RESEARCH PROFILE
- RAE score: Highest (5*) rating in 1992, 1996 and 2001, and in 2008 60 per cent of the department's research was rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
- Research income: Over £2 million recently, from the AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy and Wellcome Trust.
- Number of academic staff: 34.
- Number of research students: 96.
- Recent publications:
- Major research projects:
- Partner organisations:
- Institute of Historical Research;
- Georgetown University;
- Jawaharlal Nehru University;
- National University of Singapore;
- University of North Carolina.
Joint PhDs are available with the National University of Singapore or Hong Kong University.
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KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Our students go on to careers in academia, teaching, the civil service and the public sector.
Head of group/division
Dr Adam Sutcliffe
Duration
Expected to be: MPhil minimum two years FT, three years PT; PhD minimum three years FT, four-six years PT. September to September, January to January or April to April.
Location
Strand Campus.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of History
Closing date
None. However, students interested in applying for funding should be aware that funding deadlines are different and may be earlier; applicants should check the Graduate Funding Pages at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for more information.
Variable.
Fees
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2736
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
We offer a 2 year full-time or 3 year part-time MPhil and a 3 year full-time or 4-6 year part-time PhD, with some students registering first for the MPhil and transferring to the PhD programme after their first year. This is a prolonged research programme culminating in the presentation of a thesis, followed by an oral examination (viva voce). The thesis must form a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject and afford evidence of originality, shown either by the discovery of new facts or by the exercise of independent critical power.
Whether your interests are British, European, or beyond, medieval, modern, or in between, King's has a huge amount to offer. Many of our faculty have powerful track records in undertaking and supervising interdisciplinary projects.
Further details on our staff research expertise.
About the departmentThe Department of History at King's has a long and distinguished tradition in world leading, cutting-edge research and our staff and research students are fully engaged in original historical scholarship, ranging from antiquity to the present day. We boast a a PhD completion rate second to none in the UK, which is the product equally 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. Follow the department on
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Research cultureWith over 90 doctoral students, the Department of History boasts a lively and vibrant research culture. Research students are encouraged to present their work at the departmental
Research Seminar Series and an annual prize of £100 is awarded to the best student paper. Staff and students regularly contribute to seminars at the
Institute of Historical Research (IHR), many of which are convened by King's academics, including European History 1150-1550, British History 1815-1945, Imperial & World History, and Women's History. Since its arrival in 2010, students have access to the resources of the King's Institute for Contemporary History, and its
Centre for Contemporary British History (CCBH) and
History & Policy unit offer a wide programme of conferences, lectures and seminars. The numerous King's
research groups and interdisciplinary
Humanities Research Centres offer further opportunities for students to engage with cutting-edge research. Up-to-date History MPhil/PhD student profiles, department publications and research projects can be found on our website:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/history/research/res.aspxStudy in LondonLondon offers unparalleled diversity and richness to historians of all periods, with the largest concentration of libraries and archives in the UK including the major document repositories at the National Archives, National Maritime Museum, Imperial War Museum, British Library, and the valuable library holdings here at King's, at the IHR and at Senate House.
Teaching opportunitiesResearch students can apply to become Graduate Teaching Assistants (usually from their second year onwards) to assist members of staff in delivering historical outline modules to undergraduate students. Full training is provided to enable students to make the best use of this opportunity to acquire valuable teaching experience.
Joint PhD programme
Exciting opportunities are available to undertake a joint PhD programme either with Hong Kong University (HKU) or the National University of Singapore (NUS). King’s strengths in the history of British and French imperialism and the history of South Asia and decolonisation in Africa will be augmented by HKU’s focus on imperialism and European travel and settlement in South East and East Asia, as well as its expertise in the history of China. Both departments also have strengths in the history of gender, of the Church, and the history of medicine. With NUS, the joint PhD will allow both institutions to develop their strengths in world history and the history of imperialism, plus consolidating existing expertise in the history of South Asian and East and South East Asian history.
