctoral program, Lea Burgess and I have decided to standardize a mid-semester deadline for specific steps in the doctoral curriculum. The deadlines will be March 15 in the Spring semester and October 15 in the Fall Semester.

For example, if you plan to advance to candidacy in Spring 2023, you will need to notify Lea Burgess by March 15, 2023. If you plan to advance to candidacy in Fall 2023, you will need to notify her by October 15, 2023.

Enrolling in HIST 803/804:
Starting in Spring 2023, enrollment in the HIST 803/804 readings courses will be overseen by the Ph.D. Director. Students planning on enrolling in HIST 803 or HIST 804 for Fall 2023 will need to communicate their requests to the Ph.D. Director no later than March 15, 2023.

Students should refrain from making individual requests to faculty for these readings courses as the current system of making these requests individually has led to confusion and an unequal distribution of faculty labor.

When making a request for a HIST 803 or HIST 804, students will be able to communicate their academic needs as well as preferred faculty with whom they would like to study. The Ph.D. Director will make every effort to honor these requests as best as possible. Keep in mind, however, that--in any given semester--certain faculty may not be available to teach HIST 803/804 (e.g. they are going on leave).

Let me conclude that I realize that some of these changes might not be welcome, and I appreciate students' concern. If you have any questions about the new policies, let me know. In the end, our goal is to facilitate students' progress through the program and help students advance to candidacy as efficiently as possible.

Best,
Dr. Smith

Suzanne E. Smith
Professor of History
Ph.D. Director
Department of History and Art History
George Mason University
(571) 748-5556
(703) 993-1251 (fax)

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Author of:
To Serve the Living: Funeral Directors and the African American Way of Death<https://www.amazon.com/Serve-Living-Funeral-Directors-American/dp/0674036212/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496671809&sr=8-1&keywords=To+serve+the+living>
"Dancing in the Street": Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit<https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Street-Cultural-Politics-Detroit/dp/0674005465/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496671837&sr=8-1&keywords=dancing+in+the+street+motown>