Masters Degrees in Social History

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

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

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

Course Structure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learning and Teaching

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

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Take advantage of one of our 100 Master’s Scholarships to study History at Swansea University, the Times Good University Guide’s Welsh University of the Year 2017. Postgraduate loans are also available to English and Welsh domiciled students. For more information on fees and funding please visit our website.

The MA by Research in History is a research degree pursued over one year full-time or two years part-time. Students on the History research programme undertake research under the supervision of History staff, and produce a thesis that makes an original contribution to knowledge and understanding of some aspect of the past.

Key Features of the MA by Research in History

The expertise of the Department of History and Classics spans from the ancient cultures and languages of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome to the history of late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century Europe. The research of our staff and postgraduates is integral to the life of the Department of History and Classics, and it means that Swansea is a dynamic, exciting, and stimulating place to study.

History and Classics is part of the Research Institute for the Arts and Humanities (RIAH: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/riah/), which organises a large number of seminars, conferences, and other research activities. There are also a number of research groups which act as focal points for staff and postgraduates, including: the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales, Centre for Ancient Narrative Literature (KYKNOS), Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Research (MEMO), and the Centre for research into Gender in Culture and Society (GENCAS).

As a student of the History research programme you have access to skills and training programmes offered by the College of Arts and Humanities and the University.

The MA by Research in History is ideal for those who would like to do an initial research degree, either as a stand-alone culmination to their studies or with a view to further, subsequent research, e.g. in form of a PhD. Research proposals are invited on any topic in medieval, early modern, or modern history for which staff can provide supervision.

For informal enquiries regarding the MA by research in History programme please contact: Dr Fritz-Gregor Herrmann ([email protected]).

Research Interests

Research interests in the Department of History and Classics include:

Medieval History

• The Anglo-Norman ‘Realm’ and the Angevin Empire
• Capetian France, especially the monarchy, aristocracy, and religious orders
• The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade
• Charters and the documentary records of medieval France and England
• The Mediterranean world, especially the Crusades, later medieval Italian society and politics, and the Italian Renaissance, including art history
• England and Wales in the central and late Middle Ages, including the aristocracy and gentry, the Welsh Marches, urban history, law and crime, women and the law, religious belief and practice, and education and literacy
• Gender and the life cycle in late medieval Europe
• Medieval frontier societies and borderlands, and concepts of frontiers from the late Roman Empire to the present day

Early Modern History

• Most aspects of British history between 1500 and 1800, especially religious, scientific, cultural and gender history
• The history of health and medicine in early modern Britain
• History of Disabilities
• The Portuguese Empire
• The Reformation and Counter-Reformation
• Science, intellectual life, collecting and museums in early modern Europe
• The social history of early modern sex and marriage
• Crime and witchcraft
• The Enlightenment, republicanism and international relations in the eighteenth century

Modern History

• Most aspects of Welsh history, especially industrial society
• The cultural, intellectual and urban history of nineteenth-century and twentieth-century Britain
• Modern international history
• The United States since 1750, in particular slavery, the South and the Civil War
• The economic and imperial history of Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• Emigration and urbanisation in the British Isles between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries
• The political history of the UK since 1800
• Military and society in Europe between 1750 and 1815
• Austrian and German history in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• Austrian, German and Central European history, especially in the fields of urban, labour and post-1945 history
• Modern economic history
• Quantitative aspects of British economic growth from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries
• Anti-capitalist and socialist political economy
• Policing and police forces in twentieth-century Europe
• Italian fascism
• Allied Occupation of Italy
• Contemporary French and Italian social an d cultural history
• Memory studies and oral history of twentieth-century Europe
• History of protest and activism in the 1960s and 1970s

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Take advantage of one of our 100 Master’s Scholarships to study History at Swansea University, the Times Good University Guide’s Welsh University of the Year 2017. Postgraduate loans are also available to English and Welsh domiciled students. For more information on fees and funding please visit our website.

The MA in History is an exciting programme that covers a wide range of topics in history from the Middle Ages onwards.

Key Features of MA in History

The wide-ranging expertise of Swansea University's historians offers the study of British, European, American or Asian History. The History MA allows students to explore the history of art and culture, empire, gender, politics, religion, sexuality and science.

