Masters Degrees in Intellectual History

The MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History is aimed at students who have an interest in both the theory and history of political thought (including those wider intellectual idioms which provide the context for its development). It also welcomes students whose previous study had a more specialised historical or theoretical (or philosophical) bent, provided that while doing this course they are willing to engage themselves with both approaches to research.The MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History is aimed at students who have an interest in both the theory and history of political thought (including those wider intellectual idioms which provide the context for its development). It also welcomes students whose previous study had a more specialised historical or theoretical (or philosophical) bent, provided that while doing this course they are willing to engage themselves with both approaches to research.

This MPhil attracts students from all over the world, and its training provides an ideal foundation from which to proceed to doctoral research, not only in the United Kingdom, but in North American, European, Asian and Southern Hemisphere university systems.

Priority is given to the pursuit of the individual student’s research: all examined work derives from this research. Classes are provided in Methodology, in the reading of selected texts, and in selected concepts: these are intended to be ‘exemplary’, offering opportunities to explore different methods used in the field, different approaches to reading texts, and a variety of political concepts. Work done in classes is not examined.

See the website http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/hihimppth

Course detail

The MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History offers students a rounded and flexible Masters programme that provides them with an introduction to all three of the fields contained within its scope (History of Political Thought, Political Theory, Intellectual History), while allowing them to specialise in their own area of particular interest. It offers a thorough training in the key techniques of higher-level academic study and research.

The MPhil is inter-Faculty: History, Politics, and Classics are the participating departments. The teaching staff, and examiners, have diverse disciplinary backgrounds, as do students on the course.

Learning Outcomes

After completion of the MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History, students should have:

1. acquired an enhanced understanding of the history of political thought as well as an appreciation of the broader theoretical approaches and intellectual idioms that inform its study.
2. acquired the analytical capacity to pursue independent study of primary texts in the history of political thought and to evaluate the findings of secondary commentators
3. acquired the ability to situate their own research findings within the context of previous and current interpretative scholarly debates in the field of political thought and intellectual history

Format

The course comprises two kinds of work: group study and individually tailored supervised research training. Both persist simultaneously throughout the year, so that students are expected to attend the course classes, research seminar, and lectures while at the same time researching their essays. While there are no fixed course classes in Easter Term when students will be concentrating on their dissertation, they will be required to present their work at a Dissertation Seminar and encouraged to continue attending lectures and the research seminar. Postgraduate students in Cambridge are expected to work continuously throughout the year with the exception of a few days’ break at a time, so that the ‘vacation periods’ are in fact periods in which required work must be completed.

Students will receive the following feedback:

- oral supervision feedback
- writen termly CGSRS reports
- written essay feedback
- oral dissertation workshop feedback
- formal written feedback from two examiners after the submission and examination of their dissertation.

Assessment

A thesis of 15,000 - 20,000 words is submitted at the end of the course. An oral examination will only be required in cases where one of the marks is a marginal fail.

Two essays of not more than 6,000 words each, one submitted at the end of Michaelmas Term, the second at the end of Lent Term. These essays constitute Part I of the MPhil, and contribute to the final overall mark.

Continuing

In order to be considered for continuation to the PhD, and always subject to satisfactory supervision arrangements being in place, students are expected to obtain an overall mark of 70 for the MPhil and a mark of at least 70 for their dissertation.

Please see the Faculty website for more information:

http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/prospective-graduates/apply/apply-mphil-phd
http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/prospective-graduates/apply/apply-ltc-home

How to apply: http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/applying

Funding Opportunities

Please see the History Faculty’s Funding Guide via the History Faculty’s weblink below:

http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/prospective-graduates/faculty-funding/funding-options

General Funding Opportunities http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/funding

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This intercollegiate programme draws on the expertise of academic staff in the fields of the history of political thought and intellectual history from across the Colleges and Institutes of the University of London. The programme is administered from Queen Mary, so you register as a Queen Mary student � once you complete the programme, your degree will be a joint University of London-UCL MA. The MA Programme as a whole offers advanced training in intellectual history, the history of political thought and the history of philosophy, spanning the period from the ancient world to the Twenty-First Century. You will also be provided with an essential grounding in the various methods and approaches associated with the study of the history of thought developed over the past quarter-century in Europe and the United States.

Programme outline
The MA consists of the core module: Method and Practice in the History of Political Thought and Intellectual History, a selection of modules chosen from the list below, and an individually supervised dissertation. Below is a typical sample of module options that may be offered in a given year:

Democracy: Ancient and Modern Richard Bourke (Queen Mary)
Propaganda and Ideology in Rome Valentina Arena (UCL) [please note: not running 2011-12]
Languages of politics: Italy 1250-1500 Serena Ferente (KCL)
Political Thought in Renaissance Europe Iain McDaniel (UCL)
Early-modern theories of the state Quentin Skinner (Queen Mary)
The Public Sphere in Britain, 1476 - 1800 Jason Peacey (UCL)
Signs, Mind, and Society: Early Modern Theories of Language Avi Lifschitz (UCL)
Enlightenment and Revolution: Political Ideas in the British Isles 1688-1800 Ian McBride (KCL)
Selfhood, Sensibility and the Politics of Difference in the European Enlightenment Adam Sutcliffe (KCL) [please note: not running 2011-12]
From Hume to Darwin God, Man and Nature in European Thought Niall O'Flaherty (KCL)
Visions of Capitalism Jeremy Jennings (Queen Mary) [please note: not running 2011-12]
In the Shadow of the French Revolution: Political Thought 1790-1890 Gareth Stedman Jones (Queen Mary)
Theories of Empire: from Enlightenment to Liberalism Maurizio Isabella (Queen Mary)
Crisis and Future in Nineteenth-Century European Thought Axel K�rner (UCL)
Nationalism, Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism in Political Thought, 19th�20th Centuries Georgios Varouxakis (Queen Mary)

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Research profile

The MSc by Research in History is aimed at students who have a specific topic of interest into which they wish to conduct their own research.

The programme provides structured research training while at the same time enabling you to pursue a research project that you design yourself, in consultation with supervisors. It serves as both a self-contained research degree and a preparation for further study for the PhD degree.

History at Edinburgh is one of the largest and most distinguished departments of its kind.

Research interests within History are extremely wide-ranging and include medieval culture, religion, gender, and law; historical theory; early modern witchcraft and the occult; the Italian Renaissance; North America from the colonial era; intellectual history from Machiavelli to Marx; genocide; Nazi and post-war Germany; Russia and the Soviet Union; the Cold War; and political, social, and cultural aspects of the history of China, Japan, and India in the modern era.

In particular, we host expertise in:

• Pre-modern and early-modern history: our research interests lie in the social, political, religious and cultural history of Europe – from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance, with particular emphasis on England, France and Italy.
• Modern British and Irish history: we have particular interests in early modern religion, belief and intellectual history (including the Scottish Enlightenment); social and political history; relations between Britain and Ireland; Irish migration; and international relations and warfare.
• Modern European history: specialisms include astrology and belief; Renaissance Venice; 18th-century political and intellectual history; genocide; France; Germany; Russia and the Soviet Union; and Spain.
• American history: our expertise includes revolutionary and early national America; the Civil War; US diplomatic history in the 19th and 20th centuries; politics in the 20th century; African-American history and the civil rights movement.
• Asian and African history: we research African history; the history of the British Empire and Commonwealth; modern India, Pakistan, and China and Japan since the early modern period.

Programme structure

The programme consists of two compulsory training courses common to all History MSc degrees, two directed reading and research courses and a dissertation on a topic chosen by the student.

Two supervisors are assigned at the outset of the course for each student's dissertation.

This programme requires completion of a long dissertation of 30,000 words. Students will additionally audit two training courses Historical Research: Skills and Sources and Historical Methodology.

Training and support

You will be assigned two supervisors who will provide expert academic guidance on your chosen research topic. You will meet regularly to discuss your progress and research plans, as well as drafts of your thesis/dissertation chapters, conference papers and potential articles.

In addition to individual supervision, you will also have access to research training and postgraduate seminars.

Facilities

Our home is the William Robertson Wing, an A-listed building on the southern edge of Edinburgh’s Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Designed by the distinguished 19th-century architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, the building – part of the University’s Old Medical School – has recently been refurbished to an exceptional standard, providing state-of-the-art facilities for research, teaching and study.

Graduate students are able to use two further large School study and resource rooms, which are open to all staff and students. There is access to lockers equipped with laptop charging facilities as well as standard lockers.

The building is wireless enabled and includes state of the art teaching rooms, meeting rooms, a common room, a refreshment area, and open social/breakout areas.

