Masters degrees in Chinese History offer advanced study of the historical events which shaped China, from the earliest record of its existenceperiods of its culture in c.1500 BC, to its modern existencegrowth on the world stage.
Related subjects include Asian History as well as specialist postgraduate subjects such as Daoist or Buddhist textual studies and Sinology. Entry requirements normally include an appropriate undergraduate degree such as History or Archaeology.
This one-year programme is intended for graduates of Chinese Studies programmes and native Chinese speakers who wish to gain further understanding and develop expertise in a range of subjects concerned with Chinese health and wellbeing and the impact of China, historically and in the present day, on health around the world.
This MA offers an interdisciplinary approach to health in China including history of medicine in China, population studies, the built and natural environment, climate change, law and medical ethics, public health and policymaking. Intensive training in academic English and translation for publication online is provided.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of one core module (15 credits), direct reading and translation modules (60 credits), dissertation (60 credits) and three options or elective modules (45 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
NB: Not all options will be available every year.
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of up to 12,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is taught by specialists in the field and is delivered through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, presentations, workshops and direct reading. Assessment is through examination, presentations, essays and the dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Chinese Health and Humanity MA
This programme aims to train the next generation of professionals in the interdisciplinary approaches and skills necessary for understanding and improving population and individual health in China and internationally. It will be invaluable for all those intending to work in professions with an interest in Chinese health including: health systems and reform, the health environment, integrated health, in NGOs and multilateral organisations as policymakers, administrators, and workers in the field. It will also prepare students to work in art and media where Chinese health issues are concerned.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
Graduates from the MA will be well prepared to take advantage of job opportunities that are also available to graduates from the UCL Institute for Global Health and UCL Anthropology, but with the added advantage of expertise in China: health administration policy and consultancy, health law, in bilateral and multiliteral organisations, NGOs, built and natural environment, climate change, health research in China and the UK. The programme also aims to create new expertise in China's health culture that will open up job opportunities as China begins a rapid programme of developing private healthcare partnerships.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL History enjoys an outstanding international reputation for its research and teaching.
The department is strongly committed to the intellectual development of all our students; if you come to UCL, you will receive individual supervision from leading academics.
Located in Bloomsbury, UCL History is just a few minutes' walk away from the exceptional resources of the British Library, the British Museum and the research institutes of the University of London, including the Warburg and the Institute of Historical Research.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: History
82% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
This programme is based at the University’s Scottish Centre for Chinese Studies, which has an international reputation for research excellence in modern Chinese literature, media and mass culture.
It provides you with the opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding of cultural issues of modern China, and allows you to develop analytical skills as you apply cultural and literary theories to the context of modern China.
You will be trained in the study of Chinese texts, and learn to assess them in the context of current academic discourse in Chinese studies, leading to an understanding of changing perceptions of key issues in Chinese cultural studies.
Over two semesters, you will take compulsory and option courses, plus research skills courses. You will then complete an independently researched dissertation.
Compulsory course:
Option courses may include:
You will be thoroughly trained in studying modern Chinese texts and in assessing them in the context of current academic discourse in Chinese Studies. You will be able to understand changing perceptions of key issues in Chinese cultural studies and reflect critically on your own academic research.
You will gain a foundation on which you may choose to pursue doctoral studies, potentially leading to an academic career. Your skills will also be suited to a career in a number of fields that are concerned with Chinese issues.
Alternatively, you may choose to apply the transferable skills you gain in project management, research and communication to an unrelated career.
With the rise of China as a global economic power there is an increasing demand among organisations and companies from around the world, working with and in China, for professionals with knowledge of China’s political, economic and social systems and who can also speak Chinese. The Master of China Studies provides those in the programme with in-depth knowledge of China’s history, politics, society and economy, in order to equip them with a more comprehensive understanding of China’s complex socio-economic system. This knowledge will provide graduates of the programme with unique and important insights, as well as language training, critical to operating and decision-making in the Chinese context in any field.
