PhD History

Why undertake a PhD or MPhil in History at Aberystwyth University? History has been taught at Aberystwyth University since it was founded in 1872, making our department the oldest in Wales and one of the foremost in Britain. Aberystwyth boasts library resources amongst the best in Europe and contains expansive source material for the medieval, early modern and modern periods.

The University’s Hugh Owen Library houses more than 700,000 volumes, a number of unique research collections, and subscribes to more than 3,500 current periodicals. The Hugh Owen Library is also one of only two designated European Documentation Centres in Wales and contains considerable resources for historians interested in the USA. Situated next to the university campus is the National Library of Wales, one of the UK’s five copyright libraries, which houses more than 6,000,000 volumes and offers immediate access to all copyright publications issued in the UK.

The National Library houses many collections relating to the British Isles in general, and has been since its inception the world's leading repository for archives relating to the history of Wales and beyond, many of them still awaiting exploration. Further information about research resources in Aberystwyth is available. Aberystwyth is also home to a number of research-led institutions that are useful to historians of many periods and interests.

These include (besides the National Library), the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales, and the Ceredigion Record Office. The Department's teaching and research expertise ranges across the second millennium and into the twenty-first century, encompassing Europe, Asia, Latin America and the US, with a particular focus on political and historical cultures, the history of science and medicine, and media as well as social and economic history. It also has close links with other centres of historical study in the university, and - through conferences, workshops and its series of research seminars - offers access to a wide range of international scholarly networks.

All of our lecturers are research active and are recognised as leading authorities in their respective fields.