Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). 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. The MPhil in History (History of War) will provide you with the structural and intellectual framework to study all aspects of war from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present day. The MPhil includes a sustained period devoted to archival research and writing, and is designed to give you a thorough training in historical research, improve your ability to conceptualise and engage with historical problems, and enlarge your understanding of the historical and historiographical context in which your own research is set. The course can serve as either a free-standing graduate qualification, or as a springboard to doctoral study. Students wishing to proceed to doctoral study will be encouraged to develop their doctoral proposals during the first few months of the second year. Skills training and option-choice are flexible and open-ended, to allow you to gain the knowledge and training needed to complete your research project. By replacing the narrow approaches of more traditionally defined military history with a broader agenda you will be able to study conflict as part of the wider human past. With attention shifting away from conventional wars between states, you will look at how armed struggles have been waged by a variety of different actors with hugely varying impacts on society, economy, culture and environment, as well as differing political implications. The study of the History of War at Oxford is diverse geographically and spatially, as well as using multiple approaches to understand past conflicts. Further information about history of war research and activities can be found through the faculty website. All graduate students are encouraged to engage with the faculty’s lively research culture of seminars, workshops, and discussions groups. There’s something happening nearly every day of the week and sessions often involve leading international scholars. The faculty also runs the Oxford History Graduate Network, which fosters conversation and collaboration between graduate students. Interdisciplinary activities are available through The Oxford Centre for Research in the Humanities (TORCH). For the full descriptions, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas