University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education: Architectural History

Summary

**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2019). 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 the History of Art, and Kellogg College, amongst the fellows of which is the largest concentration of architectural historians associated with the University.

The programme is overseen by the Continuing Education Board of the University. Admission is through the Department for Continuing Education.

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 Department for Continuing Education Department for Continuing Education University of Oxford Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JA

Summary

**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2019). 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 Saxon period to the present day. The PGCert is taught in association with the Historic Conservation course at Oxford Brookes University.

**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.

Assessment consists of three essays, each of 1,500 words.

**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.

Assessment consists of two essays, each of 2,000 words.

**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.

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.

Assessment is via a workbook record of a selected building, to be submitted by mid-May.

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.

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 Department for Continuing Education Department for Continuing Education University of Oxford Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square Oxford OX1 2JA