Masters Degrees (Economic History)

MSc Economic History

About the MSc programme

The MSc Economic History offers a flexible programme to those who have already studied economic history at first degree level, or for those who have studied a related discipline and whose interests have moved towards economic history.

You will be able to choose from a wide range of elective courses in economic history, allowing you to compile a programme according to your interests and career goals. You will also complete a dissertation on an approved topic of your choice. The programme provides a broad training in social science research methods and their application to historical study, including the role of theory, evaluation, analysis and explanation, quantitative techniques and computing, the use of sources and presentational skills.

Economic History combines the skills of the economist, the statistician and the sociologist, as well as those of the historian, therefore graduates leave the programme with a portfolio of highly transferable skills that can be applied across a wide variety of employment sectors.

Graduate destinations

Economic history graduates can be found in management and administration in the public and private sectors; banking; journalism; economic consultancy; and library and museum services, to mention just a few.

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About the MSc programme

The MSc Quantitative Economic History is designed for those with a strong grounding in undergraduate economics who wish to take the first steps towards a PhD in Quantitative Economic History. Although it can be taken as a standalone programme, you will need to meet certain criteria to progress through to the MRes and PhD stages of the programme.

The MSc degree aims to increase students’ methodological competencies and to assist and inform their dissertation work. Successful completion of the MSc allows progression to the MRes in Quantitative Economic History, which builds on the foundations laid in the MSc and includes substantive courses in economics and economic history and the production of a research paper in quantitative economic history, as well as a research prospectus.

Graduate destinations

Students leave the Department equipped for any profession that requires intellectual judgement, the ability to assess and analyse evidence and ideas, and good communication skills. Economic history graduates can be found in management and administration in the public and private sectors; academia; banking; journalism; economic consultancy; and library and museum services, to mention just a few.

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Durham's MA in Social and Economic History at Durham provides training in research methods for historical topics in any aspect of social and economic history. The MA provides quantitative and qualitative research methods appropriate to a wide range of historical approaches. Accredited by the ESRC, this MA is part of our four year funding scheme offered by the North-East Doctoral Training Centre. Students can apply for 1+3 funding for this MA followed by a PhD in any aspect of social and economic history with expert supervision available within the Department – and with our partner institution in the NEDTC at Newcastle University. This includes African history, and aspects of governance, as well as traditional social and economic topics. For further information on funding see further below.

The MA programme is shared with the School of Applied Social Science and will help you to build an awareness of the contemporary boundaries of social and economic history and to master advanced understanding of the concepts and methods with which it may be interrogated. It seeks to equip you with a diverse portfolio of research techniques and approaches to enable you to undertake extended independent research in your dissertation, and to make your own contribution to the field. The skills provided by this MA are also transferrable to a wide range of careers.

Durham has a long tradition of economic and social history, on which this MA draws. The breadth of possible subjects for study mirrors the comprehensive and global nature of the department staff: from medieval Europe to modern-day Africa, and from north-east England to the global economy. Durham's History Department is situated in the historic setting of the World Heritage Site, which includes Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. Students of social and economic history at Durham benefit from the rich archival and manuscript resources in the collections of the University (at Palace Green Library - especially the Sudan Archive - and Ushaw College) and in the Cathedral Library, while the wider regional resources for study of the period are also highly significant: the landscape of industrial revolution and of post-industrial response, of globalisation and regional identity.

Course Structure

The MA in Social and Economic History is a one-year full-time programme (or two-years part-time). All students are allocated a supervisor at the beginning of the first term, and s/he guides each student through the year.

Students take 30 credits of core modules from History: Archives and Sources (15 credits), and Critical Practice (15 credits); and 30 credits of core modules from the School of Applied Social Sciences: Perspectives on Social Research (15 credits) AND EITHER Qualitative Research Methods in Social Science (15 credits) OR Fieldwork and Interpretation (15 credits). They write a 60-credit dissertation (15,000 words) supervised by a member of academic staff in the History Department. They also choose a 30-credit optional module in History; AND 30 credits of optional modules from Social Sciences: EITHER Statistical Exploration and Reasoning (15 credits) and Quantitative Research Methods in Social Science (15 credits) OR Applied Stastics (30 credits).

The programme is structured as follows:
Michaelmas Term (October-December)
-Archives and Sources (15 credits)
-Perspectives on Social Research (15 credits)
-*Statistical Exploration and Reasoning (15 credits; OPTIONAL)
* Fieldwork and Interpretation (15 credits; OPTIONAL)
* Applied Statistics (30 credits; OPTIONAL; runs across Michaelmas and Epiphany Terms)

Epiphany Term (January-March)
-Critical Practice (15 credits)
-Option module (30 credits)
Option modules allow students the opportunity to learn about a particular topic or issue in medieval history in depth, and to consider different historical approaches to this topic over a full term's study. In previous years, options included: Power and Society in the Late Middle Ages; The Wealth of Nations; Race in Modern America; 'Tribe' and Nation in Africa since 1800; Tradition, Change and Political Culture in Modern Britain; Gender, Nationalism and Modernity in East Asia; History, Knowledge and Visual Culture (a full list of MA option modules is available at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/history/postgraduate/ma_degrees/optionalmodules/). Option modules are taught in weekly two-hour seminars for a full term's study.
-*Qualitative Research Methods (15 credits; OPTIONAL)
-*Quantitative Research Methods (15 credits; OPTIONAL)

Easter Term (April-June), and the summer vacation (until early September)
-Dissertation (60 credits)

The formal requirements and structure of the programme can be found at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/info/?id=9202&title=Social+and+Economic+History+%28Research+Methods%29&code=V1KB07&type=MA&year=2016#coursecontent a full list of optional modules is available at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/history/postgraduate/ma_degrees/optionalmodules/

The MA can be taken part-time, over two years: please contact the Department if you are interested in exploring this option further.

Learning and Teaching

The programme is delivered primarily through small group seminar teaching with some larger classes, and lecture-style sessions. Termly division of contact hours between terms depends on student choice. Archives and Sources has 8 contact hours, split between lectures, classes and seminars. Skills modules are taught through seminars or classes and are usually more contact-hour-intensive. Optional modules are taught in seminars and provide a total of 16 contact hours. Critical Practice involves lectures, a drama workshop, and oral presentation to a group (at a 'mini-conference'). Dissertation supervision involves 8 hours of directed supervision, individually with a dedicated supervisor. Social science modules are taught through lectures, seminars, workshops, and practical classes.

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About the course:
-Gain a deeper understanding of economic fundamentals, and the origins and likely long-term consequences of contemporary economic policies
-Learn how to apply rigorous economic analysis to deepen our understanding of the past
-Compare economic growth and living standards across space and time using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to historical data
-Make an original contribution to our understanding of past economies through your research dissertation

WHAT WILL YOU STUDY?

-Research methods
-Current themes in economic history research
-Approaches to ancient trade and navigation
-The archaeology of money: coins, power and society
-Topics in the history of finance

WHAT CAREER CAN YOU HAVE?

Thanks to the possibility of building your own pathway within our MA programme, you can specialise in your preferred area.

You may continue your academic development with doctoral research, or pursue a career as a teacher, archivist, or in museums. Many of our students have specialised in local history and later progressed to jobs in the heritage and conservation sector.

In addition, your experience of individual research will help you to develop valuable transferable skills. You will have demonstrated your ability to understand and apply complex ideas; to collect and analyse large quantities of information; to manage your own time and motivate yourself; to construct reasoned and articulate arguments; and to reach carefully balanced judgements. This should equip you to embark upon a range of professional careers.

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Whether you’re interested in the making of the modern world or witchcraft through the ages, at Essex we give you the freedom to explore the history that excites you. Our geographic spread, topic diversity and social reach give you an unrivalled opportunity to pursue your historical passions and discover new ones.

Our MA History is rigorous, flexible and wide-ranging, so that you can to choose the modules and thesis topic which best suit your interests.

Alongside four optional modules which enable you to explore the latest in historical research in our specialist areas, you also study a practical module in research techniques, and write a 20,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice.

Historical research at Essex concentrates on the period from 1500 to the present, and covers a wide geographical area that includes British and European history, as well as Latin America, the USA, China, Russia and Africa.

Our Department of History has developed a strong research and teaching profile, with the majority of our research rated as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2014). We provide you with opportunities to explore local history, and have strong links with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK.

Alternatively you can focus your study on a more specific area by following one of the following pathways:

Public History Pathway
Further your understanding of, and expertise in, a variety of public history contexts, ranging from museums and documentary films to conflict resolution and computer games.

This pathway makes the most of our status as an institution at the cutting edge of communicating history to the general public, and will involve classes led by scholars who are currently involved in documentary, heritage, oral history and school curriculum projects.

You will be given the opportunity to create, participate in, and/or critique a current piece of public history as part of your coursework assessment on the Public History Workshop module, and your dissertation will demonstrate an engagement with the methods and/or theories of public history, analyse an example of public history, or be an example of public history.

Cultural and Social History Pathway

Explore the varied ways in which understandings of the relationship between evidence and interpretation, language and the material world, economies and identities, have been challenged and changed by the ‘cultural turn’.

This pathway offers you modules which deal with a range of areas, themes and periods, placing you at the cutting-edge of historical thought on issues such as gender, race, class, consumption, modernity, mentalities and identities.

Local and Regional History Pathway
Local (or micro) history, as well as community and family studies, has played an increasingly important part in the development of historical analysis.

We reflect on these developments, drawing on the rich national and comparative literature in these fields, with a primary focus on the period from 1800 to the 20th century.

You also design and conduct a substantial independent study on a chosen historical topic or in the field of local, community or family history.

Our expert staff

Our staff are among world leaders in their field, and our enthusiasm for our subject is infectious. Our flexible course is combined with a supportive structure which helps you to pursue the modules best-suited to your interests.

We take the time to get to know you as an individual, welcome you into our scholarly community, and value your views.

Specialist facilities

-We have several Special Collections in history, including the Essex Society for Archaeology and History Library, the Harsnett Collection, the Hervey Benham Oral History Sound Archive, the Bensusan Collection, and the Colchester Medical Society Library
-Access the UK Data Archive, a national service provider digital resources for historians, which is particularly strong in 19th and 20th-century economic and social history
-Attend an exciting programme of events
-Access a variety of textbooks and journals in our Albert Sloman Library which houses materials on Latin America, Russia and the US that are of national significance

Your future

We have excellent links with the research community, both in the UK and worldwide, so many of our students have gone on to teach in higher education institutions. Others have found employment in archives, research, managing research funds, other forms of educational provision, the Civil Service, the National Health Service, and management.

Within our Department of History, we offer supervision for PhD, MPhil and MA by Dissertation. Themes of particular research interest include:
-Class, race and gender formation
-Nationalism
-Wars and revolutions
-International relations and oil diplomacy
-The history of medicine
-The history of crime
-Popular culture and consumption
-Slave societies
-The history of ideas and print culture
-The history of the Roma and Sinti in Europe
-Historical censuses and surveys

Our University is one of only 11 AHRC-accredited Doctoral Training Centres in the UK. This means that we offer funded PhD studentships which also provide a range of research and training opportunities.

We also work with our Employability and Careers Centre to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Example structure

-Dissertation
-Research Methods in History
-Race and Class in the United States, South Africa and Britain: Select Topics (optional)
-Illness and Culture in 18th-And 19th-Century Europe (optional)
-The Public History Workshop (optional)
-Gender in Early Modern Europe c.1500- c.1800 (optional)
-Approaches to Cultural and Social History (optional)
-A Global History of Food, c.1400 - c.1750 (optional)
-The Making of Consumer Culture: Britain 1780-1960 (optional)
-Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs (From the Sixteenth to the Twenty First Century) (optional)
-Decency and Disorder: Institutions in Essex 1700-1900
-The Patterns of Victorian Life: Reconstructing Nineteenth-Century Communities (optional)
-The Uses of Space in Early Modern History (optional)

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History MA is a stimulating programme that offers students the opportunity to create individual study pathways through time, space and methodology. Pathways can be chronological (medieval, early modern or modern), geographical (European, transnational, international) or methodological (e.g. cultural or, economic and social history). Alternatively, students can maximise choice by exploiting the diverse range of courses on offer. All students undertake robust theoretical and methodological training, accredited by the Economic and Social Research Council. Vocational training opportunities are promoted through work placement, `Public History' and documentary film-making modules. The Manchester History MA also offers an innovative suite of thematic courses that transcend orthodox boundaries to facilitate intellectual breadth and imagination. As integrated members of the research community, Manchester MA History students engage with outstanding researchers, resources and facilities.

Coursework and assessment

All History MA Programmes comprise of 180 credits:
-Advanced Course-work: 90 credits
-Research Training: 30 credits
-Dissertation: 60 credits

Taught courses are generally assessed by a 6000-word essay per 30-credit unit (this will vary for the quantitative and qualitative research methods units).

Our courses are interactive, and the small seminar is the rule. Normally students and sometimes staff present papers to form the basis of lively discussion - not an invariable experience at an undergraduate seminar!

Research and writing of the dissertation are undertaken from Spring through to August. Supervision is offered at least until July.
The degree is awarded at Pass, Merit, and Distinction levels

Course unit details

History MA maximises the strengths of Manchester's vibrant research community: 30 members of staff with world class expertise in medieval, early modern and modern history, stretching across national and international boundaries, with strong representation in economic, social and cultural approaches to history. History MA offers students the opportunity to range across this expertise or to specialise.

Specialist pathways include Modern European History, World History, Modern British History, Early Modern History, Medieval History, Cultural History or Economic and Social History. Each of these areas is represented in advanced, core modules (accredited by the ESRC). All students take one of these modules. History MA offers outstanding doctoral research preparation training through the core module and skills training programme. Skills training can be tailored to specialist interest with language training, including Latin, and palaeography or methods training in social science. History MA skills training also equips students to pursue the MA dissertation, a major piece of original research. This year, the Board of Examiners commended the exceptional quality of research, highlighting dissertations that were `publishable'.

Students applying to the MA are eligible to apply for AHRC and ESRC funding.

New opportunities in `Public history' and work placement facilitate a vocational pathway through the programme by promoting transferable skills and focusing on the significance of history in heritage, social policy, third sector work and the media.

Additional to core courses, students take four optional modules. Options in History are organised chronologically and geographically but also include a suite of innovative thematic courses, for example, on material culture, that transcend orthodox boundaries. History has a strong record in promoting interdisciplinary study and students may select options from across the School or other faculties with permission.

Career opportunities

Apart from PhD research, the high standard of arts research training, both formal and practical (in the dissertation), opens doors to many kinds of modern public and private sector graduate employments requiring research skill, formulation of projects and policy documents, etc.

Our new and popular Work Placement Scheme (introduced 2014-15) offers our students the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and learn about history in practice, in one of our partner institutions in the Manchester area. Examples include: Manchester Histories Festival, People's History Museum, Chetham's Library and University History and Heritage.

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The Cultural History pathway encourages you to investigate artefacts and ideas, material objects and mentalities, medical documents and museums, photographs and films and explore key themes that have shaped the past, including national identity, gender, race, sexuality and modernity.

On this absorbing MA programme you’ll study one of the most exciting fields of historical inquiry; cultural history examines the culture of the time in order to understand how people made sense of the world they inhabited.

It will introduce you to the specialist research methods used by cultural historians, to ongoing historiographical and theoretical debates and to related disciplines such as cultural studies, literary studies, history of art and sociology. You will also get the opportunity to explore the area of cultural history that interests you most in your dissertation.

The MA draws together case studies from across Britain and continental Europe, the European Empires and North America from the 18th century to the present day. Taking the Cultural History MA will:

- Deepen your understanding of the cultural history of Britain and its Empire, continental Europe and North America since the 18th century
- Encourage you to think about a broad range of questions and debates in cultural history
- Allow you to engage with current debates on such themes as gender, modernity, national identity, sexuality and the politics of culture
- Give you the chance to work closely with a dynamic group of young historians and established scholars who themselves research and write about the cultural history of Britain, continental Europe and North America.

Students study two 30-credit core modules and four 15-credit research training modules, culminating in a 60-credit dissertation.

Why History?

Breadth of expertise

The interests of our staff and PhD students are extremely diverse and span the medieval, early modern and modern periods.

Their work encompasses political, social, cultural, economic, military and diplomatic history, across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Active seminar programmes, linked to our research centres and MA programmes, enable staff and postgraduates to present their work and listen to eminent visiting speakers.

These are our on-going seminar series:

Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Eighteenth-Century Worlds
Contemporary Cultural and Social
History
International Slavery
Contemporary History and Policy
New Research (run by our postgraduate students)
Recent conferences and workshops have addressed ‘Religion in the Spanish Baroque’, ‘Text and Place in Medieval and Early Modern Europe’, ‘Re-thinking Post- Slavery’ and ‘British Nuclear Culture’.

Taught programmes that prepare you for future research

By pursuing our programmes you’ll gain the skills and knowledge you need to carry out further research towards a PhD.

Our MA programmes are taught by research-active experts who bring their knowledge of, and passion for, their subjects into the seminar room.

Teaching takes place in small-group seminars or workshops and through one-to-one tutorials, as we believe this leads to the best collaboration between students and staff.

We offer programmes in:-

Cultural History
Eighteenth-Century Worlds
International Slavery Studies
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Twentieth-Century History
You can also pursue an MRes in History or a vocational Masters in Archives and Records Management.

Support and skills training for PhD students

As a postgraduate research student you’ll receive comprehensive skills from the Graduate School, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and History Department.

This will equip you with the research skills you need to successfully complete your PhD.

Our PhD programmes place a strong emphasis on independent research and study, culminating in a 100,000-word dissertation. Two supervisors (normally experts in your chosen field) who will advise and support you through the process.

Our commitment to postgraduate students

We welcome enquiries from all postgraduate students interested in studying here and will give you all the academic, practical and pastoral support we can.

Students have a voice here and are represented on the School Postgraduate Committee. There’s also a dedicated staff – student liaison committee to oversee our MA and PhD programmes.

Postgraduate studentships and bursaries are often available.

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Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Modern History at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).

The MA in Modern History is designed for students who are particularly interested in the study of the modern period and the emergence of the characteristics of modernity from the pre-modern world.

Key Features of MA in Modern History

The expertise of Swansea’s modern historians encompasses Welsh, British, European and global history, with specialisms in economic and industrial history, questions of identity and nationality, imperialism, medicine, politics, sexuality, and sport.

Swansea has a long history of excellence in the study of modern history, and many students who have completed their MA successfully have also studied for their doctorate here.

Students on the MA in Modern History course will benefit from the College of Arts and Humanities' Graduate Centre. The Graduate Centre fosters and supports individual and collaborative research activity of international excellence and offers a vibrant and supportive environment for students pursuing postgraduate research and taught masters study. The Centre provides postgraduate training to enhance academic and professional development and facilitates participation in seminar programmes, workshops and international conferences.

The full-time Modern History course structure is split across the year with three modules taken in each academic semester (a total of six modules) and then a dissertation over the summer. Students study three compulsory modules and three optional modules. The dissertation is written on a specialist research topic of the student's choosing.

Part-time study for the MA in Modern History is available.

MA in Modern History Programme Aims

- To acquire advanced knowledge and understanding of a range of topics related to modern history.

- To develop theoretical, practical and methodological skills relevant to all aspects of the study of modern history.

- To lay a solid foundation of knowledge and analytical and presentational skills for further research work in the field.

Modules

Modules on the MA Modern History course typically include:

• Historical Methods and Approaches

• New Departures in the Writing of History

• Communicating History

• Fascism and Culture

• From Princely Possessions to Public Museums: A History of Collecting and Display

• Power, Conflict, and Society in the Modern World

• Venice and the Sea

• Directed Reading in History

Who should Apply?

Students interested in Modern History from a history or related background. Students interested in preparation for postgraduate research, MPhil or PhD, or who wish to develop skills and knowledge related to modern history.

Careers

Career expectations are excellent for Modern History graduates. MA degree holders may move on to doctoral study or enter employment in such areas as museums, heritage and tourism; marketing, sales and advertising; business, art, design and culture; media and PR; social and welfare professions; humanitarian organisations; the civil service, and education.

Research Interests

All staff in the Department of History and Classics are research active and publish books and articles in their areas of expertise.

Our researchers are involved with the Arts and Humanities research centres: the Callaghan Centre for the Study of Conflict, Power and Empire and the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales. Regular research seminars and lectures are run through these Centres and also through the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) which students are encouraged to attend.

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Our History MLitt course offers you detailed investigation into the periods of history that interest you the most, together with thorough research training. You will gain skills in various historical approaches as well as practical skills in areas such as oral history or historical databases.

Why study History at Dundee?

This degree offers flexible study, either full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years), in wide areas of the history of Britain, Scotland, Europe, Russia and North America. Themes range across political, cultural, military, religious, economic and social history, taught within a department of research specialists. You will also have the opportunity to gain research skills in areas such as palaeography, historical data basing, historical statistics and oral history.

The dissertation will provide an opportunity for you to develop and demonstrate advanced research skills, particularly important if you are interested in doctoral study.

Students can choose either a generic MLitt in History, or named pathways in:
Global Empires
Greater Britain in the Twentieth Century
Scottish History

The MLitt in History is also a pathway on the MLitt in Humanities with Specialisation programme.

What's so good about History at Dundee?

As the leading History department in Scotland for research output at international standard (RAE2008 results), we offer students an unparalleled opportunity to experience teaching at the sharp end of current research scholarship. Postgraduate students participate in many aspects of our programme including our regular research seminars.

"Study at Dundee was a rewarding experience in a welcoming academic community"
Blair Smith, postgraduate student.

Who should study this course?

As well as being a research preparation degree for students who intend to proceed to a PhD, this course also caters directly for students who wish to take their first degree to a higher level of advanced study, for either career development or merely general interest.

How you will be taught

The course starts in September each year and lasts for 12 months on a full time basis or 24 months on a part time basis. All the core teaching is conducted 5.30-7.30pm to allow attendance by part-time and full-time students alike. Other classes are scheduled for the mutual convenience of staff and students. Due to this a variety of teaching methods will be used, including: small group teaching, supervised study, seminars and presentations.

Learning methods will include oral and written presentations, as well as research essays and a dissertation. One-to-one supervision of a dissertation is designed to promote continuity in the learning experiences provided and students with the opportunity to work on a topic of their own choosing (subject to approval by the tutor).

What you will study

All our History MLitt degrees have a common core module (40 credits):

History Skills and Sources (semesters 1 & 2)
If you are enrolled on the general History degree, you then choose two further modules, either specialist modules:

Global Empires (semester 1)
Approaches to the Study of Twentieth Century Britain (semester 1)
Interpretations in Scottish History (semester 1)
History of the Book (semester 2)
or one or two of our flexible modules, where you choose the topic:

Taught History MLitt module, (semester 1)
Taught History MLitt module, (semester 2)
All students then complete a History dissertation (summer).

If you are enrolled on a specialist degree, then you replace the semester 1 flexible module with the relevant specialist module. Visit the course webpage for full details:

Global Empires
Greater Britain in the Twentieth Century
Scottish History

How you will be assessed

Assessment includes essays, skills tests, a presentation and a dissertation. Students whose dissertation fails to satisfy the examiners will be awarded the PG Diploma, provided that the taught elements of the course have been successfully completed.

Careers

Students who take this course will gain a solid foundation from which they can proceed to doctoral research.

However, due to the non-vocational nature of a History degree many students also enter jobs unrelated to their course of study. For these students this course provides them with an opportunity to further develop their written presentation skills, as well as the ability to work independently and plan independent research and study.

For those wishing to use their studies more directly, for example in heritage, museum or archivist work, the job market is competitive, and the MLitt will provide students with a chance to further their knowledge and understanding of History and to demonstrate advanced research skills necessary for work in archives or heritage.

Learn more about careers related to the Humanities on our Careers Service website.

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Oxford Brookes University is the home of the Centre for Medical Humanities, which is renowned nationally and internationally for its innovative and cutting-edge scholarship.

The MA History (History of Medicine) is a distinctive strand within our MA History. The strands offers you the unique chance to focus specifically on the social, scientific and cultural history of medicine, as well as the relationship between medicine and the humanities (history, philosophy, sociology, literature and art) through a course of research training. It also gives you the flexibility to pursue taught modules in other aspects of history if you wish.

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/history-of-medicine/

Why choose this course?

- You will benefit from being taught by a team of nationally and internationally recognised scholars. We are all active researchers and we include all aspects of our own research on the course, teaching specialist modules in our areas of expertise and supervising dissertations in our specialist subjects.

- The knowledge and expertise you gain is grounded in the latest scholarship within the field.

- You will have the opportunity to conduct advanced research on a dissertation subject of your choice.

- The course provides an excellent preparation for students intending to continue with PhD research. It will also be of interest to health care professionals and to graduates in history or the social sciences seeking further personal development.

- All classes are held in the evening. There are no exams - assessment is by written work only.

We welcome further enquiries – please contact the MA Subject Co-ordinator, Dr Viviane Quirke, or the History Programme Administrator, Poppy Hoole, email: [email protected]

Teaching and learning

The MA course is taught through small-group seminars, workshops and individual tutorials. Assessment is entirely by written work. There are no examinations.

Specialist facilities

Oxford Brookes is home to the Centre for Medical Humanities (CMH). The Centre was established in early 2015. It marks an exciting expansion and diversification of the work previously conducted through the Centre for Health, Medicine and Society which over the past 15 years has been the beneficiary of substantial support from both Oxford Brookes University and the Wellcome Trust. The CMH is building on this track record of outstanding research and grant successes, innovative teaching, career development and public outreach. Engaging with the expanding field of medical humanities, the CMH brings historians of medicine together with scholars from History, History of Art, Philosophy, Social and Life Sciences as well as Anthropology and Religion. It thus aims to foster genuine interdisciplinary collaboration amongst staff and students through a range of new research and teaching initiatives, which reflect the new concerns with the relationship between medicine and the humanities in the twentieth first century.

Students have access to Oxford Brookes University’s special Welfare collection, as well as numerous local medical archive resources. They also have access to the world famous Bodleian Library, a copyright library, which houses all books published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition to the Bodleian and its unparalleled collection of books and rare historical manuscripts, there are affiliated libraries such as Rhodes House, home to the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies, and the Vere Harmsworth Library of the Rothermere American Institute, where students will find one of the finest collections of publications on the Political, Economic and Social History of the United States from colonial times to the present.

Oxford is a lively centre for events, exhibitions, seminars and open lectures in various specialist areas of history, which staff and students at Brookes regularly attend.

It is also an easy bus or train ride to London for convenient access to a wider resource of historical materials. These include various seminars and lecture series offered by the University of London and the Institute of Historical Research. In addition, The National Archives at Kew, The British Library and other specialised libraries will be of particular interest to students.

Oxford is also within easy reach of other archival collections in Birmingham, Cambridge, Reading and Bristol.

Careers

Students who have completed an MA have developed a variety of careers. A significant number have gone on to undertake PhD study and secondary school history teaching. Others have taken up careers in archive management; law; accountancy; local government and the civil service as well as GCHQ - all jobs which require excellent research and analysis skills.

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

Research highlights

The department boasts a wealth of research expertise and is home to two important research centres:

- Centre for Medical Humanities (CMH)
The centre seeks to promote the study of medical humanities. , It is one of the leading research groups of its kind in the UK and has research links with a wide network of associates, both national and international. The centre also provides associate status opportunities to researchers from outside the University who wish to advance their studies and gain experience in the field.

- Centre for the History of Welfare
The centre provides a base for collaboration between all those with an interest in the history of welfare both within Oxford Brookes and across the wider academic and professional communities. It acts as a focus for research in this field. It aims to support and disseminate research which makes connections between historical research and current welfare policy, and thereby fosters links between historians of welfare and policy makers.

Research areas and clusters

Our thriving research and postgraduate culture will provide you with the ideal environment in which to undertake a research degree on a broad range of topics from 16th century to the present day, and to engage in interdisciplinary research. Research skills are developed in preparation for your dissertation and provide a potential pathway to PhD study.

You will have the opportunity to work alongside scholars of international standing as well as receiving comprehensive training in research methods. Principal research areas in which our teaching staff specialise include:
- History of fascism
- History of race
- Social history
- History of crime, deviance and the law
- History of religion from the Reformation onwards

As well as meeting to discuss and analyse central texts in the field, each group undertakes a number of activities. This includes organising work-in-progress seminars, and offering support and feedback for external grant applications.

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This MA is a specialised qualification for those wishing to pursue a career in history working in broadcasting or in film, in museums, heritage or in journalism.

You will be equipped with professional skills of historical interpretation and communication and provided with an opportunity to work alongside practitioners in the field, including museum curators, public archivists, publishers and TV and radio producers. We welcome a variety of guest lecturers and collaborate with a number of external partner institutions such as the National Trust, London Metropolitan Archives and ancestry.co.uk.

This is a unique gateway to the heritage sector and to the popular media, a new MA for historians keen to engage in the modern world.

See the website https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/history/coursefinder/mapublichistory.aspx

Why choose this course?

- You will have the opportunity to network with producers and representatives from production companies and develop links within the industry.

- You will be entitled to become members of the Institute of Historical Research, an excellent research library, which is housed in Senate House of the University of London. Every evening, many seminars meet at the Institute; here internationally known historians, postgraduate students, visiting historians or local scholars give papers and discussion follows.

- Our unique course units are taught by industry professionals who are well connected and up-to-date with the latest techniques.

- This is a unique gateway which provides students with the knowledge and skill base from which they can proceed to careers in the knowledge economy, the creative industries and the heritage industry.

- Provision is made for students pursuing continuing professional development programmes and part-time study.

Department research and industry highlights

Noted for depth, breadth and innovation, the research output of Royal Holloway historians ranges from ancient to contemporary times, from Britain and Europe to America, the Middle and Far East and Australia, and from political history to economic, social, cultural, intellectual, medical, environmental, and gender history. In particular, the History Department has special strengths in social, cultural, and gender history, and in the history of ideas - with research that covers a notable range of countries, periods, and approaches.

We have a number of research centres:
- Bedford Centre for the History of Women
- 1970s Network
- Research Centre for the Holocaust and Twentieth-Century History
- Hellenic Institute
- Centre for the Study of the Domestic Interior.

Course content and structure

You will study five core units and produce a Project Dissertation.

Core course units:
Studying and Communicating the Past
You will be introduced to the range of skills and resources you need to understand and deploy as a historian. The unit includes guest talks by specialists and practitioners.

History Past and Present: Definitions, Concepts and Approaches
This is a wide-ranging methodology unit that explores the development of history as a discipline and considers the question ‘who and what is history for?’

The Public Communication and Understanding of History
This is an introduction to writing for popular media (journalism, TV and radio). The unit will include outside lecturers and a visit to a BBC/independent production company to meet working producers.

Pathways to the Past
This unit has been developed in collaboration with a number of external partner institutions and considers public history in the contemporary world through popular history books, films, exhibitions and national and local memorials

The Voice of the Public: Oral History in Public History
You will be introduced to the theory and practice of oral history and develops the skills necessary to conduct and record an audio oral history interview to current broadcast and archive standards.

The Public History Project Dissertation
This gives you the opportunity to either research a specific issue or engage with a specific partner institution to produce an exhibition, piece of oral history, a publishable article or radio programme.

On completion of the course graduates will have:
- a systematic understanding and knowledge of issues of knowledge transfer and public engagement

- critical awareness of current issues related to public history, heritage and citizenship

- theoretical insights and methodological techniques relevant to the development and interpretation of historical knowledge in the public presentation of the past and to the evaluation of current research and scholarship in the field

- tools of analysis to tackle issues and problems of the representation of the past.

Assessment

Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including coursework, examinations and a dissertation.

Employability & career opportunities

This course fully prepares graduates for careers in heritage, media, journalism and education. Our graduates are highly employable and, in recent years, have entered many different areas, including working for an MP, as a Heritage Officer, teaching and marketing. This course also equips you with a solid foundation for continued PhD studies.

How to apply

Applications for entry to all our full-time postgraduate degrees can be made online https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/postgraduate/applying/howtoapply.aspx .

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This course is for you if you need to improve your English language skills and subject knowledge of history before going on to a Masters course. You improve your language fluency and academic vocabulary, develop your academic skills, and gain experience of western methods of teaching and learning so that you can progress onto a relevant Masters course in our Department of History.

At Essex, you can progress onto our MA History, MA History (Cultural and Social History Pathway), MA History (Local and Regional History Pathway), or MA History (Public History Pathway).

Our International Academy offers some of the best routes for international students to enter higher education in the UK. Our innovative courses and programmes have proved very successful with international students and have also attracted UK students because of the distinctive learning environment we offer.

If you are an international student, you may find that the education system in the UK is slightly different from other countries and, sometimes, that the transition to the British system can be challenging. Our courses help you to settle in and adapt to life in the UK.

Alongside improving your academic English skills, you also gain knowledge of history and an understanding of the methods and techniques of the historical discipline.

Our Department of History has developed a strong research and teaching profile, with the majority of our research rated as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2014). We provide you with opportunities to explore local history, and have strong links with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK.

Our expert staff

Our staff are among world leaders in their field, and our enthusiasm for our subject is infectious. Our flexible course is combined with a supportive structure which helps you to pursue the modules best-suited to your interests.

We take the time to get to know you as an individual, welcome you into our scholarly community, and value your views.

Specialist facilities

By studying within our International Academy, you will have access to all of the facilities that the University of Essex has to offer:
-We provide computer labs for internet research; classrooms with access to PowerPoint facilities for student presentations; AV facilities for teaching and access to web-based learning materials
-Our new Student Services Hub will support you and provide information for all your needs as a student
-Our social space is stocked with hot magazines and newspapers, and provides an informal setting to meet with your lecturers, tutors and friends

You can also take advantage of our excellent history facilities:
-We have several Special Collections in history, including the Essex Society for Archaeology and History Library, the Harsnett Collection, the Hervey Benham Oral History Sound Archive, the Bensusan Collection, and the Colchester Medical Society Library
-Access the UK Data Archive, a national service provider digital resources for historians, which is particularly strong in 19th and 20th-century economic and social history
-Attend an exciting programme of events
-Access a variety of textbooks and journals in our Albert Sloman Library which houses materials on Latin America, Russia and the US that are of national significance

Example structure

-English for Academic Purposes
-Making Histories: Concepts, Themes and Sources
-Advanced English for Academic Purposes
-Critical Reading and Seminar Skills
-Extended English for Academic Purposes Project
-Public History Project Module: Bourne Mill, Colchester (From the 16th to the 21st Century) (optional)
-Gender in Early Modern England (optional)
-The Making of Modern Brazil (optional)
-Resistance and Rebellion in the World of Atlantic Slavery (optional)
-Revolutionary Encounters: China and the World, 1780-1930 (optional)
-Mapping History and Heritage in Colchester (optional)
-Supernatural and Natural Worlds in Early Modern Europe (optional)
-Life in the Three Kingdoms: Societies and cultures in early modern Britain and Ireland (optional)
-Consensus Britain? The State and the People, 1945-79 (optional)
-'The Special Relationship'? Anglo-American Relations 1850-2005
-Sex, Class and War at the Movies: Britain, 1930-2000 (optional)
-Witch-Trials in Early Modern Europe and New England (optional)
-Medicine and Society in Britain and France 1700-1860 (optional)
-Reconstructing Family, Residence, Work and Communal Life in Victorian England (optional)
-The African American Experience (optional)
-Human Rights in Historical Perspective (optional)
-South Africa: The Road to Apartheid (optional)
-Literature and the Condition of England (optional)
-Between Protection and Control: Policing Europe in the 19th and 20th Centuries (optional)
-The English Revolution (optional)
-British Social History 1830-1950 (optional)
-Crime and Punishment: England in Comparative Perspective 1650-1900 (optional)
-From Stalin to Putin (optional)
-The Tudors and Stuarts on Film (optional)
-Slavery and Plantation Societies in Latin America (optional)
-The British Empire in the Indian Ocean World, 1780-1930 (optional)
-Women, Gender and Sexuality in US History (optional)
-Metropolis: Urban Germany 1900-1945 (optional)
-The United States and the Vietnam War (optional)

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The MA History will allow you to focus on a particular period or geographical area, or to study a specific theme such as economic and social history, international history, religious and cultural history, political history, naval and maritime, or gender history. Students also have the option of following one of our specialist pathways or select from our full range of modules by following our open pathway.

Specialist pathways

Early Modern History; Maritime History; Medical History and War and Society

Modules

A wide range of optional modules are available which reflect the varied research interests of academic staff. These interests range widely from the early medieval period to the twentieth century and cover Britain, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. All aspects of the discipline are represented, from social, religious, cultural and gender history to the study of politics, economic development, international relations, and military conflict in a variety of contexts and eras. Particular areas of strength include early modern history, naval and maritime history, medical history, and the history of the connections between war, state and society.
Your choice of optional modules may include subjects as diverse as ritual in the Middle Ages; witchcraft and the supernatural in the 16th and 17th centuries; maritime and naval history; sexuality; health, medicine; gender and the body; party politics and international diplomacy; and the impact of modern wars on culture, economy, society and memory.

The programme

- offers an excellent education in a very wide range of historical subjects and geographical locations over a broad time-span from Anglo-Saxon England to modern Western and Eastern Europe, some parts of Asia, North and South America, and Africa;
- produces graduates who are highly competent in subject-specific, core academic, and personal and key skills that are both relevant and transferable to employment;
- draws on the expertise of a number of highly respected research centres which are at the forefront of their respective disciplines;
- participation in joint seminar programmes offering insights into a very wide range of research cultures and specialisms;
- excellent preparation for students intending to continue on to doctoral-level research with a good track record in obtaining funding for further study.

Research Areas

Research is at the heart of History and our students are encouraged to come to Departmental Research Seminars and become an active part of wider research community. Our research centres regularly hold seminars and other research events which MA students are welcome to attend. Our current research centres include:
• Centre for Early Modern Studies
• Centre for Imperial and Global History
• Centre for Maritime Historical Studies
• Centre for War, State and Society
• Centre for Medical History
• Centre for Medieval Studies
• Institute of Cornish Studies

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Are you looking to undertake research training that will prepare you for research in the field of economic and social history?

Our MA in Social Research is particularly useful if you want to convert to the study of economic and social history, or if you have already studied in this area and wish to improve your skills. It is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council as providing the requisite research training for a PhD so you can apply for funding for the MA to be the first (training) year of a four-year PhD.

This programme provides research training that will prepare you to undertake research in the field of economic and social history.

You will study five core modules (full descriptions available below):

Introduction to Social Science Research
Research Design
Social Research Methods I
Social Research Methods II
Historical Methods

Many of the core modules are delivered at a wider level, so you will study with students from the School of Social Sciences as well as those from the Department of History.

You will then choose one optional module from a range which may include:

Sites and Sources in Modern British Studies
Economics of War
Globalisation since 1945

You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation.

About the School of History and Culture

The programmes in the School of History and Cultures offer students enquiry based learning within a rich and diverse environment to stimulate debate and challenge conventional thinking.
The programmes derive from departments which are all excellently rated by the QAA both in teaching and research terms (Medieval History 5, Modern History 5 and African Studies 5*). Our staff publish widely, and we are developing and consolidating a strong, supportive research culture in the School.
We are extremely proud to announce in June 2016, that History at Birmingham was ranked the top research department in the country by the Research Excellence Framework (REF). The national REF exercise assessed research publications and the public impact of research carried out in all universities in the UK between 2008-2014. Our department had an impressive 45% of its research judged to be ‘world-leading’.

Funding and Scholarships

There are many ways to finance your postgraduate study at the University of Birmingham. To see what funding and scholarships are available, please visit: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/funding

Open Days

Explore postgraduate study at Birmingham at our on-campus open days.
Register to attend at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/visit

Virtual Open Days

If you can’t make it to one of our on-campus open days, our virtual open days run regularly throughout the year. For more information, please visit: http://www.pg.bham.ac.uk

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This is an interdisciplinary, research-based programme. It is offered by a consortium of five European universities: University of Leipzig, University of Vienna, University of Wroclaw, University of Roskilde and LSE, where it is based in the Department of Economic History.

This wide-ranging academic programme combines global history, international studies, area studies, and social science approaches to the study of globalisation processes. You will spend one of the two years of the programme at one of the partner institutes.

Courses consider the origin and outcomes of distinct patterns of economic growth in various time and parts of the world. The programme also seeks to explain how and when some economies diverged from the path taken by industrialising and industrialised countries, while the growth performance of others was more erratic, and why problems of poverty, inequality, instability and violence still characterise large parts of the world.

The programme is aimed at students with a first degree in social sciences and humanities with an interest in issues of globalisation. Minimum entry requirements are a BA degree (or recognised equivalent from an accredited institution), sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the chosen field, excellent written and oral command of English and at least basic German knowledge.

Students study for two years, one year each at two of the partner institutes, and applicants wishing to study at LSE for either their first or second year will be required to take the MSc Global History, based in the Department of Economic History.

Applications will be handled by the University of Leipzig and full details can be found at http://www.uni-leipzig.de/zhs/erasmus_mundus

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