History MA

The MA History is designed for students with a passion for the past, to enable you to increase your historical knowledge, develop your own projects and gain valuable skills in research methods and public history. The MA History at DMU is distinctive in that it offers you an opportunity to study local and world history, through a detailed case study of Global Leicester, along with a wide range of other subjects

Overview
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
more about your DMU
Contact us

Overview

Reasons to study History MA at DMU:

A flexible structure to studying
the course has four core modules and a dissertation that develops your History skills through training in historical debates, historiography and the use of primary sources, along with close supervision and mentoring. You can choose to develop your own lines of enquiry or work on historical topics more broadly, with a range of projects which can be tailored to your interests.
Research-rich learning environment
with historians who have a passion for their research and teaching. Specialisms range from the medieval Indian Ocean, modern Britain and Europe, Colonial History, Sports History and Photographic History. Please visit the Institute of History to see individual staff research interests.
Give your career an edge
by developing your research and transferable skills through the study of historical sources and methods; practical training in writing for publication, teaching and research, presentations and event management, providing you with skills in teaching, publishing, research and managing cultural events
Preparation for further study
as the MA, with its focus on individual research, provides ideal preparation for progression to PhD. The enhanced qualification in History can also contribute to further study in education (PGCE) and heritage and archive studies
Participate in the DMU research community
through open seminars and conferences organized in the History subject area, including the History Research Seminars, Cultural Exchanges week events, International Centre for Sports History and Cultures, Photographic History Research Centre and the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre

The master’s degree in History offers you the opportunity to learn in a structured, yet flexible way. You will study the core modules which provide you with structure but at the same time they will help you to build and develop your historical skills to conduct independent research, manage projects, organise conferences, think critically while engaging you with a passion for History.

The modules are designed to advance your understanding of ‘Historical Methodologies’ but at the same time also introduce you to the importance of digital humanities, ‘Public History and Heritage’. The course uniquely brings together the history of ‘Global Leicester’ spanning across the historical periods and blending the local with global narratives.

At the same time the programme is flexible in helping you develop your own specialisms and research interests. While the core modules provide you with the academic rigour of learning history at advanced levels, the practical skills involved in History and Humanities research allow you get first-hand experience of conference management, presenting work and writing for publications. It is an ideal stepping-stone to either research at PhD level or a career in teaching, publishing, research or event management.

The staff who teach History here have produced ground-breaking monographs on topics such as internment in the First World War, the history of Montenegro, cultural exchanges in the Indian Ocean World and the history and heritage of the Olympic Games. Their research has featured on numerous media programmes, including BBC TV’s My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947 and BBC Radio 4’s Sport and the British. In addition, many of the staff members have links with Museums and Galleries and provide consultancy for a range of establishments and institutions. This programme provides you with an opportunity to work with them and learn from leading historians.

Scholarships:

At DMU, we are committed to helping our graduates enhance their careers and personal development through further study.

Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Scholarship
Up to 50 per cent of tuition fees offered to Home/EU DMU alumni for students who wish to continue their studies at DMU by enrolling on a Postgraduate taught course. For more information visit our Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Scholarship page.

Vice-Chancellor's Sports Scholarship
Apply for the Vice-Chancellor's Sports Scholarship, worth up to £6,000.

More courses like this:

English Language Teaching MA
Sports History and Culture MA

UK/EU
International

Key facts for UK/EU students

Duration: One year full-time, two years part-time.

Start date: September 2021

Fees and funding: For 2021/22 tuition fees for UK/EU students will be £8,350 (full-time) per year, £4,175 (part-time) per year.

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information complete our online enquiry form or call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Key facts for international students

Duration: One year full-time

Start date: September 2021

Fees and funding international: For 2020/21 tuition fees will be £14,100 per year

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Contact us: For more information complete our online enquiry form or call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements

You should have the equivalent of a 2.2 or above UK bachelor’s honours degree. If you have other professional qualifications and/or industry experience we will consider your application on an individual basis.

As you will be working largely independently, you need to be self-motivated and have good time management skills

International students

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each band or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Structure and assessment

Module detail

Historical Methodology
This module provides an introduction to advanced historiography. It will develop students’ knowledge of traditional historiographical concerns alongside current trends and new directions in writing and thinking about the past. It also aims to enable students to think critically about the way historians have formulated research questions, used sources, and written history, across time and place. It will help students to build up an informed knowledge of recent developments in historical thinking as well as a history of the discipline of History itself.

Topics to be covered will be drawn from the following themes: nation and state in History; global and transnational histories; empires and colonies; orientalism and occidentalism; social history, structuralism and the Annales; history from below; history in numbers; cultural history and postmodernism; materiality and visual history; gender history; and migration history.

Public History and Heritage
This module provides an introduction to Public History and Heritage. It will develop your knowledge about the debates, theoretical underpinnings and development of public history and heritage in both the UK and the wider world. It will enable you to engage in debates around how public history is constructed, contested and represented in society. It examines the growth in the heritage industry and considers the ways in which the digital age has impacted upon the development and growth of this sector. The module also brings together an array of industry specialists to provide a practical and theoretical approach to teaching and learning on this module.

