Masters degrees in Italian History examines the historical events, peoples and cultures of the Italian peninsular, from the arrival of Indo-Europeans in the Neolithic Era, to the present day.
Related fields include European History and Byzantine History. Entry requirements usually include an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject, such as History or Archaeology.
This course entails analysing Rome in terms of its impressive legacy to become well versed in its ancient history, medieval history, art history, classical philology, archaeology, and literary theory.
Surpassed by no other city in the Western world, Rome is renowned for its overwhelmingly rich history. The city embodies an architecturally magnificent metropolis, the impressive capital of the once mighty Roman Empire. Notions of change, continuity and eternity, have played a prominent role in the historic city. What is it that makes the image of Rome so pervasive in the past, as well as the present?
Eternal Rome's Master's programme offers an in-depth examination of the city of Rome as the capital of the Roman Empire, and of the representation of the ‘idea' of Rome throughout the centuries. Eternal Rome presents a unique programme that focuses as much on the transition between ancient and medieval history as on those periods themselves. A group of specialists from the fields of ancient and medieval history teach this specialisation. Their expertise also includes study of the status of Rome beyond the Middle Ages into the Renaissance and modern times as well.
Expanding your knowledge and ideas of Rome will deepen your insight into many questions relevant for the functioning of our modern society. An in-depth specialisation like this helps our students gain critical and thorough analytical skills that broaden the future options of our history graduates. Our graduates have found employment in public relations, industrial and public service management, librarianship, archive and museum work, teaching and lecturing and journalism.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/er
- Our focus on Rome is unique as the specialisation captures both the Byzantine history as well Western European developments.
- In addition to critical knowledge of Rome, you’ll also gain important skills such as being able to select, analyse and interpret pertinent historical information.
- Our staff has a wide network that includes contacts at the Royal Dutch Institute in Rome and the Netherlands Institute in Turkey. They can point you in the right direction if you want do have an internship or other opportunities in the field during your studies.
- Students may also write their Master's thesis in French, Italian, or German if that is their native tongue.
- International students looking for a semester abroad could opt for half a year in this Master’s programme, namely by following the courses in the first semester at Radboud University.
1. A completed Bachelor's degree in History or BA/MA degrees in related fields like Greek and Latin or Archaeology
2. proficiency in English
In order to take part in this programme, you need to have fluency in both written and spoken English. Non-native speakers of English without a Dutch Bachelor's degree or VWO diploma need one of the following:
- A TOEFL score of >575 (paper based) or >90 (internet based)
- An IELTS score of >6.5
- Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) or Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) with a mark of C or higher
Graduates of the Master’s specialisation in Eternal Rome are able to identify and contextualise the enduring impact of Rome, and the multiple roles of Rome as a political, religious and cultural centre. Our graduates are able to recognise how and why different users throughout the centuries have appropriated images and symbols of Rome. They are also able to analyse a historical debate and tackle a current problem related to historical developments.
The students in the programme concentrate on a very specific historical phenomenon and acquire skills that open a broad number of career options to them. Our specialisation has produced graduates that are appreciated by employers for their insight and analytical skills. They are able to delve into historical documents and extract the most useful parts. Our graduates have found employment in the following fields: public relations, industrial and public service management, librarianship, archive and museum work, teaching and lecturing and journalism.
Education and research go hand in hand at Radboud University. All of the lecturers of Eternal Rome are members of the research institute Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies (HLCS) where there is a long tradition of research on the subject of European history in a variety of fields. The focus is on 'Europe and its Worlds' and researchers are brought together in 13 thematic research groups. Research groups that are interesting and particularly relevant for Eternal Rome students are the groups The Ancient World and Radboud Medieval and Early Modern Studies that study the ‘beginnings of Europe’.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/er
This programme explores the richness and complexity of artistic invention from the late thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. You will have the opportunity for deep engagement with art-making both in Italy and northern Europe (France, Germany, Low Countries, England and Scotland) and be encouraged to challenge orthodoxies about the influence of one upon the other.
The programme is comprised of a core course designed to give you an overview of methods and approaches as well as seminar opportunities to engage directly with original works of art; and optional courses, enabling you to create your own Masters programme.
It also allows you to work in an interdisciplinary capacity, selecting courses from across the College of Arts, according to personal interests. Language and renaissance palaeography study are among the optional courses available. The programme convenor will work with you to ensure a sensible portfolio of courses is constructed, according to your personal aims and objectives.
Core teaching and research training are delivered during the first semester. Optional courses may be taken during the first and second semesters, followed by dissertation research. The dissertation provides an opportunity for you to identify an area of interest and to create a research project that allows in-depth critical exploration of it.
