American History enjoys great vitality at Oxford thanks to its dynamic expansion in recent years. Provision in the field is now unsurpassed within the British university system. Forming one of the largest establishments of American History specialists in the country, members of the group teach and supervise most of the major areas of American History. The annual Harmsworth Professorship makes Oxford unique amongst British institutions by enabling a distinguished American scholar to spend a year in the university, teaching, conducting seminars, and pursuing research. The Rothermere American Institute, housed in an elegant, purpose-built new building, provides a focus for a range of conferences, seminars and other research initiatives, notable among which are collaborations with the Universities of Virginia and Princeton. The Vere Harmsworth Library, housed in the same building, provides excellent, and fast-growing, resources for research. Americanists in Oxford have regular contact with leading scholars from America and Europe through weekly seminars, major conferences, and televisual discussions.
At the graduate level, many students choose to take the one-year taught course (the Master of Studies), which is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, and recruits outstanding candidates from both sides of the Atlantic. For some this is a preliminary step towards a three-year D. Phil. in American history, though others enter the doctoral programme directly.
A major grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation is enabling further expansion of the research infrastructure, including research studentships.
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