Undergraduate Student Research
There are several exciting opportunities for students to be involved in the department's latest research and to share research ideas. Information about these can be found below. This page is currently under development.
URSS
The Undergraduate Research Support Scheme provides funding for students to undertake a piece of original research under the supervision of or in partnership with one of our academic members of staff usually over summer break. It is a competitive, university-wide scheme and we encourage History Department students to apply. Applications are now open and must be submitted by 6 February 2026. Click on the link above to find out more about the scheme.
2025/26 URSS History Department opportunities
The William Godwin Diary & Barricades
Professor is offering two exciting opportunities for students to work via the URSS project on and the projects. To find out more from Mark about this research please download the documents below. You can also contact Mark with any questions if you are interested in these projects.
The Mapping Women's Suffrage project
Dr Tara MortonLink opens in a new window is enabling students to work from anywhere in the country during summer break to research the local lives of Votes for Women campaigners living in villages, towns and cities across the country in 1911. To find out more about the project visit the URSS opportunitiesLink opens in a new window page and/or visit the website.
Meet Professor Mark Philps, Dr Tara Morton and some of the brilliant students that worked with the history department on URSS projects over the summer at the URSS Showcase on 12th November 2025, 12-4pm, Panorama Suite, Rootes Building.
Some previous URSS projects
Irene Garc铆a鈥檚 blog for Think Development and
Irene also did a EURSS (a Eutopia URSS) and made this podcast: Irene Garcia Andres' podcast project, Spanish Republican Refugees in Vichy France and the International Brigades: La Revolte des Femmes in Argeles-sur-Mer, 1941.
by Pravin Daryanani Hispanic Studies with History Student
by Maham Mir, English and History Student
Patrick Vasy de la Cruz鈥� website is also worth a look, and .
Don't miss Xaymaca Awoyungbo's short film, or Declan Dadzie's film about
Aysuda Akyan and Curtis Leung worked with Professor Mark Philp on The Diary of William Upcott
Frederick Venables wrote a to help promote Professor Benjamin T Smith鈥檚 new book as part of a
In addition to these projects, you鈥檒l find some poster presentations and essays by history students on including:
by Ahana Mitra
, by Daphne Wu
, by Harry Weaver
by Chhaya Rai
BCUR
The British Conference of Undergraduate research takes place at a different University in the Easter Break each year the Students from the History Department at the University of 糖心TV prepared presentations to help them get feedback and ideas to set up a summer research project for the URSS Scheme or for their undergraduate dissertation. If you're thinking about undergraduate research you might be interested in reading Xaymaca's blog.
Meet some of the the URSS scholars 2021
Aysuda Aykan and Curtis Leung working with Professor Mark Philp on the diary of English librarian and antiquarian William Upcott. They are planning to turn it into a useful academic resource via transcription, editing and annotations.
Cheryl Nah working with Dr Anna Ross on the wider meaning and symbolism of the graffiti and mural art on the Berlin Wall.
Ann Premkumar working with Dr Song-Chuan Chen on the construction and the emergence of the 鈥榥ew woman鈥� in post-imperial China
Sanmitra Sarkar working with Dr Anna Ross on the procurement of Romani prisoners and their employment as enslaved labourers by the two great business empires of 20th century Germany, I.G. Farben and Friedrich Krupp AG.
Lauren Devine working with Claire Shaw to explore Russia鈥檚 historical role as a bastion of women鈥檚 liberation, and how this underscores the Putin regime鈥檚 sustained assault against women鈥檚 human rights.
Declan Dadzie working with Dr Guido van Meersbergen on the importance of queer travel writing and the implicit erasure of minority queer travellers in western scholarship.
Lucy McCormick working with Prof Mark Philp on the ways in which liberalism as an ideology became a key factor motivating the 1848 Revolution across Germany.
Jake Newberry working with Dr Aysu Dincer Hadjianastasis on Blackdown Mill, a monastery in Lillington, Leamington Spa, exploring its relationship to the broader social, economic, and political changes that the region experienced.
Fu Ge Yang working with Prof Roberta Bivins and Prof Anne Gerritsen on the interactions and tensions between the traditional Chinese and Western medical practices in China
Fatou Ceesay working with Prof Rebecca Earle Investigating the role of European colonialism in introducing the criminal sanction and alienation of LGBTQ+ identities in Benin, Kenya, and India
Will Barber-Taylor working with Dr Simon Peplow looking into how history shaped the 1997 General Election for the Labour Party
Tinius Dragland working with Dr Michael Bycroft to investigate how the scientific conception of the galaxy, developed by English astronomer Thomas Wright, had an impact on contemporary culture in the form of theology and popular science.
Sam Warner working with Dr Aidan Norrie on early modern English witchcraft accusations and punishments
Thomas Weldrick working with Dr. Lydia Plath to investigate Korean Americans鈥� historic and present-day occupation of the 鈥楳iddleman Minority鈥� role in the USA.
Daphne Wu working with Dr Aidan Norrie on theft cases in the records of the Courts of Assize in early modern England
Rohini Jaswal working with Dr Simon Peplow looking at the historical legacy of colonialism in Britain and how this has manifested in coverage of 鈥榤igrant men鈥� perpetrating sex crimes.
Fred Venables working with Prof Benjamin Smith on the public engagement around his upcoming monograph, 鈥淭he Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade鈥