Historical Research

Entry requirements

Before submitting an application, you are advised to discuss your proposal with a member of the academic staff who has interests in your proposed field of study. You can find our academic staff's contact details and areas of expertise in the Supervisors section.

Before agreeing to accept you, the School will require you to submit a research proposal, so it is worthwhile to have drafted this before formally applying. See the Guidelines on drafting your research proposal.

Candidates will normally receive an initial response to their application within 28 working days. Those who have been formally interviewed will normally be informed within one week as to whether they are to be offered a place.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) was founded in 1921 to address the limited opportunities for historical research and training in the UK.

The IHR was significant in its aim to place the UK historical profession in a global context, bringing international scholars together in a variety of fora. It was designed to provide historically informed research to government, to serve as a repository of bibliographic information, to be a testing ground for new historical ideas and methods, and a meeting place for historians of all nationalities.

Undertaking doctoral research allows you to develop in-depth knowledge, while making a meaningful contribution to your chosen field.

With guidance from our expert supervisors, you'll carry out extensive independent research culminating in a thesis of up to 100,000 words. The areas covered by the Institute’s expertise cover a broad range of law and policy.

This degree presents the opportunity to gain expertise in your area of interest while also honing a range of transferable skills. On completing this course, you'll be well prepared for specialist career paths both within academia and beyond.

On completing this course, you’ll be well prepared for specialist career paths, both within academia and beyond. Graduates are awarded a University of London degree.

The degree can be taken full time over three years (or a maximum of four) or part time over six years (or a maximum of eight). You will initially be registered for our MPhil and then, providing your progress has been satisfactory, be upgraded to our PhD programme.

The primary activity of the PhD programme is the writing of a thesis of up to 100,000 words. There is no formal coursework, but you will be expected to undertake at least 30 days of research training, including attending our two week research methods in law training course. You are also encouraged to participate in the regular seminars held at the Institute during the academic year, as well as to participate in our three specialist research centres.

After submission of the thesis, you will attend an oral examination, either in-person or virtually, conducted by two examiners drawn from a British or world university, who may suggest ways to improve and develop the final text.

Subject Areas

The Institute of Historical Research offers doctoral research supervision in the following broad areas:

• Medieval British history
• Modern British history
• Local, regional and community histories of the British Isles
• Place and Identity
• Early medieval Northumbria and the north
• Later medieval armies and warfare
• Urban and metropolitan history (especially London), including comparative approaches across Europe and elsewhere
• Late medieval and early modern urban history
• Digital history and Historical GIS
• History of propaganda in the twentieth century
• History of the First and Second World Wars
• History of emotions in modern Britain
• The everyday lives of 'ordinary' people
• Spanish and Francophone Caribbean history, including Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti
• Colonial expansionism and foreign intervention in the Americas
• Race formation, identity and belonging in the Americas
• Architecture, planning and the built environment in Britain from the twentieth century onward
• The British Commonwealth and British decolonisation
• History and policy
• Medievalism and other usages of the past
• American foreign relations
• US political history

For any further enquiries, please visit our enquiries portal.

Information for international students

Find out more about everything you need to know from visas to qualifications and language requirements here.

Fees and funding

For more information about funding and scholarships, see here.