C.1 Maps and directions
C.2 Some sources of information about the university and faculty
C.3 Libraries and other information resources
C.4 Research support and training
C.5 Professional development opportunities
C.6 Social facilities
C.7 Counselling

 

C.1 Maps and directions

Online maps of the University of Oxford show colleges and private halls, departments and museums and places of interest, the History Faculty is marked as number 21 on the departmental map. We (appropriately) provide a historical map for locating the History Faculty building and a pathfinder to administrative offices and seminar room within the Faculty building.

C.2 Some sources of information about the university and faculty

Key websites

Faculty homepage:  http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/
Prospective graduates: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/prosgrad/index.htm
Current graduates:  http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/postgrad/
Areas of research activity:  http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/research/
Lectures and seminars:  http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/lecturelist/

Weblearn: http://www.weblearn.ox.ac.uk/bodington/site/  has a special History section, where notices, bibliographies etc may be mounted. Not much used at present, but we have plans to develop its use for course-related information and information about graduate-run seminars.

University homepage: http://www.ox.ac.uk/
University Graduate Studies website: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/gso/

Noticeboards

News of seminars, conferences, job vacancies etc is displayed on noticeboards in:

• the History Faculty building
• the Old Bodleian Library (up staircase on right-hand side as you enter the building)

 

University publications:

Examination Regulations.

Published annually, and your personal copy is provided for you by your College. This is often referred to as the Grey Book and it constitutes the binding record of the University's requirements and regulative structures for reading for and being formally assessed for your degree programme. Keep your copy handy for reference, but keep in mind that this is a legal document, and that you may therefore need to consult administrative officers of the University in order to understand fully the dependencies between general and course-specific regulations.

The Oxford University Calendar.

Published annually, this contains a full list of all teachers in the University.

The Oxford University Gazette (also http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/ ).

Published weekly in term, the Oxford University Gazette contains official information of various kinds: full lecture lists and changes in times of lectures, forthcoming syllabus changes, alterations in procedure, etc. Supplements giving details of appointments vacant in the University of Oxford, and some other universities and institutions, appear throughout the term. Copies of the Gazette are generally available in Middle and Junior Common Rooms, and in the Lower Reading Room in the Bodleian Library, where the Cambridge equivalent, The Reporter, is also kept.

 

C.3 Libraries and other information resources

C.3.1 Libraries and archives

C.3.1.1 University libraries and archives (see also http://www.ox.ac.uk/libraries/ )

The libraries of Oxford are rich in resources for the study of all periods of medieval and modern history. Though no central catalogue covers them all, many of the individual libraries now register new acquisitions with a university-wide On-Line-Catalogue (http://www.lib.ox.ac.uk/olis/), and some are in the process of converting their old card catalogues for computerised access.

IT and copying, printing and scanning self-service is provided in all libraries (see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/services/copy/copying)

For an overview of History collections and services, see http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/libraries/subjects/history.

The libraries of special interest for historians fall into four main categories.

(i) The Bodleian Library (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley) is the main University library, and one of the chief glories of the University. As a Legal Deposit Library it has long collected copies of most works published in the United Kingdom, in addition to an extensive range of foreign publications. Since it is not a lending library, its holdings are quickly available on request.

The Bodleian’s vast range of early printed books, medieval and modern manuscripts and specialised periodicals offer unique opportunities for historical research. Among the Bodleian’s dependent libraries devoted to particular branches of history are the Rhodes House Library (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/rhodes) (which specialises in British Empire / Commonwealth), the Vere Harmsworth Library, Rothermere American Institute (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/vhl) (history and politics of the United States), the Radcliffe Science Library (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/science/) (history of the theoretical, biological, and physical sciences, medicine and technology), the Law Library (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/law) (legal and constitutional history, criminology, Hansard series).

(ii) Faculty libraries. There is a good collection of historical works, journals and printed sources in the History Faculty Library  (HFL) (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/history) with open access and many items available for borrowing. The Social Science Library (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ssl) is invaluable for the study of near-contemporary economic, political and international history, as also is the collection in the library of the Institute of Economics and Statistics. 

