Postgraduate Research Degrees (MA, MPhil, PhD)

Areas of Research Interest

The research interests of the Department are extensive. Postgraduates wishing to take research degrees can be accepted to research on a wide range of topics within the general field of history from the sixteenth century.

The following represent areas in which the Department has particular expertise:

Thematic

• European social, cultural and economic history from the sixteenth to the twentieth century
• Political movements and ideologies in the modern world, including communism and socialism
• History of ideas, including the history of science and medicine
• Intellectual history and history of the book
• History of information, including the history of data collection and surveillance
• History of belief and ideas about the supernatural
• History of ritual (in secular as well as sacred contexts)
• History of popular culture, including aspects of sports history
• History of consumer culture
• History of violence, protest and popular politics, tolerance and intolerance, warfare, and death
• History of poverty, slavery and labour movements
• History of race
• Comparative History
• The international politics of oil
• History of crime and policing
• Gender and women’s history
• Demographic history

Geographic

• History of the British and Irish Isles and Europe, especially Germany and France
• History of late-imperial Russia and the Soviet Union
• History of the USA, including African American History and American foreign policy
• History of Latin America, especially Venezuela and Brazil
• History of Africa, especially South and Southern Africa in the twentieth century
• Local history, especially the history of Essex and Suffolk

Take a look at the lists of current research theses and completed research theses.

Degree Courses

We offer three types of research course, all of which are supervised research with an examined thesis: a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and an MA by Dissertation (MAD). The normal minimum length of candidature, and maximum length of thesis, prescribed for each scheme are given below:

For each research student, a programme of training is agreed with the individual Supervisor, and may include attendance at one or more taught modules. Research students are welcome to enrol on any taught module (training or optional), subject to the Department’s module enrolment procedures.

Modes of Research Supervision

All applicants for research degrees have a member of staff appointed to supervise their research. In addition, each student has a Supervisory Board, which meets twice a year and which provides a forum in which the student can discuss the perspectives and conceptual problems, as well as the practicalities of research. The Board is also responsible for monitoring the progress of the student and it reports annually to the Department’s Research Students’ Progress Committee.

Further Information for Prospective Postgraduates

• Postgraduate studies in History at Essex
• Department staff  
• Research theses in progress 
• Completed research theses
• Taught postgraduate degree courses
• Online postgraduate application form (University page)

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