Students on the MA History programme are introduced to key concepts that shape the study of history. The MA in History students benefit not only from the unusual concentration of historians at Swansea, but also from the existence of the College of Arts and Humanities Research Centres, the Callaghan Centre for the Study of Conflict, Power and Empires and the Richard Burton Centre.

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

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

Part-time study for MA in History is available.

MA in History Programme Aims

- To acquire advanced knowledge and understanding of a range of topics related to history.
- To develop theoretical and methodological skills relevant to all aspects of the study of history.
- To lay a solid foundation of knowledge and analytical and presentational skills for further research work in the field.

Modules on the MA in History

Modules on the History course typically include:

• Historical Methods and Approaches
• New Departures in the Writing of History
• Communicating History
• Directed Reading in History
• From Princely Possessions to Public Museums: A History of Collecting and Display
• Power, Conflict, and Society in the Modern World
• Venice and the Sea
• Medieval Manuscripts
• Fascism & Culture

Who should Apply?

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

Research Interests

All staff in the Department of History and Classics are research active and publish books and articles in their areas of expertise. Staff and students are members of a range of Arts and Humanities research centres: the Callaghan Centre for the Study of Conflict, Power and Empire, the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales and the Research Groups: MEMO: the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Research and GENCAS: the Centre for Research into Gender in Culture and Society. Regular research seminars and lectures are run through these groups and through the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) giving students including those of the MA in History programme access to cutting-edge research.

Careers

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

Student Quote

“I graduated with a First-Class Honours BA History degree and an MA in History from Swansea University. My four years of study here were truly the most enjoyable of my life so far! The lecturers, tutors and all members of the History department were also incredibly friendly and always willing to help. The History MA was fully funded by a University Alumni bursary. The range of modules available to MA students is exceptional and the facilities here are fantastic. With a designated Arts and Humanities Postgraduate computer room and common-room area, as well as the University’s very own archives, Swansea is a great place to study History.”

Cath Horler, History, MA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the School of History and Culture

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

Funding and Scholarships

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

Open Days

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

Virtual Open Days

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why History?

Breadth of expertise

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

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

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

These are our on-going seminar series:

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

Taught programmes that prepare you for future research

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

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

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

We offer programmes in:-

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

Support and skills training for PhD students

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

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

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

Our commitment to postgraduate students

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

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

Postgraduate studentships and bursaries are often available.

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The course is designed to introduce students to current and important approaches to the study of History, drawing insights from across the social sciences. This is done in the first instance through the Central Concepts in Economic and Social History course, and more specifically, in a choice of two courses from a list of specific topics offered by staff members in History and in related Social Sciences. Students are also expected to undertake training in social science research methods, encompassing quantitative and qualitative analytical tools, which are taught at all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Throughout the course students will be supervised by a dedicated member of staff, who will guide their research towards the completion of an original historical subject chosen and developed by them. In addition students will benefit from Cambridge’s vibrant research environment in Economic and Social History, attending and participating in guest talks, workshops and other events throughout the year.

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

Course detail

By the end of the course, students should have:

- developed a deeper understanding of their chosen area of social and economic history and the critical debates within it

- a conceptual and technical understanding that enables the evaluation of current research and methodologies

- the ability to situate their own research within current and past methodological and interpretative developments in the field.

Format

In Michaelmas Term students will have a weekly two-hour class in Central Concepts in Economic and Social History, alongside three short courses in Social Sciences Research Methods. In addition, students will opt for two option courses from a range of choices, which will be taught in weekly classes in each of the two first terms. Throughout the year, students are also expected to participate in the Faculty’s range of graduate workshops and research seminars. Finally students will work towards their dissertation, supervised by one of Cambridge’s experts in Economic and Social History. A variety of additional training opportunities in both subject-specific and general skills are also available to students across the university.

Students receive regular feedback in a number of ways. Teaching staff will provide feedback orally via supervisions and in seminars, and in the dissertation proposal presentation. In addition, students will receive written comments from two examiners on the Central Concepts essay, on the two option course essays and on the dissertation proposal essay. Feedback will also be provided for coursework undertaken for The Social Sciences Research Methods Course (SSRMC) . Formal written feedback from two examiners is also provided after the submission of their dissertations.