(iii) College libraries. Many of these are rich in both manuscripts and printed books, especially in the early modern period. For more recent periods the Codrington Library (http://www.all-souls.ox.ac.uk/library/) in All Souls College is strong in some branches, particularly military or diplomatic history; the library of Nuffield College (http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/library/) has extensive materials for the study of modern political theory and institutions, economic and military history; St Antony’s College library (http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/libraries), with those of its various centres for area studies, offers resources for studying Russian and East European, Middle and Far Eastern, Latin American, Japanese and Indian history. Most of these collections are open to non-members of the college concerned, with the Librarian’s permission. There are also numerous libraries and archives some fifty miles away in London, such as the Public Records Office, the British Library, the British Library of Political and Economic Science, and those of the Royal Commonwealth Society and Institute of Historical Research.

(iv) Specialised institutes and centres. - Many specialist study centres in Oxford organise seminars of interest to graduate students in History in their particular areas or fields, and their work is underpinned by their own collections which are usually accessible for graduate students in Modern History. Such centres comprise among others, the collection in the Museum of the History of Science on Broad Street (http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/library), the Taylor Institution (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/taylor/) (concerning the literature but also the history of European countries), the Ashmolean Museum (http://www.ashmolean.org) and the adjacent Sackler Library (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/sackler) ( books and materials on archaeology, ancient history and fine art), Pusey House library (http://www.puseyhouse.org.uk/library) (church history), the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine (http://www.wuhmo.ox.ac.uk/), the Department of the History of Art (http://www.hoa.ox.ac.uk/resources) (Western art since the middle ages), the Maison Française (http://www.mfo.ac.uk/resources/library) (French history and literature), and the Oriental Institute (http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/oil). Queen Elizabeth House library, housed in the Social Sciences Library (see above) has specialist collections on the recent history of developments in the 'Third World' and European agriculture. 

C.3.1.2 Some lending libraries outside the University

The Oxford Union Society (St Michael's Street) has a good library, open to members only (see http://www.oxford-union.org/library). It is fairly strong in literary works, and there are some useful runs of nineteenth-century periodicals and newspapers.

Oxford Central Public Library (Westgate) [https://www.libcat.oxfordshire.gov.uk] has little of historical relevance on its open shelves, but more can be ordered fairly quickly. There is, however, a special section for local history and genealogical research on its gallery floor [contact: oxfordshire.studies@oxfordshire.gov.uk].

C.3.1.3   Some other nearby libraries and archives

Libraries and archives in London include:

The British Library: http://www.bl.uk/

The National Archives: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

The British Library of Political and Economic Science: http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/

The Institute of Historical Research [IHR] (which also hosts graduate seminars for the University of London): http://www.history.ac.uk/

For libraries and archives in Cambridge University Library: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/
Note especially their collection of the Royal Commonwealth Society: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rcs.

C.3.2 Electronic information resources

The University subscribes to a very large collection of electronic information resources, most of which can be accessed by university members anywhere in the world.

For a collection of links to public and subscription resources, see: http://oxlip-plus.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

For off-site access for University members, see: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/eresources/remote_access

Links to specialist portals and web resources for history:

Intute catalogue of on-line humanities resources (formerly Humbul): http://www.intute.ac.uk/humanities

HFL Delicious bookmarks: http://www.delicious.com/HFLOxford

Electronic catalogues and collections maintained by the University for general use:

Oxford Text Archive: http://ota.ahds.ac.uk

Of special practical interest to graduates may be:

List of Teachers of History in the UK:
http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Resources/Teachers/index.html
List of History Theses in Progress (and recently completed):
http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Resources/Theses/index.html
Jobs in research, science, academic and related professions:
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/
http://www.h-net.org/jobs/

Of interest to graduates from the faculty’s undergraduate website may be:

Collection of bibliographies to support undergraduate history teaching (including bibliographies surveying all periods of modern British and European history), also of possible interest to graduates wanting to develop their background knowledge:
http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/bibliographies/bibliographies.htm
Surveys of printed and manuscript sources in a variety of fields, compiled for the guidance of undergraduate writers of dissertations, but also of possible interest to graduates:
http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/currentunder/honours/history/theses/index.htm

 

C.4 Research support and training

For a university-wide searchable database of training opportunities, see ‘the Skills Portal’: www.skillsportal.ox.ac.uk. This brings together a range of information about transferable skills development and has details of skills training courses, seminars and workshops offered throughout the university in a searchable database. There are links to online resources and tips on subjects such as project management and teaching skills. It also gives advice on getting the most from your time at Oxford and putting yourself in the best possible position to succeed in your career, whatever it might be. The Skills Portal Forum is the place to ask questions, discuss issues with other researchers and make your views known to the people who organise the training.

