History Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

The PhD in History offers you the opportunity to study history at an advanced level through independent research.

The PhD is our principal research degree. The size of Edinburgh’s history department, and the breadth of expertise available from our staff, means that we can offer supervision for research projects in a wide array of fields.

Research interests within History are extremely wide-ranging. In particular, we host expertise in:

* Medieval history: Our research interests lie in the social, political, religious and cultural history of Britain, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean – with particular emphasis on gender, saints, medicine, crusades, trade, economic history and Islamic law.

* British and Irish history: We have particular interests in early modern religion, belief and intellectual history (including the Scottish Enlightenment); social and political history; Second World War Studies, relations between Britain and Ireland; and international relations.

* European history: Specialisms include the Renaissance, early modern political and intellectual history; genocide; Russia and the Soviet Union; modern political and intellectual history of France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Czech Republic; historical memory and public history; histories of gender and sexuality.

* US (American) history: Expertise includes revolutionary and early national America; the Civil War; US diplomatic history in the 19th and 20th centuries; politics in the 20th century; African-American history and the civil rights movement; and history of labour.

* African history: We have expertise in West, East and South Africa, and specialisms include intellectual history; environmental history; comparative African history; history of Islam; urban history; print culture; history of nationalism and decolonisation.

* Asian history: We have expertise in the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia, with specialisms in histories of print and archives; intellectual history; diplomatic history; economic history and history of economic thought; cross-cultural interactions; histories of religion and philosophy; nationalism and colonial resistance.

* Latin American and Caribbean history: Specialisms include history of slavery; colonialism; histories of race, gender, and the body; Indigenous history; and material culture studies.

Members of the history department have strong links with colleagues elsewhere in the University with research expertise in related disciplines, from Classics, Archaeology and History of Art to Politics and Economics.

The breadth of research expertise in the School and in the wider University makes it possible for us to supervise a very wide range of topics. 

Each student is allocated at least two supervisors, allowing us to combine thematic, chronological and, if appropriate, disciplinary expertise in the supervisory team. We also have close links with external organisations, such as the National Museums of Scotland, and may be able to include external partners in supervisory teams.

In a three-year PhD (six-year part-time), your proposal must be well defined before you start. Please approach your proposed supervisor well ahead of the application deadline, to give them time to read your thesis proposal and suggest improvements. This will improve your chances of admission and funding.