Modern History & Culture MA
How did people live in past societies? How did they make sense of their world? What drove historical change? Consider questions like these and explore archives for independent research on our MA Modern History & Culture.
Overview
| Course length: | 1 year full-time 2 years part-time |
|---|---|
| Start dates: | September 2023 September 2024 |
| Location: | Edge Hill University |
| Subject(s): | History |
| Faculty: | Arts and Sciences |
| Department: | History, Geography and Social Sciences |
Explore 19th century crime and entertainment. Examine the 20th century birth of a global superpower. Join modern debate on the impact of the Middle Ages and uncover the long history of racism as part of our MA in Modern History & Culture.
We’ll help you deepen your understanding of how today’s modern world came to be. You’ll study key debates in contemporary and modern history as you form your own views. Explore how major historical events changed everyday people. Trace the connections between events, developments and social attitudes.
You’ll learn the methods and approaches of a professional historian. We’ll show you how to find documents in the archives and critically interrogate these texts so you develop the expertise and practical skills of a research-active historian.
You’ll also take part in public-facing tasks and activities and learn in-demand transferable skills as part of this course.
Course features
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International students can apply
What you'll study
You’ll develop the practical skills, theoretical knowledge and research methods of a professional historian on our MA Modern History & Culture. Explore a variety of historical and cultural themes from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Question the Victorians. How and why does Victorian society change its attitudes to crime? How did the Victorians relax and what prompted attitudes to modern leisure time?
Challenge the identity of the Western world. Where did antisemitism come from? Who and what led to the rise of the United States? How have modern leaders and thinkers exploited the Middle Ages?
You’ll examine the impact of the written word and ask how books and other texts have changed history. You can also choose to design your own archive research project.
Bring all of your skills together in a detailed study of a strand of history for your final dissertation.
Optional modules provide an element of choice within the course curriculum. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by timetabling requirements. Some restrictions on optional module choice or combinations of optional modules may apply.
How you'll study
You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and guided independent learning. There will also be field trips to archives and other activities. If you are studying full-time you will typically attend two sessions per week and if you are studying part-time you will typically attend one session per week.
How you'll be assessed
You will be assessed through a combination of assignments which, depending on the modules you choose, may include essays, critical reviews, presentations, blog posts, online articles, other research-based projects and a dissertation.
There are no formal written examinations as part of the current assessment methods on this programme.
Who will be teaching you
You will be taught by a team of specialist tutors who are committed teachers and active researchers at the forefront of research in their respective fields. Their interests include:
- American history
- The history of journalism and Victorian culture
- The history of crime and punishment
- The history of the British Empire, the Middle East and racism
- Britishness and national identities
- British politics and Labour history
- French history and protest movements
- The Middle Ages and their reception in modern times.
This research activity informs the design and delivery of the modules you will study, providing a highly focused and specialised postgraduate programme. By joining the MA you will become part of a community of active researchers, thus getting the opportunity to immerse yourself in the department’s research culture and develop your own research skills.
Entry criteria
Entry requirements
You should have a degree equivalent to UK first-class or second-class honours (2:2 or above) in a relevant subject.
Alternative professional qualifications and experience will also be considered, together with full and well-argued responses in your online application.
An interview forms part of the selection process. In exceptional circumstances, you may be requested to complete an entrance task, typically a critical review of a text.
English language requirements
International students require IELTS 6.5, with a score no lower than 6.0 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification.
If your current level of English is half a band, one band, or one-and-a-half bands lower, either overall or in one or two elements, you may want to consider our Pre-Sessional English course.
How to apply
There is an online application process for this course.
Please choose the application form for your preferred intake date and mode of study.
Please see our international student pages for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.
Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.
If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.
Discover our accommodation
Facilities
The Department of History, Geography and Social Sciences is based in the Geosciences building. The contemporary facilities combine with a friendly and supportive learning environment to ensure that your studies are a rich and rewarding experience.
The Geosciences building features a large lecture theatre, small group teaching rooms, IT facilities and smaller tutorial spaces. There is also a large social area which encourages a more informal and interactive style of learning.
Where you'll study
GeoSciences
Finance
Tuition fees
UK Full-Time
£8,500
for the course
UK Part-Time
£47 per credit
for 180 credits
International
£13,750
for the course
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.
Financial support
Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students joining postgraduate courses at Edge Hill University.
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). If you are an EU student who does not have settled or pre-settled status, or are an international student from a non-EU country, please see our international student finance pages.
Your future career
Our MA Modern History & Culture course opens the doors to a wide range of careers. Many of our students now work in heritage, libraries and education, the public sector, the arts, the media, publishing, advertising and business. Others choose to use their Masters to begin their path to an MPhil or PhD.
You’ll find our history graduates working as teachers, academic researchers, museum workers, journalists, business managers, administrators, police officers, civil servants, and politicians. Companies where our alumni work include:
- Royal Navy
- Outsource UK Ltd
- Daily Mail and General Trust
- Leeds City Council
- North Northamptonshire County Council
- Norfolk County Council
Your future career is important to our history team. You’ll have access to a tutor to support you with your plans. We also encourage you to discover opportunities to make industry connections throughout the course.
Course changes
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.
Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.