Information on training organised by or for the History Faculty is also provided on the Graduate Noticeboard, and in the termly Lecture List: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/lecturelist/index.htm.

Some handouts, further contact information, and exercises for further familiarization with electronic resources are routinely mounted as graduate training and induction resources on WebLearn.

History graduate students are encouraged periodically to assess their own training needs, and make them the subject of discussion with their supervisors. For the faculty’s training self-assessment forms, see Useful forms.

Some further information on some forms of training of interest to historians is provided below. For training to teach, see the Professional Development section.

Some on-line training-related resources of interest to historians:

http://www.arts-scheme.co.uk/ - on-line tutorial on archives

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/academic/default.htm?source=ddmenu_re - academic research guidance of the National Archives

http://ahds.ac.uk/ - guides to creating and using digital resources (see both their Guides to Good Practice, which focus on the creation of digital resources, and their ICT guides, more oriented to beginners, which give examples of projects and discuss their use)

http://www.tall.ox.ac.uk/plagiarism - Oxford University's graduate guide to good practice in avoiding plagiarism; includes self-assessment test

 

C.4.1 Information and computing technology

Faculty graduate computing services

The faculty graduate computing room, in the Faculty Building, has 17 workstations equipped with the following software:

Office XP, including Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint
Endnote 6
Internet Explorer
Access to linux.ox. service
There is an A3/A4 printer. Printing is charged per sheet, and bills are sent to students in colleges.

For initial access to the facilities, and to acquire a user ID, contact the faculty’s IT officer, who is frequently available in the computing room during the first few weeks of each academic year.
See also http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/faculty/it/index.htm

University computing facilities, services and training

The University Computing Services are housed at 13 Banbury Road. For details of their facilities, services and training courses.

C.4.2   Language learning

The faculty is keen to support the development of students’ language learning. Both the university and the faculty organise a range of classes; there are facilities for independent study, and it is sometimes possible to organise or fund additional provision. Please note that in general teaching is envisaged as accompanying and supporting students’ independent study: the aim is not to coach, but to support students’ learning.

Language Centre

The Language Centre (http://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/) at 12 Woodstock Road (telephone: (2)83360), provides both courses and a very large collection of audio and video cassettes and equipment for individual study. The excellent facilities are available free of charge to graduate students. The pressure on places in the classes is considerable, and you are urged to register for whatever course you wish to follow as soon as possible after enrolments begin, in Nought Week of Michaelmas Term: for non-native speakers who wish to improve their English there are a variety of courses in English for Academic Studies (see http://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/eas ). Note also their pre-sessional courses, held in July to September (link on webpage cited above). There are also classes (all of them lasting a full year) in French, German, modern Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Welsh, and English as a Foreign Language. The Library and Language Laboratory have facilities for the independent study of some 130 languages.

The Faculty attaches great importance to the acquisition of appropriate language skills, and you are urged to make full use of the opportunities that are offered for this purpose.

The faculty organises some special language courses for historians: see the graduate section of the Lecture list (http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/lecturelist/index.htm)

South Asian Languages

The Inter-Faculty Committee for South Asian Studies has some funds to help with tuition in South Asian Languages; applications for assistance are to be made to the Secretary of the Inter-Faculty Committee at the Oriental Institute. There is also a Hindi teacher at the Oriental Institute.

Latin

Probationer Research Students in medieval history (and other research students, if places are available) may register for a three-week pre-term language course, which is held each year if there is enough demand. Students are expected to undertake some preparatory independent study, and to possess some knowledge of the language; levels of competence are assessed in an initial diagnostic test. All newly admitted medieval graduate students will be circularised as a matter of course; any other interested students should contact graduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk.

For Latin teaching during term, see the graduate section of the Lecture list (http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/lecturelist/index.htm).

Other language learning needs

It is sometimes possible to arrange or fund other forms of language study. Supervisors may apply for Special Tuition funds to pay for language teaching for a student who has special needs, e.g., for tuition in an unusual language. But we ask supervisors and students to communicate with the Graduate Office before making any such arrangements, since it may be possible to organize provisions for several students who, unknown to each other, have common needs.

