This unique interdisciplinary degree will allow you to study race and strategies of resistance from a variety of historical and theoretical approaches.
A broad transnational framework allows you to combine African, U.S., Caribbean, British and Southeast Asian history under the guidance of leading researchers in English, History, Gender Studies, Spanish, and Latin American studies. You’ll be trained in historical research methods and use varied materials such as novels, films, speeches, newspapers and organisational records to explore issues of race and resistance across very different periods and cultures.
Supported by the Institute for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, you could study the slave trade, Mexican-American identity, race and feminism in the US, political violence in India or apartheid, among many others. It’s a fascinating and vital opportunity to gain an understanding of the roles that race and resistance have played in shaping the modern world – and how this complex relationship is evolving.
More Information
We have a wide range of resources to help you explore the topics that interest you. Among our library resources are microfilm collections of American, Indian and South African newspapers as well as journals relating to US civil rights. British and US government papers are also on microfilm, and an extensive set of British documents on end of empire and foreign affairs.
The Church Missionary Society Archives, the Black Power Movement archive and the Curzon papers are all available, and we have access to extensive online resources to access original material for your independent research.
With the chance to participate in our active research groups – such as Identity, Power and Protest; Women, Gender and Sexuality; and Health, Medicine and Society – and benefit from an impressive range of expertise among our tutors, you’ll find that the University of Leeds is a fantastic place to gain the knowledge and skills you need.
This degree is also available to study part-time over 24 months.
The first semester will lay the foundations of your studies, introducing you to historical research methods and approaches to the study of race and resistance. You’ll explore issues such as diasporas and migration, the legacy of non-violence and sexuality and race.
In Semester Two, you’ll build on this knowledge with your choice from a wide range of optional modules across different subject areas, on issues such as the Black Atlantic, postcolonial literature, British settler colonies in Africa and more.
Throughout the programme, you’ll develop your knowledge across a variety of areas as well as key skills in research and critical analysis. You’ll showcase these when you complete your dissertation, which will be independently researched on a topic of your choice and submitted by the end of the programme in September.
You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the ‘Making History: Archive Collaborations’ optional module
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Independent study is an important part of this degree, allowing you to develop your own ideas and improve your skills in research and analysis. You’ll then come together with tutors and other students for weekly seminars where you’ll discuss issues and themes in each of your modules.
All of the modules on this programme are assessed by coursework. This can take a range of forms, including essays, discursive writing, bibliographies, reviews and presentations among others. Optional modules are usually assessed by two 3,000-word essays.
This MA will give you a deeper understanding of how conceptions of race have shaped and been shaped by the world we live in, as well as the ways in which individuals and communities have employed different strategies of resistance. Crucially, it will equip you with sound intercultural awareness and allow you to look at situations from different points of view, as well as advanced skills in research, analysis, interpretation and written and oral communication.
Graduates have found success in a wide range of careers where they have been able to use their knowledge. These have included teaching and education, research and policy work for NGOs, think tanks and the charity sector. Many others have pursued PhD level study in related fields.
We offer different forms of support to help you reach your career goals. You’ll have the chance to attend our career groups, meeting students with similar plans, or you could become a paid academic mentor to an undergraduate completing their final-year dissertation. You could also apply for one of the internships we offer each year.
This distinctive programme allows you to think about the critical and creative relationships between film, photography and the media, while developing your skills to produce projects of your own.
A major independent project sits at the heart of the course, supported by modules that put your practice into the context of contemporary debates. You’ll explore the different critical approaches to the making and consumption of photography and film, allowing them to inform the short film and photography projects you’ll work on.
It’s a flexible programme which allows you to choose from a range of optional modules to focus on topics that suit your own creative and critical interests. You could study cultural policy, international film industries, film and TV writing, feminism in the media and more.
You’ll be taught by leading researchers and practitioners in the field, and our cutting edge research will inform all your teaching.
Our School has a range of fantastic facilities to support your studies. The 58-seat Phil Taylor Cinema is equipped with Dolby Digital sound and high-definition projection facilities, as well as projectors for 16mm and 35mm film.
You can also work on your own projects in our 44 editing suites, equipped with Avid Media Composer editing software and Adobe Creative Cloud. The fully equipped TV studio also has a large green screen area, lighting and photo-flash facilities. We also have a track and dolly, sliders, Glidecam and various cranes, and you’ll have access to a new photographic dark room.
We also run a loans service where you can borrow a range of HD digital camcorders and various Canon stills cameras to help with your project work.
