With a reputation for national and international excellence and innovation, our History Department was ranked fourth in the country for the highest combined percentage (92%) of world-leading and internationally excellent research outputs (REF 2021). Surrounded and supported by a host of exceptional historians, you will be exposed to diverse and international views, people and research, all encouraging and challenging you to think unconventionally and creatively about the past.
At Warwick, History is more than a department: it is a community, made up of talented scholars who are just as excited to engage with your research as they are about doing their own.
Anna
Year 2 History PhD Candidate
The breadth of expertise and experience in the History Department (currently over forty full-time members of staff), along with a thriving culture of research, seminars and conferences, make Warwick one of the very best universities in the UK to undertake research in history. 92% of our research was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent in REF 2021 and our Department achieved a 89% overall satisfaction result in the 2023 Postgraduate Research Experience Survey, one of the highest in the country.
PhD students normally complete their degrees within three to four years of full-time study, or five to seven years part-time. As a research student, your closest contact will be with your supervisor, or supervisors, who will meet with you regularly to discuss your work, and agree a programme of reading, research and writing with you.
Additional support and training are provided by the Department, Arts Faculty and the Doctoral College, as well as by History’s many reading groups, seminars, workshops and conferences. History researchers benefit from the Department's bespoke training forum for first-year students and the University Library’s Research Exchange, a dedicated postgraduate conference and study area, with state-of-the-art facilities. English Language support is also available.
Overall IELTS (Academic) score of 7.0 and component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.
All of our courses are delivered in English so, if English is not your first language, you have not graduated from an English speaking university or worked in an English speaking environment for at least two years you must demonstrate a minimum overall standard in a recognised English Language Test. The certificate will be required as evidence.
The department and university offer assistance for students working in a second language.
Please adjust your country as required:
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications. For more information, please visit the international entry requirements page.
We typically ask for two academic references for research courses.
You will be asked to include an email address for your referee(s) when submitting your application and we will contact them for you.
Students are usually expected to start their course in October. This is so that students can fully benefit from the Graduate Research Forum, our departmental skills training programme.
PhD by Publication
High-quality academic work can be produced by scholars without a postgraduate qualification. Occasionally such scholars may wish to convert this work into a Warwick doctorate. To do so, prospective students should follow the departmental guidelines for PhD by Publication.
Research themes
The Department of History at Warwick has particular strengths in the history of the early modern and modern periods. Our Faculty have expertise in subjects across the world, and we host a number of specialist Research Centres (in Global History and Culture, the History of Medicine, Science and Technology, the Early Modern and Eighteenth Century, and European History) facilitating new research by students and scholars.
The Department has an outstanding reputation for pioneering practitioners of social, cultural, early modern, European, Latin American and medical history, and has more recently been at the forefront of developing the methodologies of the new global history. Inspired by an expansive and inclusive vision of historical research, our historians' work is multi-disciplinary and draws on environmental, literary, visual and material sources spanning the globe across five centuries.
Warwick’s History Department features a host of exceptional historians and has an outstanding national and international reputation. You can search our academic staff by their areas of expertise.
Our historians highlight global and innovative perspectives on traditional themes and share an enthusiasm for history beyond the confines of academia. Their research and teaching reflects a cutting-edge take on established historical fields and ideas. They are prepared to take an unconventional view. This willingness to look beyond the conventional boundaries of the discipline makes for a distinctive learning environment at Warwick.
The Department’s commitment to supporting research that is internationally field-leading, innovative, and engaged is underpinned by the belief that understanding the past helps to shape the present and the future.
Research within the Department follows three key guiding principles: rendering visible people, objects, themes, institutions and processes whose histories have been neglected, misunderstood or under-valued; achieving engagement and impact for our findings, within academia, museums and archives and beyond; and internationalism, in terms of the scope of research, the composition of the Department, and our approach to collaboration.
If you are intellectually curious, and prepared for your investigations to take you into unexpected territories, you will be at home in Warwick’s Department of History.
There are several routes to finding a PhD supervisor at University of Warwick. Searching for a supervisor and submitting a research proposal will look different depending on the opportunity you are applying for. Below you’ll find guidance from the department about what is required for this course.
For more general advice, including top tips for finding and contacting a potential supervisor, and what to include in your research proposal visit the university’s guidance webpages.
Find your potential supervisor using the link below and contact them to discuss what you would like to research.
