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University of Oxford: Architectural History
| Institution | University of Oxford |
|---|---|
| Department | University of Oxford Department For Continuing Education |
| Web | https://www.ox.ac.uk |
| graduate.admissions@admin.ox.ac.uk | |
| Telephone | +44 (0)1865 270059 |
DPhil
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2023). 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.**
It is possible to study for a doctorate by part-time research in architectural history. Students studying for the DPhil part-time normally study for five to eight years. This compares with a full-time DPhil which normally takes three to four years to complete.
The DPhil programme draws on considerable experience in providing advanced tuition in architectural history. It profits from the close links within the department between the disciplines of architectural history, art history, English local history and landscape archaeology. It also has links with other parts of the University, particularly the Faculty of History, the Department of History of Art, and Kellogg College, amongst the fellows of which is the largest concentration of architectural historians associated with the University.
In broad terms, supervision is possible in most areas of British architectural history from the middle ages to the present, and some European and American topics. In terms of Great Britain, academic staff currently have particular research interests in ecclesiastical buildings; country houses and their landscapes; the British home since 1700; railway stations; the history of building conservation; Regency architecture; architecture of the period 1880-1940; Gothic Revival; urban and institutional architecture, especially of London and Oxford, from 1660 to the present.
The programme is overseen by the Continuing Education Board of the University. Admission is through the Department for Continuing Education. The part-time DPhil regulations require a period of five to eight years’ part-time study (equivalent to three years' full-time). Research students may be required to undertake appropriate research training provided within the department. Doctoral training is provided through the department’s Graduate School, and other agreed learning requirements (eg foreign languages) can draw on the resources of both the department and the wider University.
As a part-time student you will be required to attend supervision meetings and other obligations in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year.
You will have the opportunity to tailor your part-time study and skills training in liaison with your supervisor and agree your pattern of attendance.
Graduate students in the department have access to the full range of Oxford’s library, archive and computing facilities. In addition, they will be strongly encouraged to participate in seminars and informal meetings with staff and other researchers both within the Department and elsewhere in the University. The major commitment of time will be to individual study and research, involving wide and intense reading, data collection (which may include fieldwork) and analysis, and writing.
| Study type | Research |
|---|---|
| Level | RQF Level 8 |
| Entry requirements | 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 |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
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.**
It is possible to study for a doctorate by part-time research in architectural history. Students studying for the DPhil part-time normally study for five to eight years. This compares with a full-time DPhil which normally takes three to four years to complete.
The DPhil programme draws on considerable experience in providing advanced tuition in architectural history. It profits from the close links within the department between the disciplines of architectural history, art history, English local history and landscape archaeology. It also has links with other parts of the University, particularly the Faculty of History, the Department of History of Art, and Kellogg College, amongst the fellows of which is the largest concentration of architectural historians associated with the University.
In broad terms, supervision is possible in most areas of British architectural history from the middle ages to the present, and some European and American topics. In terms of Great Britain, academic staff currently have particular research interests in ecclesiastical buildings; country houses and their landscapes; architecture of the period 1880-1940; Gothic Revival; urban and institutional architecture, especially of London and Oxford, from 1660 to the present.
The programme is overseen by the Continuing Education Board of the University. Admission is through the Department for Continuing Education. The part-time DPhil regulations require a period of five to eight years’ part-time study (equivalent to three years' full-time). Research students may be required to undertake appropriate research training provided within the department. Doctoral training is provided through the department’s Graduate School, and other agreed learning requirements (eg foreign languages) can draw on the resources of both the department and the wider University.
As a part-time student you will be required to attend supervision meetings and other obligations in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year.
You will have the opportunity to tailor your part-time study and skills training in liaison with your supervisor and agree your pattern of attendance.
Graduate students in the department have access to the full range of Oxford’s library, archive and computing facilities. In addition, they will be strongly encouraged to participate in seminars and informal meetings with staff and other researchers both within the Department and elsewhere in the University. The major commitment of time will be to individual study and research, involving wide and intense reading, data collection (which may include fieldwork) and analysis, and writing.
**Supervision**
For this course, the allocation of graduate supervision is the responsibility of the Department for Continuing Education and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Department for Continuing Education.
Supervision on the DPhil programme is provided by specialist tutors from the department and elsewhere in Oxford. It is provided on an individual basis, tailored to the specific needs of students and to their subjects. Students on the DPhil are required to attend a minimum of 30 days of university-based work each year for the duration of your studies, usually that involves meeting their supervisor once a term.
| Study type | Research |
|---|---|
| Level | RQF Level 8 |
| Entry requirements | 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 |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
Postgraduate Certificate - PgCert
Summary
**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2023). 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 2: Historical Studies 2**
Post-Medieval Buildings
**Unit 3: Site evaluation and survey**
Local Historic Building Study
**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.
This unit provides an opportunity for an extended exploration of a single topic based on primary and secondary research to demonstrate the skills and knowledge gained in the other elements of the course.
| Study type | Taught |
|---|---|
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
| Entry requirements | 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 |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
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.
| Study type | Taught |
|---|---|
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
| Entry requirements | 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 |
| Location | University of Oxford University Offices Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JD |
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