 

C.4.3   Palaeography

Medieval

Training in the use of original documents depends on students' familiarity with the languages in which the documents to be studied were written. The course concentrates on documents in Latin, the language of most widespread medieval use.

Reading Medieval Documents (12 classes) aims to introduce students to the study of original documents and of enrolled copies from the late eleventh century to the fifteenth century. Documents are studied in batches that illustrate a particular point about the making or use of records. Acquiring a facility in reading the documents, including the abbreviations and contractions in regular use, is the main aim of the course. The examples used, however, are selected to illustrate the principal forms of document, both official and private, in use in England during the period. This course is offered at the beginning of the Michaelmas term so that those who need to pursue their research in archives can make a start early in the year.

Overview of the history of writing 450-1500 (8 lectures). This course is an outline introduction to the potential of palaeography for dating and locating books and documents from their style of writing. It cannot cover the whole medieval period in sufficient detail to represent a training in palaeography, but it lays a foundation for students to acquire higher palaeographical skill in their particular areas of interest, and it enables them to understand palaeographical reasoning when they encounter it in secondary literature relating to manuscripts and texts.

Principles of Diplomatic (8 lectures). This course outlines the methods of diplomatic both in working out the implicit meaning of a class of documents and in testing the authenticity of individual documents. It considers how documents were produced and what influenced the forms in use. The historic unity of the European diplomatic tradition is illustrated, though the course is conducted at the general level rather than considering the special features of particular diplomatic forms. How to date undated documents and the range of chronological systems used in medieval Europe are also covered. The last lecture includes examples of the testing of documents to unmask forgery in the middle ages as well as the application of diplomatic criticism by modern scholars.

English Royal Diplomatic 990-1216 (8 two-hour lectures). A course in special diplomatic, focused on a period when the documents under review are particularly important as historical sources and when changing habits in documentary practice make the period an especially rich subject for diplomatic study. The course traces the last generations of the Anglo-Saxon royal diploma, the emergence of the Old English writ and its adoption in Latin by Anglo-Norman kings, the evolution from it of the writ-charter during the period 1070 to 1170, and its gradual eclipse by the charter generally addressed, which was the dominant form of royal grant from Henry II's time until the fourteenth century. The influence of Norman tradition in England and the extent of beneficiary diplomatic are dealt with. The course also covers the growth of central offices of government, the Exchequer and its records, in particular the twelfth-century pipe rolls, and the Chancery through the period when Chancery enrolments begin and diversify, until their temporary suspension on the death of King John.

Early modern

 

C.4.4 Research training opportunities outside Oxford

Training offered at the Institute of Historical Research, London: http://www.history.ac.uk/training/

While much of what is offered here replicates the kind of provision also available in Oxford, the Institute does offer some distinctive training courses. Some funding is available to support attendance by students holding AHRC or ESRC awards: enquire at graduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk.

Free research advice for Readers at the British Library, London:
http://www.bl.uk/services/reading/bulletin2007sep.html#advice

 

 

C.5 Professional development opportunities

C.5.1  Training to teach

Faculty training and induction into teaching

The Faculty aims to make available to all interested research students the opportunity to gain at least minimal acquaintance with issues that arise in the teaching of undergraduates. Interested and qualified students who have the support of their supervisors may gain a range of basic teaching experience.

Negotiations are also underway between the University and the Higher Education Academy for the development of a university-wide scheme that would allow students to gain HEA accreditation: this scheme is open to students who have completed what the University terms ‘stages 1 and 2’ of teaching induction. For the university scheme, see http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/cetl.php?page=54. What these equate to in the History Faculty’s programme is noted below.

The faculty’s programme is currently as follows:

(i) Introductory training session (equates to 'stage 1' in the university scheme)

All research students are invited in the course of their PRS year to register for a one-day session ‘Introduction to teaching’, before the start of either Michaelmas or Hilary Terms in the following year. Supervisors must support the student’s application, but in most cases, this will be an appropriate use of time for interested students at this stage. For the standard invitation letter and application form see HGO.91.

The session aims to provide an introduction to teaching in the context especially of class teaching. It is conducted by professionals from the Learning Institute, together with Senior Members of the Faculty who can provide subject-specific advice and also convey their experience in teaching undergraduates. It involves a small amount of preparatory reading. This session may be of interest even to graduates who do not immediately wish to gain practical experience in teaching: it may, for example, feed into their thinking about whether they are interested in pursuing an academic career.

