Program Overview

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History MA

Course Overview

Are you fascinated by history? Do you want to understand more about the way people lived, worked, and thought in the past? Are you interested in why the past is so important to the way we live now? Our expert staff will support you to explore those very questions, while developing your own historical research into an area of your choice.

You can tailor your studies through optional modules spanning the seventh century CE to the modern day, and covering a wide geographical range including Britain, India, China, Russia, Italy, and the USA.

The key themes which we will explore include:

• Identity formation and difference
• Nationalism, nostalgia, and memory
• Authoritarianism and power
• Everyday life, religion, and culture

You are encouraged to engage with different theories and approaches for studying the past, so that you can develop your own methodology.

A specially tailored core module will develop your research skills, including hands-on sessions with archival material, and determine the theoretical and methodological approaches that best match your chosen dissertation topic.

Why Choose This Course?

• 99% of our research is considered 'internationally important' (Research Excellence Framework 2021)
• Find archive material: take advantage of our Manuscripts and Special Collections, including fascinating sources such as the Portland Collection
• Learn from experts: with a wide scale of expertise across geographical, chronological, and methodological range
• Get involved: participate in our regular departmental research seminar, and engage with the friendly academic and postgraduate community
• Research skills: study a specially-tailored module to develop your research skills

Course Content

The total credits for this course are 180.

• Part-time students will typically take three modules each academic year, spread across the year.
• You can receive support for your dissertation throughout your studies, but the bulk of supervision and writing will take place over the final summer of your degree programme.
• All classes take place during weekdays.

Modules

• Core modules
  • Arts in Society
  • History Dissertation
  • Research Methods in History
• Optional modules
  • Conflict and Coexistence in Early Modern Europe
  • Past Futures: Reimagining the Twentieth Century
  • Power, Authority and Dissent: Sources for Medieval History
  • Daily Life in Authoritarian Régimes in the Long Twentieth Century
  • Exploring English Identity
  • Latin For Medievalists
  • Palaeography
  • The Unmasterable Past: Collective Memory in a Global World
  • Themes and approaches to global and comparative history

Learning and Assessment

How You Will Learn

• Seminars
• Group study

You are taught in small seminar groups, so there is plenty of opportunity for discussion of ideas and development of our students as researchers.

You will be allocated a personal tutor, who will monitor your academic progress, provide feedback on your work, help with module choices, and assist with pastoral support if needed.

How You Will Be Assessed

• Examinations
• Presentation
• Essay
• Dissertation

Most modules are assessed by written work of varying lengths, corresponding with the content and weighting of the module. Your course tutors provide detailed comments on assignments.

Towards the end of your studies, you will complete a 12-15,000 word dissertation. This is a major piece of independent research, and you will be allocated a supervisor who is a specialist in your chosen area.

Your dissertation supervisor will provide advice and guidance to help you select your area of study, and offer close supervision and support as you complete your research.

Entry Requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2025 entry.

• Home / UK students
  • Undergraduate degree: 2:1 in history or a related subject
• EU / International students
  • Undergraduate degree: 2:1 in history or a related subject
  • International and EU equivalents: We accept a wide range of qualifications from all over the world.
• Alternative qualifications
  • We recognise that applicants have a variety of experiences and follow different pathways to postgraduate study.
  • We treat all applicants with alternative qualifications on an individual basis. We may also consider relevant work experience.

Fees

• Qualification: MA
• Home / UK: £9,250
• International: £24,300

Additional Information for International Students

If you are a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you may be asked to complete a fee status questionnaire and your answers will be assessed using guidance issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA).

These fees are for full-time study. If you are studying part-time, you will be charged a proportion of this fee each year (subject to inflation).

Additional Costs

All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus. For more information, please check the equipment advice.

Books

You'll be able to access most of the books you’ll need through our libraries, though you may wish to buy your own copies of core texts. The Blackwell's bookshop on campus offers a year-round price match against any of the main retailers (for example Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith).

Funding

• Funding opportunities for Faculty of Arts students
  • There are additional funding opportunities available to you as a Faculty of Arts student.
• Other sources of funding
  • There are many ways to fund your postgraduate course, from scholarships to government loans.
  • We also offer a range of international masters scholarships for high-achieving international scholars who can put their Nottingham degree to great use in their careers.

Careers

• Careers advice
  • We offer individual careers support for all postgraduate students.
• Job prospects
  • Expert staff can help you research career options and job vacancies, build your CV or résumé, develop your interview skills and meet employers.

Each year 1,100 employers advertise graduate jobs and internships through our online vacancy service. We host regular careers fairs, including specialist fairs for different sectors.

International students who complete an eligible degree programme in the UK on a student visa can apply to stay and work in the UK after their course under the Graduate immigration route. Eligible courses at the University of Nottingham include bachelors, masters and research degrees, and PGCE courses.

Graduate Destinations

During this course you will develop skills in data analysis, presentation, communication, teamwork, negotiation, and time management.

As a result, our graduates have built careers in a diverse range of industries, including:

• Planning and policy
• Law
• Communications, media and journalism
• Archives and museums
• Teaching
• Libraries and museums

You will also have the necessary skills to begin doctoral research and work towards a PhD, if desired.

Career Progression

83.3% of postgraduates from the School of History secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual salary for these graduates was £21,786.*