PhD candidates who would like to apply at the RSPH are requested to send an e-mail to:
bureau@onderzoekschoolpolitiekegeschiedenis.nl.

The RSPH offers the following training activities to PhD candidates: PhD Training program 2024-2025

Objectives Training program
The RSPH offers a balanced program for PhD students in political history, history of international relations/conflict studies, military history, areas studies, global history and other subdisciplines in history with an emphasis on politics, in year 1, 2 and 3 of their PhD trajectory and for Research Master students who specialize in political history.

Participation in all parts of the program is compulsory for all PhD students who are registered with the RSPH, unless it is explicitly stated that a part is optional. The program supports supporting PhD students during the first three years of their research, and prepares them for their career after the thesis defence.

Central to the PhD program are the various aspects of conducting PhD research in the broad field of early modern and modern political history, including the history of international relations and other subdisciplines. The educational program is a program with a clear internal coherence, and can be taken alongside and in addition to the program of the local Graduate Schools.

End terms/learning objectives and competences
To PhD students the RSPH offers training in the following competences, aiming at the specified learning objectives.

• Disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity:
  Student have an informed and critical awareness of the historical and conceptual underpinnings and contexts of political history as an intellectual tradition and academic discipline, and of its relationship to other fields of study. They have knowledge and understanding of the foundations and insights of other disciplines relevant to the study of political history.
• Theories and concepts:
  Students have specialized knowledge and critical understanding of theoretical, conceptual and analytical notions relevant to political history. They have the ability to reflect on the principal theoretical approaches to political history, to evaluate the state of the art of political history, and to recognize and develop innovative research orientations in political history.
• Methods and techniques:
  Students have focused knowledge and critical understanding of relevant methods and techniques for the study of political history, and the ability to apply proper methods and techniques to research problems. Students have an advanced and critical understanding of sources and data for political historical research and of their associated conceptual frameworks.
• Communication:
  Students have an informed and critical awareness of the specific methods used to communicate information about one’s field in scholarly / academic and public contexts. They have the ability to use and apply the proper means of communication, suited to the aims of their scholarly and public interventions.
• Professional Development:
  Students have an informed and critical awareness of the concrete ways that the political-historical perspective can be developed in professional situations and be of benefit to society.

Program
The program is structured in accordance with the end terms and competences:

• Tutorials in year 1 discuss disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity, theories and concepts, and methods and techniques on an advanced level
• Workshops in year 2 are devoted to the application of methods and techniques, disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity, and introduce outreach and science communication
• The seminars in year 3 are devoted to the individual application and assessment of disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity, theories and concepts, and methods and techniques as well as science communication and professional development.
• In addition, the OPG offers several Masterclasses per year (independently or in collaboration with Departments of History and Research Institutes) that are open to ReMA students and PhD students of all years.

For an overview of previous training programmes, please visit the following page: PhD Training Programmes Archive.