find your perfect postgrad program
Search our Database of 30,000 Courses
University of Oxford: Architectural History
| Institution | University of Oxford |
|---|---|
| Department | University of Oxford Department For Continuing Education |
| Web | http://www.ox.ac.uk/study |
| 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 2025). 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 DPhil in Architectural History is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of successful completion of an individual research thesis and an oral examination.
The course 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.
The part-time DPhil regulations require a period of five to eight years’ part-time study. You 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.
You 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 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 course draws on considerable experience in providing advanced tuition in architectural history. It benefits from the close links within the department between the disciplines of architectural history, art history, English local history and landscape archaeology.
The course 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.
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 course 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. You 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.
You 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 |
Postgraduate Certificate - PgCert
Summary
The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). 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 PGCert in Architectural History is a one-year, part-time course covering English architecture from the Anglo-Saxon period to today. It consists of three taught units and a dissertation.
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 MSc Historic Conservation course at Oxford Brookes University.
Course structure An overview of the course structure is provided below. Details of the compulsory elements of the course are provided in the Course components section of this page.
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.
You will undertake four units.
-
Unit 1: Historical Studies 1. Teaching is by means of lectures in Oxford. 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: Teaching is by means of lectures in Oxford. 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. This unit is based at Oxford Brookes University in Headington. Teaching is by means of lectures, field trips and practical sessions, which need to be supplemented by private study. You will also have to conduct individual fieldwork. This unit is taught in Michaelmas term, with an online refresher session in Hilary Term and submission in early May, at Oxford Brookes University in Headington, Oxford. The detailed timetable for this unit will be circulated before the start of Michaelmas term.
-
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 Oxford Lifelong Learning.
| 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 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.
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 |
Not what you are looking for?
Browse other courses in Construction, Architecture, Architectural history, Continuing education or Social sciences, or search our comprehensive database of postgrad programs.Postgraduate Bursary Opportunity with Postgrad.com
Are you studying as a PG student at the moment or have you recently been accepted on a postgraduate program? Apply now for one of our £2000 PGS bursaries.
Click here