Course details

Summary

The PhD is a globally recognised postgraduate research degree, the highest level of degree you can achieve. PhD students are critical, curious, creative thinkers who undertake original research over at least 3 years. As well as your supervised original research, through your doctoral programme you will have opportunities to expand and develop your personal and professional skills. Doctoral candidates present their work at local and international conferences, and are encouraged to network and collaborate with a wide range of experts in their research field.

This course is also offered at overseas and Manukau location.

History

Studying History gives you an insight into the forces that have shaped our world and ourselves. Study opportunities include New Zealand history, 毛利 and indigenous histories, pre-modern and modern Europe, American history and the histories of Asia, Australia and the Pacific.

Areas of study

Postgraduate study in History allows you to extend your skills and pursue specialized areas of historical research to suit your interests. You are encouraged to become familiar with current debates on the nature of History and with the major theoretical developments which have influenced the field in the past 20 years. Study and research opportunities reflect staff research expertise in History: New Zealand history - social, political and cultural; 毛利 history; modern US history; the Pacific Islands and their historical development; Australian history; Chinese, Japanese and South-East Asian history; European history - medieval, early modern and modern; thematic areas of history: sexuality, science and technology, medicine, gender, the environment, race, religion and film.

What you will learn

Opportunities for postgraduate study in history allow you to extend your skills in the field and pursue specialised research projects. You are also encouraged to become familiar with current historiographical debates on the nature of history as a discipline and with the major theoretical developments which have had an influence on the field in the past few decades.

Career opportunities

Our graduates have careers in government, the public service, teaching and libraries, and as researchers with the Waitangi Tribunal and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage/Te Manatu Taonga. Others have continued their study of History at institutions such as Harvard University and Oxford University.

Programme structure

The University of Auckland PhD is a three-to-four year full-time advanced research degree.

On entry to the PhD programme, you will be enrolled provisionally. By the end of your first year, you must meet a number of goals to be confirmed into the PhD programme, including developing a full thesis proposal. After confirmation, you will continue to work on your research before submitting your thesis for examination after three years and within four years of your start date. The examination process includes an oral exam.

As part of your PhD study, you can take part in our doctoral skills programme, designed to help you achieve success in your research and develop skills for your future. We have a dedicated postgraduate careers advisor, and our library service includes specialist subject librarians to help you in your research. The central School of Graduate Studies provides dedicated support and advice for the doctoral community.

Where could this programme take you?

Our PhD graduates are successful in a wide range of fields and careers, as well as the traditional academic research career path. The PhD gives you extensive specialist and transferable skills, which are sought after in many sectors, including industry and government, and can even help you to develop entrepreneurship skills to run your own startup.

Entry criteria

• Masters-level qualification or the equivalent of a bachelors degree with honours
• GPE 5.5
• Evidence of significant research, usually undertaken as part of prior study

English language requirements:

IELTS 6.5; TOEFL (iBT) 90; TOEFL (paper-based) 575; CAE or CPE 176; PTE 58; MELAB 85.