gates then received an m.a. in history from indiana university bloomington in 1966. he completed his ph.d. in russian and soviet history at georgetown university in 1974. the title of his georgetown doctoral dissertation is "soviet sinology: an untapped source for kremlin views and disputes relating to contemporary events in china" and is available from university microfilms international as document number 7421652. he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from william & mary (1998), the university of oklahoma (2011), georgetown university (2014) and an honorary doctorate award from kansas state university (2012).