MA History: The University of Manchester

Course description

Increasingly, postgraduate students choose their own personalised package of course units from our diverse selection, from different sub-areas of history to address their own interests. This programme allows students to do this, undertake historical research training (with elements transferable to many kinds of research), and write a dissertation.

Module details

Advanced Coursework comprises the core course, plus 60 credits of optional course units. The core course will usually address theoretical and probably bibliographical aspects of the Programme. Students on this programme a core course from one of the specialist History MAs.

Core courses

• The History of the Book (Medieval Studies);
• Issues, debates and resources in early-modern history;
• Revising the history of modern Britain;
• Key concepts in modern European History;
• Reading the Victorian;
• History and postmodernism;
• Research issues in economic and social history;
• Colonial and postcolonial experiences: theory and historiography.

Optional courses:

• European liberalisms;
• Victorian intellectual controversies;
• Social and cultural upheaval in war and peace in Russia;
• Key issues in migration history;
• Men, machinery and money;
• The (Ir)resistible rise of the American empire.

Research training centres usually on the course, 'Historical sources and methods', supplemented by the School-wide generic course, 'Skills Awareness in Graduate Education' which integrates various workshop elements, and the preparation of a Research Outline for the proposed MA dissertation. By permission a foreign language can be substituted for the 'Historical Sources and Methods' course.

Recent dissertation titles include: Perceptions of Manchester in German Liberal Debates; Ethnic Nationalism and Cultural Politics in Yugoslavia (1918-1991); Perceptions of Childhood and Attitudes to Child Labour 1770-1880: The Case of Climbing Boys.

Career opportunities

Apart from PhD research, the high standard of arts research training, both formal and practical (in the dissertation), opens doors to many kinds of modern public and private sector graduate employments requiring research skill, formulation of projects and policy documents, etc.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview: An Upper Second class honours degree, or the overseas equivalent.

English language: Students whose first language is not English are required to hold IELTS 7.0 or 600 TOEFL paper based or 250 computer based.