Assessment

- Part I -

comprises the taught components of the MPhil and is worth 30% of the mark. 
Central Concepts: 3,000 word essay due at the end of Michaelmas Term (10%) 
SSRMC Courses: (Pass/Fail )
. Option Courses: 2 x 4,000 word essays due at the end of Michaelmas and of Lent (10% each) Dissertation Proposal. Essay: 4,000 word essay due at the beginning of Easter Term (Pass/Fail).

- Part II -

entails a preparatory dissertation proposal essay, see "essays, projects and written papers", and the thesis itself, which accounts for 70% of the mark. 15,000-20,000 Word Dissertation due in mid-August (70%)

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-...

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

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Everything we do is aimed at helping you to appreciate the approaches and methods used by historians, and developing your knowledge of historical trends, processes and events over the past 300 years.

You will have the opportunity to explore a range of social and cultural developments in the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world. Throughout your study, you will work in small groups or individually, guided by your expert teaching team. Their historical research in areas such as urban history, the history of crime, environmental history, imperialism, sexuality and gender, migration, popular culture and social movement, is of an international standing and will feed into your learning.

Our teaching will give you the platform to reflect on historical interpretations of the past and conduct your own independent historical research.

- Research Excellence Framework 2014: 38% of our research was judged to be world leading or internationally excellent in the Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management unit.

Visit the website http://courses.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/socialhistory_ma

Mature Applicants

Our University welcomes applications from mature applicants who demonstrate academic potential. We usually require some evidence of recent academic study, for example completion of an access course, however recent relevant work experience may also be considered. Please note that for some of our professional courses all applicants will need to meet the specified entry criteria and in these cases work experience cannot be considered in lieu.

If you wish to apply through this route you should refer to our University Recognition of Prior Learning policy that is available on our website (http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/studenthub/recognition-of-prior-learning.htm).

Please note that all applicants to our University are required to meet our standard English language requirement of GCSE grade C or equivalent, variations to this will be listed on the individual course entry requirements.

Careers

You will develop a range of transferable skills valued by employers in areas such as teaching, local government, administration, management, the civil service, marketing, public relations and the non-profit sector. Your course will also provide you with an excellent grounding should you want to pursue further postgraduate study.

- Teacher
- Historical Researcher
- Lecturer
- Journalist

Careers advice: The dedicated Jobs and Careers team offers expert advice and a host of resources to help you choose and gain employment. Whether you're in your first or final year, you can speak to members of staff from our Careers Office who can offer you advice from writing a CV to searching for jobs.

Visit the careers site - https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/employability/jobs-careers-support.htm

Course Benefits

You will work in small groups or individually with research-active historians throughout your period of study. Our history team has strengths in many areas and you will benefit from their expertise in urban history, the history of crime, environmental history, imperialism, sexuality and gender, migration, popular culture and social movement history.

Core Modules

Researching Cultures
This is an introduction to research skills and methods, exploring libraries, sources, archives and treatments of history through the theme of war. You will analyse the relationships between literary texts, historical documents, and films, as well as scrutinising how World War Two has been recorded, historicised, fictionalised and dramatised.

Underworlds: Representations of Crime, Police & the Criminal c.1700 to c.1945
You will study the representation of crime, criminals and police during a period which witnessed key changes in the criminal justice system, the rise of a policed society, and the emergence of print culture.

Sexuality, Gender & Popular Culture in Britain 1918-1970
According to some theorists, a preoccupation with sexuality is one of the defining features of Western modernity. You will explore current debates, relevant theoretical approaches and will be introduced to a range of source material including newspaper reports, film and popular literature.

Organised Crime in the Modern World: Global Criminal Cultures
Throughout history, as societies have become more organised, so too have their criminals. You will study a range of criminal organisations, exploring the role organised crime has played in both shaping and reacting to the ebb and flow of power and socio-economic development in the modern world.

European Cities: Making Urban Landscapes & Cultures since c.1945
You will examine urbanisation and metropolitan cultures of the cities within Europe during the second-half of the 20th century. We will ask you to consider the relationship between cities and the social, economic, political and cultural policies of local, national and supranational governments and other governing bodies.

Journeys & Discoveries: Travel, Tourism & Exploration, 1768-1996
This is an opportunity to consider the journeys, voyages and discoveries recounted in travel journals, guidebooks, colonial texts, memoirs and ethnographic studies. You will learn how travel, tourism and exploration has evolved - influenced by innovations in transport, health and media, public tastes, colonial policies and racial attitudes.

