Doctoral Study

The Department of History's PhD programme is aimed at individuals who have already completed a Masters degree in History or a related field and wish to gain further qualifications in advance of pursuing a senior research post in the public or private sector or a career in academia.

Applications are invited from candidates wishing to work in all the major areas of interest covered by the department's research expertise. The particular interests of individual staff are outlined on the faculty pages, many of which also list recently supervised research topics.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact potential advisors early on. They will be happy to give you advice on the feasibility of your research ideas and offer feedback on a draft proposal.

Details of programme

Students aiming for the PhD are registered for the PhD provisionally but may then apply for confirmation of their PhD research status after one year of study.

The MPhil is a research degree in its own right, and requires a dissertation of up to 60,000 words to be submitted by full-time students after a period of two years' study (by part-time students after four years).

The PhD requires a dissertation of up to 90,000 words, to be submitted by full-time students after a period of three years' study (or six years for part-time students), with a further one year allowable for writing up.