The Department of China Studies at XJTLU has a large and diverse group of experts from around the world who will introduce students to different perspectives on China from different disciplinary backgrounds, including politics, history, political economy, literature and sociology, amongst others.
Our research ties with key universities in China’s Jiangnan region (including in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces) provide further opportunities for students to enrich their learning experience by spending a period of study at one of those universities.
Upon graduating students will acquire a comprehensive knowledge of China’s history, culture, society, politics, and economy, as well as of China’s regional, technological, and social policy development. Students will also learn or improve their Chinese language skills.
The completion of additional learning activities is required to complete your masters degree. Normally, required ALA hours will be distributed evenly across each semester, amounting to 200 hours per semester.
Possible activities include:
Companies, non-profit organisations, and government agencies working in diverse fields (technology, health, media, culture and society) dealing with China or operating in China are demanding graduates with a comprehensive understanding of China’s past and present society, economy and politics. Particularly for international students, this China expertise and ability to speak Chinese will enhance their career prospects in whichever field they operate in.
If you are a graduate of XJTLU, the University of Liverpool or Xi’an Jiaotong University, you will automatically receive a discount of 20 percent of the tuition fee.
Applications should be submitted via our online application system:
Once your application account is successfully created, enter all the information required in the application form carefully and make sure the information you provide is correct, complete and up to date. Upload the required documents to the corresponding fields.
You may log-in to view your application form at any time and upload any remaining supporting documents.
For further details of how to successfully apply to study at XJTLU, please visit the how to apply page.
Designed to develop your understanding of medieval history, or introduce you to it if you have not studied it before, this is a taught degree with some provision for dissertation research.
We offer uniquely wide ranging expertise across the whole medieval period, from c. 300 to c. 1500. We cover all of the countries of western Europe, Scandinavia, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia and China, and have a broad range with thematic interests including religious cultures, socio-economic history, the Crusades, Islamic history, gender, manuscript studies, drama, regional literatures and history (West Midlands, Scotland, Spain, Iceland, Byzantium, Afghanistan, northern Eurasia), material culture, comparative history and the ‘global Middle Ages’.
Times Higher Education ranked the Department of History first in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise.
This programme offers an opportunity to engage in advanced study of your chosen discipline through a range of core and optional modules. In all teaching you are encouraged to apply class material to your own specific research interests and your dissertation.
The programme includes six taught modules, made up of:
Full module descriptions are available below.
Assessment
Most core and optional modules on this course are assessed by written assignment. See module descriptions for further details.
You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice.
Birmingham has an outstanding reputation for research and teaching in medieval studies, which it has maintained for well over fifty years.
We have been rated highly in all three of the UK’s Research Assessment Exercises (RAE) and our library is one of the leading research libraries in the country, with exceptionally good medieval holdings.
To support your studies, we have regular research seminars where visiting and Birmingham speakers present their research. The university’s Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages (CeSMA) acts as a focus for interdisciplinary research projects and events which feed into our teaching. In addition to this we have a large number of postgraduate students in medieval studies so you’ll have a supportive and sociable environment for your studies.
Support with academic writing
As a postgraduate student in the College of Arts and Law, you have access to the Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) which aims to help your transition from undergraduate to taught Masters level, or back into academia after time away. The service offers guidance on writing assignments and dissertations for your MA/MSc programme with individual support from an academic writing advisor via tutorials, email and the provision of online materials.
International students can access support for English Language development and skills through the Birmingham International Academy (BIA).
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver tailored programmes of careers events and local support.
You will have opportunities to: meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs; attend employer presentations and skills workshops; receive individual guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique; and access to comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: History
Birmingham’s History graduates develop a broad range of transferable skills that are highly valued by a range of employers. These skills include: familiarity with research methods; the ability to manage large quantities of information from diverse sources; the ability to organise information in a logical and coherent manner; the expertise to write clearly and concisely and to tight deadlines; critical and analytical ability; the capacity for argument, debate and speculation; and the ability to base conclusions on statistical research.
