Other links:
Other links:
The Department of History runs a PhD Programme under the guidelines of Ashoka University and the rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The Programme provides students with a robust training in source-based, research-driven, serious academic history-writing. All History PhD candidates are expected to devote their full time to the PhD Programme.
The Faculty in the Department of History combines a passion for innovative teaching with cutting-edge research. It has expertise in a wide range of specializations. It offers training in the archaeology of prehistoric and historical societies, with a focus on palaeodietary and palaeoclimatic reconstruction using advanced archaeological theory and scientific techniques. In the history of ancient and early medieval India, it has a thrust on archaeology, heritage, social history, political history, as well as the history of religions, texts, and ideas. In medieval and early modern history, it focuses on the history of states and empires, with an emphasis on the history of politics, political culture, warfare, military culture, and environment of India. In the history of modern India and the Indian Ocean, it specialises in environmental history, intellectual history, urban history, business history, spatial history, as well as the history of political violence, international development, science, medicine, nationalism, revolutionism, technology, knowing, and knowledge-production. It offers training in the history of late-imperial and modern China, with a thrust on the history of borderlands, spaces, science, statecraft, society, economy, textual and historiographical cultures, and transregional and global Sinophone histories. It also covers contemporary history and international history of modern South Asia, history of Tibet, China-India history, and global history.
For further details about the research profiles and areas of interest of individual faculty members, explore this page. The Department of History also collaborates with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Archaeological Research and Ashoka Centre for China Studies regarding supervision and research. Applicants interested in relevant areas are encouraged to explore the webpages of these centres as well.
The Department of History, Ashoka University, invites applications for its PhD Programme for the academic year 2025-26. The department is looking for motivated, committed, and bright young scholars, who will be expected to carry out high-quality research.
All queries related to the Ph.D. application and admission process should be directed to phd.history@ashoka.edu.in
“I am a second year PhD scholar at the Department of history, Ashoka University. I work on the history of the Afghan communities in early modern South Asia. The PhD programme at Ashoka offers a lot of opportunities and resources to its scholars in the form of lectures, conferences, seminars, and colloquiums. For a person like me who started her PhD online due to pandemic, Ashoka has provided a safe space to work and to develop my ideas in a supportive community of faculty members and fellow research scholars. It was only through the efforts of the history department and the PhD cohort that things became a little easy and manageable virtually. The best part of studying at Ashoka for me is also how the university tries to foster a sense of community among its students and ensure that they have substantial access to resources. The PhD programme not only trains scholars to hone their research and skills but also to learn the logistical and pedagogical dimensions of teaching a class. This has really helped me to not only have a dialogue but also to freely express my thoughts and opinions.”
Akansha Singh
“The doctoral programme of the History department at Ashoka offers proper assistance, judicious guidance and sound intellectual friendships beyond the fetters of curriculum-oriented teaching and learning. Our department holds a very dynamic, inclusive and fertile academic environment when it comes to organizing scholarly symposiums, conferences, writing workshops or research colloquiums as they continue to enrich our understanding not only of the discipline of history but the larger academic scene in the first place. Moreover, the highly well-equipped library at Ashoka and the resourceful repository of Ashoka Archives of Contemporary India add to the delightful experiences of conducting research. I have been thoroughly enjoying the research-life here with all of my colleagues, friends and faculty members.”
Aritri Chakrabarti