View our History Staff Directory where you will be able to explore the areas of expertise, research centres and research networks within the department. If you need additional guidance please email us.
Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and assessment and some student amenities.
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.
Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?
If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.
As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of research trips in the UK and overseas. In addition, you should consider the more general costs below:
Access to research material that is not available via university resources
Printing and binding a personal copy of your dissertation
Robe hire for your degree ceremony
Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.
Join our passionate history community as you develop the skills to investigate archives, question sources and build compelling historical arguments.
Across seminars, workshops and our History Society, you’ll learn with the support of exceptional historians and our world-leading research centres. Take your love of history beyond the conventional at a department ranked 7th in the Complete University Guide, and in the top 50 of the QS world subject rankings.
Warwick specialises in research-led teaching and as a taught Master’s student you will be supported by a team of exceptional historians who will help you take your passion for History to the next level.
We are home to four field-leading Research Centres, which underpin our History MA.
Our History MA degree will provide you with the skills and experience you need to continue on to a History PhD or to help you enter your chosen career.
You’ll be based in our impressive Faculty of Arts Building - with exceptional teaching, learning and social spaces designed to support collaboration and creativity. Found beside the refurbished Warwick Arts Centre in our cultural quarter, the sustainably built eight-storey hub offers specialist facilities to help your thinking, research and ambitions thrive.
Research Students will have access to all of the services of the building's Centre for Arts Doctoral Research Excellence and the University's Doctoral College.
Life at Warwick
This is where your journey begins. Our campus is the heart of it all. It’s more than just a campus - it's the places you visit, the people you meet, the fun that you have; the experiences you have here will be transformative.
Within a close-knit community of staff and students from all over the world, discover a campus alive with possibilities.
Our campus is where all the elements of your student experience come together in one place. You won't be short of ways to spend your time on campus - whether it's visiting Warwick Arts Centre, using our incredible sports facilities, socialising in our bars, nightclub and cafés, or enjoying an open-air event. Or if you need some peace and quiet, you can explore lakes, woodland and green spaces just a few minutes’ walk from central campus.
Follow our students around campus on our social channels to see their experiences first-hand.
Teaching facilities
Our campus is designed to cater for all of your learning needs. You will benefit from a variety of flexible, well-equipped study spaces and teaching facilities across the University.
Oculus, our outstanding learning hub, houses state-of-the-art lecture theatres and innovative social learning and network areas
Different study spaces offering you flexible individual and group study spaces, computers, printing and scanning facilities, multimedia resources and more
Supporting you
Our continuous support network is here to help you adjust to student life and to ensure you can easily access advice on many different issues. These may include managing your finances and workload, and settling into shared accommodation. We also have specialist disability and mental health support teams.
Whether you live on campus or off campus, in private accommodation in the well-serviced local area, you’ll be part of a community to get the most from your experience at Warwick.
Societies and sports play a huge part in community life at Warwick. With over 300 to choose from, getting involved is one of the easiest ways to make friends and share in experiences. Whether you’re into films, martial arts, astronomy, gaming or musical theatre, you can instantly connect with people with similar interests.
Your university experience is defined by far more than your course or the career path you follow. At Warwick, it’s where you discover who you could become.
68th
Warwick is ranked 68th in the world and top 10 in all major UK league tables
Our alumni community still call Warwick home. From a few hundred in 1965 to more than 310,000 alumni, and it's ever-growing.
As Warwick graduates, our students have access to employability support for two years after graduation, including access to careers appointments, job vacancies and professional networks.
Applications for courses starting in academic year 2026/27 are now open.
For research courses that start in September and October 2027, the application deadline for students who require a visa to study in the UK is 2 August 2027.
For courses starting at other times of year we recommend that you submit your application a minimum of 3 months prior to your intended start date.
This should allow sufficient time to complete the admissions process and to obtain a visa to study in the UK if required. We will still accept late applications, however cannot guarantee that the application will be processed in time to complete the admissions process if received late or there are a number of conditions to meet.
If applying late please include your degree certificates and transcripts, English proficiency evidence (if needed) and ensure referees can submit references promptly to allow time for CAS and visa processing (if applicable).
This information is applicable for 2027 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our web page 'Important information to consider before making an application' in advance of applying to Warwick.
Next steps
Explore your future university further at an upcoming event, online or in-person. Can't join? Receive regular email updates or ask current students and staff questions about life at Warwick.