A Cultural Revolution? The Sixties in Comparative Perspective
Focusing on cultural, social and political elements of the 'long 1960s' (1958-1975), you will study a wide variety of political movements, social changes and cultural forms - such as music, film, TV, theatre and literature - looking at the United States, Britain and Western Europe, and the wider world.

Dissertation
You will undertake a sustained piece of research in social history on a topic selected by yourself and involving the use of both primary and secondary sources.You will design, plan, manage and complete a sustained research project, presenting your findings both orally and in writing.

Facilities

- Library
Our libraries are two of the only university libraries in the UK open 24/7 every day of the year. However you like to study, the libraries have got you covered with group study, silent study, extensive e-learning resources and PC suites.

- Broadcasting Place
Broadcasting Place provides students with creative and contemporary learning environments, is packed with the latest technology and is a focal point for new and innovative thinking in the city.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/postgraduate/how-to-apply/

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The history of people, their societies and cultures is the focus of this programme, where you will explore how people have lived and died across periods and geographies.

Core modules will improve your research skills and introduce you to key concepts and issues in social and cultural history. You will also choose from a wide range of optional modules, allowing you to focus on societies and periods that interest you.

You could study apartheid in South Africa, communities and castes in India, birth and death in medieval Europe or social movements in the USA. Youll be able to focus on gender, race and religion as well as other issues that have shaped the lives of individuals and communities.

Taught by expert researchers within the School of History and the Leeds Humanities Research Institute, this programme uses the latest approaches and thinking in social and cultural history to give you an insight into the lives of others.

Facilities

From the beginning of the programme you'll study core modules developing your knowledge and skills in social and cultural history, building your understanding of research methods and exploring central concepts and debates in the subject.

In both semesters, you'll also have the chance to choose optional modules from a wide range on offer, allowing you to focus on issues, themes and societies that interest you. You could draw on the diverse expertise of our tutors to select modules across Indian, African, American, British and Latin American history.

You'll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the Making History: Archive Collaborations optional module.

This programme will equip you with a broad skill set for historical research as well as a good base of subject knowledge. You'll be able to demonstrate these with your dissertation, which allows you to conduct independent research on a topic of your choice. You'll submit this by the end of the programme in September..
We have a wealth of resources allowing you to explore topics that interest you. The world-class Brotherton Library and its Special Collections contain a huge number of early printed, archive and manuscript materials including the Liddle Collection on the First and Second World Wars, Leeds Library of Vernacular Culture, manuscript and commonplace books, travel journals and one of the best collections of cookery books and household manuals in the country.

Extensive collections of national, regional and local newspapers from over the years are available on microfilm, as well as cartoons and satirical prints from the British Museum and extensive collections of letters and correspondence. There is even the Yorkshire Fashion Archive and M&S Archive on campus, allowing you to gain a real insight into popular culture over time.

This programme is also available to study part-time over 24 months

Course Content

From the beginning of the programme you will study core modules developing your knowledge and skills in social and cultural history, building your understanding of research methods and exploring central concepts and debates in the subject.

In both semesters, you will also have the chance to choose optional modules from a wide range on offer, allowing you to focus on issues, themes and societies that interest you. You could draw on the diverse expertise of our tutors to select modules across Indian, African, American, British and Latin American history.

You will also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the Making History: Archive Collaborations optional module.

This programme will equip you with a broad skill set for historical research as well as a good base of subject knowledge. You will be able to demonstrate these with your dissertation, which allows you to conduct independent research on a topic of your choice. You will submit this by the end of the programme in September.

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The MA in Public History offers students cutting edge interdisciplinary academic training together with exciting opportunities for hands-on experience in the cultural sphere through a placement in the heritage sector. The programme is designed to give students an understanding of the critical issues in public history and to analyse the variety of changing ways that the public engage with the past through not only traditional media, but also new digital and rich media products.