Learning outcomes

The programme will enable you to:

• develop a specific body of advanced knowledge
• become competent in advanced historical methodology and in the evaluation of evidence through the close study of relevant primary and secondary sources
• become familiar with historiographical debates and modes of historical explanation
• develop rigorous historical argument
• conceive and execute a coherent project in historical research and writing

Career opportunities

The concentration on research under supervision makes this degree suitable for those contemplating doctoral study, whether in our own School or elsewhere, and many who take this degree follow that route.

But undertaking substantial and independent research and a writing project is equally excellent preparation for a wide variety of careers.

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You will take two core courses and 6 option courses.You will be assessed through coursework and a 15,000-word dissertation.

The compulsory courses are:

• Historical Methodology;
• Historical Research: Skills and Sources

Option courses previously available include:

• Epicurus and Epicureanism
• Myth and the History of Scholarship in Early Modern Europe
• Theories of Empire in the Early Modern Period
• Intellectual History of the American Revolution
• Religion and the Enlightenment: the Birth of the Modern
• Athens of the North: the Origins and Ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment;
• Mind and Body in Early Modern Philosophy;
• Seeking Japan in a Westernising World, 1868–1945;
• Thinking the Twentieth Century;
• Citizens and Subjects: Concepts of Citizenship in Modern African Intellectual History.

Learning outcomes

Students are expected to achieve several aims, which will be assessed primarily by essays and a dissertation, such as:

• knowledge of the chief methods of practising intellectual history
• a detailed understanding of certain major episodes in intellectual history
• an appreciation of the interdependence of text and context, and of the importance of ideas in past and present

A wide variety of intellectual skills are promoted through seminars, discussions and advanced study, encouraging the development of the:

• ability to develop tight and coherent arguments both orally and on the page
• capacity to read texts critically and sensitively, evaluating their arguments as well as situating them in their practical and intellectual contexts
• appreciation of a variety of approaches to intellectual history
• ability to cross-disciplinary boundaries, for example, between philosophy, science and history

Career opportunities

Our students view the programme and a graduate degree from Edinburgh as an advanced qualification valued and respected by many employers. Those students interested in long-term academic careers consider the programme as preparation for a PhD.

The combination of specialised skills training courses and seminars, and the opportunity for independent research provides you with transferable skills that will be beneficial whatever path you choose. Graduates pursue work in related areas such as museums, policy think-tanks, national and international civil services, non-governmental organisations, galleries, libraries and historic trusts whilst others build on the transferable skills gained and enter areas as diverse as business, media, public administration and marketing.

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This MA builds on Sussex’s long tradition of innovation and expertise in intellectual history.

Exploring the major transformations and discourses in intellectual life since 1500, you’ll focus on:
-The history of political ideas
-Religious and economic thought
-The Enlightenment
-The history of science

Democracy and rights, war and empire, and toleration and persecution are all studied historically. You explore the ideas of thinkers through their literary texts and their practical contexts.

Genuinely interdisciplinary in approach, the course examines the interrelations between philosophy, politics, science, religion and literature in Britain, Europe, North America and China.

How will I study?

Modules are taught in seminars, while specialist lectures, workshops and conferences organised by the Centre for Intellectual History give you access to cutting-edge historical research and debate.

A lunchtime seminar series provides training in research methodologies. Modules are assessed by term papers. You’ll also write a 20,000-word dissertation, supervised by an expert in the field.

Academic activities

History at Sussex has a thriving and animated research culture, with regular seminars, workshops and conferences on interdisciplinary research, and specific modules on research methods and skills.

You’ll attend the Department of History’s weekly work-in-progress seminar throughout the academic year. Among the contributors to the seminar are visiting historians, research students and faculty.

Our postgraduate students run the well-established University of Sussex Journal of Contemporary History, an innovative online journal of creative and interdisciplinary historical research by members of the postgraduate and early postdoctoral community.

Scholarships

Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course.
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Careers

A number of our graduates opt to undertake further study.

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MLitt in Modern History

• If you have an undergraduate degree in History or can demonstrate an equivalent level of historical training, this programme provides an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of key issues in the discipline by pursuing studies at a conceptually advanced level.

• An introduction to history and historiography for students interested in all branches of historical study.

• Make full use of the wide spectrum of specialist areas covered by members of the School of History.

• Explore the literature on a topic of individual interest under the guidance of an expert.

• This programme is designed in a way that maximises choice:
– Either specialise in a particular area (e.g. French history, German history, American history)
– Or gain a broader introduction to the study of History at postgraduate level.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

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MLitt in Intellectual History

• Learn to treat past ideas as historical phenomena, as well as assessing the meanings of these ideas as intended by their authors, and in contexts beyond those their authors may have foreseen.

• This truly interdisciplinary programme brings together experts from across the University with a common interest in researching and contextualising key ideas in their subject areas.

• We will raise your awareness of the different kinds of intellectual history being practised today, and the relationship between intellectual history and philosophy, literature and literary studies, international relations, law, politics, economics and theology.

• Solid grounding in the core modules leads to the exciting opportunity to personally structure your in-depth research under the guidance of a world class scholar in a specific area of intellectual history focusing on history, international relations, philosophy, divinity or English.

• Your chosen research area may well become a springboard for your Masters dissertation or even lead you into a PhD

Features

The University of St Andrews, as a small institution with a strong unified academic community, is exceptionally well placed to offer students the benefits of interdisciplinary studies. In the contemporary complex world students need to be prepared to call upon a strong background incorporating skills and a wider academic knowledge which crosses the boundaries of the traditional subject silos. Students taking one of our interdisciplinary degrees can be exposed to excellent academic researchers at the forefront of their discipline and will benefit from the rich dialogue that results from a diverse postgraduate class setting.

Graduates from these programmes can expect to have developed effective communication skills, intercultural understanding and the ability to critically analyse information to solve complex interdisciplinary problems. These strengths are valued by future employers and are equally valuable to those wishing to pursue a research career with an interdisciplinary aspect.

* Unique opportunities to study interdisciplinary subjects in an environment where academics regularly exchange ideas and develop interdisciplinary debate through a vibrant and active seminar, workshop and conference programme.

* An excellent Special Collections library resource.

* Our teaching arises from a foundation of world-class research.

* In our historic town, the academic disciplines are nestled side-by-side stimulating a thriving environment of intellectual discussion between postgraduates, undergraduates and academic staff.

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MLitt in The Book. History and Techniques of Analysis

• Develop a deep understanding of key issues and methods in book history c.1445-1870.

• Become familiar with the invention, development, spread, and transformation of printing in the period concerned.

• Explore important aspects of book history, such as the economics of the book trade, the social and religious context of printed books, news and censorship, the development of the illustrated book, the relationship between books and the Enlightenment, the industrialisation of print, and the history of libraries and book collecting.

• Acquire the technical skills required for rare book curatorship (teaching involves the Special Collections department): bibliography, paper, format, type, provenance, bindings, fingerprints, technical description, cataloguing, research tools and methods.

• Undertake skills training in palaeography and either Latin or a modern foreign language.

• Study as part of active book history research community with the Universal Short Title Catalogue, Department of Special Collections, Book History Online, the St Andrews Book History Conference series.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

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The Warburg Institute MA in Cultural and Intellectual History aims to equip students for interdisciplinary research in Medieval and Renaissance studies and in the reception of the classical tradition. Students will become part of an international community of scholars, working in a world-famous library. They will broaden their range of knowledge to include the historically informed interpretation of images and texts, art history, philosophy, history of science, literature, and the impact of religion on society. Students will improve their knowledge of Latin, French and Italian and will acquire the library and archival skills essential for research on primary texts.

This twelve-month, full-time course is intended as an introduction to the principal elements of the classical tradition and to interdisciplinary research in cultural and intellectual history from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period. Although it is a qualification in its own right, the MA is also designed to provide training for further research at doctoral level. It is taught through classes and supervision by members of the academic staff of the Institute and by outside teachers. The teaching staff are leading professors and academics in their field who have published widely. Research strengths include: the transmission of Arabic science and philosophy to Western Europe; the later influence of classical philosophy (Aristotelianism, Platonism, Epicureanism and Stoicism); and religious nonconformism in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. For further details on the research interests of teaching staff please visit the Warburg website:
http://www.warburg.sas.ac.uk/home/staff-contacts/academic-staff

Structure

Core courses (courses may vary from year to year)

Iconology: Mythological painting, allegorical figures, historical subjects, altarpiece - Dr Paul Taylor
Religion and Society - Dr Alessandro Scafi
Optional Courses (courses may vary from year to year)

