Program Overview

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Whether you’re interested in culture and society, politics and power, or war and conflict, in the Department of History at Essex we give you the freedom to explore the history that excites you. Our global expertise and topical diversity give you an unrivalled opportunity to pursue your historical passions and discover new ones. Our MA History is rigorous, flexible and wide-ranging, so that you can to choose the modules and a dissertation topic which best suit your interests. Historical research at Essex concentrates on the period from 1500 to the present, and covers a wide geographical area that includes Britain and Europe, Russia, Latin America, the USA, China and Africa. In addition to two compulsory modules, one that deals with recent developments in the study of history and the other providing you with practical steps to undertake historical research, you take three optional MA modules which enable you to explore the latest in historical research in our specialist areas. You also write a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of your choice. Our Masters degree also provides you with opportunities to explore local history, and we have strong links with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK. Why we're great.

• Take the opportunity to explore the history that excites you – choose from a wide range of regions and periods
• Work alongside scholars who are leading the way in public history, finding new ways to engage with audiences outside of academia
• Work alongside engaged industry researchers

Our expert staff

Our staff are among world leaders in their field, and our enthusiasm for our subject is infectious. Our flexible course is combined with a supportive structure which helps you to pursue the modules best-suited to your interests. We take the time to get to know you as an individual, welcome you into our scholarly community, and value your views.

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Specialist facilities

• We have several Special Collections in history, including the Essex Society for Archaeology and History Library, the Harsnett Collection, the Hervey Benham Oral History Sound Archive, the Bensusan Collection, and the Colchester Medical Society Library
• Access the UK Data Archive, a national service provider digital resources for historians, which is particularly strong in 19th and 20th-century economic and social history
• Attend an exciting programme of events
• Access a variety of textbooks and journals in our Albert Sloman Library which houses materials on Latin America, Russia and the US that are of national significance

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Your future

We have excellent links with the research community, both in the UK and worldwide, so many of our students have gone on to teach in higher education institutions. Others have found employment in archives, research, managing research funds, other forms of educational provision, the Civil Service, the National Health Service, and primary and secondary school teaching. Within our Department of History, we offer supervision for PhD, MPhil and MA by Dissertation . Themes of particular research interest include:

Cultural and social history

War, culture and memory

Public history

Urban history

Digital history

Oral history

Histories of class, race and gender

The history of medicine

The history of crime

The history of food

Slavery and slave societies We have excellent links with the research community, both in the UK and worldwide, so many of our students have gone on to teach in higher education institutions. Others have found employment in archives, research, managing research funds, other forms of educational provision, the Civil Service, the National Health Service, and management.