Some of our History postgraduates go on to use their studies directly, for example in heritage, museums or the armed forces; others use their transferable skills in a range of occupations from finance, to publishing, to fundraising. Employers that graduates have gone on to work for include: Royal Air Force; Ministry of Defence; University of Birmingham; Big Lottery Fund; Royal Air Force Museum; and University of Oxford.
The course offers a programme of study that is broad-ranging in terms of its coverage of a variety of areas of Europe since 1500, including Russia and the Soviet Union; medical history; Britain and Ireland; the British Empire and British foreign relations; the Mediterranean world; and US history since 1800. We have thematic and conceptual specialisms in social, political and cultural history; comparative and transnational histories; and the history of migrations and diasporas. If you join us you will be taught by leading authorities in these fields and will gain advanced level training in historical methods, theories and theory and ideas relevant to the study of this island’s past. Overall we provide an excellent foundation for further study; a bridge to new employment opportunities; and a fundamentally valuable cultural and educational experience. We work with local history and cultural sector practitioners from museums, archives, and libraries, and these people contribute to our programme and enhance your experience.
The MA comprises four taught modules of 120 credits and a dissertation of 60 credits. The programme is taught by lectures, staff papers, seminar discussions and via student presentations.
The modules are:
Semester One
Debates and Controversies (30 credit points). This module examines some of the major debates in Historical studies today. The debates and controversies chosen are not exhaustive but are instead exemplars of why historians over disagree over sources, methods, politics, and other factors, and why historical works can be so different. At the same time the module will respond to a diversity of student interests by offering students an opportunity to develop their own reading and historical insights.
Themes in History (30 credit points). This module offers students the opportunity to explore themes in History that draw upon areas of particular staff specialism and that will develop and deepen their knowledge and understand. Divided into three themes of four weeks each, each block will examine key questions, sources and approaches within a theme. We will offer 4-5 themes each cycle to enable a degree of choice within the module’s teaching and learning programme.
Semester Two:
Research Methods for Historical Research (30 credit points). This module will provide students with the appropriate research skills necessary for study at postgraduate level, ranging from advanced usage of the library’s rich range of digitised primary sources to the exploitation of free sites and the development of a comprehensive and relevant bibliography for the dissertation. Sessions are designed to help students fit their emerging research question explicitly within the framework of available secondary and primary sources and to develop strategies for obtaining the most benefit possible from such resources. The module also allows students to practise and develop their oral presentation skills.
Special Topic in History (30 credit points). This module encourages focused study of one field of staff expertise. It is taught by individual consultation and a series of group sessions that encourage group support and shared reflection on the research process. Examined by an extended essay, the module will foster deep engagement with specifically related clusters of historical texts.
Semester Three:
Dissertation (60 credit points). This module is an independent piece of research on an aspect of historical studies that interests you. Students set the agenda and are guided by some general sessions at the beginning and by individual supervision sessions throughout the semester. The final dissertation is approximately 15,000 words in length.
Full Time: Two modules per semester. Each taught module involves one two-hour lecture/seminar meeting per week for twelve consecutive weeks. Taught modules are scheduled for evenings 5:15-7:15 pm. This is to facilitate attendance by those in full-time work. Independent study modules involve an equivalent number of study hours, with contact hours arranged with supervisory staff.
Part Time: One module per semester. Each taught module involves one two-hour lecture/seminar meeting per week for twelve consecutive weeks. Taught modules are scheduled for evenings 5:15-7:15pm. Independent study modules involve an equivalent number of study hours, with contact hours arranged with supervisory staff.
Students graduating with the MA in History are well-prepared to undertake a variety of occupations. Some students will progress to doctoral research and academic careers. Others will become teachers or lecturers in further education. Not all MA graduates become teachers or university lecturers. Other options include work in libraries, archives, museums, or full-time work in research for charities, official organisations, government, etc. Others may go into marketing advertising, publishing, the civil service or politics. Our MA programmes have been known to help teachers advance their careers. Others pursue these degrees purely through interest and a love of the past. All graduate occupational outcomes are enhanced by a higher qualification such as this.
