Architectural History

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). 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.

This one year part-time course consists of three taught units and a dissertation. It covers English architectural history from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. The course is designed to offer a progression from supported learning, with regular essays and feedback in the Historical Studies units, to more independent work in the Site Evaluation Survey Unit and, particularly, the dissertation, and can therefore act as a preparation for progression to a higher academic level, including doctoral work.

The PGCert is taught in association with the Historic Conservation course at Oxford Brookes University.

It is recommended that students plan to spend at least 15 hours per week in private study in addition to time spent in classes or tutorials. This may require careful scheduling at times to fit in with other commitments.

Unit 1: Historical Studies 1
Settlement, Landscape and Medieval Buildings

Unit 2: Historical Studies 2
Post-Medieval Buildings

Unit 3: Site evaluation and survey
Local Historic Building Study

Unit 4: Individual dissertation
An 8,000-word dissertation on a subject relevant to architectural history, chosen in consultation with the course tutor and due for submission by the end of August. Dissertations are supervised within the Department for Continuing Education.

This unit provides an opportunity for an extended exploration of a single topic based on primary and secondary research to demonstrate the skills and knowledge gained in the other elements of the course.