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Research Policy

Led by its Research Policy Committee, the Royal Historical Society plays a key role in speaking for historians in the UK on policy issues related to research. The Committee advises the Society on all aspects of the research environment. It coordinates the Society’s relations with the main bodies related to research funding and policy, manages its responses to research-related consultations and issues, and maintains relationships with other History and Humanities associations to lobby in the interests of the discipline.

The Research Policy Committee’s current priorities include:

reviewing and responding to the design of REF 2029 through current consultation rounds; this work is undertaken in collaboration with other UK History learned societies on behalf of the historical discipline.
creating and maintaining resources to chart and explain current developments in REF 2029 planning for historians
working with UK research councils, the British Academy, and representatives of UK archives and libraries to support professional historians at all career stages. Current activities include investigation of the extent and implications, for historians, of AHRC’s late 2023 announcement of reduced funding for open PhD studentships.
supervising the Society’s advocacy work both to promote the value of History and support departments facing cuts and closures. This work takes place within Higher Education and with UK parliamentarians and policy makers.
monitoring and responding to consultations on subjects relevant to historians and the discipline. Recent submissions include on the future of the REF (‘Futures for Research Assessment Programme’, October 2023) and to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation paper on the future retention and storage of wills post 1858 (February 2024).
communicating and updating external data relevant to the historical profession in UK Higher Education
pro-actively examining Equality and Diversity within historical teaching and the profession
the Open Access agenda. The Society supports for the principle of Open Access research, including in our own publications, while seeking to ensure that historians are not disadvantaged by requirements shaped by the working practices of very different disciplines
ensuring that the interests of Early Career Researchers and other historians working outside permanent academic posts are properly represented. As part of these endeavours many of our own funding schemes are focused on supporting postgraduate and early career scholars.

We aim to ensure that the views of historians are taken into account when designing and implementing research policies. A wider commitment to historical research, together with the impact agenda, means that we also look to the relationship between historical research, public bodies and cultural institutions, and wider society.

The Society’s Research Policy Committee is chaired by Professor Barbara Bombi, RHS Secretary for Research and an Officer of the Society’s Council.

Society launches new Associate Fellowships and Postgraduate Memberships

In an important update to its membership package, the Society has introduced two new ways to join and engage with the RHS. Details of its new Associate Fellowship and Postgraduate Membership categories were announced at the Society’s 2021 AGM, held on Friday 26 November, and are effective from that date.

As a result, there are now four ways to be part of the Royal Historical Society: as a Fellow, Associate Fellow, Postgraduate Member and Member.

The changes better align the Society’s membership options to today’s historical profession, within and beyond Higher Education, and bring three important benefits to membership:

creating more opportunities for historians, of all backgrounds, to join the Society
enabling the Society to better tailor what it offers members based on their career stage and interests
providing members with opportunities for continuous involvement with the Society, with options to change membership type to reflect career progression

Further information on the changes is also available via the Society’s blog, Historical Transactions.

Associate Fellowship

The Society’s new category of Associate Fellowship recognises the contribution to history made by those who do not currently qualify for the full RHS Fellowship, which is typically available to historians on publication of a monograph, a substantial set of scholarly articles, or an equivalent body of work.

By contrast, the Associate Fellowship recognises individuals within Higher Education who’ve made a substantial contribution to historical knowledge (for example, with a completed PhD thesis or first set of articles) but have not (yet) reached the level required for election to the Fellowship.

The Associate Fellowship will also recognise those active in sectors other than HE—including heritage, conservation, libraries and archives, teaching, publishing, broadcasting, and community and public history—whose contribution to history is equally significant but was not previously adequately recognised within the Society’s Fellowship structure.

As for full Fellowships, the new Associate Fellowship is recognition, by the members of the profession, of a contribution made to historical knowledge and understanding, and voted for by the RHS Council at its regular meetings.

The principal benefits of the Associate Fellowship include:

Print copy of latest volume of the Society’s academic journal, Transactions
Discounts on new print volumes in RHS Camden Series and personal subscriptions to the ‘Bibliography of British and Irish History’ online
Access to the Society’s Library and Archive at University College London
Eligibility to apply for RHS grants and fellowships, where applicable
Eligibility to participate in the Society’s Annual General Meeting
Access to RHS members events, including Early Career training programmes
30% discount on all Cambridge University Press academic books (print only)

Full details, and pricing, of the new Associate Fellowship are available via the Join the RHS section of the Society’s website.

Postgraduate Membership

The Society’s second new category of Postgraduate Membership is open to all those currently enrolled for a further degree (MA and above) in history or a related discipline, in the UK or overseas, and for the duration of the university course, plus one year.

The principal benefits of the Postgraduate Membership include:

Online access to latest volume of the Society’s academic journal, Transactions
Discounts on new print volumes in RHS Camden Series and personal subscriptions to the ‘Bibliography of British and Irish History’ online
Receipt of weekly e-circulars with news relating to History events + regular RHS communications and Newsletters
Access to the Society’s Library and Archive at University College London
Eligibility to apply for RHS grants and funded fellowships
Eligibility to participate in the Society’s Annual General Meeting
Access to RHS training events, including Early Career workshop programme
30% discount on all Cambridge University Press academic books (print only)

Full details, and pricing, of the new Postgraduate Membership are available via the Join the RHS section of the Society’s website.

The launch of the Associate Fellowships and Postgraduate memberships also sees an end to the Society’s existing Early Career Membership category, which previously catered for all research-focused historians who were not full Fellows.

Spanning PhD students at different stages of their research—as well as a wide range of post-docs several years out of a doctorate—the previous ECR category included a very broad range of members. The Society now seeks to support these members via more closely defined categories composed of historians at equivalent career stages.

Following these changes, in 2022 all existing members of the Society’s Early Career category will be given the option to convert their membership to one of the two new categories: i.e. to Associate Fellowship, for those current advanced ECRs who have completed a PhD; or to Postgraduate Membership for those currently studying for a further degree.

From now, anyone wishing to join the Society—who was previously eligible only for ECR membership—will be able to do so via the new Associate Fellowship or Postgraduate membership routes, as appropriate for their career stage.

Existing Fellowship and Membership options

November’s changes to the Society’s membership will not change the criteria for joining the full Fellowship or becoming a Member of the RHS—the latter being a category open to anyone with an interest in history, but without the professional contribution required for full Fellowship or Associate Fellowship; or who are not studying for a research degree as required for the Postgraduate category.

Many current Members of the Society are, of course, practising historians. Those Members who wish to apply for the new Associate Fellowship, on account of their contribution to history, will also be invited to do so. As for the current ECR members, we will contact these Members in 2022 to invite them to consider converting to the Associate Fellowship.

The new RHS membership categories at a glance

The Society’s previous three membership categories now become four with the creation of the new Associate Fellowship and Postgraduate Membership, which replace the previous Early Career Research option.

What the new Associate Fellow and Postgraduate categories offer

Following November’s changes, the Society will be better able to provide tailored packages and support (e.g. training courses or access to specialist networks) to suit members’ specific interests.

This is especially so for those in academia at the start of their research or professional careers: historians who are either studying for a higher degree (and may take advantage of Postgraduate Membership); or who’ve completed a PhD and are beginning to publish or start a teaching career (Associate Fellowship).

The final content of these offers, by category, is currently being developed and will be communicated to the RHS membership in the coming months.

The Associate Fellowship also has the potential to broaden the Society’s membership beyond higher education, offering a means to recognise the contributions made by those in other professional sectors and via personal research.

By encouraging greater diversity of membership through broader definitions of historical work, we hope to enrich members’ experiences through closer co-operation with historians of different kinds and professions.

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For more on the November 2021 changes to the Society’s Membership categories, please see the accompanying post on the RHS blog Historical Transactions, and the individual category pages in the Join the RHS section of the Society’s website.

Society launches new Associate Fellowships and Postgraduate Memberships

As a result, there are now four ways to be part of the Royal Historical Society: as a Fellow, Associate Fellow, Postgraduate Member and Member.

The changes better align the Society’s membership options to today’s historical profession, within and beyond Higher Education, and bring three important benefits to membership:

creating more opportunities for historians, of all backgrounds, to join the Society
enabling the Society to better tailor what it offers members based on their career stage and interests
providing members with opportunities for continuous involvement with the Society, with options to change membership type to reflect career progression

Further information on the changes is also available via the Society’s blog, Historical Transactions.

Associate Fellowship

The principal benefits of the Associate Fellowship include:

Print copy of latest volume of the Society’s academic journal, Transactions
Discounts on new print volumes in RHS Camden Series and personal subscriptions to the ‘Bibliography of British and Irish History’ online
Access to the Society’s Library and Archive at University College London
Eligibility to apply for RHS grants and fellowships, where applicable
Eligibility to participate in the Society’s Annual General Meeting
Access to RHS members events, including Early Career training programmes
30% discount on all Cambridge University Press academic books (print only)

Full details, and pricing, of the new Associate Fellowship are available via the Join the RHS section of the Society’s website.

Postgraduate Membership

The principal benefits of the Postgraduate Membership include:

Online access to latest volume of the Society’s academic journal, Transactions
Discounts on new print volumes in RHS Camden Series and personal subscriptions to the ‘Bibliography of British and Irish History’ online
Receipt of weekly e-circulars with news relating to History events + regular RHS communications and Newsletters
Access to the Society’s Library and Archive at University College London
Eligibility to apply for RHS grants and funded fellowships
Eligibility to participate in the Society’s Annual General Meeting
Access to RHS training events, including Early Career workshop programme
30% discount on all Cambridge University Press academic books (print only)

Full details, and pricing, of the new Postgraduate Membership are available via the Join the RHS section of the Society’s website.

The launch of the Associate Fellowships and Postgraduate memberships also sees an end to the Society’s current Early Career Membership category, which previously catered for all research-focused historians who were not full Fellows.

Existing Fellowship and Membership options

The new RHS membership categories at a glance

What the new Associate Fellow and Postgraduate categories offer

The final content of these offers, by category, is currently being developed and will be communicated to the RHS membership in the coming months.

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Royal Historical Society Research Funding: current open calls, August to November 2023

Allocation of research funding is central to the work of the Royal Historical Society in supporting historians and historical research. In 2022 the Society awarded £95,000 in funding to historians through open competitions and a further £30,000 in one-off programmes, generously assisted by partner organisations and donors.

The Society is particularly keen to allocate funding to those historians in greatest need of support and who do not have existing access to any institutional funds, or to sufficient funds, to support their research. We encourage, and welcome, applications from historians who do not have such access, and for whom awards would make a significant impact on their capacity to undertake research.

The following grant calls are currently open and accepting applications with deadlines between August and November 2023. For further details and how to submit an application, please follow the links provided.

Open Calls: applications invited

Postgraduate Research Support Grants – for History students, currently studying for a Masters degree or PhD. Awards of either £500 or £1000 to support specified research activities. Next closing date for applications: Friday 10 November 2023.

Early Career Research Support Grants – for early career historians (historians who are within 3 years of submitting their PhD in a historical subject) to undertake research. Awards of either £500 or £1000 to support specified research activities. Next closing date for applications: Friday 10 November 2023.

Please note: Applicants for Royal Historical Society funding must be members of the Society, with several exceptions for Postgraduate grants. To find out how to become a Fellow, Associate Fellow, Member or Postgraduate Member, please see our Join Us page.

All enquiries about Research Funding should be sent to the Society’s Membership and Grants Officer at: membership@royalhistsoc.org.

HEADER IMAGE: Jar with scholars, China, late 15th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, public domain.

Freedom Seekers: Escaping from Slavery in Restoration London

Book Launch and Panel Discussion

Friday 18 February 2022

Watch the recording of this event

Published on 1 February 2022, Simon P. Newman’s Freedom Seekers: Escaping from Slavery in Restoration London uncovers the true extent of slavery in 17th-century England through the hidden stories of enslaved and bound people in London.

Simon’s book is now available free, Open Access, to read ahead of the event.

Speakers at the event

Professor Simon P. Newman (University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Glasgow)
Professor Corinne Fowler (University of Leicester)
Professor Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Professor Emma Griffin (RHS President and University of East Anglia (chair)

Freedom Seekers demonstrates not only that enslaved people were present in Restoration London but White Londoners of this era were intimately involved in the construction of the system of racial slavery, a process that traditionally has been regarded as happening in the colonies rather than the British Isles. An unmissable and important book that seeks to delve into Britain’s colonial past.

About our panel

Simon P. Newman is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Glasgow, and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2022 Simon is visiting scholar at the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University. Simon’s recent research has focused on runaway slaves in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century English Atlantic world, of which his new book, Freedom Seekers, forms part. Simon is also a founding editor of New Historical Perspectives, the RHS Open Access book series for Early Career Historians.
Corinne Fowler is Professor of Post-Colonial Literature at the University of Leicester and Director of Colonial Countryside: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted — a child-led writing and history project exploring the African, Caribbean and Indian connections at 11 of National Trust properties. Corinne is an expert in the legacies of colonialism and post-colonialism to literature, heritage and representations of British history. Her latest book is Green Unpleasant Land. Creative Responses to Rural England’s Colonial Connections (2020).
Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina is the Paul Murray Kendall Chair in Biography, and Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Gretchen is a specialist in Black British studies and the author of Britain’s Black Past (2020), was based on the BBC Radio 4 series of the same title, in addition to earlier titles including Mr and Mrs Prince (2013), Black Victorians, Black Victoriana (2003) and Black London. Life Before Emancipation (1995).
Emma Griffin is President of the Royal Historical Society and Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia

Watch the recording of this event

RHS Lecture and Events: Full Programme for 2022 >

Publishing Policy

Simon Newman, Chair of the Publications Committee, writes: The RHS invests heavily in support for publishing, and one of our most long established ventures is the Studies in History Series, presently published by Boydell and Brewer. The series publishes exclusively adapted PhD dissertations. As part of ongoing process of review of our publications programme we are actively considering converting this series to an Open Access model of publishing which would be free to the author (no author charges). Open Access is potentially helpful to early career researchers, as it means that the text is available free of charge to any readers world-wide from the day of publication. But it would also be published in conventional book form: authors would receive the normal allocation of free copies, with the opportunity to purchase more, and the book would still be sent to review journals in print form.

We are seeking the views of early career researchers into the Studies in History Series and into other possible forms of support we can offer the ECR community, both in publishing and other spheres. Thank you for your time.

Emma Griffin is an RHS Literary Director. She writes:

As the nation’s foremost historical society, the RHS actively promotes the publication of historical scholarship. It does so through four different publishing ventures designed to assist scholars in undertaking and disseminating their historical research.

The Camden Series

Our longest running series is the Camden Series – it has been published continuously since 1838 and now contains over 325 volumes. Published twice yearly by Cambridge University Press, the Camden Series produces edited collections of previously unpublished British history sources. The Camden volumes are fully annotated and indexed and contain expert introduction and commentary. The entire back list of the Camden Society publications is available on-line through Cambridge Journals Online. A smaller number are also freely available through British History OnLine. The literary directors are always keen to receive new proposals for Camden editions. The main criterion for consideration is that the sources have not been previously published and are of broad historical significance. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please click here for an application form.

Transactions

In 1872, the RHS began publishing its annual Transactions of the Royal Historical Society – a bound copy of which is sent to all members of the society. Transactions contains articles presented at RHS meetings in the previous year. The back list up to 2005 is available on JStor; and the entire collection from 1872 to the present is available on the CUP digital archive.

Studies in History

Since 1975 the RHS has published the Studies in History series. Initially established by Sir Geoffrey Elton and re-launched in 1995, this distinguished series is dedicated to publishing outstanding works by first-time authors at the beginning of their academic careers. In the process of preparing to present their work for a broader, scholarly readership, authors work closely with a member of the editorial board who acts as mentor. They also benefit from detailed, first-rate copy-editing and an excellent production team at Boydell & Brewer. So far more than 150 titles have been published in the series, which covers the whole range of the discipline from early medieval to the recent past, any geographical area, and all historical sub-disciplines. Early-career historians interested in publishing with the RHS are warmly encouraged to submit a proposal.

The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH)

The most recent publishing venture of the RHS is the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) – a joint venture between the RHS, the IHR, and Brepols. The BBIH contains over half a million records, making it easily the most comprehensive online bibliography of British and Irish history. It is fully searchable and linked to online editions of articles, library catalogues and google books, making it an invaluable resource for any historian embarking on new research.

Emma Griffin is Professor of Modern British History at the University of East Anglia. She is the editor of History and a co-editor of Cultural and Social History, and the author of four books, most recently Liberty’s Dawn: A People’s History of the British Industrial Revolution (Yale University Press, 2013).

New benefits for members of the Society

From the end of August, we will be extending the range of benefits available to all Fellows and Members of the Royal Historical Society. These will be in addition to the current set of benefits available, by category, to Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members and Postgraduate Members.

The new benefits provide online access to the archives of RHS publications, and include:

Online access to the current issue and searchable archive of the Society’s journal Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. The archive, available via CUP’s Cambridge Core platform, includes 144 volumes and more than 2200 articles, published between the journal’s foundation in 1872 and the early 2020s.
Online access to all 325 volumes of the Society’s Camden Series of primary source materials, including the latest titles published in 2021 and 2022, again via CUP’s Core platform. Since 1838, the Camden Series has made primary records available in accessible scholarly editions, compiled and introduced by specialist historians. The Series is especially strong in material relating to British history, including the British Empire and Britons’ influence overseas.

Other benefits available from late August 2022:

30% discount on purchases of print copies of the Society’s New Historical Perspectives book series, offering monographs and essay collections, and produced in association with the Institute of Historical Research and University of London Press.
20% discount on print subscription to History Today, Britain’s leading history magazine (£52 per annum, usually £65 full price)
20% discount on online subscription to the archive of History Today (£56 per annum, usually £70 full price).

Following requests from current Fellows, with the introduction of full online access we will also offer the option to ‘opt out’ of the annual print copy of Transactions, starting with the November 2022 volume.

Current Members of the Society will be notified in August when these benefits become available.

In the coming 12 months, the Society expects to offer further membership benefits, including:

Access to a new ‘Fellows’ area’ on the Society’s website, providing curated content, a self-service membership subscription portal, and directory of Fellows’ research interests to enable scholarly exchange.
Inclusion in and access to a directory of Fellows’ Research Interests.
Additional discounts to partner publications and products.

Applications to join the Royal Historical Society are welcome at any time. The next deadline for applications is Monday 22 August 2022.

Privacy policy (EU)

This privacy statement was last updated on 13 March 2023 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the European Economic Area and Switzerland.

In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via https://royalhistsoc.org. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that:

we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement;
we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes;
we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent;
we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf;
we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request.

If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us.

1. Purpose, data and retention period

We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand)

2. Sharing with other parties

We only share or disclose this data to processors for the following purposes:

Processors

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Purpose: Collecting membership data

3. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

4. Disclosure practices

We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety.

If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners.

We have concluded a data Processing Agreement with Google.

5. Security

We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorised access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed.

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This privacy statement does not apply to third-party websites connected by links on our website. We cannot guarantee that these third parties handle your personal data in a reliable or secure manner. We recommend you read the privacy statements of these websites prior to making use of these websites.

7. Amendments to this privacy statement

We reserve the right to make amendments to this privacy statement. It is recommended that you consult this privacy statement regularly in order to be aware of any changes. In addition, we will actively inform you wherever possible.

8. Accessing and modifying your data

If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. You can contact us by using the information below. You have the following rights:

You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for.
Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us.
Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish.
If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted.
Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller.
Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing.

Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person.

9. Submitting a complaint

If you are not satisfied with the way in which we handle (a complaint about) the processing of your personal data, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Data Protection Authority.

10. Contact details

Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
University College London
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
United Kingdom
Website: https://royalhistsoc.org
Email: administration@royalhistsoc.org
Phone number: +44 (0)20 3821 5311

Privacy policy (UK)

This privacy statement was last updated on 13 March 2023 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the United Kingdom.

we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement;
we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes;
we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent;
we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf;
we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request.

If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us.

1. Purpose, data and retention period

We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand)

2. Sharing with other parties

We only share or disclose this data to processors for the following purposes:

Processors

3. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

4. Disclosure practices

We have concluded a data processing agreement with Google.

5. Security

6. Third-party websites

7. Amendments to this privacy statement

8. Accessing and modifying your data

If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. You can contact us by using the information below. You have the following rights:

You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for.
Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us.
Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish.
If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted.
Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller.
Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing.

Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person.

9. Submitting a complaint

If you are not satisfied with the way in which we handle (a complaint about) the processing of your personal data, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office:

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10. Children

Our website is not designed to attract children and it is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of consent in their country of residence. We therefore request that children under the age of consent do not submit any personal data to us.

11. Contact details

Apply for Membership

Closing date for next application round:

Monday 27 May 2024

Membership of the RHS is open to all those who have an interest in the rich and varied world of the past. You may be involved in teaching, libraries, archives, museums, heritage, or the media in either a professional or volunteer capacity. You may be actively engaged in local or family history, or simply want to join our worldwide community of historians.

Membership is open to all applicants 18 years or older.

If you are a published or practising historian, our Fellowship or Associate Fellowship categories may be more appropriate for you. Please also consider these options before applying to join the Society. From August 2022 we are extending the benefits available to Members of the Society (please see below).

To apply for the RHS Membership please use the Society’s Applications Portal, and select your chosen membership category.

Benefits of Membership

Print and online copies of the latest volume of the RHS academic journal, Transactions.
Online access to the current issue and entire searchable back archive of Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: the collection comprises 144 volumes and more that 2200 articles, published between the journal’s foundation in 1872 and the early 2020s.
Online access to all 380 volumes of the Society’s Camden Series of primary source material, including the latest titles published in 2021 and 2022. Since 1838, the Camden Series has made primary records available in accessible scholarly editions, compiled and introduced by specialist historians. The Series is especially strong in material relating to British history, including the British Empire and Britons’ influence overseas.
All other RHS publications offered at a substantial discount: includes the Bibliography of British and Irish History and Camden Series volumes.
30% discount on all academic books (print only) published by Cambridge University Press.
30% discount on purchases of print copies of the Society’s New Historical Perspectives book series, offering monographs and essay collections, and produced in association with the Institute of Historical Research and University of London Press.
30% discount on History titles published by Oxford University Press.
20% discount on print subscription to History Today, Britain’s leading history magazine (£52 per annum, usually £65 full price). 20% discount on online subscription to the archive of History Today (£56 per annum, usually £70 full price).
Receipt of the weekly ‘RHS News Circular’ (this example, August 2023): regular update on RHS activities, plus listings of events / calls for papers from other UK historical societies and research networks.
Copies of RHS newsletters and the Society’s annual reports.
Eligible for RHS training and career development events / workshops reserved for Fellows and members.
Eligible to apply for the Society’s Research Funding programmes available to historians at all career stages.
Access to the RHS Archive and Library collections, and RHS Library rooms, at University College London (UCL).
Become part of a thriving international community of historians, of all kinds and from many backgrounds.
Help us support and advocate for the study and practice of history in its many forms. Society income also supports our grants programme for historians at the start of their careers
Read more on the Society’s 6 priority areas: Policy & Advocacy, Events & Training, Innovative Publishing, Grants & Support, Awards & Recognition, and Library & Archive.

Annual subscription

From November 2021, annual subscription rates for Membership, payable on election, are:

for Members, UK-based: £40 pa
Members, International: £50 pa
Members, Hardship Rate: £10.00 pa (online access to Transactions only)

The RHS subscription year runs July to June with renewals due on 1 July of each year.

The Associate Fellow Hardship Rate is available to unemployed and low income/wage members (self-defined) and includes unfunded/self-funded students.

How to Apply

Prior to making your application, please consult the FAQs relating to Membership.

To apply for the RHS Membership please use the Society’s Applications Portal, and select your chosen membership category.

Applications to join the RHS are welcome through the year. Dates for applications in 2024 are as follows: 27 May 2024, 12 August 2024 and 14 October 2024.

Rejoining the Society as a Member

If your Membership has lapsed / has been cancelled, and you would like to re-join the Society, please contact our Membership department at membership@royalhistsoc.org in the first instance. We will be glad to assist you.

All applications are considered by our Membership Committee who meet five times a year. You can expect to hear the outcome approximately eight weeks after the closing date for your application. Incomplete applications will be held on file until we have received all the necessary information.

All enquiries about applying for election to the Membership should be addressed to the RHS office: membership@royalhistsoc.org

Associate Fellowship

Postgraduate Membership

Existing Fellowship and Membership options

The new RHS membership categories at a glance

What the new Associate Fellow and Postgraduate categories offer

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Associate Fellowship

Postgraduate Membership

Existing Fellowship and Membership options

The new RHS membership categories at a glance

What the new Associate Fellow and Postgraduate categories offer

Open Calls: applications invited

Book Launch and Panel Discussion

Friday 18 February 2022

Speakers at the event

About our panel

Watch the recording of this event

Emma Griffin is an RHS Literary Director. She writes:

The Camden Series

Transactions

Studies in History

The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH)

1. Purpose, data and retention period

1.1 Contact - Through phone, mail, email and/or webforms

1.2 Payments

1.3 Registering an account

1.4 Newsletters

1.5 Compiling and analyzing statistics for website improvement.

2. Sharing with other parties

3. Cookies

4. Disclosure practices

5. Security

6. Third-party websites

7. Amendments to this privacy statement

8. Accessing and modifying your data

9. Submitting a complaint

10. Contact details

1. Purpose, data and retention period

1.1 Contact - Through phone, mail, email and/or webforms

1.2 Payments

1.3 Registering an account

1.4 Newsletters

1.5 Compiling and analyzing statistics for website improvement.

2. Sharing with other parties

3. Cookies

4. Disclosure practices

5. Security

6. Third-party websites

7. Amendments to this privacy statement

8. Accessing and modifying your data

9. Submitting a complaint

10. Children

11. Contact details

Closing date for next application round:

Monday 27 May 2024

Benefits of Membership

Annual subscription

How to Apply

Applications to join the RHS are welcome through the year. Dates for applications in 2024 are as follows: 27 May 2024, 12 August 2024 and 14 October 2024.

Rejoining the Society as a Member

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