History including local and social history
Step into the past — uncover the lives, choices and events that shaped the world.
Short courses for adult learners
Whether you're eager to explore a new interest or delve deeper into a historical time period, our short courses are designed for adult learners seeking intellectual enrichment. Taught in person or online, with some courses offered in both formats, so you can choose the study option that best suits you.
► View all short courses in history
► Ways to study: how our short courses work
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Part-time undergraduate and postgraduate Oxford University qualifications
Part-time qualifications in history
Part-time qualifications in history
Our part-time undergraduate courses and postgraduate degree programmes in history are designed for adult learners with busy lives.
Part-time qualifications in local history
Part-time qualifications in local history
Our part-time local and social history courses concentrate on cultural and social aspects of local communities throughout history.
Upcoming courses
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
Explore medieval life along the Silk Roads. This hybrid lecture series will cover many facets of life, from farming and agriculture to the lives of women and Jews in today’s Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and beyond.
- Mon 13 Oct 2025 – 17 Nov 2025
- 2:00 – 3:30pm
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
Evaluate the most controversial decisions in European foreign policy in the inter-war. As the utopian Versailles Treaty unravelled into a dystopian nightmare, the great continental powers positioned themselves for another deadly conflict.
- Fri 17 Oct 2025 – 21 Nov 2025
- 2:00 – 3:30pm
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
From grandiose national rhetoric to to a façade of industrial modernisation, explore Mussolini's failures in war and diplomacy in this hybrid lecture.
- Fri 17 Oct 2025
- 2:00 – 3:30pm
In-person day/weekend • Short courses
Would you like to learn how to read medieval handwriting in original documents? Join us for this weekend event, studying the basics of the most common scripts, covering the history of handwriting and taking practical examples from popular record types.
- Sat 18 Oct 2025 – 19 Oct 2025
- 9.45am Sat - 5.00pm Sun
Online - live • Short courses • Lecture series • Hybrid - in person or online
From external military intervention of dictatorial powers to the conspicuous non-intervention of western democracies, discover more about the Spanish Civil War and its wide-reaching consequences with this hybrid lecture.
- Fri 24 Oct 2025
- 2:00 – 3:30pm
In-person day/weekend • Short courses
What was life like in Oxford during its time as Royalist Capital from 1642-46? Which key players were shaped in Oxford and how did they influence the politics of the day and the outcome of the War? Discover this and more on this walking tour.
- Sun 26 Oct 2025
- 10:15am – 1:45pm
Part-time Oxford qualifications
Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in history and local history.
Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education
A flexible, part-time route to an Oxford University qualification. Gain credit from flexible short online courses, weekly classes, and the Oxford University Summer School for Adults. Explore a wide range of subjects in this multidisciplinary programme.Undergraduate Certificate in History
The two-year part-time Undergraduate Certificate in History introduces key historical periods and is equivalent to the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree in History at Oxford University.Undergraduate Diploma in English Social and Local History
A two-year, part-time course, which covers English society from the early medieval period to the late twentieth century. Trace the impact of religion, reform, empire, industry and more, through the lens of everyday people and communities.Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in Local History
Advance your skills and methodology in researching local, regional and social history with this one-year, part-time online advanced diploma. Taught completely online, the course is taught at third-year undergraduate level.Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies
The Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies offers an exciting opening for graduates of all disciplines to pursue a taught postgraduate qualification in historical studies.MSt in Historical Studies
One-year part-time course combining focused study of key historical themes and concepts in British and Western European history.MSt in Literature and Arts
An interdisciplinary programme which encompasses literature, history, art, architectural history, political thought and the history of ideas. Designed around 3 sequential periods of British history, from Early Modern to the early 20th century.MSc in English Local History
The MSc programme draws on knowledge and skills acquired in many years of providing specialist classes in local history.DPhil in English Local History
Drawing on knowledge and skills acquired in many years of providing specialist classes in local history.