PhD in Intellectual History

Program Overview

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The PhD in Intellectual History 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 Intellectual History, including any field of human intellectual endeavour. This could range from the history of philosophy or the development of scientific inquiry to the formation, transformation, and practical utilization of any brand of political ideology or economic theory. Given sufficient evidence to illuminate it, almost any aspect of the history of ideas may potentially form an appropriate focus of study. 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 Buckingham 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.

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.

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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.

Members of the academic staff who are available to undertake supervision in the field of the Intellectual History include:

Dr Alicja Gescinska

– Dr Gescinska is a philosopher, novelist and poet. Her academic interests pertain to political theory and continental philosophy, and she has published several acclaimed works on human agency and on the philosophical and political meanings of human freedom.

Dr Paul Graham

– Dr Graham is a political theorist who has published on the work on theorists like John Rawls and Karl Heinz Boher. His current main interests include Darwinian political theory and the relationship between technology and politics.

Professor Jeremy Jennings – Professor Jennings is a historian of French political thought. His many publications include analyses of the development of French intellectual life in the century after the French Revolution, the development of French liberalism, and analyses of prominent thinkers like Jean-Jacques, Rousseau, Benjamin Constant, and Alexis de Tocqueville.

Dr Thomas C. Jones

– Dr Jones is a historian of modern European political thought, with particular interests in transnational intellectual exchange and the development and transformation of political ideologies over time. He has published on nineteenth century republicanism, socialism, and anarchism and his current work engages with themes of exile, diaspora, and national and international identity.

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More information

Enquiries should be directed in the first instance to our Admissions Officer (London Programmes), Mrs Lin Robinson, at lin.robinson@buckingham.ac.uk

or by telephone to +44 (0)1280 827514. It is usually also possible to speak with the Course Directors in your chosen area of research in advance of submitting your application: please contact Mrs Lin Robinson to arrange this.

Further information about the range of seminar topics and speakers for the coming year can be found in the downloadable brochure which can be found below.

Program Outline

Teaching & Assessment

PhD students undertake supervised but independent research, at the end of which they submit a thesis embodying the results of that research. The length of the dissertation should not be fewer than 70,000 words and no longer than 80,000 words of text (excluding the thesis-abstract, appendices, footnotes, tables, and bibliography).

This thesis must demonstrate familiarity with, and an understanding of the subject, its principal sources and authorities. It should display critical discrimination and a sense of proportion in evaluating evidence and the judgements of others. A PhD thesis must embody an original contribution to the knowledge of the discipline either by the discovery of new knowledge or by the exercise of a new and independent critical approach.