Staff interests associated with the research programme and its research groups
Interests:
- Nineteenth and twentieth Century Portuguese Intellectual and Cultural History
- Nationalism, Identity politics, colonialism, postcolonialism
- Islam, Muslims, Muslim politics
Tel:
+44 (0) 20 7848 1020
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Intellectual history of Western Europe, c.1650-1850
- Early modern and modern European Jewish history
- The politics of Jewish history and memory
- The history of friendship
- Religion and radical political thought
Tel:
020 7848 1775
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Interests:
- The Spanish empire in the eighteenth century
- British trade with Latin America
- Native Andeans in the long nineteenth century
Tel:
020 7848 1063
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Social and economic history of late antique and early medieval Europe
- Frankish kingdoms under the Merovingians and Carolingians
- Legal practice and legal texts
- Slavery and unfreedom between the 4th and the 11th centuries
- Women and gender
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7848 1228
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Interests:
- 17th- and 18th-century European social and cultural history
- The Netherlands and Francophone culture
- Print culture and the culture of collecting
- The interaction of society, art and science
Tel:
020 7848 1085
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Religion and Politics in Modern Britain
- Reform in the late Hanoverian period
- Institutional history of the Church of England and its Clergy
Tel:
020 7848 1087
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Intersections between Australian domestic politics, diplomacy and military decision-making, particularly during two world wars and the cold war
- Setting Australian history in its comparative context, particularly as part of the imagined ‘British world’ from the 1880s to the 1960s
- The social history of Australians in the United Kingdom
- Carl Bridge has published extensively on Australia’s relations with Britain, the United States and New Zealand
Tel:
020 7848 7392
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- English social, economic, architectural, military and political history in the thirteenth century
- Medieval Britain
- Henry III
- Westminster Abbey
- Magna Carta
Tel:
020 7848 1088
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Economic History and Diplomatic History of Modern Britain
- Military and naval history in the 18th- and 19th-centuries
- Educational development in 19th-century British schools
- History of Medicine
Tel:
020 7848 1022
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- French and British imperial history, 18th-20th century
- Political economy since 1700
- The impact of the world on Europe since 1500
- The Mediterranean in the 19th century
Tel:
020 7848 1876
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
• Late Antique and Byzantine History
• History of medicine
• Charity and the cult of remembrance
• Poverty and social stratification.
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7848 1596
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Interests:
- European Expansion (15th-19th centuries)
- History of Civil Rights in the World
- Religious History and the Inquisition
- Cultural Exchange in the Iberian World
- Identities in the Portuguese speaking World
Tel:
020 7848 1827
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Herodotus
- Archaic and classical Greek history (fifth and fourth centuries BC)
- Greek religion
- Alexander the Great
Tel:
020 7848 2010
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- 18th-century Ireland
- Intellectual History and Cultural History of Early Modern Britain and Ireland
- Northern Ireland since 1920
- Collective memories and commemorations in Irish culture
Tel:
020 7848 1118
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Email:
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Interests:
- The social history of religion in modern Europe
- History of nationalism
- Supranational identifications in modern Central Europe, especially Germany and Poland
Tel:
020 7848 1994
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Email:
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Interests:
- Modern South Asia, particularly politics, governance and political economy
- The Indian State
- Land and Agrarian Society in South Asia
- Bangladesh
- Empire and the HIstory of Political Thought
- Philosophies of Modernity
Tel:
020 7848 1081
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Email:
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Interests:
- History of women, gender and sexuality in early modern England
- Early modern social and cultural history
- Sex and sexuality
- Crime and the law
- London
- Popular culture
Tel:
020 7848 1041
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Religious, political and cultural history of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
- Reformation and Catholic Reformation in England and Europe
- Religion and Society in Early Modern England
- Henry VIII
Tel:
020 7848 1122
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Cultural history in the early modern and modern periods, including women, gender and family, and visual and material culture
- Portraiture and identity 1600 onwards
- Science and medicine since 1600
- Public history
Tel:
020 7848 1277
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Email:
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Interests:
- Continental Europe in the era spanning the French Revolution and Napoleonic period (c.1780-1830)
- State formation and nationalism in the ‘long’ 19th-century (1789-1914)
- The history of modern France and Germany
Tel:
020 7848 1080
