What does a PhD programme involve?
In the United Kingdom the PhD is a postgraduate research qualification in which the emphasis is on independent research and study. As a history student, most of your time will be spent working on your own in libraries, archives, or writing at home or in your office. Most students complete and submit their PhD within three years. There are no formal classes and students are expected to have acquired a broad grounding in relevant historical, historiographical, and conceptual issues during the course of their BA and MA programmes that normally precede postgraduate research. However, the School of History does offer compulsory Research Skills training.
