History (Early Modern History 1500-1700) (Taught)

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 MPhil in History (Early Modern 1500-1700) will introduce you to the latest developments in the study of British, European, and World history in the early modern period.

The MPhil includes a sustained period devoted to archival research and writing, and is designed to give you a thorough training in historical research, improve your ability to conceptualise and engage with historical problems, and enlarge your understanding of the historical and historiographical context in which your own research is set. The course can serve as either a free-standing graduate qualification, or as a springboard to doctoral study. Students wishing to proceed to doctoral study will be encouraged to develop their doctoral proposals during the first few months of the second year. Skills training and option-choice are flexible and open-ended, to allow you to gain the knowledge and training needed to complete your research project.

From the Reformation and Counter-Reformation to the Enlightenment, you will look at how the world was transformed by the new encounters between civilisations. You will explore the visual and material culture of the Renaissance and Baroque, and ask how the idea of the self developed, you will track changes in warfare and the growth of the state, and examine how gender relations were transformed and social hierarchies challenged.

Oxford has one of the largest groups of Early Modernists in the world, with multidisciplinary research activities being brought together by the Centre for Early Modern Studies. Further information about Early Modern research and activities can be found through the faculty website.

All graduate students are encouraged to engage with the faculty’s lively research culture of seminars, workshops, and discussions groups. There’s something happening nearly every day of the week and sessions often involve leading international scholars. The faculty also runs the Oxford History Graduate Network, which fosters conversation and collaboration between graduate students. Interdisciplinary activities are available through The Oxford Centre for Research in the Humanities (TORCH).

Course structure
You will take two compulsory core courses, a research masterclass, two optional subject courses, and undertake an original research project. Courses and research are supported by a skills programme for general historical or field-specific training. This structure gives access to a wide range of both general and specialised training within the field of history.

Additional lectures, classes, and tutorials take place in Michaelmas and Hilary terms to provide general and specific training. You will discuss what training you need to undertake your research project with your supervisor. Training available includes document and object handling, palaeography, oral history, text analysis software, GIS software, and statistical analysis.

Language training is also available, with the Faculty organising special courses for historians in French, German, Spanish, and Italian. Other modern language courses are available through the University’s Language Centre. Courses in Latin and other medieval languages are also available. Further details on language learning can be found on the faculty website.

For the full descriptions, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas