Mr Vasili's interest in Tull grew out of a PhD on the history of black footballers and he went on to write the footballer's biography.

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Horrocks earned his PhD in Chinese Economic History from Leeds University in the United Kingdom, and is fluent in Mandarin.

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He has a PhD from Yale in diplomatic and military history.

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At the University of Chicago, 430 PhD candidates applied for spots in the school's history division, up 6% over last year.

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It is hoped local students will take up undergraduate courses in the Ulster-Scots language, history and culture, as well as attracting postgraduate research and PhD's.

BBC: New Ulster-Scots institute

He achieved a first class degree in history from Edinburgh University, where he went on to complete a PhD.

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