Historical Research

The course is recognised by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and is designed to meet the requirements of the Economic and Social Research Council. It trains students in social research methods necessary for applicants seeking SGSSS PhD studentships and can be taken as a funded research training Masters linked to a three-year PhD programme in social or economic history.

If you’re interested in studying a module from this course, the Postgraduate Certificate or the Postgraduate Diploma then please email Graduate Admissions to discuss your course of study.

In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), Stirling History was 3rd in Scotland for quality of research outputs and impact and 15th in the UK for impact. External Examiners regularly praise our postgraduate research supervision and our dedication to nurturing the career development of postgraduate researchers. All our staff are research active, and, with postgraduates, sustain a vibrant and inclusive research environment.

History staff offer particular strengths in the social history of Africa, North America, Great Britain, modern Europe, and Scotland from the medieval to modern periods, along with strengths in environmental history.

History staff publish widely in their fields, writing books, essays, articles in leading academic journals, historical documentary editions, and online resources. Several have won awards for their work. Current and recent research projects have been funded by:

• Arts and Humanities Research Council
• Economic and Social Research Council
• Historic Environment Scotland
• The Carnegie Trust
• The Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• The Colonial Society of Massachusetts
• The British Academy
• The Royal Society of Edinburgh
• The Leverhulme Trust

A minimum of a Second Class Honours degree (2:1 preferred) in a relevant subject or equivalent is required. Applicants without these formal qualifications but with significant appropriate/relevant work/life experience are encouraged to apply.

A research proposal is required along with your application. It should be a maximum of 1,500 words.

International entry requirements

View the entry requirements for your country.

If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:

• IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each sub-skill.
• Pearson Test of English (Academic) 62 overall with 60 in each sub-skill.
• IBT TOEFL 80 overall with 18 in reading, 23 in writing, 19 in listening and 21 in speaking.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO University of Stirling offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.

Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses.

See our information on English language requirements for more details on the language tests we accept and options to waive these requirements.

We offer a comprehensive employability and skills programme to help you maximise your time at university and develop the attributes that employers look for. In the Faculty of Arts and Humanities we have a dedicated Employability and Skills Officer. The University of Stirling’s Careers Service also works in partnership with academic staff to ensure you get the most out of your university experience and are ready for the employment market.

Skills you can develop through this course include:

• a command of a substantial body of historical knowledge;
• understand how people have existed, acted and thought in the context of the past;
• read and use texts and other source materials critically and empathetically;
• appreciate the complexity and diversity of situations, events and past mentalities;
• recognise there are ways of testing statements and that there are rules of evidence which require integrity and maturity;
• reflect critically on the nature and theoretical underpinnings of the discipline;
• marshal an argument, be self-disciplined and independent intellectually;
• express themselves orally and in writing with coherence, clarity and fluency;
• gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information;
• analyse and solve problems;
• effectively use ICT, information retrieval;
• presentation skills;
• exercise self-discipline, self-direction and initiative;
• work with others and have respect for others’ reasoned views;
• show empathy and imaginative insight.

Our students also have the opportunity to further develop their transferable skills through voluntary internships working on collections of material held within the Faculty - The Scottish Political Archive and the University's own archive.