- Tuition Fee rates for programmes offered by the Faculty of History have been the subject of a review and in many cases have been increased significantly. This affects both Home/EU and Overseas rates. For the latest information on university and college fees, and home, EU, and overseas status criteria please consult the University's guidance on fee status and liability.
- For information on any faculty-specific admissions scholarships click this link.
It is important that applicants and current students are aware that funding support is limited: many Oxford graduate students are substantially self-funding, and opportunities to earn money on course are limited. If we offer you a place, this does not of itself imply any commitment on our part to find funding for you. That said, the History Faculty offers a range of awards and opportunities which are intended to attract the best history graduates from the UK, EU and worldwide.
Advanced research students may hope to make small amounts of money through teaching (see Training to teach and teaching opportunities), and there are some part-time jobs available in colleges and in such university institutions as the faculty library and computing services. However, these contribute no more than small amounts to the income of a small proportion of students; opportunities to seek other employment during term or vacations are limited by the full-time nature of the faculty’s graduate programmes. It is expected that graduate students study full-time during both terms and vacations, other than when taking private holidays.
Of course, some overseas students obtain awards from bodies in their own countries. Within the UK, the most important funding opportunities for History graduate students are as follows.
Funding and the standard university graduate-programme application process
Students wishing to apply for the main forms of graduate funding to which faculties and other bodies of the university submit nominations may indicate their desire to be considered on the application form. Funding which falls into this category includes Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) awards for home/EU students, and Clarendon Fund Bursaries/ORS awards for other overseas students, as well as a variety of other more specific awards. The majority of scholarships and awards available are listed on the application form and should be ticked if you are eligible and interested. Others are specifically advertised on University or individual college websites, and such advertisements usually include a code which you need to quote on your application. The Humanities Division publishes details about AHRC funding at Oxford as well as Clarendon Fund Bursaries, and the Social Sciences Division details about ESRC funding procedures within Oxford, while the the funding councils themselves provide some more generic advice on their aims and expectations (for the relevant pages click on AHRC or ESRC).
If you realise only after you have submitted/sent in your form that you have failed to indicate your interest please send a message to the University’s Graduate Admissions Office and ask them to amend your record accordingly (it would be helpful if you copied your e-mail to the History Graduate Office for reference).
We expect to be able to make approximately the following number of nominations in 2008-9 for 2009-10 start:
AHRC
(for home/EU students only):
18 doctoral awards (plus one in History of Art)
9 master’s awards (plus one in History of Art)
- awards for students with home status cover fees and
maintenance, while awards for students with EU status
cover University and College fees only
ESRC
(for home/EU students only):
one nomination for a 'quota place' (master's + doctoral or
doctoral award only)
one nomination for a 'pool' place (master's + doctoral or
doctoral only)
- awards for students with home status cover fees and
maintenance, while awards for students with EU status
cover University and College fees only
Wellcome Trust. Applicants for programmes in History of Science and Medicine may also be eligible for awards from the Wellcome Trust. This trust provides three variants of personal support: Master’s Awards enable young scholars to undertake basic training in research and methods through a one-year Master’s course in the history of medicine; Doctoral Studentships enable young scholars to undertake up to three years of full-time research on a history of medicine topic leading to a doctoral degree; and Research Fellowships support individuals at all stages of a career not in established academic posts, wishing to undertake a period of research. Maximum duration is three years.
Clarendon/ORS
(for other overseas students only):
approximately 5 fully-funded master’s or doctoral awards in
History/History of Art
College-linked
awards (nominees will be selected from among
those who have been considered for AHRC/ESRC or
Clarendon/ORS awards, and were judged to be of outstanding
merit, but could for other reasons not be nominated for one
of these awards)
Up to 4 partially funded doctoral awards per year only
Colleges which contributed to the scheme since its
commencement in October 2007 include Balliol College, Corpus
Christi College, Lady Margaret Hall, Merton College, St
Catherine’s College, and University College.
Doctoral students in their second and third year will under certain circumstances be eligible to apply for one of the above awards (except for Clarendon Fund Bursaries which are only available for those starting a new programme of study). Application procedures will mirror those for new applicants. Details for AHRC applications by existing doctoral students are to be published by the Humanities Division in the course of November.
Please note that faculty assessors will among other things take the quality of a student's research proposal into account in making funding nominations. Applicants for funding are strongly encouraged to pay careful attention to the guidance on drawing up a developed research proposal. It is essential that all applicants for AHRC awards submit well developed research proposals, since these will play a central part in this funding selection-process.
Notification: We expect to be able to inform applicants by April/May whether they have been nominated for one or more of these awards – except in the case of Wellcome awards where decisions may be made at a later date.
Other charitable funds and assistance with student loans
The International and Student Funding Office's webpages are designed primarily for prospective international students to let them know about the scholarship opportunities available to them at Oxford, but increasingly they include information which is also of relevance for home students. Each scholarship that the International Office manages now has its own webpage with a full Scholarship Profile, explaining who is eligible, how to apply and including any application forms or other material if available.
The International Office also maintains a database which can be searched by eligibility criteria such as nationality and programme of study, so that students receive relevant information only: the Funding Search contains information about scholarships that are managed by the International Office, as well as college awards over £2,000 for both overseas and home/EU students.
American students who wish to take out a US student loan to fund their studies can do so through the International Office. They can find comprehensive information on how to do this at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/io/US Loans/usloanshom.shtml. We are also able to assist with Canadian student loan applications; applicants should contact the Student Funding support desk for advice.
