School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

PhD History

Duration

Full time: 2-4 years
Part time: 4-8 years
Course type

Full-time, Part-time route available
Study location ñ
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Take the opportunity to pursue an individual research project of your choosing full-time or part-time, with expert guidance and personal supervision from a member of our history team.

Course details

  • Overview

  • This full time or part time doctoral programme is suitable for people who have a particular research question or topic in mind, and wish to explore this through independent study in order to produce an original contribution to the subject. If you aspire to a research career this is the most appropriate research degree to undertake.
    If you do not already have a masters degree, you may be interested in one of our masters level research degrees. Further details about the Universityñޙs research degree awards.
    You will be guided by a small supervisory team of academic experts under the direction of a Director of Studies. You will be expected to fully engage with skills development and training and to present your research in a range of scholarly contexts.
    Your PhD will be assessed via submission of either a written thesis (approximately 80,000 words), or one that combines critical writing with artistic, creative and/or professional practice, and a viva voce (an oral examination).
    For full details of what doing a PhD entails at the ñ, please visit our postgraduate research degrees pages.

PhD on the Basis of Prior Published Works in History
PhD on the Basis of Prior Published Works enables candidates who have been research active to submit a collection of previously published works for consideration for the award of a PhD. The submission must evidence that you have personally made a systematic study; that you have shown independent, critical and original powers; and that you have made a distinct contribution to knowledge. The submission as a whole must be framed as a single coherent research project.

Entry requirements
Masters degree or equivalent from a UK higher education institution in a relevant subject. Students who are making exceptional progress in a ResM programme, may progress directly into our PhD programme without having to complete the masters. 
Applicants normally have to supply a research proposal, personal statement, and occasionally evidence that they are prepared to undertake the proposed project. This may include a portfolio, or a sample of critical writing, depending on their area of study.
Other UK or overseas qualifications may also be accepted ñޓ with academic reference
For more general guidelines and application requirements, please visit the research degrees applicants page.

Fees, costs and funding
Please visit tuition fees for postgraduate research for information about fees. This course is in Band 2 for fees purposes.
You are responsible for meeting all of the costs related to your own research project, beyond the resources available in the department.
Please visit our postgraduate research money matters page to find out more about issues related to fees, funding, loans and paying for your programme of study.

How to apply

Apply online

In addition to completing the online application form (which includes space for a personal statement), you must also upload a research project proposal of no more than 1000 words in total. Your research proposal should outline your general topic, your key aims and the research question/problem you are addressing, your proposed methodology, key definitions/thinkers/discourses/practitioners you are drawing upon and an explanation of why this topic is significant or important.
Your personal statement should briefly explain why you have chosen to apply to our programme and what you feel you can offer our research community.
You will also need to submit a sample of your critical writing (3000 words maximum) and, if relevant, evidence of your ability to undertake the practice-led research you are proposing (e.g. a DVD, portfolio, links to website, reviews, catalogue, etc.). It should take no longer than 30 minutes to view all the visual material that you provide.
Submitting your application
Complete your application and upload supporting documents to the Doctoral College by completing our online application form.
Questions on the application process?
We're here to help. Please contact the Doctoral College team and we'll be happy to assist you.
You can view or download our postgraduate research admissions policy.
If you have a disability and would like further information on the support available, please visit our Disability Services website.
Support is also available to overseas students applying to the University from our International Office. 
Find more information about how to apply for a research degree.
Our academics have an established tradition of internationally recognised research excellence in the fields of social and cultural history, political and diplomatic history, and military, maritime and naval history. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, 97.6% of the History teamñޙs research outputs (primarily books and journal articles) were considered to be internationally recognised in terms of significance, originality and rigour.
Our research community
History at ñ has an established tradition of internationally recognised research excellence in the fields of social and cultural history ñޓ which broadly defined encompasses expertise in early modern religion, gender and sexuality, Victorian and twentieth-century British society, politics, crime and law; modern labour history, popular politics, modern US politics and civil rights ñޓ as well as in modern political, maritime, military and diplomatic history, the British Empire and modern China and Japan. We also have research strengths in Heritage, Public History and Oral History, Eighteenth-Century Architectural History, Maritime History, and Archives and Digital Humanities.
Discover more about our research and researchers in history and art history.
We particularly welcome doctoral research in the following areas:
  • Early modern British and French history
  • British maritime, naval and military history
  • British and Irish social, cultural and political history
  • Twentieth-century political history of the USA
  • Modern world history especially Japanese history
  • Gender history
  • Material history
  • Heritage and history
We also welcome interdisciplinary doctoral research with colleagues in Art History and English and in the School of Society and Culture.

People

Funding for postgraduate research students

If you are considering starting a postgraduate research course, you could get help to pay for your course and living costs. 
 