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Email:
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Interests:
- 18th- and 19th-century social, religious and scientific thought in Britain with particular reference to Thomas Robert Malthus and Charles Darwin
- 18th- and 19th-century Britain
- European Political Ideas in the Enlightenment
Tel:
020 7848 1122
Fax:
Email:
niall.o'flaherty@kcl.ac.uk
Website:
Interests:
- Comparative modern and contemporary African history
- African politics: nationalism & decolonisation
- Politics, culture and identity
- Political thought and political theory
- Biography
Tel:
020 7848 2507
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- The Cultural and Political History of Modern Britain
- Patriotism and national identities
- History of the British landscape, preservationism
- Electoral politics
- The ‘Land Question’ in modern Britain
Tel:
020 7848 1573
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages: c. 200-800 AD
- Barbarians and the Roman Empire
- Late Antique historiography
- Legal sources and the social history of dispute settlement
- The late & post-Roman development of the Christian Church, everything from Popes to ascetics
- States and their operations
- Vikings & Slavs
Tel:
020 7848 1086
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Email:
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Interests:
- How empires shape economy, society, politics, and culture at both their centres and peripheries
- How ideas and sensibility have a Weberian long durée, and how, reciprocally, material facts - in particular nature, technology, and economy - order culture and feeling
- The British Empire (from Tudor expansion to decolonisation), and the impact of imperial expansion on the British isles
- French expansion and its impact on economy and society (c. 1500-1850)
- Global and transnational History, in particular Atlantic history
- The History of the Caribbean, in particular its intellectual life (both elite and ‘from below’) since 1800
- Anti-colonial movements in the Twentieth Century
- Imperialism after Decolonisation, in particular the neo-imperial moment (since c. 1990)
Tel:
020 7848 1076
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Email:
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Interests:
- Twentieth Century France, specifically Vichy France (1940-1944) and the Fourth Republic (1944-1958)
- The Algerian war of 1954-1962
- The pan-European protest movement of 1968
- The social and political aspects of British history throughout the period since the Second World War, particularly Thatcher and Thatcher’s Britain
Tel:
020 7848 2051
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Email:
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Interests:
- Social and political history of the Habsburg Monarchy and the successor states
- Agrarian society and peasantries of Europe in the early modern and modern periods
- Enlightenment and liberalism in Central Europe
- Landscape history
Tel:
020 7848 2667
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- End of Empire, 20th-century British Empire and Commonwealth
- 20th-century colonial Africa
Tel:
020 7848 1042
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy
- Women, Gender and the State
- Late Medieval and Renaissance Political Thought
Tel:
020 7848 2014
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Society, government, law and politics in Anglo-Saxon England
- Domesday Book and the Norman Conquest of England
- Lords and peasants in early Medieval Europe
Tel:
020 7848 1089
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- Cultural and Social History of 19th and 20th century Russia
- Stephen Lovell would welcome applications from research students interested in working on any aspect of Russian history, 1750 to the present
Tel:
020 7848 2667
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Email:
Website:
Interests:
- West Africa and the Atlantic World (16th-17th Centuries)
- Trans-Saharan and Trans-Atlantic Diasporas
- Atlantic Slavery
- Creolization
- New Christians in Europe, the Americas and West Africa
- Iberian Empires and Institutions in their Global Setting
Tel:
020 7848 1741
Fax:
Email:
Website:
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
First class or 2:1 honours degree or overseas equivalent and an MA in a related subject. This need not be history but students without history degrees will be expected to show advanced skills of analysis and historical research which their potential supervisor considers necessary. Those applying for the joint degree are encouraged to contact an academic at King's to develop research links with the partner
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Those intending to apply for research degrees in the department should search the staff pages on the history website to identify a supervisor appropriate to their intended field of study and contact them to discuss their research proposal in detail prior to making an official application. Once they have confirmed with their intended supervisor that the topic is one they would be able to supervise, applicants should apply online. Applications will not be considered until the department has received two references, an official transcript from the candidate's last place of study and a research proposal with the application. All applicants for graduate research will be interviewed and they may be requested to supply some written work on an appropriate subject with their formal application. Admission to our research programmes will initially be for the MPhil but we expect students to transfer to the PhD after an appropriate period, by agreement with their supervisor and the Departmental Postgraduate & Research Committee.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
No information required.
