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 - live • Short courses
Approaches to managing old buildings change across time and between cultures. This course will give historical and global context to architectural conservation practice, and help students broaden their perspective on change in the historic environment.
- Tue 16 Sep 2025 – 25 Nov 2025
- 10 meetings
- 5:00 – 6:00pm
Online - flexible • Short courses
Beginning with the vital structural innovations of the late Victorian era, this course traces the rise and spread of modernism in European and American architecture, and concludes by examining contemporary architecture and future possibilities.
- Wed 17 Sep 2025 – 28 Nov 2025
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 22 Sep 2025 – 05 Dec 2025
Online - live • Short courses • Professional development • Hybrid - in person or online
Delve into historic urban landscapes, mastering spatial analysis techniques in this 2-day course. Uncover layers of history and culture, enriching your professional skill set. Learn how the layout of cities helps to shape movement, interaction and trade.
- Tue 23 Sep 2025 – 24 Sep 2025
- 2 meetings
- 1pm Tues - 5pm Wed
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 24 Sep 2025 – 05 Dec 2025
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course is designed to enable you to 'read' the architecture of the Western world in a critically informed way.
- Wed 24 Sep 2025 – 05 Dec 2025
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
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.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