Programme of study

The programme consists of three taught modules (20 credits each), a public history placement (20 credits), a 20,000-word dissertation (90 credits), and a Research Training module (10 credits). These make up the 180 credits that is normal for an MA in the UK higher education system. For students registered for full-time study, the programme is as follows:

Autumn Term (October-December)
-Core Module: Public History I: Meanings and Values in Public History
-Option Module
-Research Training (taught content)
All students take one core module taught by weekly seminar. Public History I: Meaning and Values in Public History introduces students to a broad range of conceptual and methodological frameworks for understanding the relationship between the past and its manifestations in contemporary society. Students also take an option module chosen from a list approved by the MA Convenor. Additionally, all students participate in the research training module which prepares them for independent work on their dissertation later in the year.

Spring Term (January-March)
-Core Module: Public History II: Methodologies and Practices in Public History
-Public History Placement
-Research Training (independent writing of dissertation proposal)
All students take one core module taught by weekly seminar. Public History II: Methodologies and Practices in Public History introduces students to the deployment of the past in the public realm, and particularly the means by which it is put into practical use in a wide variety of contemporary social contexts. Students undertake a Public History Placement, which gives them hands-on experience of working in the field and allows them to reflect on the theory and practice of public history. Students also continue to participate in the research training module.

Summer Term and Summer Vacation (April-September)
-Research Dissertation
During the summer term and over the vacation, all students will write a Research Dissertation of up to 20,000 words on a subject of their own choosing, which may arise from their placement or one of their taught modules, under the supervision of a member of staff that is submitted at the end of the academic year.

Part-time students
Part time students on the MA in Public History will take in Year One the Core (Public History I, Autumn Term; and Public History II, Spring Term), and in Year Two, the Public History Placement and an Option. The Research Dissertation will be spread over two years, with preliminary work undertaken in Year One, and significant work undertaken in Year Two.

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The MRes in Economic and Social History will allow you to focus specifically on economic and social history and its methods of analysis, while giving you the opportunity to study other topics in international history, religious and cultural history, political history, naval or gender history.

You can select from option modules that include subjects such as ritual in the Middle Ages; witchcraft and the supernatural in the 16th and 17th centuries; sexuality; health, medicine; gender and the body; party politics and international diplomacy; and the impact of modern wars on culture, economy, society and memory.

The MRes provides essential training for PhD study in History, as well as an opportunity to develop particular interests in the history of different countries and periods through taught modules and a 25,000 word dissertation on a topic of your choosing within the MRes programme subject area.

The Programme

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

Optional modules

Some examples of the optional modules which may be available are; Qualitative Methods in Social Research; Applied Quantitative Data Analysis; Philosophy of the Social Sciences ; Gender, Society and Culture in Early Modern England; Medieval Research Skills; Interpreting the Middle Ages; Supervised Independent Study in the Humanities; Supervised Independent Study in the Humanities; British Naval Power in the Era of Sail 1660-1815; Approaches to War and Society in the Twentieth Century; Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern England; Everyday Life in the Soviet Union; War 1450 to the Presen and Empires and Globalisation, c.1800-2000.

The modules listed here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand

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Overview

This MA allows you to develop an in-depth understanding of the history of health, medicine and society.

You’ll be trained in historical research methods and conceptual and methodological approaches to the history of health, medicine and society. You can combine British, European and African history under the guidance of leading researchers in History, History and Philosophy and Science and Medieval Studies. You’ll have the chance to focus on topics and periods that suit your own interests, whether that’s the history of health, medicine and society in the Middle Ages or the First World War.

Looking at the health of individuals, families and communities, you could study the human life course from birth to death, the experiences of medical practitioners and caregivers, medicine during periods of war and conflict, or the impact of health policy in different societies. It’s an exciting opportunity to explore how health and medicine have always been shaped by the social and cultural context.

The degree is also available to study part-time over 24 months. The part-time MA may be of special interest to those who are working in related fields as part of their career development.

Facilities and Resources

We have an exceptional range of resources to help you explore the topics that interest you. The world-class Brotherton Library holds a wealth of resources in its Special Collections, including historical works on health, medicine, cookery and medicinal uses of food, as well as extensive archival material about the history of medicine, surgery and nursing during the First World War and across the region since the eighteenth century.

You’ll be encouraged to participate in events run by the School of History’s lively ‘Health, Medicine and Society’ research group, including seminars, reading group sessions and a postgraduate symposium. You’ll also be able to attend a huge range of other events at the University of Leeds, including seminars at the Centre for History and Philosophy of Science and the Leeds Centre for Medical Humanities.

