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About the course

The PhD in Stuart History – which incorporates the history of the Civil War and the English Republic (1649-1660) – is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral viva voce examination. The primary purpose of the PhD is the preparation and presentation of a substantial piece of independent and original academic research, completed in three years if studying full-time and usually six years if studying part-time. There is also the possibility of early submission in cases where the student makes particularly rapid progress.

There is an enormously broad range of possible thesis subjects in British History during the ‘long’ seventeenth century: the age of Stuart rule from the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England and Ireland in 1603 through to the death of Queen Anne, the last of the Protestant Stuart monarchs, in 1714. Theses in the recent past have ranged from Anglo-French relations in the early seventeenth century, to the political career of the second Earl of Warwick, one of the towering figures of the parliamentarian leadership in the English Civil War, through to the financial underpinnings of British government after the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688. The University encourages applications from those who are interested in all aspects of the social, religious, political and cultural history of Stuart Britain.

Given sufficient evidence to illuminate it, almost any aspect of the history of Britain in the ‘long’ seventeenth century may potentially form an appropriate focus of study. Your supervisors (or prospective supervisors) are on hand to offer advice. The definition of the PhD subject is an iterative process, and it is usual for the candidate’s first thoughts on the topic to be modified in the course of the first year of study.

A large proportion of our PhD students are engaged in full-time study, but there is also an option for part-time study where this fits better with a student’s other commitments. Part-time study can be ideal for those who are looking to gain a postgraduate qualification without leaving employment and wish to develop their careers while they continue earning, or for those who are home-based for whatever reason and wish to develop their skills. All students are expected to engage with the academic life of the University, to attend skills-training meetings where these are relevant, as well as research seminars and workshops.

PhD students are expected to attend the Humanities Research Institute’s graduate Research Days in their area of research – usually one per Term – and are encouraged to attend other seminars that may be relevant to their research. These provide an opportunity for PhD students to share their work with their peers, and to engage with visiting experts in their field.

The University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø PhD is intended to impart all the skills necessary for the student to work as an independent researcher and writer – skills that are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. But the PhD can be undertaken just as fulfillingly as an exercise in the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, and as a means of exploring areas of enquiry that are of particular interest to the student. A number of our most successful student researchers are those who take up doctoral study at the end of a successful career in a different field or profession.

DEFINING A SUBJECT FOR RESEARCH

Some students know from the outset the precise subject on which they intend to work. For most, however, the definition of a research proposal is usually a gradual process, with the student starting with a general area of interest, and then focusing on a more closely defined topic as a result of further reading and consultation, usually with the Course Director.

RESEARCH SEMINARS

Graduate students in Philosophy at the University have access to a wide range of research seminars in the course of the academic year. A number of these advanced seminars are exclusively for doctoral students. A further series of seminars are available to all research students in Philosophy (whether Master’s or PhD). The research seminar meets regularly either at the University’s offices at 51 Gower St, Bloomsbury, London, or at the Reform Club in Pall Mall, SW1. Further details of the forthcoming year’s research can be obtained from the Director of Research in Philosophy.

STUDY PERIOD

The usual period of doctoral research is three years for the those who engage in full-time study, though the University’s Regulations also permit candidates who make particularly rapid progress to apply to the University Research Committee for permission to submit at the end of their second year of study.

Part-time study is also available, with students completing the dissertation in five or six years.

SUPERVISION

Every PhD student in School of Humanities is supported by two supervisors. Supervisors are experts in their field of study and support students throughout the PhD. Students will also benefit from the advice and support of other academic members of the Faculty who will be involved in progression through the various stages of the PhD, including Annual Review meetings with a senior professor (where progress is monitored and support offered towards the planning of the next period of study).

Each student is allocated two supervisors. There is a First (or Principal) Supervisor, who is the student’s regular guide during his or her research, and with whom the student meets regularly throughout the year. There is also a Second Supervisor, whom the student may consult on a more limited basis where a ‘second opinion’ on a particular draft chapter may be helpful.

SUPERVISORS

Professor John Adamson, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Humanities Research Institute: supervision in political and religious history c. 1560-1700, the history of the royal court, Britain and Europe, the social and political role of the nobility, the relation between art and politics, the English Civil War. Professor Adamson is one of the country’s leading experts in the field of Stuart History and is the winner of the Royal Historical Society’s Alexander Prize for History, the University of Cambridge’s Seeley Medal and Thirlwall Prize for History, and was awarded the Latham Medal and Samuel Pepys Prize for his book, The Noble Revolt: the Overthrow of Charles I.

He is a regular reviewer for the London Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, The Literary Review, The Catholic Herald, and The Times Literary Supplement. He is also a Fellow of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge.

Mr Paul Lay, Senior Research Fellow at the Humanities Research Institute, The University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø, and a former editor of History Today. Mr Lay’s research interests include Britain and Venice in the seventeenth century, and the history of the Interregnum and the Cromwellian Protectorate, and the political culture of seventeenth-century England more generally. His study of the political world of the 1650s, Providence Lost: the Rise and Fall of Cromwell’s Protectorate, was shortlisted for the 2020 Cundill History Prize.

Dr Sean Kelsey, Senior Research Fellow of the Humanities Research Institute, ³Ô¹ÏÍø. Dr Kelsey’s research focuses on politics and the army during the English Civil War and the political culture of the English Commonwealth. His recent research has looked in detail at the trial of Charles I. His doctoral dissertation was published as Inventing a Republic: the Political Culture of the English Commonwealth, 1643-1653.

Dr David Scott, Senior Research Fellow of the Humanities Research Institute, ³Ô¹ÏÍø, is also editor of the official History of Parliament’s multi-volume biographical dictionary on The House of Lords, 1640-1660. He is one of the country’s leading authorities on Parliament in the seventeenth century, and his interests include factional politics and the rise of political parties, the nobility during the Interregnum, Royalism during the Civil War, the early development of the British empire, and English America in the seventeenth century. His books include, Leviathan: The Rise of Britain as a World Power, and a study of the Civil Wars: Politics and War in the Three Stuart Kingdoms, 1637-49.

Professor Simon Thurley, CBE, Professorial Fellow, is Britain’s leading authority on the royal residences of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs. A former curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, he has published over fifteen books dealing with buildings ranging from the Tower of London and its royal apartments, to Whitehall and St James’s Palace. His most recent work focuses on the major royal residences during the reigns of Charles I and during the Civil War.

Professor Adrian Tinniswood, OBE, Senior Research Fellow of the Humanities Research Institute, ³Ô¹ÏÍø, supervises in the history of the Tudor and Stuart country house, the social history of the gentry, early-modern piracy. His numerous books include studies of two important Stuart political families – the royalist Verneys and The Rainborowes: Pirates, Puritans, and a Family’s Quest for the Promised Land – as well as a highly regarded biography of Sir Christopher Wren and The Royal Society and the Invention of Modern Science. Adrian Tinniswood is available to supervise research, particularly in English seventeenth-century social and cultural history. He has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the national heritage.

MORE INFORMATION

Enquiries should be directed in the first instance to our Admissions Officer (London Programmes), at humanitiespg@admissions@buckingham.ac.uk. It is usually also possible to speak with the Course Director, in advance of submitting your application.