The whole programme is based around a major independent project. You can choose to complete a dissertation and take classes developing your knowledge of research methods to support your work. Alternatively, you can complete a short film or photography project that you’ll exhibit at the end of the programme.
The modules you study throughout the year give you the theoretical and contextual knowledge you need to inform your project, as well as developing your skills in filmmaking and photography.
You’ll study two core modules. One will explore the links between photographic creativity, optical science and the nature of cinema and allow you to work on a short film project. The other will look at the historical development of photographic practice, contemporary issues and debates.
Alongside these modules you’ll choose from a range of options to focus on topics that interest you, from film industries around the world to new media, cultural policy, communication and development, television narrative and more.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll complete the MA over two years, instead of one, taking fewer modules each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
We use learning methods that reflect the diversity of the programme, including workshops, lectures, seminars, group learning, tutorials and film screenings. Independent study is also a vital element of the programme, since it allows you to develop your skills and explore your creativity in practical work.
We also use different methods of assessment, some of which will depend on the modules you choose. These are likely to include portfolios of practical work, group and individual projects and reports, essays, literature reviews, case studies, presentations, scripts and commentaries.
This programme will give you a broad base of knowledge and skills across two important forms of communication. It will also equip you with cultural awareness and advanced skills in research, analysis, interpretation and oral and written communication.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This one-year programme will allow artists who have already achieved high production values in their studio work to combine this with contemporary critical theory.
You’ll develop your artistic practice in well-equipped studios and work towards an exhibition of your own. At the same time, you’ll explore contemporary art, theory and criticism to inform and contextualise your work – and you’ll specialise in one area of criticism or theory when you choose from a wide range of optional modules.
In a region full of cultural resources, from The Hepworth Wakefield to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Henry Moore Institute, you’ll learn from expert researchers and practitioners as well as a host of visiting artists and speakers.
You could explore aesthetics, feminist studies, deconstruction and museum practice – and you could even undertake a work placement in a museum, gallery or other cultural institution.
Specialist facilities
In 2016 the School moves to a new location on campus, offering a modern and well-equipped learning environment in a beautiful listed building. You’ll be able to develop your artistic practice in professionally laid out studio spaces and versatile exhibition spaces.
We have a printmaking workshop on campus with facilities for etching, relief and screen printing, as well as a wet darkroom. Our computer suite has dedicated workstations for offline video editing and other applications. A 3D workshop and fabrication area are also housed within the School, with a dedicated space for casting.
The University incorporates museums and galleries such as the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery and the History of Science, Technology and Medicine Museum, as well as other performance and exhibition spaces.
The course gives you the chance to take full responsibility for your own programme of work. At its core is your studio practice, where you’ll develop your portfolio of work and build towards your own exhibition at the end of Semester 2.
You’ll work with a range of materials and have the freedom to develop your creativity through the media that suit you best. The study of different cultural and critical theories will be integrated into your work, as you attend studio seminars focusing on the links between theory, practice and criticism.
At the same time, you’ll develop your understanding of research methods through separate compulsory modules. As you improve your own research skills, you’ll prepare to submit your dissertation – an independent project on a topic related to your practice – by the end of the academic year.
You’ll also have the chance to expand your studies when you choose from a wide range of optional modules. You could cover topics such as contemporary art, technology and the media, feminism and culture, remembering the First World War or anthropological approaches to art among many others.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
For more information on typical modules, read Fine Art MA Full Time in the course catalogue
For more information on typical modules, read Fine Art MA Part Time in the course catalogue
We use a variety of teaching and learning methods. These will vary, but generally include visits to museums and galleries, lectures, seminars, tutorials and online learning.
You’ll also benefit from our extensive programme of visiting artists and speakers. Independent study is vital to this programme – not only is this where you’ll work on your practice and develop your creativity, but it is also an opportunity to build your skills in research, analysis and interpretation.
The assessment methods you come across may vary depending on the modules you choose. However, they’re likely to include your exhibition and supporting written work, your portfolio of studio work, in-course assessment, essays and presentations.
This programme will allow you to develop your practice as an artist and write thoughtfully about the practice and context of artistic work.
It will also give you the chance to gain skills in organising and curating events and exhibitions, researching, interpreting and analysing artistic work and cultural, visual and critical awareness.
All of these traits are valuable in a wide range of careers. Fine Art graduates have gone on to work in curatorial and educational roles around the world, both on a freelance basis and for major art institutions. Others have decided to develop their research interests through PhD study and academia, or pursued careers in teaching.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website
This programme takes a philosophical, theoretical and historical approach to cultural studies, exploring the work of cultural criticism, reception and production through new critical perspectives, interdisciplinary insights and a vast spectrum of applications and opportunities.