You’ll also have access to the University’s Museum of Science, Technology and Medicine, which is especially rich in its medical collections, and we have close links with the Thackray Medical Museum in east Leeds and its 47,000 medical objects.

Course Content

The first semester will lay the foundations of your studies, introducing you to historical research methods, and key sources, debates and methodologies in the history of health, medicine and society. You’ll take part in a source analysis workshop and gain practical knowledge of documentary, visual and material sources in the university and local area which can be used to study the history of health, medicine and society.

You’ll also develop specialist knowledge of the development of the history of medicine and the social history of medicine as historical sub-disciplines, and the place of health and medicine within the discipline of history.

In Semester Two, you’ll build on this knowledge with your choice from a wide range of optional modules, including specialist topics such as birth , death and illness in the Middle Ages; Medicine and warfare in the 19th and 20th centuries or disease and sexuality in Africa. You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the ‘Making History: Archive collaborations’ module.

Throughout the programme, you’ll develop your knowledge across a variety of areas as well as key skills in research and critical analysis. You’ll showcase these skills when you complete your dissertation, which will be independently researched on a topic of your choice and submitted by the end of the programme in September.

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This online programme provides a broader History award, both thematically and geographically, than our MLitt History of the Highlands and Islands.

The MLitt History has been developed in response to demand from potential students for a broad taught postgraduate programme in History and features modules in, for example, maritime, sport and British history, palaeography and languages of the North Atlantic, as well as historiography. Taught from the Centre for History in the Highlands, the MLitt History is available from anywhere in the world.

Special Features

• Loans for tuition fees are available from the Students Award Agency for Scotland (SAAS) for eligible Scotland domiciled and EU students, and loans for living costs for eligible Scottish students.
• The course is taught by a research-active and dynamic team of historians, reflecting staff research expertise
• Successful students will be able to proceed from undergraduate study of History, through the MLitt, towards supervised postgraduate historical PhD level research
• You will have support from expert staff at the Centre for History throughout your studies
• You can study from a distance online through the UHI virtual learning environment, which means you can fit your studies around your personal and professional commitments
• You can study individual modules for personal or professional development, or work towards the PgCert, PgDip, or full Masters degree.

Modules

PgCert

The core module is: Varieties of History
You will also choose two option modules which may include but are not limited to:The British Empire; Introduction to Palaeography and Languages for the North Atlantic; Britishness and Sport; Rivers, ports and Coasts in History; Oral History; Any option module from the MLitt History of the Highlands and Islands

PgDip

The core modules is: Primary Sources for History
You will choose two further option modules from those listed in the PgCert.

MLitt

To achieve the award of MLitt History you must complete a research dissertation

Locations

This course is available online with support from The Centre for History UHI, Burghfield House, Dornoch, IV25 3HN

Funding

From 2017, eligible Scotland domiciled students studying full time can access loans up to 10,000 from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).This comprises a tuition fee loan up to £5,500 and a non-income assessed living cost loan of £4,500. EU students studying full time can apply for a tuition fee loan up to £5500.

Part-time students undertaking any taught postgraduate course over two years up to Masters level who meet the residency eligibility can apply for a for a tuition fee loan up to £2,750 per year.

See Scholarships tab below for full details

Top reasons to study at UHI

Do something different: our reputation is built on our innovative approach to learning and our distinctive research and curriculum which often reflects the unique environment and culture of our region and closely links to vocational skills required by a range of sectors.
Choice of campuses – we have campuses across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Each campus is different from rich cultural life of the islands; the spectacular coasts and mountains; to the bright lights of our city locations.
Small class sizes mean that you have a more personal experience of university and receive all the support you need from our expert staff
The affordable option - if you already live in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland you don't have to leave home and incur huge debts to go to university; we're right here on your doorstep

How to apply

If you want to apply for this postgraduate programme click on the ‘visit website’ button below which will take you to the relevant course page on our website, from there select the Apply tab to complete our online application.
If you still have any questions please get in touch with our information line by email using the links beow or call on 0845 272 3600.