You will be taught by a team of experts in different aspects of Renaissance art history based at the University of Glasgow:
Object-based study sessions and field trips will introduce you to professionals working in museums and the heritage industry and you will have the opportunity to gain further experience of these sectors through a work placement. The dissertation will foster essential independent research skills and prepare you for doctoral research should you wish to pursue an academic career.
Warwick is one of the only taught Renaissance MAs in the UK to offer students a Venice Programme, giving them the opportunity to spend a full university term in Venice and to study in situ the city’s art, history and culture. Students will have the opportunity to spend a further period of 3 months (usually in the Summer term) at the University of Venice, as part of our ERASMUS Exchange Programme.
Warwick’s long-standing and dynamic Centre for the Study of the Renaissance, and its unusually large staff of Renaissance specialists, provides the opportunity for students at postgraduate level to approach Renaissance art, history, religion and literature from a distinctively interdisciplinary perspective Warwick is well-placed to offer teaching and research programmes in Renaissance Studies, both because of its own staffing resources and library provisions (which offers excellent electronic resources such as ITER, BIHR, Early English Books Online and The Making of the Modern World), and because of its proximity to major research collections at Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Warwick also has well-established links with other prestigious centres of Renaissance excellence, including the Warburg Institute in London, the Newberry Library in Chicago and the Folger Institute in Washington.
Warwick’s centre in Venice has been housed in the fifteenth-century Palazzo Pesaro-Papafava since 2007. This stunning building, in gothic style, belonged to a rich patrician family who exercised considerable political and economic power. Warwick’s Venice Programme offers unique opportunities for graduate study. The course opens with a term based in Venice studying Italian Renaissance art in situ, engaging directly with the city’s galleries, libraries, and museums, and exploring the history and culture of the Renaissance. There you will benefit from Warwick’s forty-year association with the city, and from the expertise of our specialists in Venetian art, history and culture. Seminars are combined with site-visits, study sessions in Venetian workshops (for example, in a traditional printing shop or bronze foundry), and behind-the-scenes visits to the warehouses of Venetian museums. We teach as much as possible in the presence of original objects, and within period settings. All teaching is delivered in English but Italian language lessons are offered to students as an optional extra at no extra cost.
During the Autumn term in Venice, students will take two modules examining the history and the art of the Italian Renaissance. Modules typically include: ‘Order and Disorder: Culture, Society and Religion in Early Modern Venice,’ ‘Venetian Art and its Histories’ or ‘Venetian Luxury & Display.’
During the Spring term in Warwick students take two further modules, both providing an opportunity to explore the dissemination of Italian culture in Renaissance Europe. There are a series of skills sessions on Palaeography and research resources which help students to acquire the skills necessary to undertake research and extended writing on the Renaissance and a weekly seminar in Renaissance Latin (post-beginners).
During the Summer term students work closely with their supervisor on researching and writing their dissertation which is on any topic of their choice related to the course. Work continues over the summer vacation and submission is due in September.
Previous graduates from this course have chosen to progress to PhD study at Warwick or another institution, and/or to pursue a career in academia (most recently at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore), museums or galleries, teaching and the armed forces.
Courses typically start in September/October of each year with a compulsory induction at Warwick before heading off to Venice for the first term. Further (academic) details may be requested from the Director of Graduate Studies, https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/ren/about_us/ ; or for more pragmatic queries, from the Centre's Administrator on [email protected]
This MA equips students with the skills necessary for advanced medieval and renaissance scholarship. A wide range of historical, literary, palaeographical, art historical and archaeological modules enables students to explore the aspects of medieval and renaissance culture in which they are interested.
This MA provides exceptional opportunities to master medieval and renaissance languages and to acquire manuscript expertise working with original manuscripts; key skills for those who want to go on to original research. Students with primary interests in many different areas ‒ linguistic, historical, literary or archaeological ‒ will be able to build on and extend their expertise and skills.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of 30 credits of core language modules, optional modules (90 credits), and a research dissertation (60 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Up to 90 credits of options drawn from the following:
This list is indicative only; the modules available are subject to change each year.
Dissertation/research project
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of up to 12,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and classes. Several modules include site visits to institutions, notably the British Library, the Warburg Institute, the National Archives and the Institute of Historical Research. Assessment is through unseen examination, long essays, coursework and the dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Medieval and Renaissance Studies MA
Recent destinations of recent graduates of this programme include: funded PhDs at UCL, Universities of Oxford, St Andrews, Cambridge, Durham, Cardiff, Lancaster, and UEA; the British Library: Cataloguer; Reuters: News Assistant; Ministry of Trade Industry and Tourism: Government Advisor.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
The MARS degree allows students to develop an enviable range of skills. This programme not only provides an outstanding foundation for those hoping to undertake PhD research and pursue an academic career but is also popular with students wishing to go into journalism, the civil service, business, museum and heritage and the education sector. Debates, small group seminars and tutorials help students to acquire strong presentation and negotiation skills for their future career. Likewise the analytical and research skills gained by students on this programme are highly valued by employers from a range of industries.