All
students may in principle apply for graduate
scholarships awarded by individual colleges, though
eligibility for any particular award may be restricted by
the student’s country of origin, subject of study or in
other ways. For a brief outline, by college, see the current
Graduate
Finance Guide or use the International Office's Funding
Search. Further details can be found on individual
college websites or in advertisements in the Gazette. College
awards often aim to cover the cost of college fees.
Scholarships and opportunities to undertake research abroad
The International Office lists a wide range of opportunities for research abroad for Oxford-based students through scholarships and grants. These include
- for Europe in general: Jenkins Memorial Scholarships; Marie Curie Research Training Grants; Scatchered European Scholarships
- for Belgium: Wiener Anspach Awards
- for France: the Entente Cordiale scholarship
- for Germany: the Theodor Heuss Research Fellowship, the Michael Foster memorial Scholarship, Hanseatic Scholarships and the Jenkins Memorial Fund – Berlin
- for further details please see the Study abroad page
The History Faculty has arraged a number of graduate exchanges with European universities. These permit history graduates to undertake a period of research abroad.
The École Normale Supérieure de Cachan
The ENS de Cachan, on the outskirts of Paris, offers the possibility for graduate historians registered for the MPhil or DPhil, or the BA (third year) to study for up to a year at the school. They are eligible to take a master's degree. Graduates in Politics, Economics, Sociology, or Modern Languages may also apply.
This exchange is particularly useful for graduates undertaking research in French history post 1789. Oxford graduates who take up this opportunity are not charged fees by Cachan, and are provided with accommodation at a reasonable rate, although they continue to pay fees to their Oxford College. Cachan also offers a small number of international scholarships.
For further information contact Professor Robert Gildea (Oxford University), or Professeur Stephane Davenet (ENS Cachan).
The University of Uppsala
History graduates may also spend a term at the University of Uppsala as a visiting scholar. An interest in Swedish or Scandinavian History, or in comparative study with a Scandinavian dimension, will be an advantage. Visiting scholars are provided with an office and limited stipend. They will be required to make two seminar presentations in the History Department.
The University of Padua
We have now established an exchange agreement with the Scuola di Scienze Storiche of the University of Padua under the Erasmus Scheme. The agreement is also open to subject areas other than History. Padua is one of the oldest Italian universities with well-established and highly regarded multi-national graduate schools. The exchange within the scheme is limited to permanent European Union residents, and both Padua and Oxford expect to exchange each year two students in this category. In addition, Padua has agreed to accept up to two non-EU graduates each year in recognition of our large number of overseas doctoral students. It is expected that students spend two or three months at Padua University, possibly as part of a longer visit for archival work in Italy.
Padua offers to our students a language immersion course, numerous graduate-focussed courses (a few in English), and excellent library facilities in many subject areas. Padua graduate teaching is mostly focussed on students beginning in September and again in February, and visits during these periods could be particularly fruitful, providing an opportunity to experience a first-hand initiation into Italian academic culture and their approaches to the exchange student’s discipline. Naturally, other times of the year are entirely acceptable for study there (excluding the summer months, when everything is shut). Padua University will also help finding living accommodation; the EU funding attached to the scheme would provide a contribution to living expenses. Students would continue paying fees to their home institutions but would not be charged any fees in their guest institution.
This exchange is most immediately useful for those working on an Italian project, who will benefit from a proper institutional base as part of the period of orientation in that country. Graduates who are not studying Italy are, however, equally welcome as applicants. The commonest year for making application is the first year of the doctorate, for the following year; applications will be made in Michaelmas term of the academic year preceding the proposed exchange. Potentially interested students are encouraged to contact either of the exchange co-ordinators well in advance.
Oxford co-ordinator: Professor Chris Wickham
Padua co-ordinator: Professor Maria Cristina La Rocca
The Europaeum
The Europaeum is an affiliation of ten well-established European universities with the aim to encourage collaborative research and teaching, to provide opportunities for scholars, leaders, academics and graduates, to stage conferences, summer schools and colloquia, and to enable leading figures from the worlds of business, politics and culture to take part in transnational and interdisciplinary dialogue with the world of scholarship. All programmes aim to include professors from three or more partner institutions, while remaining open and ready to work alongside any other bodies or experts. Small internal grants promote the mission of the association.
Travel and research expenses
The faculty makes termly grants from the Arnold, Bryce and Read funds to meet travel and other expenses incidental to research such as library registration or photocopying (please note that we are not able to contribute to any accommodation and subsistence costs); students are eligible for only one award a year from this source. Grants, when made, are usually in the range of £50-£250.
The Colin Matthew Fund, administered by St Hugh’s College, promotes historical study or research by graduate and undergraduate students. It currently offers grants to support travel for the purposes of research. Grants may be awarded up to the value of £500.
There are also a number of grants, travel scholarships and prizes administered by the faculty restricted either by area or topic of research.
In addition many colleges offer small travel awards to their own students: these do not usually amount to more than a few hundred pounds per year.
The Royal Historical Society offers grants:
- for students to attend conferences or training courses
- for students to meet the costs of visits to archives
Advanced graduate students only
May apply for the faculty’s own Designated Studentships, supported by charitable bequests. The faculty is normally able to make two awards each year, usually to students of confirmed DPhil status, who seek financial assistance for a period of up to 12 months, in which they plan to complete writing up.
They may also be eligible for extremely competitive Junior Research Fellowships offered by colleges, or sometimes in the context of departmental research projects (usually advertised in the Gazette).
Advanced Home students may in addition be eligible to apply for one or more of the scholarships administered by the Institute of Historical Research.
Hardship
Students are
expected to work out a financial strategy to support their
whole period of study before they start, and will be asked
by their colleges to provide appropriate financial
guarantees. Some funding is available to assist students
faced with financial
hardship as a result of an unforeseeable change of
circumstances.