FUNDING
AHRC, ESRC, Graduate School and School of Arts & Humanities studentships and bursaries, self-funded.Overseas applicants should seek advice from the British Council on country-specific funding opportunities. Please see the King's postgraduate funding database for further funding opportunities:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx
Student profiles
History Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/NUSI wanted to continue my studies in order to improve my technical and theoretical knowledge, and London seemed the best place to do this because of the sheer quantity of archives and cultural collections within easy access. I chose King's above other universities because of the strong teaching and research reputation of the History Department, as well as the range of modules on offer in the
Early Modern History MA really appealed to me: they were interesting, interdisciplinary, and encouraged exploration – perfect for someone who loves History and wants to study all they can!
It is a very friendly and fun department – staff are open and approachable, and students are expected to strive, succeed and support one another. The work is challenging and the seminar discussions stimulating – not only that, but there are lots of opportunities to learn new skills and be involved in exciting new projects. It was an incredible experience, and I gained an enormous amount from the rather steep learning curve of my graduate course, both academically and personally.
I was encouraged to apply for a specific AHRC-funded project called
Reconstructing Sloane: Texts, Images, Objects, and I am thrilled to be remaining in the department as a collaborative doctoral student in partnership with the British Library for the next three years. I am looking the manuscript letters held there of the famous early modern collector Sir Hans Sloane and exploring how he used his correspondence to build up a vast network of contributors and admirers. I doubt I would have had the confidence to even apply if not for the support at King's and the eye-opening experiences of my MA year here.
History Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/NUSAs someone researching medieval London, having the opportunity to study at King’s is ideal. The fact that my supervisor is a giant in his field, and the department is so highly rated just add to the allure of being based here.
As a postgraduate at King’s though, one’s horizons are far broader than just life at the college itself. For me as a historian, I am able to take advantage of the wonderful
Institute of Historical Research, situated a short walk from the College. I have the National Archives, along with many smaller collections on my doorstep.
The British Library with its overwhelming collections is also close by. All of these, whilst being independent of King’s, are actually an integral part of the research experience one has at the College.
And the opportunities at King’s themselves are fantastic, going far beyond just the language and skills classes offered elsewhere, which of course are all promoted at King’s. Where else for example are medieval history MA and PhD students encouraged to take part in the
annual Latin play? A chance to develop the language skills one needs as a medievalist, in a creative environment, which not only builds one’s own confidence, but also a camaraderie amongst fellow students.
I was a mature undergraduate student, so as a postgraduate, I suppose I am even more mature! I have always felt as much a part of student life here as anyone. With a family to support as well as research to carry out, I probably would not be able to research, and indeed teach full-time, without having the
funding support I have from the college.
History Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/NUS
Having completed my undergraduate History degree at Oxford University, I felt I wasn’t quite finished with the intellectual challenges afforded by academic study – but I was also very ready for a change of scene. As I wanted to pursue imperial and global history specifically, King’s seemed the obvious place to take my studies further as an MA student, given the illustrious heritage of the subject within the department here, and the international renown of teaching and research in the area today.
Following my MA I decided it was time to try something different, and so pursued for the best part of a decade a hectic yet fulfilling career in the weird and wonderful world of contemporary art. The nagging feeling that my academic interests in historical study still hadn’t been satisfied never went away however, and indeed worsened to the point that I felt compelled to take the plunge and study for a PhD. Returning to King’s to do my thesis was, again, the natural and obvious decision.