International Students

If you would like to study in a country of outstanding natural beauty, friendly communities, and cities buzzing with social life and activities, the Highlands and Islands of Scotland should be your first choice. We have campuses across the region each one with its own special characteristics from the rich cultural life of the islands to the bright city lights of Perth and Inverness. Some courses are available in one location only, for others you will have a choice; we also have courses that can be studied online from your own home country. .http://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/studying-at-uhi/international

English Language Requirements

Our programmes are taught and examined in English. To make the most of your studies, you must be able to communicate fluently and accurately in spoken and written English and provide certified proof of your competence before starting your course. Please note that English language tests need to have been taken no more than two years prior to the start date of the course. The standard English Language criteria to study at the University of the Highlands and Islands are detailed on our English language requirements page http://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/studying-at-uhi/international/how-to-apply-to-uhi/english-language-requirements

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Research profile

The MSc by Research in Economic & Social 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.

Economic and social history addresses the historical processes underlying the evolution of modern society by employing a range of insights and approaches from the social sciences, including economics, sociology and social anthropology.

Edinburgh has a large and distinguished group of academics in this research area. Their specialist fields provide students with an outstanding range of options, both in terms of historical period and areas of the world.

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.

Programme structure

The programme focuses on civil society, material culture, youth, gender, crime, cinema, economic growth and energy policy in a variety of historical contexts.

You take four compulsory courses and complete a dissertation. Each course is assessed by essays, usually of around 2,500 words.

Compulsory courses:

Historical Research: Skills and Sources
Historical Methodology and Historiography
Economic and Social Theory for Historical Analysis
Supervised Reading Course

Option courses may include:

Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain
Material Culture of Gender in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Cinema and Society in Britain
Slavery in the Atlantic World
British at War: 1939–45
Cinema and Society in South Asia
Clothing and Culture in Comparative Historical Contexts

Career opportunities

This programme is specifically designed for students who anticipate progressing to a doctoral programme, but it can also function as excellent preparation for a wide variety of careers.

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The Masters in History provides you with an outstanding learning experience in the company of Glasgow's thirty-strong cohort of historians, and the opportunity to conceive, design and execute a research project/dissertation. The programme combines training in historical theory, skills and methods with a wide range of specialist taught options which cover all periods from medieval to late modern, in relation to Scotland, Britain, Europe, America and elsewhere.

Why this programme

-Our links with the University’s museum and art gallery, The Hunterian, provide access to primary source material including an enormous collection of anatomical and pathological specimens, coins, books, manuscripts and ethnography.
-You will also enjoy access to The Baillie Collection, our prized collection of printed medieval and modern sources in Scottish, Irish and English history, which includes printed state papers, Historical Manuscript Commission publications and a select collection of modern monographs.
-If you are looking for the opportunity to pursue your own historical interests in a lively and friendly environment, led and supported by internationally-regarded historians, this programme is ideal for you.

Programme structure

Our pathway structure allows you to tailor your degree to match an interest in one of the following fields:
-Medieval history
-Modern and late modern history
-Scottish history
-Social and cultural history
-Gender history
-Military history

Each programme is built around a hands-on research training course, specialised courses on historical and theoretical themes, and other courses developing your technical skills and other abilities like languages and palaeography.

For your chosen programme, there will be a guided selection of courses that will provide you with specialised knowledge in that field. You will be taught through a series of seminars and workshops. Internationally recognised historians give guest lectures throughout the year.

These courses are taught in history, economic and social history (in the College of Social Sciences), and by related subject areas in the School of Humanities (archaeology, Celtic, classics) and the College of Arts (such as English language and French).

In the final part of the programme, you will select a specialised topic and conduct original primary source research for your dissertation. You are supported in your research and writing up by an assigned supervisor with expertise in your field of enquiry.

Core course
-Research resources and skills for historians

Career prospects

Apart from continuing to study a PhD, you can transfer the Arts research skills and methods you learn on this programme to positions in the modern public and private sectors, such as heritage, policy and projects, journalism and teaching.

Positions held by recent History graduates include Editor Business & History Products, Lead Scholar/Instructor and Secretary.

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About the course

Our Masters programme in Media History draws on the expertise of staff in both the Departments of History and Welsh History and Theatre, Film and Television Studies to provide an interdisciplinary exploration of the history of the mass media in the modern world.