Artistic Intentions 1400 - 1700 - Dr Paul Taylor
Islamic Authorities and Arabic Elements in the Renaissance – Professor Charles Burnett
Music in the Later Middle Ages and the Renaissance - Professor Charles Burnett
New Worlds, Ancient Texts: Renaissance Intellectual History and the Discovery of the Americas - Dr Philipp Nothaft
Renaissance Philosophy – Dr Guido Giglioni
Renaissance Art Literature – Dr François Quiviger
Renaissance Material Culture – Dr Rembrandt Duits and Dr François Quiviger
Sin and Sanctity in the Reformation – Professor Alastair Hamilton
All students take two compulsory core courses and two optional subjects. The core courses are taught in the first term and the optional subjects in the second term and the options available vary from year to year. In addition, there is a regular series of classes throughout the three terms on Techniques of Scholarship. Subjects dealt with include: description of manuscripts; palaeography; printing in the 15th and 16th centuries; editing a text; preparation of dissertations and photographic images. Some of these classes are held outside the Institute in locations such as the British Library or the Wellcome Library.
Reading classes in Latin, Italian and French are provided and are offered to all students. Students are also encouraged to attend the Director’s weekly seminar on Work in Progress and any of the other regular seminars held in the Institute that may be of interest to them. These at present include History of Art and Maps and Society. The third term and summer are spent in researching and writing a dissertation, under the guidance of a supervisor from the academic staff.

Assessment

The normal format for classes is a small weekly seminar, in which students usually discuss texts in their original languages. In most courses, students also give short presentations of their own research, which are not assessed. The emphasis is on helping students to acquire the skills necessary to interpret philosophical, literary and historical documents as well as works of art. Each compulsory or optional module will be assessed by means of a 4,000 word essay to be submitted on the first day of the term following that in which the module was taught. A dissertation of 18,000 – 20,000 words, on a topic agreed by the student and supervisor, has to be submitted by 30 September. The course is examined on these five pieces of written work, and on a written translation examination paper in the third term. Students are allocated a course tutor and, in addition, are encouraged to discuss their work with other members of the academic staff. Because of our relatively small cohort, students have unusually frequent contact, formal and informal, with their teachers.

Mode of study

12 months full-time only.

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MLitt in Early Modern History

• St Andrews has one of the highest concentrations of early modern history specialists in the world, and students will receive a high level of specialised supervision in most fields.

• Advanced training in the history of the early modern European and Atlantic worlds.

• A range of approaches to early modern history which will build on students’ previous experience in studying the period from c.1450 to c.1750.

• Many opportunities to undertake advanced study of the period which offer the pleasure of deepening understanding of the period for its own sake, as well as preparing students for doctoral study and providing advanced transferable skills.

• Both broad and deep preparation, including high-level skills training for subsequent doctoral research for students wishing to pursue further study.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

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MLitt in Middle Eastern History

• Explore in depth a broad variety of historical topics including social, political, cultural and intellectual history of this crucially significant region of the world.

• Explore a series of key themes, concepts and questions.

• Introduction to methodological and analytical approaches, including Orientalism.

• Questions of nationalism and a wide range of historical writing across the Middle East.

• Fields available to explore include: Ayyubid and Mamluk Near East; Early Ottoman History; Mediaeval Armenia; Modern Arabic Literature; Sasanian and modern Iran.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

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MLitt in Transnational, Global and Spatial History

• An exciting and growing area of study that promotes new transnational perspectives and ways of seeing the past through a more explicit appreciation of scale in space and time.

• Study global trade, the development of networks (large and small), comparative history and cross-cultural encounters.

• A unique introduction to the emerging field of spatial history, including the study of representations of space, of landscapes, mental maps, spatial practices and topographies of memory.

• Explore approaches to the history of cities as hubs, of transfers and travel, of the circulation of ideas and the migration of peoples.

• Gain proficiency in powerful tools for mapping, geographic analysis, and the study of social networks as well as skills in the use of non-textual sources and overcoming the challenges of translation and multi-lingual archives.

• Supplementary language courses, not for credit, are available in some languages. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of additional opportunities for language study during the year of the course.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

Read less

Durham's MA in Early Modern History is a broad-ranging Master's programme which seeks to equip students with historical research techniques and approaches, advanced skills in critical analysis and independent study, as well as strong and effective communication skills. The MA programme is designed to enable students with different career ambitions to succeed in their chosen area, and it caters for students of different backgrounds, previous training, and areas of specialisation. The breadth of research interests of the early modernists at Durham allows the department to offer supervision in topics about the early modern world from the mid-fifteenth century through to the early nineteenth. The programme seeks to enable students to build an awareness of the contemporary boundaries of early modern scholarship, to master advanced understanding of historical concepts and methods, and ultimately to make their own contributions to the field.