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.
The departments contributing to this degree - History; English; the School of European Languages, Culture and Society; History of Art - enjoy outstanding international reputations for research and teaching.
We are strongly committed to the intellectual development of all our students; if you come to UCL, you will receive individual supervision from leading researchers in their fields.
Located in Bloomsbury, we are 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.
Sample modules:
Please note that all modules are subject to change. Please see our modules disclaimer for more information.
Our Classics MA programmes equip you with vital transferable skills for a range of career paths. They also provide ideal preparation for a PhD and further academic research.
Recent graduates have gone on to careers in publishing, finance, museum curatorship, teaching, human resources, manufacturing, the police, information management and academia.
The city of Exeter is the perfect setting for our MA in Medieval Studies. At the University there is a wide variety of resources and you will have access to extensive holdings, audio-visual collections and some medieval manuscripts in our Special Collections in the University library. Exeter Cathedral Library Archives and the Devon Heritage Centre, located nearby, contain further significant medieval manuscripts, documents and early printed books.
The MA Medieval Studies draws on the expertise of the Centre for Medieval Studies, which is one of the largest centres in the university. Exeter is unique in that we have a large number of specialists in medieval studies across various disciplines. Our expertise is especially strong in medieval history, archaeology, law, music, French literature, English literature, and Arab and Islamic studies.
Modules are taken from nine different disciplines meaning the course is varied and you will be offered comprehensive training on skills needed to study the Middle Ages, including medieval languages (Latin, Old English, and medieval French) and palaeography. With such a large number of medieval studies experts and excellent links to the local and national heritage sector we are in an excellent position to help you as you further your historical knowledge whether you are planning on progressing to PhD study, pursuing a profession, or simply exploring a passion for medieval studies.
The University's Streatham Campus is located with excellent access to the heart of historic Exeter which has a rich cultural heritage extending back to the Roman period and boasts particularly fine evidence of its medieval past. You will benefit from access to Exeter Cathedral Library and University libraries which maintain excellent holdings relevant to medieval studies.
A range of optional modules are available which reflect the varied research interests of academic staff across the Centre for Medieval Studies. These interests range widely across the medieval period and cover Britain, Europe and the Islamic world. They also represent several disciplines, including History, Archaeology, Classics, Literature, Music, Art History, Theology and Islamic Studies.
The core module Interpreting the Middle Ages: Images, Texts and Contexts will give students an overview of these different disciplinary approaches and show how they can be applied to the study of medieval texts and objects. Other core modules are Medieval Research Skills, which introduces students to the skills needed to work with medieval sources such as palaeography and codicology, and Current Research in Medieval Studies which asks students to reflect on how academic research projects are designed and presented, and gives them guidance in developing their own dissertation projects. Students also have the option of taking Latin modules and are strongly encouraged to do so if they are considering going on to an MPhil or PhD.
- offers an excellent, interdisciplinary education in medieval studies, covering a wide range of topics and approaches across the medieval period;
- gives students the opportunity to work with the medieval sources in and around Exeter, for example at Exeter Cathedral, the Devon Heritage Centre and the University’s Special Collections;
- produces graduates who are highly competent in subject-specific, core academic, and personal and key skills that are both relevant and transferable to employment;
- encourages participation in research seminar programmes offering insights into a very wide range of research cultures and specialisms and into how academics go about designing and presenting research projects;
- offers excellent preparation for students intending to continue on to doctoral-level research with a good track record in obtaining funding for further study.
As an MA Medieval Studies student you will be welcome to join the Centre for Medieval Studies, which brings together academic staff and Postgraduate students from a wide range of disciplines across the University’s Colleges. We are brought together by our shared interests which run from the Early Middle Ages to the early Renaissance and may include archaeology, theology, music, literature and law. We hold regular seminars and research events which, if you decide to join us at Exeter, we hope you will not only attend but become an active part of.
Research is at the heart of History and our students are encouraged to come to Departmental Research Seminars and become an active part of wider research community. Our research centres regularly hold seminars and other research events which MA students are welcome to attend.
Our current research centres include:
As well as our research centres we also have a Postgraduate Reading Group for matters medieval which brings together our Masters and PhD students to share ideas.
You’ll learn to make connections between the past and the present. You’ll research the ways in which current traditions came to be, and how current views on the past emerged, as well as their role in the present.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/history
During the Master’s in History, you’ll develop a set of academic skills such being able to collect different sources and critically analyse them, to interpret data and to form constructive arguments. You’ll also learn how to clearly present research results and how to enter into a debate with historians and other interested parties.
