Centre for History and Philosophy of Science

Our research embraces many aspects of the history of science, technology, and medicine, from the 17th century to the present day

Students wearing protective gloves handling artefacts

Centre for History and Philosophy of Science

We are one of the foremost academic units for the subject in Britain, with nine permanent and several fixed-term staff, and a large and international body of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers. Newcomers are always welcome, and quickly come to appreciate the combination of scholarly seriousness and collegial friendliness, along with the library, archival and object collections that support our teaching and research.

The Director of the Centre is Dr Jonathan Topham.

Our research

The Centre encompasses a vigorous research culture, in which both individual and collaborative projects are supported by a strong spirit of collegiality. Particularly distinctive of Leeds is the close interaction between historical and philosophical scholarship, which yields valuable critical and historiographical insights.

Research embraces many aspects of the history of science, technology, and medicine, from the 17th century to the present day. The Centre is also at the forefront of current research in the philosophy of science, including structural realism, the nature and role of models in science, the nature of scientific representation, and integrated HPS.

The Centre for HPS regularly secures external funding for research projects.

Study with us

A wide range of history and philosophy of science modules and teaching are available at every level of undergraduate and Masters degrees.

Explore our undergraduate courses.

We have a large postgraduate community and teach in many research areas including important specialist topics.

Explore our Masters degrees.

Explore our PhD programme.

Our graduates have gone on to careers in various organisations, inside and out of academia, in the UK and across the world.

@hpsLeeds

“We’re thrilled that our former PhD student @coreen_anne has won the Disability History Association Article/Book Cha… t.co/n09RARwiWT” -

“More brilliant work from the @ElectrifyingWmn project, highlighting the long heritage of women in #engineering and… t.co/EFwWKZiC5s” -

“What has the technology of printing got to do with the iconic structural formulae of chemistry? Hear… t.co/dsCFKVu8Wx” -

Centre for History and Philosophy of Science