Architectural history
Study part-time with Oxford University
Short courses for beginners and professionals
Learn to ‘read’ architecture in a critically informed way, and to recognise and differentiate between major architectural styles with a short course in Oxford or online.
We also offer a programme of courses and workshops providing expert training for professionals in the historic environment, archaeology, museums and heritage sectors.
Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes
Many of our short courses, including short online courses (live and flexible), weekly classes in Oxford, and some summer schools, can be studied for credit, which means they can count towards a recognised qualification such as our Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education.
We also offer two part-time postgraduate programmes in architectural history:
Upcoming courses
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course is the ideal introduction to English garden history. It provides an overview of five centuries of development, from baroque formalism through the naturalistic landscape style, right up to contemporary cutting-edge planting style.
- Wed 06 May 2026 – 17 Jul 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course aims to give students an introduction and overview of that architectural tradition enabling students to 'read' the architecture of the contemporary built environment in a critically informed way.
- Wed 06 May 2026 – 17 Jul 2026
Short intensive • Short courses • Professional development
Planning ahead for the effects of climate change on heritage assets can seem mind-blowingly complicated. This workshop will give you the know-how you need to navigate the complexity and devise a visual plan for your own asset to take away to stakeholders.
- Mon 11 May 2026
- 9:00am – 5:00pm
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course will explore the English medieval cathedral as a developing institution which survived over a thousand years of religious upheaval and historical change, focusing on the multifaceted architecture of a range of truly great churches.
- Mon 11 May 2026 – 24 Jul 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
Explore the culture of the English country house from its architectural form, social manners and distinctions to the furnishings and artistic manifestations of taste, as an expression of power and influence in a changing society.
- Mon 18 May 2026 – 31 Jul 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
Beginning with the vital structural innovations of the late Victorian era, this online course traces the rise and spread of modernism in European and American architecture, and concludes by examining contemporary architecture and future possibilities.
- Mon 18 May 2026 – 31 Jul 2026
Related courses and spotlights
Cultural heritage training
Expert CPD tuition for those with a keen interest, professional or personal, in archaeology, historic buildings and cultural heritage.Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education
Study your passion and discover new ideas with Oxford’s flexible, part-time Certificate of Higher Education – designed for learners who want to learn widely, deeply, and on their own terms.Postgraduate Certificate in Architectural History
This 11-month part-time course covers English architectural history from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. The course consists of three taught units and a dissertation.DPhil in Architectural History
The programme is defined broadly to include the built and designed landscape, and aspects of interior design and is designed to enable students to undertake individual research.Student spotlights
View all student spotlights for this subject area