The Faculty of History at Oxford is one of the world’s largest centres for graduate studies in history. Oxford’s library and archival resources are unrivalled, and the History Faculty provides an excellent level of expertise over a very wide range of fields, either through its own academic postholders, or through specialists in closely related faculties and departments. Some 450 graduate students work at any one time under the auspices of the History Faculty, and out of numerous applications the Faculty admits in excess of 200 new graduates each year.
The Faculty offers two categories of graduate degrees:
(i) A variety of master’s degrees. The degrees vary in length from 9 to 21 months, consisting of a mixture of course work and a self-motivated dissertation project. All our master’s degrees are designed for postgraduates who wish to deepen their knowledge of a period or area of history and who wish to obtain experience and training in research, these include programmes which allow graduates to familiarize themselves with specialist subject areas and their distinctive methodologies:
- M.St. in Medieval History,
- M.St. and M.Phil. in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies,
- M.St. in Medieval Studies,
- M.St. and M.Phil. in Modern British and European History,
- M.St. in Global and Imperial History,
- M.St. in US History,
- M.Sc. and M.Phil. in Economic and Social History,
- M.Sc. and M.Phil. in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology,
- M.St. in History of Art and Visual Culture,
- M.Sc. in English Local History, and
- M.St. in Women’s Studies.
(ii) Research programmes. The History Faculty offers two advanced research degrees, the Master of Letters and the Doctor of Philosophy in all areas of post-Classical history. These degrees are granted on successful completion and defence of an individual research thesis.
Applicants for doctoral degrees are expected to have completed a postgraduate master’s course or the equivalent before starting the programme (in European terms: M2 level). If you are uncertain whether your qualifications are sufficient to allow you to embark on an advanced research programme, please consult the History Graduate Office. When we think that an otherwise promising applicant requires strictly limited further training to embark on a doctoral programme, we may offer a doctoral place but require that the student successfully complete a relevant element of one of our master’s courses before attempting ‘transfer’ to full doctoral status. (Details of standard ‘transfer’ procedures are supplied under the link above).
All graduate students in History normally have not only a supervisor but also an additional faculty advisor; Oxford’s depth of strength in the area means that often both are experts in the chosen research field, able to contribute to the shaping of the research project.
Every student also belongs to a college, which will usually appoint one of its History fellows or lecturers to provide pastoral oversight and general academic advice as an in-college tutor. Details of the history staff at colleges and their academic interests can often be obtained from college websites, which will also be of more general assistance in choosing to which colleges to apply. However, there is no presumption that graduate students should be at the same college as their expert supervisor; most in fact are not.
- An idea of the scope of the graduate school in History may be gained from the Faculty’s research interests and activities.
- For application procedures, admissions requirements, and application deadlines please consult the Faculty's detailed admissions information.
- If you do not intend to read for an Oxford graduate degree but nevertheless would be interested to work for up to three terms in Oxford, under expert guidance by an Oxford historian your are welcome to apply for Recognized Student status. Such an application is assessed by experts in your field of study/research, and if the Faculty agrees to admit you to this status it will appoint an academic advisor who will guide your research while you are at Oxford.
In addition, we also provide on-line Programme Specifications and Statements of Provision for all graduate programmes in History.