Any more advanced research student who was not available or did not choose to sign-up for this session when first invited may request to attend in a later year: download HGO.91 and send it in by the due date (early May).

(ii) Induction into teaching (equates to 'stage 2' in the university scheme)

Students who have attended this introductory session may choose to proceed into our programme of induction into teaching. Again, the supervisor’s support is needed. Since the level of demand on the student will be tailored to take account of his or her background and experience, it is hoped that this will prove a manageable burden in most cases, but it may be that some students will be better advised not to take time out from their research at this stage; some will be conducting research elsewhere and so be unable to participate in the first instance. Students should indicate their desire to follow the initial training with induction at the point when they apply for the training session. If, having taken the training session in a preceding year  a student subsequently wishes to apply for induction, he or she should fill in relevant parts of HGO.91, and send it in by the due date (early May)

Teaching induction involves attending either some form of undergraduate class (eg, Further or Special Subject classes – for which see https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/hierarchy/humdiv/histfac – or a series of tutorials. The presiding tutor will give the student some role in the teaching of these classes or tutorials, tailored to their knowledge and experience.

The Faculty’s Undergraduate Coordinator will arrange teaching allocations. Lists of these allocations, when they are agreed, will be posted on the Graduate Noticeboard, shortly before the start of Michaelmas Term. Students allocated will normally be contacted before the start of the relevant term by the tutor with whom they will work to confirm arrangements

Students are asked, on completing the induction programme, to write a report on what they have learnt; it is also hoped that they will be given feedback from the supervising tutor and from participating students. If the relevant Senior Member confirms that the student’s participation was successful, the entire report will be incorporated into the student’s file. At the student’s request, the Graduate Office will send a copy of this report to a potential academic employer, confirming that the student has successfully completed the various elements of training in teaching skills provided for graduates. For this report form, see HGO.92.

(iii) Further training

Those who wish to proceed to further training may subsequently wish to sign up for sessions jointly organised by the faculty and Learning Institute on tutorial teaching and lecturing. These will normally be scheduled at the start of Trinity Term. They are recommended for any student who has the chance to undertake tutorial teaching or lecturing.  It may be possible to arrange for interested students to observe and participate in tutorial teaching at this stage. If you would like to attend one of these further training sessions, and to apply for the chance to observe and perhaps teach some tutorials, complete HGO.93.

HEA accreditation

Students who complete stages 1 and 2 and undertake some related reading and writing may qualify for accreditation as ‘associate practitioners’ with the national Higher Education Academy (http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/). Note that one advantage of this is that it will probably exempt the student from some of the training requirements to which he or she might otherwise be subject if employed at another UK university. In addition to attending one or more training courses and gaining some direct experience of teaching in higher education, students who aim at accreditation must do some reading in educational literature, and complete a small ‘portfolio’ reflecting on their experience. Further information as to how to gain accreditation is offered during the training sessions, and the Faculty's coordinator of the teaching induction is happy to be consulted on questions arising from the preparation of the portfolio.

Teaching opportunities and Tutorial Register

Undergraduate teaching at Oxford takes three main forms: classes, tutorials and lectures. (For documentation relating to undergraduate teaching, see https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/hierarchy/humdiv/histfac).

The primary opportunity for gaining experience in class teaching is through the scheme outlined above.

Access to tutorial teaching opportunities normally comes via this induction scheme. Students who both attend the training session and are then inducted into either class or tutorial teaching may apply to be included on the Tutorial Register: a list of those offering undergraduate teaching which is circulated annually to all college senior history tutors, to assist them in arranging teaching. Since taking sole responsibility for tutoring undergraduates is time-consuming, demanding and must be done to a high standard, research students should not offer their services lightly, and may not do so without the approval of various other parties. The faculty will seek the consent of both the student’s supervisor and the convenor of the paper(s) they wish to teach before including their name on the Register. To apply to be listed on the tutorial register, complete HGO.94.

Students who have undertaken Oxford tutorial or other teaching, which they think have given them an equivalent foundation of experience, should apply on the same form. All such cases will be considered on their merits. Such students should however also apply to attend one of the faculty’s training sessions, on forms HGO.91 or HGO.93.

