The Department of History at King's has a long and distinguished tradition in world leading, cutting-edge research. Our staff and research students are fully engaged in original historical scholarship, ranging from late antiquity to the present day. Our excellent PhD completion rate is the product of the individual care which we offer to our research students, and the stimulating research culture of which they are part. The department has consistently received very high ratings in the government’s research assessment exercises (RAE), as well as league tables, teaching assessments and National Student Surveys. To keep up with our latest news, we invite you to follow the department on Facebook.
We offer MPhil and PhD programmes, both full and part-time, for those wishing to do a research degree. We offer supervision across a wide range of fields, from modern global history to British and European medieval history, from the history of science, technology and medicine to recent British history. For full details of the research expertise of our staff see our staff pages.
Research culture
With over 80 doctoral students, the Department of History boasts a lively and vibrant research culture. Research students are encouraged to present their work at the regular departmental seminar: presenting a short paper to this seminar is now part of the upgrade process from MPhil to PhD status. Staff and students play a leading role in several of the interdisciplinary research centres at King’s, within our Arts & Humanities Research Institute. They also regularly contribute to a wide range of specialist seminars at the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), many of which are convened by King's academics. We have recently joined forces with UCL and the University of London School of Advanced Study, bringing together our PhD provision within the London Arts & Humanities Partnership. LAHP offers an unrivalled range of training opportunities for research students, and brings together an unrivalled range of scholarly and supervisorial expertise. Up-to-date History MPhil/PhD student profiles, department publications and research projects.
Course study environment
All students are allocated two supervisors and are expected to meet with their primary supervisor (or both if jointly supervised) on a regular basis. Shared supervision across the partner institutions in LAHP is encouraged. Monthly supervision reports are filed for all full-time students and supervisors must submit progress reports every six months in consultation with the student. Upon submission of the thesis, assessment is by means of an oral examination (viva).
Postgraduate training
The Department of History offers training in specific research skills, including palaeography and Latin, and the College's Modern Language Centre offers a wide range of language training. The King's Centre for Doctoral Studies runs a Researcher Development Programme of personal, professional and career development activities for all research students. The postgraduate training programmes at King’s, UCL and SAS are currently being brought together within London Arts & Humanities Partnership (LAHP), greatly expanding the training opportunities available to all.
More information about the PhD can be found here.
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