Research Degrees: History of Art and/or Archaeology

SOAS, University of London

Course

In City of London

£ 4,271 + VAT

The best History courses

See all

See all

Description

  • Type

    Course

  • Location

    City of london

  • Start date

    Different dates available

Start of programme: September intake only
Mode of Attendance: Full-time or Part-time
Why embark on a Research Degree?
While a research degree should be very rewarding personally, it is also a serious and sometimes intense undertaking. Under the current system, a full-time doctoral student has three years to complete a full draft of her or his thesis and then a further one year for writing up (known as a 3+1 degree). There are always solitary moments when carrying out individual research, even if a department has a strong collegiate atmosphere, as ours does. Research degrees are generally undertaken by individuals who aim to become professionals in the field of art history and/or archaeology, whether as academics who carry out research and teach in universities or as curators or educators in museums, libraries or archives, or in any number of other related areas such as academic publishing or even the commercial art world. It is generally a good idea to have some experience of work outside university before applying to a doctoral programme, for example, in some role in a museum or gallery. Embarking on a research degree is not just about the qualification but also about developing as a person and a professional so as to be able to contribute to national and international discourses in, and perhaps also far beyond, the history of art and archaeology.
Why at SOAS?.
Beyond the distinctive intellectual environment of SOAS, doctoral researchers are generally drawn to work with an individual supervisor who is a renowned expert in a particular field or else is known for a particular critical approach. Many of our current students completed MA degrees at SOAS during which time they took courses with and got to know members of academic staff in the department, experiences that encouraged them to consider a research degree. Prospective applicants may wish to browse through the staff webpages where updated biographies and publications of individual staff members may be found...

Facilities

Location

Start date

City of London (London)
See map

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open
Different dates availableEnrolment now open

Questions & Answers

Add your question

Our advisors and other users will be able to reply to you

Who would you like to address this question to?

Fill in your details to get a reply

We will only publish your name and question

Reviews

This centre's achievements

2018

All courses are up to date

The average rating is higher than 3.7

More than 50 reviews in the last 12 months

This centre has featured on Emagister for 7 years

Subjects

  • Supervisor
  • Staff
  • Presentation
  • IT
  • Archaeology
  • Art
  • Writing
  • Full Time
  • History
  • Intercultural awareness
  • Analytical skills
  • Organizational Skills
  • Audiovisual
  • HAA Research Skills
  • Literary presentation
  • Critical power

Course programme

The year-by-year requirements for full-time MPhil and PhD research students are as follows:

Year 1

During Year 1, the student refines the research proposal and decides in conjunction with his/her Supervisory Committee whether the research project should be directed towards the goal of an MPhil or a PhD degree. Students who wish to work towards the PhD must pass the process of upgrading registration from MPhil to PhD candidacy. They must provide the following to the Supervisory Committee by the May deadline (the exact date is set each year by SOAS Registry):

1) Written work for the HAA Research Skills (15 PAR H061) Term 1 obligatory course (5,000 words)
2) Draft chapter(s) (15,000 words)
3) A chapter outline and a time plan for each chapter’s completion
4) A year 2 fieldwork and research plan
5) A bibliography of relevant sources
6) A regional research seminar presentation

Year 2

The student undertakes fieldwork or data collection. Regular reports must be submitted to their supervisor, via email or in person. A second chapter will normally be completed.

Year 3

Students complete a full draft of their thesis. They are required to undertake the following:

1) Term 1: Required informal presentation in HAA Research Skills seminar on outcome of fieldwork and its impact on their research project
2) Term 2: Required presentation in HAA Department 3rd-year PhD students’ fieldwork research seminar in March
3) Term 3: Submission of draft thesis by 15 September, along with a Completed Approval Form. If the Supervisory Committee is satisfied that the draft thesis can be developed into a thesis of a quality worthy for submission for examination in the subsequent academic year, the student will be allowed to register on Extension of Writing-up (Continuation) Status in Year 4.

Year 4

Students complete and submit their thesis. At the viva (thesis examination), the examiners aim to confirm that:

a) they have satisfied themselves that the thesis is genuinely the work of the candidate
b) the thesis forms a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject, and affords evidence of originality by (i) the discovery of new facts and/or (ii) the exercise of independent critical power
c) the thesis is satisfactory as regards literary presentation
d) the thesis is of a standard to merit publication in whole or in part or in a revised form.

See the SOAS Doctoral School website for further details about MPhil/PhD processes.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules

See related categories

Research Degrees: History of Art and/or Archaeology

£ 4,271 + VAT

The best History courses

See all

See all