Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/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 Economic and social history is the study of economic activities and social organization in the historical past. This two-year specialist programme offers a unique framework for research training in economic and social history. It offers a wide range of options and allows you to specialise in economic and/or social history, or historical demography, although the boundaries between these areas are deliberately permeable. This course is intended to introduce you to the wide variety of methods used in the study of economic and social history, as well as to the subject itself. The core qualifying papers provide an opportunity to evaluate a range of different qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches; they impart a common language, and create a close and friendly community, in which ideas are shared, and strong personal ties are forged, developing a community that provides a base from which to venture out and experience the intellectual, social and cultural rewards of Oxford. The course comprises:

• 'What happened and why: an introduction to themes and approaches in economic and social history', a required course for all students, focusing on social sciences methodologies and approaches and taught through a series of lectures and parallel classes during Michaelmas term;

• a course in quantitative methods and computer applications for economic and social history: You will be allocated to either the standard or the advanced course, depending on your previous statistical and/or econometric training. More advanced students will be able to take a quantitative methods course provided as part of the MPhil in Economics, subject to satisfying admission criteria;

• four advanced papers, usually taught in small classes, mostly during Hilary and/or Trinity term; and

• a dissertation of not more than 30,000 words on a topic of your choice, approved by your supervisor, and submitted at the beginning of Trinity term in the second year of the programme.