Being included on the Register does not guarantee offers of teaching: the arrangement of undergraduate teaching falls in the first instance upon tutors in individual colleges. Graduates who are keen to teach are encouraged to alert tutors known to them, including those with whom they have contact through research-related activity to their interest in teaching.

Opportunities for graduates to give undergraduate lectures are not currently well developed, though an experiment has been run in which a postholder has organised a series of lectures, aimed at finalists, each given by a graduate student on a topic arising out of their research. The postholder attended each lecture and gave feedback to the graduate presenters. The faculty would be happy to approve other such ventures.

In any given year, several colleges will usually advertise college lectureships. These are often awarded to advanced graduates or postgraduates, with some experience of teaching, and typically entail several hours of teaching per week, for a variety of courses, for a small stipend. Such positions are usually advertised in the University Gazette (http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/).

Advice and assistance

The first point of call for graduates who want advice and assistance on issues that arise in relation to their undergraduate teaching will normally be the inducting tutor or, in the case of graduates teaching independently, the commissioning tutor or perhaps the graduate’s own supervisor. If these are unable to help, or if a graduate needs independent advice, they may contact the Undergraduate Coordinator (see

https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/access/content/group/fb10fe25-e21a-43e4-872d-71fa286ec964/committee/usc/Undergraduate_Studies_Committee_members.pdf).

Important note on over-teaching

The primary intention of the faculty in providing opportunities for graduates to teach is to aid the graduate’s own development. Although graduates also augment the faculty’s own teaching strength, it is neither the intention nor in the interests of the faculty that graduates should teach so heavily as to overstretch themselves, or so as to impede the progress of their studies. Graduates are warned against committing themselves to more teaching than they can comfortably manage: graduates beginning to teach independently should not aim to teach more than two papers a year, or to take on more than two tutorial pairs at a time; experienced graduates should not normally accept more than three hours teaching in any one term, and should not accept this much unless their thesis is very well in hand (six hours is the recommended maximum for postdoctoral students). Always try to keep at least one term entirely free for research. Any graduate who feels under pressure from any quarter to take on teaching which they would rather refuse is welcome to contact current.graduates@history.ox.ac.uk for advice and assistance.

More advanced training

The Learning Institute (http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk) hosts a Centre of Excellence in Preparing for Academic Practice (http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/oli.php?page=54), which works with the History Faculty in developing training for graduate students.

The Institute also runs a series of training sessions on aspects of teaching, primarily aimed at those of postdoctoral and higher status. It also offers a Postgraduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, similarly designed for those of postdoctoral or higher status, which qualifies those who take it for membership of the Higher Education Academy.

Other documentation and useful links

For the Institute’s own learning and teaching ‘papers’, and links to other sources of information about teaching and training, see:
http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/oli.php?page=9

For the History subject centre within the Higher Education Academy, see http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/hca/, and for its tutor and student guides, http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/hca/themes/practice.

For information on American ‘preparing future faculty’ programmes: http://www.preparing-faculty.org/

 

C.5.2  Graduate-run seminars

Graduates are encouraged to supplement the faculty’s own reading groups and research seminars with seminars of their own, whether devoted to the discussion of work of common interest; the presentation of members’ own research, or discussion of the work of invited speakers. Commonly, several of these operate in any given year.

Funding

Graduates who plan to organise seminars may apply for a small contribution to speakers’ travel or entertainment costs from the faculty. Applications must be made to the faculty Teaching Committee by week 6 of the preceding term: see http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/faculty/teaching/teaching_applying_for_funds.htm for instructions and an application form.

Publicising seminars

Graduate-run seminars may be advertised on faculty noticeboards. To have information displayed in the Faculty, send your notice to the History Graduate Office (or graduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk).

The existence of a seminar or its programme for the term may be publicised via the faculty Lecture List (http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/lecturelist/index.htm) or Lectures and Seminars webpage (http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/seminars/index.htm).

• to get on the Lecture List: any graduate-run seminar which has regular meetings and can specify a time and place well in advance is eligible for listing. Download the appropriate notification form, and send it to Lectures Secretary, History Faculty, Broad Street by 3rd week of the previous term
• to get on the Faculty Graduate Seminar Programmes webpage. Send details to itsupport@history.ox.ac.uk, by at the latest early in 0th week of the term in question

To provide more regular updates: any graduate student may create their own electronic mailing list (see http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/email/maillists/).