In Semester 1 you’ll follow a core module that introduces you to both the history and the historiography of the mass media (the press, film and broadcasting), and its political and social function. This is followed by a range of options in Semester 2 that address in more detail aspects of the mass media and its political, social and cultural role, in Britain and beyond.

Alongside this study, you will benefit from specialist research training tailored to your own particular research interests, with specific reference to research in visual and sound media, and in newspapers and broadcasting archives.

There are also classes to help you research and write your MA dissertation, an original research project (15,000 words) undertaken by you and written over the course of the year under the close supervision of a specialist within the Department.

All our lecturers are active researchers who publish their work, and you will benefit from being taught the latest historical theories and techniques. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2014) assessment the university was placed in the top 50 institutions for research power and intensity. It submitted 77% of eligible staff and 95% of the university's research was of an internationally recognised standard.

This degree will suit you:

• If you wish to interrogate historical practises at an advanced level;
• If you desire a strengthen your critical and scholarly abilities through engagement with historical sources;
• If you wish develop practical skills and gain hands-on experience in researching Media History;
• If you aim to foster transferable skills and engage in professional and personal development for entering employment.

Course content

Core modules:

Dissertation *
Media History: An Introduction
Research Methods and Professional Skills in History

Optional modules:

Broadcasting Society and Culture in the Twentieth Century
Film and Representation
From Avant Garde to Documentary
Information and Society
Political Culture in Modern Britain, Europe and the Usa
Political Power and the Media in Britain
Politics and Culture of the Cold War in Southeast Asia
Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis (1120)
Sources for Postgraduate Research in the Modern Humanities and Social Sciences
Understanding the Cold War
Working with History

* Also available partially or entirely through the medium of Welsh

Contact time

Approximately 6 hours a week in the first two semesters. During semester three you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor.

Assessment

The course is assessed through a diverse range of assignments, including the 15,000 word MA dissertation.

Careers & Work Placements

Many of our Masters graduates go on to PhD study and academic careers. Others apply their skills in heritage administration, in tourism, museums and archives, or related branches of public administration, the civil service and local government, or go on to careers in related fields such as teaching, journalism or the broadcast media.

Work placements in collaboration with the National Library of Wales, the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments in Wales, or another of the heritage agencies based in and around Aberystwyth, are available for course credit in some schemes (please contact us for further information).

Employability

Every element of the Aberystwyth Masters in Media History enhances your employability in both vocational and more generic work situations. Alongside the development of your subject-specific knowledge and experience as a Media Historian, an especially noteworthy strength of this course is the emphasis on personal development. Your strengthened research and critical faculties will make you a strong candidate for any post where ideas and topics need research, analysis, discussion, expansion and classification.

The University’s association with National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales (NSSAW) is a highly significant part of this course, as it will enable you to conduct a hands-on exploration of their superb collections and engage with the practical challenges of research in media archives. Practical expertise, combined with your subject-specific knowledge, will set you above your competitors upon entering the jobs market where experience is at a premium. The study skills, technical knowledge and hands-on experience of historical processes and media studies will give you a tremendous advantage in employment within the discipline.

Beyond Media History-related work contexts, employers in any industry value creativity, research, analysis and discursive skills that you will gain in this course. You will develop highly marketable skills which will, upon graduation, stand you in excellent stead for entry into the general jobs market. The organisational skills you will learn on this course will help you direct and therefore make the most of your individual flair, bringing a balance of skills that prospective employers will find attractive.

Unique Perspective on Media

This course will provide you with a rare understanding of the development of media from its roots to modern expressions. This will equip you with a unique insight on contemporary trends and developments in new media, and you will be able to contextualise modern practices in a way no-one else can. This course offers you the opportunity to develop a unique perspective and therefore an interesting voice on media matters, which will prove to be a significant strength in any future work as a professional media historian, media journalist, subject teacher, author or in role as other kinds of media professional.

Because of the nature of this course’s assessment programme, you will graduate with a wealth of experience in writing and reporting, as well as much experience in critical appraisal by others. The rigorous feedback you receive on your submissions will develop in you a thorough knowledge of the structure, conventions and development of written communications, which will, in turn, make your writing clear, accurate and authoritative.

A host of employers look for accuracy, thoroughness, an eye for detail and the ability to find and prove connections across broad subject matter, and you certainly will have proven yourself, simply by graduating from this prestigious MA course.

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