Global Leicester
The city of Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in Europe. It is shaped by both by its long migration history and also by its position as a post-industrial city in the Midlands. Using Global Leicester as the pivotal point, this module will emphasise the importance of place and scale while drawing on multiple themes. The module is designed to unpack local history through global lenses. The module will consider the multiple ways in which we can understand the history of migration through and beyond the axis of Leicester. For example, the complex relationship with the empire and the subsequent population movement due to the expulsion Asians in Uganda. The changing landscape of both the physical city and the demographic movement of people via themes of food, empire, football, trade, material objects. The themes will reflect and draw upon the expertise currently in History and more broadly research which has explored the wider ramifications of migration through the ages to present-day Leicester. The students will be encouraged to approach some of these themes and ideas through leading individual discussions and presenting a focused research case study.

Conference Training and Presentation
The module is designed to train students in the skills involved in event organisation and presentation. It will involve collaborative as well as individual research skills. Students will be guided through the necessary training in organising a conference, choosing a topic and delivering a relevant paper. Students will be assigned roles (treasurer, programme developer, marketing manager, website designer) and will also present a paper at the conference. Students will be assessed on a reflective essay, outlining their contribution to the management of the conference and a written version of their presentation (including slides). Please visit the Conference Twitter handle @DMUHumsConf to sample previous years’ conferences.

Dissertation
The final project will be a sustained piece of writing, amounting to 15,000 words. The piece will draw on research undertaken throughout the year but will provide a new and sustained argument.

Note: All modules are subject to change in order to keep content current

Overview

The aim of the MA History programme is to develop both generic and subject-specific skills, ensuring that each module develops skills that will contribute to the following module. The course consists of 180 credits with four 30-credit modules followed by a 60-credit dissertation, moving from taught to research-based study.

The course will allow you to contextualise, analyse and problematise the past by developing your skills in ‘Historical Methodologies’. The module will introduce key questions in current historiography and prepare you to conduct individual historical research. ‘Public History and Heritage’ engages you in debates around how public history is constructed, contested and represented in society and use this to produce your own “heritage” project. ‘Global Leicester’ will provide you with an opportunity to understand the importance of place and scale while unpacking themes/events which are of global relevance in our everyday local environment. The ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’ is a practical module in which you will organise and participate in a one-day Humanities conference, presenting your research ideas and learning from peers through engaging critically with each other’s research. The final part of the course will be devoted to a dissertation of 15,000 words, which you will develop and work with a supervisor.

The programme is designed to provide for intense immersive learning for those who wish to complete in a year, and for those who want to study part-time over two years, to fit their studies around busy and demanding professional and personal lives.

Contact hours

Your contact time will vary module to module, but we usually have 2 hours per module scheduled during term time for lectures/workshops. In addition, you will be expected to undertake at least 32 hours of independent study each week. Your third term or when you complete your dissertation, will be largely self-directed (excluding 1-2-1 meetings/mentoring with a supervisor), during which you can expect to undertake 35 hours of independent study each week.

Full-time Students:

Semester 1 has been designed to introduce students to historiography and historical methodology and to provide both practical and theoretical training in developing research to master’s Level. Students will be taught in two sessions on separate days: one afternoon session, ‘Historical Methodology’ and one lunchtime session, ‘Public History and Heritage’.

Semester 2 develops from the 1st semester and offers students a module on ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’ and a module on Global Leicester. Students will be taught in two sessions on separate days: one afternoon session, ‘Global Leicester’ and the ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’ will be held during lunchtime sessions, but this will vary between workshops and student led meetings.

Semester 3 is devoted entirely to the final 15,000-word dissertation that should build on the work completed over the previous semesters.

Part-time Students:

Year 1 Semester 1 offers support alongside full-time students in the module ‘Historical Methodology’.
Year 1 Semester 2 focuses on the development and consolidation of practice from Semester 1 in ‘Conference Organisation and Presentation’.
Year 1 Semester 3 provides you with an opportunity for independent learning and reflection based on the modules already completed.
Year 2 Semester 1: Students will take the ‘Public History and Heritage’ module.
Year 2 Semester 2: You will study ‘Global Leicester’ while building your skills of independent learning.
Year 2 Semester 3: is devoted to the final 15,000-word dissertation that should build on the work completed over the previous semesters.

Facilities and features

Facilities

The Clephan Building is home to DMU’s humanities subjects, and is equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment and cinema screens.

Currently Clephan houses some key Arts, Design and Humanities student support facilities including the Arts, Design and Humanities Placement Team and the faculties Advice Centre, where you can access information about timetabling, specialist support queries. and any other questions you may have about your course.

The building also features the Leicester Centre for Creative Writing, Centre of Textual Studies, Centre for Adaptations, and the International Centre for Sports History and Culture.

Library

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Blackboard, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Learning zones

Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse also provide space for group or individual work and study.

There are 1,600 study places across all library locations, more than 700 computer stations, laptops to borrow, free wi-fi and desktop power outlets.

You can also book rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities for group work and presentations, secure an individual study room with adjustable lighting or make use of our assistive technology.

Opportunities and careers

Enterprise

Starting a business
If you are thinking of starting your own business or working for yourself, the Enterprise Team can help provide you with the right advice and guidance to get your business off the ground.

DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible, DMU will continue to review government advice and if travel is permitted, we hope to offer a small number of extra-curricular opportunities in the summer of 2021.

Graduate careers

The MA History programme is designed to both enhance your generic skills and knowledge to put you in a better position to enter professions such as teaching, museums and archives, project management, marketing or other professions. The subject specialisms and independent research will form the basis of progressing onto a PhD.