Coastal Processes Research Group Perranporth beach

Current and recent PhDs

Ken Brown ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘThe role of the anti-war movement on the Washington Naval Treaty negotiationsñޙ
2021 to Present
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Lee Jane Giles
ñޘWhen Reputation is at Stake: Honour, Masculinity and Militarism in the Courts Martial Records Pertaining to the Marine Corps, 1755-1779ñޙ
2020 to Present
Director of Studies: Elaine Murphy
Richard Marshall ñޓ PhD in History
'Trial by Jury and English Political Radicalism c.1792 ñޓ 1825'
2018 to Present
Director of Studies: Claire Fitzpatrick 
Austen Birchall ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘDid the Corps have the Regimental Spirt ñޓ Military Cultures in the Support Arms of the British Army during its National Service Erañޙ
2020 to Present
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett 
John Sykes ñޓ PhD in History
'Particularism or Patriotism? The political and personal networks of the Cornish gentry in the Age of Revolution, c.1783-c.1825.'
Director of Studies: James Gregory  
James Bartle ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘCommunication and Sea Power: A Study of ñ Commandñޙ
2019 to Present
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Tom Coombe ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘBuilding to Belong: Self-Fashioning Identity through Material Culture in the Eighteenth-Centuryñޙ
2019 to Present
Director of Studies: Daniel Maudlin
Alex Halls ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘSowing the Wind for the ñޜTerrorfliegerñޝ: The influence of British Public Opinion on RAF Bomber Command and the Strategic Bombing of Germany and Occupied Europeñޙ
2020 to Present
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Elliott Clark ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘMy Dear Papa: Winston Churchill and Fatherhoodñޙ
2020 to Present
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Emma Barrett-Brown ñޓ PhD in History
'A Delicate Matter: The Private Asylums of the South West of England, 1770-1851'
Director of Studies: Dr James Gregory
Clare Gilbert ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘHow has post-reunification Germany come to terms with the built legacy of the National Socialist era?: A case study of the Norbert Wollheim Memorial at the IG Farben-Haus in Frankfurt am Main'
2020 to Present
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Gareth Michael Jones
ñޘThe Development of Nuclear Propulsion in the Royal Navy, 1946-1975
Awarded: 2019
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Douglas Watson ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘñޜThe Road to Learningñޝ: Re-evaluating the Mechanicsñޙ Institute Movementñޙ
Awarded: 2018
Director of Studies: Gregory, James
Amy Robson ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘDogs and Domesticity Reading the Dog in Victorian British Visual Cultureñޙ
Awarded 2017
Director of Studies: Dr James Gregory
David Goode ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘBoy work: from education to employment, 1901 ñޓ 1930ñޙ
Awarded: 2019
Director of Studies: Dr James Gregory
Jennifer Fraser ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘA Strategy of Distinction: Cultural Identity and the Carews of Antonyñޙ
Awarded: 2017
Director of Studies: Professor Daniel Maudlin
Barbara A. Bond ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘMI9ñޙs Escape and Evasion Mapping Programme 1939 ñޓ 1945ñޙ
Awarded: 2014
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Jacqueline Bryon ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘAuthority and Crime, 1835 ñޓ 1860: A Comparison between Exmouth and Torquayñޙ 
Awarded: 2013
Director of Studies: Professor Kevin Jefferys
Ian D. Cooper ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘNetworks, News and Communication: Political Elites and Community Relations in Elizabethan Devon, 1588 ñޓ 1603ñޙ 
Awarded: 2012
Director of Studies: Professor James Daybell
Neal Dando ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘThe Impact of Terrain on British Operations and Doctrine in North Africa 1940 ñޓ 1943ñޙ
Awarded: 2014
Published as From Tobruk to Tunis: The impact of terrain on British operations and doctrine in North Africa, 1940 ñޓ 1943 (Solihull: Helion, 2016)
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Louis P. Devine ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘThe British Way of War in North West Europe 1944 ñޓ 45: A Study of Two Infantry Divisionsñޙ 
Awarded: 2013
Published as The British Way of War in Northwest Europe, 1944 ñޓ 5: A Study of Two Infantry Divisions (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015)
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Rebecca J. Emmett ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘNetworks of Print, Patronage and Religion in England and Scotland 1580 ñޓ 1604: The Career of Robert Waldegraveñޙ 
Awarded: 2013
Director of Studies: Professor E.M. Tingle 
Edward P. J. Gosling ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘTommy Atkins, War Office Reform and the Social and Cultural Presence of the Late-Victorian Army in Britain, c.1868 ñޓ 1899ñޙ 
Awarded: 2015
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Bruna Gushurst-Moore -ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘA Garden in Her Cups: Botanical Medicines of the Anglo-American Home, c.1580 ñޓ 1800ñޙ 
Awarded: 2012
Director of Studies: Professor James Daybell
Andrew Holborn ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘ56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day: An Independent Infantry Brigade and the Campaign in North West Europe 1944 ñޓ 1945ñޙ 
Awarded: 2009
Published as 56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day: An Independent Infantry Brigade and the Campaign in North West Europe 1944-1945 (London: Continuum Studies in Military History, 2010)
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Khairul Ismail ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘPudu Jail's Graffiti: Beyond the Prison Cellsñޙ 
Awarded: 2014
Director of Studies: Professor Dan Maudlin 
Tom E. Keene ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘBeset by Secrecy and Beleaguered by Rivals: The Special Operations Executive and Military Operations in Western Europe 1940 ñޓ 1942 with Special Reference to Operation Franktonñޙ 
Awarded: 2011
Published as Cloak of Enemies: Churchill's SOE, Enemies at Home and the Cockleshell Heroes (History Press, 2012)
Director of Studies: Dr Harry Bennett
Bernd Raeke ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘGerman-German Relationships in the Fields of Sport with Particular Reference to the Olympic Games 1952 ñޓ 1972ñޙ 
Awarded: 2014
Director of Studies: Professor Kevin Jefferys 
Susan M. Skinner ñޓ PhD in History
ñޘA History of the Cornish Male Voice Choir: The Relationship between Music, Place and Cultureñޙ 
Awarded: 2013
Director of Studies: Professor Kevin Jefferys