Programme Specification: MPhil/PhD International History
1. Awarding Body
2. Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body, e.g. ESRC;
BPS etc
LSE
AHRC
3. Name of final award
4. Programme Title
5. Duration of the course
6. Based in the Department/Institute:
7. Relevant QAA subject benchmark statements
MPhil/PhD
International History
3-4 years (minimum 2)
International History
N/A
8. Application Code
9. First written/last amended
V1ZH
April 2004/ November 2012
10. The programme aims to:
Equip students to design, research and write an MPhil or PhD of the standard expected by the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The PhD thesis (up to 100,000 words in length based on primary sources) shall comprise an integrated whole, present a coherent argument, and form a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject and afford evidence of originality by the discovery of new facts and/or by the exercise of independent critical power.
The MPhil thesis is either a record of original work or of an ordered and critical exposition of existing knowledge and shall provide evidence that the field has been thoroughly surveyed.
11. Programme outcomes: knowledge and understanding; skills and other attributes
Students completing the programme will:
 gain a deep knowledge of aspects of modern history and/or international relations;
 develop competence in identifying and evaluating numerous forms of evidence on public events;
 acquire greater competence in written and oral communication;
 gain an understanding of complex intellectual, political and bureaucratic systems, and means of evaluating their performance and outcomes;
 acquire analytical skills appropriate to a wide range of professional activities as well as a career in university.
Information relating to careers .
12. Teaching, learning and assessment strategies to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated
1. Training:
Hav ing been admitted to the Department’s MPhil/PhD programme students are required to participate in a training programme until the completion of their degree. In their first year this training (compulsory) is the International History Research Student Workshop (HY501) organised by the Department’s Doctoral Programme Director, which meets eight times in the autumn term and seven times in the spring and summer terms. The aim of the Workshop is to introduce students to effective archival research, issues in the preparation of a thesis, means of launching a career in academic or related fields, and the opportunity to present research in

progress. Meetings in the autumn term, to which at least six members of the Department currently contribute, are devoted to bibliographic preparation, note taking, record keeping, writing strategies, techniques for using oral evidence and other practical issues of historical research. Meetings in the spring term provide students the opportunity to present and discuss their preliminary research results.
Students who have been upgraded from MPhil registration to PhD must attend HY509
International History Research Seminar. HY510 Cold War History Research Seminar were second and third year PhD students will present their research for discussion. There will also be seminars by staff from within and outside the department on their own research with relevance for PhD students either in terms of subject and/or methodology.
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. Students are also expected to attend the School’s seminar on authoring a PhD and publishing the results.
New students also have the option of attending a one-day introduction to research at the
Institute of Historical Research. As part of their training, students are required to attend regularly at least one relevant research seminar when not abroad doing research. The LSE and the Institute of Historical Research offer a wide variety of such seminars. These seminars offer you a benchmark for the standard which students will be expected to attain in their research, a chance to meet and hear specialists in their field, to learn of conferences, to widen their knowledge beyond their immediate area of research, and to present their findings to a small but specialised audience.
All research students are strongly encouraged to attend the Department’s Staff Research
Seminar, at which members of staff present papers on their own research; seminars organised by IDEAS, which is hosted jointly by the International History and International
Relations Departments; and public lectures arranged by the Department. Students are encouraged to attend conferences, and the Department has a fund to which they may apply for assistance if they are invited to give a paper.
Upon enrolment in the Department’s MPhil/PhD programme, 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.
Supervision:
Besides the training element of the programme, students are expected to consult their supervisor regularly: a minimum of three times a term in their first year and twice a term in their second and subsequent years. Supervisors are experts in the field in which the student has selected a topic for research. They provide a wide range of informal advice on strategies for research and exercise the chief influence upon the student’s learning.
Monitoring of progress and assessment strategies:
Supervisors will report any problems to the PhD Programme Director. The PhD Programme
Director has an overview of the progress of all research students, and also supports them in a range of matters such as applications for financial support.
Students are required to submit a formal report on their progress at the end of each year of registration, which is completed by their supervisor
Research students in the Department are initially registered for the MPhil degree. In order to

be upgraded from MPhil registration to PhD, they must prepare a dossier comprising a brief outline of their thesis plan, a comprehensive bibliography of published and unpublished work relevant to their topic, an analysis of the existing academic contributions to their topic, and a draft chapter, of ca.10,000 words, based upon their research and including full scholarly apparatus. The dossier, prepared in consultation with the student’s supervisor, must be submitted by 26th June (week 8 Summer Term) of their first year of registration (1 March of their second year, if part-time). It is then read by three members of the Department which comprises of the supervisor, the advisor and one senior member of the Department. Each of the readers will read the dossier. ’Students will be required to undergo a 20—30 minute viva.
The viva panel will submit a written report to the Doctoral Programme Director who will inform the student of the outcome. The reports are then passed on to the student’s supervisor for discussion with the student. If a student is refused upgrading on their first attempt, they will have one further attempt, for which they must submit within one term (two for part-time students) a revised dossier containing the same items as before.
Once students have passed their upgrade, they are expected to work out with their supervisor a general schedule for completion of their thesis, which is submitted to the PhD Programme
Director. Supervisors are responsible for advising the PhD Programme Director in the event that a student is one term or more behind schedule in submitting chapters or complete drafts of their thesis.
13. Programme structures and requirements, levels, modules and awards
See MPhil/PhD International History programme regulations.
Additional information
14. Criteria for admission to the programme
The Department normally requires a Taught Master’s degree in a related discipline.
Applicants should have obtained an overall mark of 67 or over, and 67 on their dissertation.
15. Indicators of quality

The School participates in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) which provides indicators of student satisfaction with various aspects of their research degree programme. Results from this survey have been positive for the School.
 Examiners’ reports from viva examinations are considered centrally within the School and provide indicators on the quality of the research student experience and supervision quality.

The LSE Careers Centre website provides data on career destinations of LSE research graduates- buoyant demand by well-qualified applicants for the programme;
The following departmental indicators:
 good submission rates and very low referral rates for theses;
 favourable reports by independent thesis examiners;
 success in placing graduates in academic posts in Britain and abroad;
 substantial numbers of publications deriving from theses.

16. Methods for evaluating and improving the quality and standard of teaching and learning:

The Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) runs the Postgraduate Research
Experience Survey (PRES) and distributes results to departments. Survey results are considered by School Committees (Research Degrees Sub-Committee & Teaching,
Learning and Assessment Committee) as well as within academic departments. Any issues arising from the PRES would be addressed by the appropriate body/department;
 Taught courses on MPhil/PhD programmes are included in the School’s internal student satisfaction survey, where such courses are provided at the Mas ters’ level, as conducted by the Teaching Quality Assurance and Review Office;

Departments review their programmes according to their own system of periodic review;

The Methodology Institute offers methodological training across all MPhil/PhD programme and transferrable study skills training courses are offered by the TLC for all MPhil/PhD students: this central resource enhances the standard of teaching and learning for all research students across the School;

A TLAC review of the Department once every 5 years.
The Department also has the following methods:
 annual meeting of the Research Student Progress Committee;
 feedback to the Doctoral Programme Director from students at the Introductory and
Advanced Research Student Workshops.