We study the major traditions of cultural theory, including semiology, deconstruction, feminism, psychoanalysis, and Frankfurt School theories of the aesthetic, the media and technology. This training enables you to shape your thinking critically and develop your interests in a rigorously analytical context.
These theoretical and historical perspectives allow us to tease out the critical charge embedded in the notion of culture itself, and the transformative potential of creative and critical work in the arts and humanities.
Close reading and textuality are at the heart of the course, encouraging you to think critically about issues of modernity and postmodernity, the postcolonial, subjectivity and sexuality.
Diverse and dynamic
Founded in 1987 (as MA Cultural Studies), and situated in the School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies, this programme appeals to students from across the humanities who are interested in a broad range of objects and genres including literature, film and the visual arts, performance, music, and philosophy.
You’ll work alongside students in different creative and critical disciplines and benefit from the diverse research interests of our tutors. It’s a dynamic environment where you’ll gain valuable knowledge and skills in a city with a vibrant cultural life.
Leeds University Library is one of the major academic research libraries in the UK with extensive print, online and manuscript collections. The University Library offers a comprehensive training programme to help you make the most of them. The School houses Parallax, published by Taylor and Francis, an internationally distributed journal of cultural theory and analysis.
The two modules that sit at the heart of this course will develop your understanding of cultural theory over time.
You’ll develop an understanding of the ideas of “commodity” and “commodity fetish” that are central to the study of consumer culture, as well as issues around language, sign and discourse and subjectivity. Then you’ll put this into the context of the development of cultural studies, focusing on thinkers from Rousseau to Kant and Homi Bhabha. You’ll use film and other texts to explore these ideas.
In each semester you’ll also have the chance to specialise when you choose from a range of optional modules. From Derrida and deconstruction to medieval art, representations of the Holocaust, technology and the media, Jewish culture and aesthetic theory, you’ll be able to focus on topics that suit your personal interests.
At the same time, you’ll build your knowledge of research methods and improve your own skills. To demonstrate all you’ve learned, you’ll work towards presenting your research at a symposium in Semester 2 and complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
To help you benefit from the expertise of our tutors, we use a range of teaching and learning methods. These include seminars, film screenings, lectures, online learning and tutorials. Independent study is also a crucial component, allowing you to form your own ideas and develop your research and critical skills.
Assessment methods will vary depending on the modules you choose. However, among others they may include essays, in-course assessment, group and individual presentations, poster presentations and portfolio or e-portfolio work.
This programme will develop your critical and cultural awareness and expand your subject knowledge in theories and histories of culture. In addition, it will equip you with sophisticated research, analytical, critical and communication skills that will put you in a good position to succeed in a variety of careers.
Many of our graduates have also continued with their research at PhD level and secured external funding to support them – including AHRC scholarships. A large proportion of our former research students are now developing academic careers in the UK, Europe, Asia, USA and Australia.
Some have taken up posts working as curators and education staff in museums and galleries, as well as in journalism, publishing, arts marketing, public relations, university administration and teaching.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
Smartphones and social media, digital networks and big data, gamification and mobile platforms – new media continue to change the way we live, work and communicate. This programme interrogates the impact of digital technologies on individuals and society, and provides you with the skills and knowledge to be able to think critically and creatively about new media.
Working both individually and in teams, you will learn about diverse digital media techniques and processes, including coding and hacking, web design, mapping and visualisation, scraping and mining, interactive narratives, animation, digital ethnography, action research, prototyping and iterative design, representation, and more. Through an applied, hands-on approach, you will gain an understanding of the social, cultural and economic roles of new media, and explore what it is like to work in the new media industries.
With a range of optional modules to choose from, you will also be able to expand your knowledge into areas such as multimedia journalism, cinema and photography, political and promotional communication, feminism and the media, and many more. Taught by expert practitioners and researchers, you will gain the knowledge and skills to thrive in this dynamic, fast-paced sector.Our School has a range of fantastic facilities to support your studies. The 58-seat Phil Taylor Cinema is equipped with Dolby Digital sound and high-definition projection facilities, as well as projectors for 16mm and 35mm film.
You can also work on your own projects in our 44 editing suites, equipped with Avid Media Composer editing software and Adobe Creative Cloud. The fully equipped TV studio also has a large green screen area, lighting and photo-flash facilities. We also have a track and dolly, sliders, Glidecam and various cranes, and you’ll have access to a new photographic dark room.
We also run a loans service where you can borrow a range of HD digital camcorders and various Canon stills cameras to help with your project work.
