Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. This one year part-time course consists of three taught units and a dissertation. It covers English architectural history from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. The course is designed to offer a progression from supported learning, with regular essays and feedback in the Historical Studies units, to more independent work in the Site Evaluation Survey Unit and, particularly, the dissertation, and can therefore act as a preparation for progression to a higher academic level, including doctoral work. The PGCert is taught in association with the Historic Conservation course at Oxford Brookes University. It is recommended that students plan to spend at least 15 hours per week in private study in addition to time spent in classes or tutorials. This may require careful scheduling at times to fit in with other commitments. Unit 1: Historical Studies 1 Settlement, Landscape and Medieval Buildings Unit 1 concentrates on the medieval period. It provides an introduction to the evolution of the landscape and the major elements of architectural history in England up to the sixteenth century. The aim of the unit is to enable you to acquire a sound understanding of the basic development of medieval buildings and their context. Teaching is by means of lectures, held in Rewley House, and field trips. You will also need to ensure you have sufficient time for directed reading and private study. Tutorials are available by request. Unit 2: Historical Studies 2 Post-Medieval Buildings The unit will continue the themes introduced in Historical Studies 1 and will analyse the major architectural developments from the sixteenth century to the present century. The unit will seek to build on the Historical Studies 1 to enable you to acquire a sound understanding of the development of English architectural history and its broader context down to the present century in a manner which is relevant to historic conservation. Teaching is by means of lectures at Rewley House. You will also need to ensure you have sufficient time for directed reading and private study. Tutorials are available by request. Unit 3: Site evaluation and survey Local Historic Building Study This unit is based at Oxford Brookes University in Headington. This is a skill-based unit designed to develop expertise in understanding the special architectural and historical characteristics of a particular site, building or group of buildings and to develop techniques for its representation through research, measurement, and drawn and photographic recording. This unit will enable you to develop the skills necessary to plan, prepare and execute a programme for the recording of structures and sites, and will introduce the main sources of archive material for investigations into historic buildings, sites and monuments. It provides an introduction to the making of a competent analytical record of a site through text, photographic and measured surveys, and drawn representation. This unit is taught on either side of Christmas and Easter, ending in mid-May, at Oxford Brookes University in Headington, Oxford. The detailed timetable for this unit will be circulated at the start of Michaelmas term. The syllabus will cover drawing and survey techniques, documentary research, photographic recording and practical building analysis. Unit 4: Individual dissertation An 8,000-word dissertation on a subject relevant to architectural history, chosen in consultation with the course tutor and due for submission by the end of August. Dissertations are supervised within the Department for Continuing Education.