History V1690 PhD

Program Overview

The PhD in History at Aberystwyth University is a research-based degree that trains students to conduct independent historical research under expert supervision. Through a dissertation of up to 100,000 words, students demonstrate their research skills and contribute to the field of history. The program provides career pathways in academia, research, and diverse fields, supported by Aberystwyth University's unparalleled research facilities and resources, including the National Library of Wales.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The PhD in History at Aberystwyth University is a research-based degree that allows students to undertake individual research projects under close academic supervision from within the department. The program is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct independent historical research and to contribute to the field of history. The department has a well-established reputation for innovative and internationally recognized research, and is keen to recruit enterprising and imaginative graduate students to read for PhD and MPhil degrees.

Outline:

The PhD program typically takes three years of full-time research (five years part-time), after which students complete and submit a dissertation of 80-100,000 words. The program is structured around individual research projects, with students working closely with their supervisors to develop their research questions, methodologies, and writing skills.

Assessment:

The primary assessment for the PhD program is the dissertation, which is a substantial piece of original research that demonstrates the student's ability to conduct independent historical research and to communicate their findings effectively.

Teaching:

The PhD program is taught through a combination of individual supervision, seminars, and workshops. Students are assigned a supervisor who provides guidance and support throughout their research journey. The department also offers a range of seminars and workshops on topics such as research methods, writing skills, and academic publishing.

Careers:

The PhD in History can lead to a variety of careers in academia, research, and other fields. Graduates of the program may go on to become university professors, researchers, archivists, librarians, museum curators, or journalists. The Department of History and Welsh History at Aberystwyth University has a well-established reputation for innovative and internationally recognised research. The university’s Hugh Owen Library houses more than 700,000 volumes, a number of unique research collections, and subscribes to more than 3,500 current periodicals. The Hugh Owen Library is also one of only two designated European Documentation Centres in Wales and contains considerable resources for historians interested in the USA. Situated next to the university campus is the National Library of Wales, one of the UK’s five copyright libraries, which houses more than 6,000,000 volumes and offers immediate access to all copyright publications issued in the UK. The National Library houses many collections relating to the British Isles in general, and has been since its inception the world's leading repository for archives relating to the history of Wales and beyond, many of them still awaiting exploration. Aberystwyth is also home to a number of research-led institutions that are useful to historians of many periods and interests. Aberystwyth University has a proud tradition of research excellence, as demonstrated in the most recent Research Excellence Framework assessment (REF 2014), which placed the university in the top 50 institutions for research power and intensity. The Department has eighteen academic members of staff, whose teaching and research expertise ranges across the second millennium and into the twenty-first century, encompassing Europe, Asia, Latin America and the US, with a particular focus on political and historical cultures, the history of science and medicine, and media as well as social and economic history. It also has close links with other centres of historical study in the university, and – through conferences, workshops and its series of research seminars - offers access to a wide range of international scholarly networks. All of our lecturers are research active and are recognised as leading authorities in their respective fields.