The Research School for Political History (RSPH) aims to offer PhD students in the history of politics and the political a high-quality training program supervised by some of the leading scholars in the Low Countries.
The RSPH training program is open to all PhD candidates based in the Netherlands, Flanders or affiliated with the Zentrum für Niederlande-Studien in Münster, conducting research in the broad field of political history, history of international relations, conflict studies, military history, area studies, global history, and other subdisciplines in premodern and modern history with an emphasis on politics.
We offer an comprehensive curriculum of in-depth tutorials and workshops, focusing on the historiographical, thematic, conceptual and methodological aspects of political history in general and your PhD project in particular. In addition to this, considerable attention is paid to professionalization and transferable skills.
The RSPH is dedicated to creating a research environment which brings you into contact with fellow PhD candidates at other universities, postdocs and senior researchers in the field of political history. We provide excellent network and platform facilities for all researchers in political history, whether ambitious to pursue a career inside or outside academia.
Learning objectives and competencies
The RSPH program for PhD students offers training in the following competencies.
1. Disciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity:
Students 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.
2. Theories and concepts:
Students have specialized knowledge and critical understanding of theoretical, conceptual and analytical notions relevant to political history. They can reflect on the principal theoretical approaches to political history, evaluate the state of the art in political history, and recognize and develop innovative research orientations in political history.
3. 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 their associated conceptual frameworks.
4. 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 can use and apply the proper means of communication, suited to the aims of their scholarly and public interventions.
5. 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 structure
The program is structured in accordance with the end terms and competencies:
- Modules in year 1 discuss disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, theories and concepts, and methods and techniques on an advanced level.
- Modules in year 2 are devoted to the application of methods and techniques, disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, and introduce international outreach and science communication.
- Modules in years 3/4 are devoted to the individual application and assessment of disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, theories and concepts, methods and techniques as well as science communication and professional development.