Study with Us
The Institute of Scottish Historical Research provides a thriving community of postdoctoral and postgraduate researchers working on all periods of Scottish history from the early Middle Ages to the present. It is the largest institute for research into Scotland’s past and holds a central place in the life of Scottish historians at the University of St Andrews.
Taught Masters
The MLitt in Scottish Historical Studies offers students the opportunity to explore Scotland’s long term development over time and to focus on more specific topics of interest under the guidance of renowned experts in the field.
Highlights
- Modules explore the history of historical writing in Scotland and the relationship between the Scottish past and the Scottish present.
- Focused attention upon one of three time periods develops the understanding and skills required to pursue independent research.
- Students have the opportunity to pursue more intensive study of the literature of a topic of their choice under the guidance of an expert supervisor.
Teaching format
Over two semesters, students complete two compulsory modules and two optional modules on a range of themes and topics in Scottish history. The compulsory modules offer a unique insight into the development of historical writing in Scotland from the Middle Ages to the present and explore the complex relationships between interpretations of the Scottish past and their uses in the present. Teaching is primarily by seminars of six to eight students and one-to-one tutorials. The modules are assessed by coursework only; there is no final exam. Students will spend the final three months of the course focusing on researching and writing the final assessment piece for the MLitt, a dissertation of not more than 15,000 words.
For additional information,
please contact the programme director Malcolm Petrie
Research Resources
Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)
Dictionary of the Scots Language
SCRAN
TannerRitchie – Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO)
Institutions, Libraries and Learned Societies
British Library
The Institute of Historical Research (IHR)
National Archives of Scotland
National Library of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
Historic Environment Scotland
Scottish History Society
Scottish Text Society
The Strathmartine Trust
University Library
University Special Collections
Funding Bodies
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
The British Academy
The Leverhulme Trust
The St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry
Burnwynd
PhD Research
We welcome applications from graduates seeking to undertake doctoral research under the supervision of its staff. Full details of their areas of research interest can be found by accessing staff profiles.
Eligible candidates will also be considered for nomination for studentships within the School of History at St Andrews. Candidates will normally only be nominated for this competition through the ISHR if they hold a first class honours degree (or equivalent), or a distinction in an appropriate training masters degree.
The ISHR currently has over a dozen doctoral students working on a wide range of topics from the Dark Ages to the twentieth century and hosts a number of projects within which clusters of students work on individual but related topics. The Institute has an excellent record in mentoring PhD students and seeing them through to completion.
Enquiries from students interested in pursuing these opportunities should be addressed in the first instance to Dr Malcolm Petrie ([email protected]).
Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron Award
The Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron Award is an annual award made to an entrant doctoral student studying Medieval Scottish History (c.1100-c.1550) at St Andrews University. The Award is funded by the Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron Trust and is administered through the St Andrews Institute of Scottish Historical Research and the School of History.
The Award of £1,000 is to cover research costs, including visits to archives and other repositories, attendance at conferences, and purchase of books and other materials for use in research. It is not intended to contribute to fees and maintenance costs of PhD study.
The Award may supplement funds received from other sources and is available for use throughout the three-year duration of full-time PhD study (or the equivalent part-time).
Only entrant students intending to pursue PhD research at St Andrews in Medieval Scottish History (c.1100-c.1550), either full-time or part-time, will be considered for the Award; and only those who have been formally admitted to the University to pursue PhD study in the specified field are eligible.
The Award will be made as part of the School of History’s annual competition for PhD studentships and adhere to the deadlines set out on the School of History’s website for the submission of applications for funding. No separate application for the Award is required, but eligible students should register their interest with their prospective supervisors and the Director of the Institute of Scottish Historical Research.
The Award is made on the basis of academic merit by an Award Committee chaired by the Director of the Institute of Scottish Historical Research and including the School of History’s Director of Postgraduates and at least two other staff in the School of History with expertise in Medieval Scottish History. The decision of the Award Committee is final.
At the completion of their studies, recipients of the Award are required to submit a report to the Director of the Institute of Scottish Historical Research, to be passed to the Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron Trust, on how it has benefited their research. They are also required to acknowledge receipt of the Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron Award in their PhD theses.
Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron (1962-1995) graduated from St Andrews University with an MA Honours degree in Medieval History in 1984 and, after graduating LL.B with distinction from the University of Edinburgh, returned to St Andrews to pursue PhD research in Scottish History. His doctoral thesis ‘Crown-magnate relations in the personal rule of James V, 1528-1542’, supervised by Norman Macdougall, was successfully defended in 1995. Despite his death later that year, his thesis was subsequently published as James V: The Personal Rule, 1528-1542, edited by Norman Macdougall, The Stewart Dynasty in Scotland series (Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 1998).
The Dr Jamie Stuart Cameron Trust was established by his family in his memory to assist postgraduate students of Medieval Scottish History at St Andrews University.