My research project, funded through an AHRC doctoral studentship, focuses on the earliest English colonial experiments in the Americas, in the Caribbean and South America in particular, and is conceived as a contribution to broader debates about early modern European overseas expansion and the making of the ‘Atlantic world’. The History Department at King’s is distinguished by the astonishing geographical and thematic range of expertise on offer, with everything from pre-colonial West Africa and early modern Brazil to nineteenth-century Australia and twentieth-century China covered, which provides an incomparably stimulating environment for anyone interested in world history. Unquestionably it is this opportunity to discuss your subject with many of the finest scholars currently working in History and adjacent disciplines that distinguishes a postgraduate experience at King’s.
There is also a truly impressive and sincere commitment to encouraging interdisciplinary engagement as epitomized by the number of vibrant research clusters and institutes that bring scholars together from difference departments across the university. Of particular interest to my work are the regional institutes, including the King’s Brazil Institute, the India Institute, and the Institute of North American Studies, which drive an extremely lively and dynamic seminar culture and provide excellent opportunities for the exchange of ideas in the humanities and social sciences.
Discussing my work with other postgraduates and academics pursuing research in fields as diverse as Musicology, Spanish Literature, Geography, and Defence Studies, as well as other Historians, has hugely enriched my thinking about my project (and taught me a great deal about subjects on which I know almost nothing!), and this has been perhaps the most special and rewarding aspects of my time at King’s thus far.
History Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/NUS
I am a first year PhD student in the Department of History, studying the sea as a category of scientific inquiry in the early Royal Society, c. 1660-1700. By the late seventeenth century, the sea had emerged as the centre of England’s colonial, economic and military activity, developing the nation’s status as a leading maritime power. This coincided with the first systematic scheme of investigation into the oceanic environment as eminent natural philosophers sought to expand and develop their understanding of this distinctly unknown portion of the natural world which had come to define English power.
My thesis will explore how the Fellows of the Royal Society developed both a theoretical knowledge of the sea, an understanding of its physical properties and ecology, and a practical knowledge of the sea which encouraged advancements in seafaring, such as shipping and navigation. It will investigate the sea as a site of scientific collaboration not only between the Royal Society and the state, but between the Royal Society and maritime communities too. I have found that London is a fantastic place to study a PhD, particularly due to the wealth of archives and libraries located in the city.
A great aspect of studying the PhD is the amount of control you have over the content and direction of your project; while at the same time, you are given expert guidance and support from your supervisor. There is a strong research culture at King’s with a varied programme of seminars and conferences offered in many departments and at the Institute of Historical Research, along with a fantastic researcher’s development programme run by the Graduate School. This is particularly useful because studying a PhD has the potential to be quite a solitary experience.
As well as expanding and developing your own knowledge and skills, these events and programmes give you the opportunity to share your ideas and network with other students. I am very fortunate to receive AHRC funding to study my PhD. This was very important in my decision to embark on the course and has allowed me to fully focus on my project free of financial pressures and concerns. I am so pleased that such schemes are available for they allow enthusiastic, hard-working students who may not have had the resources to self-fund to further their studies.
Staff profiles
History Research MPhil/PhD, option of joint PhD with HKU/NUS
I've recently joined the History Department at King's and have rapidly become involved with a number of master's programmes. I am a cultural historian working across the early-modern and modern periods, and I use both images and objects in my research and teaching. It's thrilling to be located in a part of London where so many important collections are just a few minutes walk away. For example, I take my students to the National Portrait Gallery, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and the Royal College of Surgeons, so that we are working with pictures, sculptures, objects and buildings right in front of us.
My special interest is portraiture, and especially the ways in which groups, such as occupationally-based institutions, use images of leading figures to form their identities. I am just as fascinated by individuals and the creation of heroic reputations. King's is a marvellous base for such research and teaching. I also love doing master's level teaching here because we offer stimulating core modules in which we think about historical practice - a vital part of any graduate training. The friendly informal atmosphere makes working with graduates a real joy, and especially through the dissertation we get to know our students well, and probably learn as much from them as they do from us!