International History

Research Training

All students admitted to the Department's MPhil/PhD programme are required to participate in a training programme until the completion of their degree. In their first year this includes a one-day introduction to research at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, and the Research Student Introductory Workshop organised by the PhD Programme Director in the Department, which meets at least five times in the Michaelmas term and again in the Lent and Summer terms, the frequency of meetings dependent upon the number of participants. In the Michaelmas term the Workshop serves to introduce students to effective archival research, and issues in the preparation of a thesis. Among the practical subjects addressed are the use of archives, bibliographic preparation, note taking, record keeping, interviewing techniques and writing skills. In the Lent and Summer terms the Workshop provides students with the opportunity to present and discuss their preliminary research results.

Upgraded Students attend the Advanced Workshop held in the Michaelmas and Summer terms, the frequency of meetings dependent upon the number of participants. The meetings are intended principally as a forum for reviewing research in progress, although a range of practical issues related to historical research and writing as well as career information are discussed.

Research students are required to attend regularly at least one relevant research seminar at the LSE, the Institute of Historical Research, the Canãda Blanch Centre or elsewhere at the University when they are not abroad doing research. They are strongly encouraged to attend conferences. Where they are invited to present a paper, the Department has a fund to which they may apply for assistance.

They are expected to attend the School's seminar on authoring a PhD and publishing the results. In addition, they are encouraged to attend the Department's Staff Research Seminar, at which members of staff present papers on their own research, the seminars of the Cold War Studies Centre, which is hosted jointly by the Departments of International History and International Relations (for information see http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/coldWarStudiesProgramme/); and the Department's occasional series of 'cutting-edge lectures in history'.

In their first year of enrolment in the Department's MPhil/PhD programme and in each subsequent year, students are required to prepare a statement of their research training needs, in conjunction with their supervisor(s) and the PhD Programme Director. The LSE Library offers training packages in bibliographical skills and using web-based resources. More specialized training in IT, languages, and in methodology are provided by the LSE centrally through its IT Services division, the Language Centre, and the Methodology Institute. Methodology Institute courses cover, among other topics, epistemological issues, quantitative methods, and interviewing. Introductory lecture courses in related disciplines (including Politics, International Relations, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Economics) are readily accessible in the School. Advanced training on sources and techniques for research in history is offered at the Institute of Historical Research.

Upgrading from MPhil to PhD and monitoring progress

On being admitted, all students are formally registered for an MPhil by1 June of their first year (1 March of their second year for part-time students) they are required to submit a dossier containing (1) the provisional title of their thesis, together with the provisional titles of their chapters; (2) a bibliography, setting out as comprehensively as possible the primary published and unpublished sources they intend to use, along with the books, articles, unpublished theses and other sources they will consult; (3) an historiographical essay, evaluating the contributions of other scholars to their subject, and indicating clearly how their own thesis will contribute to it; and (4) a draft chapter of approximately 10,000 words based largely upon primary sources. The dossier will be read by two members of the Department other than the supervisor, who will report on it in writing to the Research Student Progress Committee, which consists of five members of staff. If the Committee deems the dossier satisfactory, the Department will recommend the student for transfer of registration from MPhil to PhD status. If it is less than satisfactory it will be examined by the Committee who will determine whether the student should be allowed to resubmit revised upgrade materials, which may be permitted once. The review process is designed to determine whether the student is likely to meet the requirements of a PhD, and whether the chosen topic is suitable for a doctoral dissertation. The Department uses the School's Code of Good of Practice for Research Students and their Supervisors as a determinant of the general responsibilities of research students and their supervisors. All students should make an effort to familiarise themselves with its contents.

The LSE requires all research students to complete an annual progress form, which they pass on for further comment from their supervisor(s), the PhD Programme Director, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The form includes specific questions about the research training undertaken by the student during the current academic year and the further training needs that they envisage as being necessary in the succeeding year.

The Department requires students to report formally on their progress at least twice a year. If their progress is deemed unsatisfactory by the PhD Programme Director or supervisor their position will be assessed by the Research Student Progress Committee, who will determine the conditions under which they will be allowed to continue in the programme.

The Department expects that full-time research students will submit their theses within four years and part-time students in eight years, and the reviews of student progress are geared to achieving that goal.

Teaching opportunities

The Department offers its research students the opportunity to undertake undergraduate class teaching as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), after they have successfully completed upgrading from MPhil to PhD registration. GTAs are required to attend a departmental training session at the beginning of the academic year, and encouraged to attend the School-wide courses offered by the TLDO. GTAs are monitored by the GTA Tutor, and advised by the members of staff responsible for the courses that they teach. This includes advice on marking essays and may include observing a class. In addition all GTAs are subject to a School-wide questionnaire of student opinions on teaching conducted annually in the Michaelmas term. The results are made available to the Convener of the Department, to the GTA Tutor, and to the teachers responsible for courses, for discussion with their GTAs.

Further information, including advice on funding, is available on the departmental webpages - http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/internationalHistory/.

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