To make supplementary material available to seminar members: seminar organisers may be allocated a room within the graduate-run seminar ‘suite of rooms’ on Weblearn: http://www.weblearn.ox.ac.uk/site/human/modhist/graduate/gradrun/ (your Weblearn username and password will be the same as your Herald username and password). If you wish to have a ‘room’ for your seminar, contact graduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk and we will create one and appropriate permissions for you and any co-convenors that you name. You will then find that Weblearn offers you a menu of commands, which you can use to mount information on the site. For general information about how to create resources on Weblearn (whether by self-tuition from on-line information, or by attending an OUCS course), see http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/vle/

C.5.3  Personal development: useful links

Training offered by UK Grad http://www.grad.ac.uk/

UK Grad is maintained by the British research funding councils, including the AHRC and ESRC. GRAD courses are designed for postgraduate research students to assess and develop their personal effectiveness, networking and teamworking, communication and career management skills.

National GRAD schools are residential and vary between three and five days in length. They are open to all 2nd and 3rd year doctoral students. They offer postgraduate researchers from all institutions, disciplines, age ranges and experience the opportunity to take a few days out of their research studies to review their personal effectiveness and consider their next steps. Participants work in teams to solve simulated business and abstract problems, discuss issues relating to their doctoral theses and future career, and attend a mock interview. There are 20 courses per year, which are free to Research Council funded 2nd and 3rd years. – One of our graduates who recently participated in such a workshop allowed us to publish a report on this experience.

Networking through The History Lab http://www.history.ac.uk/histlab/

The History Lab is a newly-established network for postgraduate students and new researchers in history and related disciplines, based at the Institute of Historical Research. It aims meet the intellectual and social needs of the postgraduate history community, and offers an opportunity for the next generation of historians to meet face to face, to discuss ideas and to drive the study of history forward.

Academic publishing opportunities http://www.history.ac.uk/pubbooklet.pdf

This on-line publication of the Institute of Historical Research offers advice on how to prepare your article or monograph for publication, how to present your project effectfully to a publisher, and also how to deal with disappointment if you are unable to place your original project.

Oxford University Careers Service http://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/

Offers postgraduate career skills workshops as well as careers advice.

UK Network for Historians http://www.hca.heacademy.ac.uk/HistoryPGDocNetUK/

Run under the auspices of the Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, this website has been designed as a one-stop site for History postgraduates and postdoctoral students in the UK. It contains links and material on all aspects of History postgraduate and postdoctoral life, from research and teaching to funding and job-hunting.

 

C.6 Social facilities

The Faculty building in Broad Street provides an opportunity for graduate historians to meet one another. The building, as well as providing premises for the Faculty Library and Office, contains seminar rooms and a common room. It is open during the regular hours of the Library, and coffee, tea and biscuits are served in the morning and afternoon. 

History graduates are also welcome to use library and common room in the new Social Sciences Centre at Manor Road.

Historical research is often a rather solitary activity, and this can produce problems of despondency. Social activities are organized at various levels: college Graduate or 'Middle' Common Rooms are often lively places, and offer a good opportunity for meeting people in other disciplines. 

The University Club in Mansfield Road (http://www.club.ox.ac.uk/) provides social and sporting facilities for employees, graduate students, alumnae and visitors. There is no fee for graduate members. The Oxford Union Society in St Michael's Street (http://www.oxford-union.org/) is more central and traditional. It offers not only a useful lending library, but also a dining room, games and television rooms, and a bar, but these are available to members only. Membership is by subscription. If you are interested you should make contact as soon as possible after you arrive in Oxford; substantial discounts are available for those joining early.

 

C.7 Counselling

Students can sometimes find themselves faced with personal problems and need expert advice. Remember that a whole range of people – supervisors, college advisers, etc. – may be ready, not necessarily to solve your problem, but to advise you on where to turn to for appropriate help. So too, colleges may have a range of designated college counsellors. College chaplains, nurses, and doctors are also experienced in helping with student problems of many kinds. The University Counselling Service (http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/shw/counserv.shtml) – telephone: (2)70300 – assists members of the University who are experiencing psychological stress. Appointments can be made either by telephone or by calling in person at their offices (11 Wellington Square); you do not need a referral from your GP or anybody else. The office of the Service is open Monday to Friday from 9.15 am to 5.15 pm throughout the year, except for short periods in the vacations which are publicized in the Gazette well in advance.