As an academic historian, you’ll have lots of options. You could work for museums, heritage institutions, libraries, archives, political parties, think-tanks or as a policy maker, journalist, teacher or information officer.
The History Master’s has three specialisations: one is English-taught and the other two are Dutch-taught.
- Eternal Rome
In this specialisation, you’ll analyse Rome and its impressive legacy to become acquainted with its ancient history, medieval history, art history, classical philology, archaeology, and literary theory.
- Actuele geschiedenis (i.e. Current History)
You’ll study the tension between current events and history in this specialisation; how it affects the current interpretation of the past and how history is used and abused to give direction to the future.
- Politiek en parlement (i.e. Politics and Parliament)
In this multidisciplinary specialisation history, political science and constitutional law meet. You’ll learn to put political phenomena in a historical context.
As an historian, you’ll be able to identify developments and historical events. You’ll be able to ask different questions and approach issues from a variety of perspectives. Each Master’s specialisation focuses on different professional perspectives. Thus, Politics and Parliament (Dutch) will give you the foundation you need to work in politics in The Hague, whilst the specialisation Eternal Rome will make you an expert in Rome and its many influences on Western society. Read more about your career prospects as a historian with each specialisation:
- Eternal Rome
- Actuele geschiedenis
- Politiek en parlement
Want to become a History teacher in secondary education? After completing your Master's in History you can get your ‘eerstegraads bevoegdheid’ to become a teacher in the Netherlands (leraar geschiedenis of maatschappijleer). With this degree, you can teach the higher grades of secondary school in the Netherlands (HAVO and VWO). This one-year postgraduate programme is offered in Dutch by the Radboud Docenten Academie.
If, upon completing your Master’s, you want to become a researcher in this field, you could choose to start a PhD. You’ll need to apply for a temporary position at a university, where you can carry out research and write you PhD paper. Many PhD candidates also teach in their field. A small number of graduates become PhD candidates.
See the website http://www.ru.nl/masters/history
Our collaborative programme, led by our department of Archaeology and department of Classics and Ancient History gives you advanced grounding in the main themes and methods in Roman Archaeology and is ideal preparation for a PhD on the subject.
Balancing core elements that bring together theoretical sophistication with cutting-edge digital methodologies, from the ‘big data’ of Roman artefacts to high-resolution LiDAR imaging, we offer a wide choice of specialist topics to suit your own requirements and aspirations, including the possibility to tailor genuinely interdisciplinary training through modules offered by world leading experts in Archaeology, Ancient History, and Classics.
Additionally, by choosing to study at the University of Exeter you will not only be joining a vibrant and active postgraduate community, but you will also benefit from Exeter’s origins as a Roman city with a wealth of excavated material currently housed by the local Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) as well as the ongoing research at the nearby rural settlement of Ipplepen.
The MA in Roman Archaeology programme is a one year full-time programme of study at National Qualification Framework level 7. The programme can also be studied part time.
The programme includes 120 compulsory credits, including 30 credits of general archaeology modules (Research Design and Themes in Archaeological Theory and Practice), 30 credits of specialist modules and 60 credits of Dissertation. You must also choose 60 credits of optional modules from those available from the Masters Programmes within the Department of Archaeology or the Department of Classics and Ancient History.
After successful completion of 60 Masters Level credits, you are eligible for a Postgraduate Certificate in Roman Archaeology. After successful completion of 120 Masters Level credits, you are eligible for a Postgraduate Diploma in Roman Archaeology.
You may take optional modules of up to 30 credits outside of the programme as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.
Please note constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced in future years as a consequence of programme development. Details at any time may be obtained from the programme website.
Recent examples of compulsory modules are as follows;
Optional modules can include;
Archaeology modules:
Classics modules
The assessment of these skills is through a combination of essays, other written reports/projects, oral presentations, visual presentations, and you will be given an opportunity to develop your own study skills through a piece of individual research, a dissertation.
Drawing directly on the internationally-recognised research and teaching expertise located in the Departments of Archaeology and in that of Classics and Ancient History, within the College of Humanities. In particular, this MA programme will build on the recent success of the vibrant cross-departmental Centre for Connectivity in the Roman World, which has a strong archaeological emphasis in its research activity, as well as drawing upon recent developments in Digital Humanities.
The research culture in the Department of Archaeology and of Classics and Ancient History at Exeter is characterised by world-leading and internationally excellent research projects and publications in a wide range of sub-disciplinary fields. Interdisciplinary work is an increasingly important part of funded research and we regularly work with colleagues from across the College of Humanities and wider University.
You will be also welcome to join our Centre for Hellenistic and Romano-Greek Culture and Society, where academic staff and Postgraduate students work together to develop cutting-edge research in this area.
Find out more about our research on the Classics and Ancient History and Archaeology websites.