Depending on your previous experience, you may need to take the module New Media Production Skills to develop your knowledge of visual design software, HTML, CSS, PHP, WordPress, Javascript and animation. The module isn’t assessed so it will appear in your transcript, but won’t count towards your classification.
In each semester you’ll study core modules that build your knowledge of new media contexts and practice. You’ll consider the relationship between new media and contemporary culture and the interactive forms and practices that are emerging. Then you’ll gain practical production, project management and critical skills and respond to new media briefs in collaborative projects.
You’ll then have the chance to broaden your approach with your choice of optional modules, from photography and cinematics to political communication, television narratives and public relations in society.
To demonstrate the skills you’ve gained, you’ll also undertake a major independent project. You can choose to submit a dissertation and take classes on research methods throughout the year, or you can work on a sustained, practical new media project with a written element.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll complete the MA over two years, instead of one, taking fewer modules each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
For more information on typical modules, read New Media MA Full Time in the course catalogue
For more information on typical modules, read New Media MA Part Time in the course catalogue
You’ll be taught in a mixture of practical workshops, lectures and small group seminars which allow you to discuss your reading and present some of your research to other students. Independent study is also crucial to this degree, allowing you to practice your skills and deepen your knowledge.
We also use a range of assessment methods, depending on the modules you choose. They’re likely to include practical projects, essays, reports, group and individual presentations and case studies among others.
This programme is still relatively new, and digital media are rapidly growing, evolving and expanding.
People with high-level production and project management skills in new media will be in high demand for decades to come, and this programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a wide – and rapidly expanding – range of careers in new media practice.
These could include digital marketing, animation, web design and development, social media, analytics, PR and consultancy among others. You’ll also be well prepared for future research in this young and fast-changing field.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This programme will allow you to take a broad approach to African, Indian, American, British and European history from the early modern period to the 21st century.
A core module will allow you to sharpen your research skills, and you’ll choose from a wide range of optional modules spanning nations, continents, periods and themes to explore topics that interest you. You could study black internationalism alongside early modern Europe, the Spanish state, Stalinism, political violence in India or apartheid.
You’ll be taught by leading researchers as part of a large and diverse School of History and Leeds Humanities Research Institute, supported by active research groups and extensive library resources. Our research interests range from social history and identity to political history, nationalism and internationalism, meaning this flexible programme offers plenty of opportunities to gain important skills while focusing on issues that suit your interests.
You’ll study in a supportive environment with a wide range of resources. The world-class Brotherton Library has one of the best history collections in the UK, ranging from monographs and journals to conference papers, theses and over 100 digital databases of primary sources and other materials for fundamental research. The Brotherton also has its own special collections including the Leeds Russian Archive and the Feminist Archive North.
The Alf Mattinson Collection is full of printed works and papers related to the history of the Labour Party, and the Romany collection and Liddle Collection offer insights into Romany culture and the First World War respectively.
This programme is also available to study part-time over 24 months.
You’ll study one core module in your first semester, introducing you to different research methodologies in history and allowing you to develop your skills. You’ll also select from a wide range of optional modules throughout the year, allowing you to pursue topics that interest you such as the history of Yorkshire, the European Enlightenment or issues surrounding global security.
You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the ‘Making History: Archive Collaborations’ module.
This programme will equip you with in-depth subject knowledge, as well as high-level skills in research, interpretation and analysis. You’ll be able to demonstrate these when you complete your dissertation on a modern history topic of your choice, which you’ll submit by the end of the programme.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
For more information on typical modules, read Modern History MA Full Time in the course catalogue
For more information on typical modules, read Modern History MA Part Time in the course catalogue
We use a range of teaching and learning methods. The majority of your modules will be taught through weekly seminars, where you’ll discuss issues and themes in your chosen modules with a small group of students and your tutors. Independent study is also crucial to this degree, giving you the space to shape your own studies and develop your skills.
We use different types of assessment to help you develop a wide range of skills, including presentations, research proposals, case studies and essays, depending on the subjects you choose.
This programme will heighten your cultural and social awareness as well as allowing you to build your historical knowledge. You’ll also gain high-level research, analysis and communication skills that will prove valuable in a wide range of careers.
Graduates have found success in a wide range of careers in education, research and the private sector. Many others have continued with their studies at PhD level.
We offer different forms of support to help you reach your career goals. You’ll have the chance to attend our career groups, meeting students with similar plans, or you could become a paid academic mentor to an undergraduate completing their final-year dissertation. You could also apply for one of the internships we offer each year.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
