Transitions through Higher Education
This section is about what is involved as students transition from studying History in secondary school, through to undergraduate courses, on to taught Masters courses, and to higher research degrees.
In recent years great attention has been paid to the important transition point from school to university, partly in connection with calls for widening participation. Yet challenges in transition persist throughout university life, as recent studies of retention have shown.
The posts in this section include discussion of postgraduate funding, and offer personal reflections on some of the issues raised in student progression. They are designed to open discussion of issues particularly relevant to first-generation HE students, members of BAME communities, mature and part-time students, those with disabilities, and those returning to study.
We welcome more contributions connected to this theme, including those that consider students arriving in the UK from abroad.
Browse the Resources
Futures for the History Journal
ABOUT THIS EVENT Journals have long been, and remain, central to the communication of historical research. As a publishing form, History journals have proved remarkably durable, with developments typically taking place within an established framework of...
Disability History Month 2022: reflections on recent research
To mark this year's Disability History Month (16 November-16 December), Beckie Rutherford considers three recent monographs that have significantly contributed to the field of disability history: charting experience in the Soviet Union, the coal industry during...
Working with History outside HE: a Guide to Professions beyond Academia
About this event ‘Working with History outside Higher Education: a Guide to Professions beyond Academia’ is is part in the Royal Historical Society’s series of online training events designed for early career historians. This session was held online in...
REF 2021: Reflections from the History sub-panel chairs
The Research Excellence Framework (REF), undertaken by the UK's four HE funding bodies, provides a review and assessment of research in higher education. The results of the latest assessment (REF2021) were published on 12 May 2022. Here, Professors Mark...
UKRI Open Access Policy for the Arts and Humanities: FAQs
In August 2021 UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) announced its future policy regarding Open Access publishing. UKRI is the overarching body responsible for government research strategy and funding for universities in the UK. It brings together the...
Applying and Interviewing for your First History Lectureship
About this event ‘Applying for your First Job: a Guide to Preparing and Interviewing for a History Teaching Post’ is part in the Royal Historical Society’s series of online training events designed for early career historians. This session was...
UKRI Open Access protocols: August 2021
On 6 August, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) published its long-awaited report on its future approach to Open Access publishing. UKRI is the overarching body responsible for government research strategy and funding for universities in the UK. It brings together...
Historians on ‘Contested Heritage’
In March the Royal Historical Society was one of six institutional signatories to a letter calling on government to clarify its attitude towards and involvement in areas of 'contested heritage'. The letter highlighted ministers' increasing attempts to define -- and so...
Surviving the PhD Process as a Self-Funded Student
In this post, Dr Eilish Gregory, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Royal Historical Society and an early career researcher, offers an account of her own personal experience of studying her PhD as a self-funded student. While there were many scholarly and personal...
Funding and Fellowship Opportunities in Historical Studies
There are many funding opportunities for history researchers to apply for in the UK and internationally, including research and travel grants, and library fellowships. Funding grants and fellowship opportunities are advertised across the year, although some have...
Transitions from Taught Degrees to Research Courses and Careers Advice for History Graduates
In this post, historian Dr Andrew Foster offers guidance about the transition for students undertaking taught undergraduate and Masters degrees to research courses, as well as his thoughts on future careers for history graduates. He turns the spotlight towards the...