Durham's History Department is an international centre for the study of the Early Modern period, and is situated in the historic setting of the World Heritage Site, which includes Durham Cathedral, Durham Castle, and the surrounding area. Students of early modern history at Durham benefit from the rich archival and manuscript resources in the collections of the University (at Palace Green Library and at Ushaw College) and in the Cathedral Library, while the wider regional resources for study of the period are also highly significant: these include the landscape of industrial revolution, of vernacular architecture and of early modern globalisation. Early Modern History at Durham is comprehensive and international in its reach, with specialists in the History of Medicine, consumer culture, print and information, court culture, ecclesiastical and intellectual history, and political thought. Area specialisms include the British Isles, Continental Europe, North America, China and the Steppe regions.

Course Structure

The MA in Early Modern 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. The programme is structured as follows:

Michaelmas Term (October-December)

Archives and Sources (15 credits)
Issues in Early Modern History (30 credits)
*Skill module (30 credits) - taken over Michaelmas and Epiphany Terms

Epiphany Term (January-March)

Critical Practice (15 credits)
Option module (30 credits)

Easter Term (April-June)

Dissertation (90 credits, or 60 credits if taking a *Skill module)

The formal requirements and structure of the programme can be found at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/info/?id=9199&title=Early+Modern+History&code=V1K607&type=MA&year=2016#essentials; 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. In the first year the module combination consists of Archives and Sources, Critical Practice, Issues and in addition a Skills module OR Optional module. In the second year your work will consist of either a 90 credit, 20,000 word dissertation (if you took an Optional module in the first year) OR a 60 credit, 15,000 word dissertation, AND an Optional module (if you took a Skills module in the first year).

Additional courses can be taken on an audit-basis (not for credit), and can include language modules as well as optional modules. You will need to ask and receive the permission of the module leader before auditing a class. If the class is outside the department you will also need to inform the Director of Taught Postgraduates.

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. Issues in Early Modern History has 16 contact hours, all classroom-based; this module is team-taught and exposes students to a wide variety of staff support and expertise. 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.

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As a postgraduate researcher in the Department of History you will have the opportunity to work alongside academic staff whose research is at the forefront of current historical scholarship.

The Department was ranked first in the country in the Research Excellence Framework 2014, and is unrivalled in the geographical and chronological breadth of its research. From medieval Afghanistan to the modern United States, our staff provide expertise across British, European and world history from around 500 to the present day.

The History MA by Research programme requires you to prepare a dissertation of up to 40,000 words on a topic of your choice, for which an academic staff member will provide expert supervision.

The History PhD – the most advanced research degree – leads to a dissertation of up to 80,000 words on a subject of your choice, under the expert supervision of an academic member of staff.

Distance learning:

You can study an MA by Research or PhD programme on campus or by distance learning. Please note that if you are studying with us by distance learning, the programme includes a fully-funded annual visit to campus for each full year of your programme (every two years for part-time students).

Research degrees in History at Birmingham provide opportunities for detailed engagement with a specific topic, enhanced by the debates and cross-fertilisation of ideas sparked by working in contact and association with members of the UK’s leading History department, as judged in the most recent Research Excellence Framework exercise. Opportunities for collaboration across the University, particularly in the fields of Byzantine, Hispanic and Music History, as well as Philosophy, Politics and Economics, also help to generate stimulating and rewarding research.

The extensive holdings of the University’s library, and ready access to other regional archives and libraries, offer abundant raw material for research. Within the department, groups such as the Centre for the Study of the Middle Ages (CeSMA) , generate a lively inter- and multi-disciplinary research culture, through delivery papers and broadening intellectual horizons.

Current research topics range from questions such as how England became a Protestant nation in the 16th century, to why smoking played such an important role in 20th century life. Whatever your interest, whether it is cultural or social history in the 6th century, or military history in the 20th century, Birmingham’s History department has someone available to supervise your research with expert knowledge and understanding.

At Birmingham you also have the option of studying languages, free of charge. Almost no other UK University offers you the opportunity to learn the intense graduate academic language skills which you may need to pursue your research.

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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MLitt in Mediaeval History

• Flexible nature of the programme makes it suitable both for those wishing to go on to doctoral research and for those wishing only to take a year’s specialist study.

• Immense range of expertise from the largest gathering of mediaeval scholars in any non-collegiate university in the English-speaking world.

• An opportunity to pursue an interest in the area beyond the undergraduate level.

• Fosters basic research skills, including bibliography and source criticism.

• 30-50% of our graduates go on to further study – normally doctoral level.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

Read less