Contemporary History PhD

Program Overview

The University of Sussex's Contemporary History PhD program prepares students to conduct original research through a commitment to emerging fields of inquiry. The program emphasizes critical thinking, analytical skills, and communication abilities, with core supervisory expertise in 20th-century British history, US history, transnational and comparative histories, and interdisciplinary approaches. Students benefit from access to world-class resources, including the Keep archival center and the British Library, and the program offers flexible start dates and a duration of up to four years full-time or six years part-time.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Contemporary History PhD at the University of Sussex is a research-based program designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct original and distinctive historical research. The program emphasizes a commitment to fostering new and emerging fields of inquiry, building upon a long tradition of scholarship pioneered at Sussex.

Objectives:

The program aims to:

• Develop students' ability to conduct independent and original historical research.
• Equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to produce a substantial original contribution to knowledge or understanding in their chosen field.
• Foster students' critical thinking and analytical skills.
• Enhance students' communication and presentation skills.

Other:

• Areas of Study: The program offers core supervisory expertise in the following areas:
• All aspects of 20th-century British history
• The history of the United States
• Trans-national and comparative histories of race
• Gender history
• The histories of youth and popular culture
• The impact of war in the modern world
• German-Jewish history
• The history of emotion
• Interdisciplinary and Comparative Approach: The program welcomes applications that reflect Sussex's distinctive interdisciplinary and comparative approach to historical research.
• The Keep, a world-class archival center on campus, home to the German-Jewish archives, the papers of Rudyard Kipling and Leonard Woolf, and the Mass Observation Archive.
• The British Library and National Archives in London.
• Program Duration: Up to 4 years full-time, 6 years part-time.
• Start Dates: September 2024, January 2025, or April 2025.
• Application Deadline: 1 month before start (UK), 3 months before start (international).
• Professor Martin Francis, Professor of War and History.

Fees for self-funding students Home students: £4,786 per year for full-time students Channel Islands and Isle of Man students: £4,786 per year for full-time students International students: £21,500 per year for full-time students