Faculty of Arts, Cultures and Education

MA in History

Postgraduate - Taught MA

Open for admission in 2024/25

Start in September

Qualification	Full time	Part time
MA	1 year	2 years

About the course

Hull’s MA in History combines thematic modules to give you the confidence to take part in historical debate beyond your immediate specialism.

Cutting-edge theoretical approaches and methodologies will reflect on complex contemporary global challenges like climate change, social justice, conflict, political and economic change, and the disruption of historic categories and forms of government. You will learn to ask questions that matter just as much to a medievalist as to a historian of the present and widen your analytic lens to explore new topics and seek answers in the areas you are passionate about.

You join a community of postgraduate research students and benefit from the direct supervision of our world-leading experts in historical research.

Our research is driven by both individual excellence, and by larger collaborative projects that have received significant amounts of external funding and which generate impact across a number of communities.

The exceptional resources available at the University of Hull, and in our city and the surrounding region, enable you to cultivate your own interests and strengths. Hull History Centre offers a treasure trove of archive material and our Maritime Historical Studies Centre is globally recognised as a centre for maritime history research. We contribute to Hull’s Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, which has a library of its own.

On campus, the Brynmor Jones Library offers more than one million printed texts and serves as a digital information hub for the University. The breadth of research interests among our academic staff means we can offer a wide range of dissertation topics.

What you'll study

The full-time programme is scheduled over 45 weeks, divided into three 15-week trimesters. The part-time programme is the same but spread over two years.

Most of our modules use our innovative ‘block’ system, putting you in control of how you combine topics. If it is suitable for your research needs, an alternative 30-credit module may be taken outside the Department of History.

The dissertation, at 15,000 words, is the culmination of your postgraduate study and requires greater analytical depth, plus greater critical engagement with source material, than anything you will have experienced as an undergraduate. Our expert supervision will support you through the transition.

Compulsory modules

All modules are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.

Thinking Historically
Practising History

You will carry out activities based on the handling or historiography of a number of key problems ranging from the medieval and early modern periods to modern and contemporary history. The available topics cover a broad range of current issues.
Power, Authority and Freedom in History

This module comprises of 4 thematic blocks, from which you will choose 3 at the beginning of the module. Each block is built around a key problem in the study of power, authority and freedom, covering a broad chronological range.
Memory, Public History and Heritage
Dissertation (History)

The dissertation is an opportunity for you to create your own piece of historical research. The choice of dissertation topic is linked to the subject of the your special subject workshop theme. As such, the primary sources that underpin the investigation and the availability of a subject specialist to supervise the project will vary each year.

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Postgraduate events

Where you'll study

The location below may not be the exact location of all modules on your timetable. The buildings you'll be taught in can vary each year and depend on the modules you study.

Hull Campus

Click to view directions on Google Maps

Our teaching staff

Dr Amanda Capern

Dr Catherine Baker

Dr Charles Prior

Dr Colin Veach

Professor Glenn Burgess

Dr Helen Fenwick

Dr Jenny Macleod

Professor Joy Porter

Dr Martin Wilcox

Dr Nicholas Evans

Professor Simon Smith

Professor Trevor Burnard

Fees and funding

Home £10,500

UK students can take out a Masters Loan to help with tuition fees and living costs. For 2023 entry, they provide up to £12,167 for full-time and part-time taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas. Find out more about Postgraduate Loans.

International £12,000

On courses where a part-time study option is available, fees are charged pro-rata to the full-time fee, according to the number of credits being studied.

International applicants may need to pay a tuition fee deposit before the start of the course. Visit our tuition fee deposit page for more information.

Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship

Are you an undergraduate at Hull? You could claim a 25% discount on the cost of your postgraduate tuition fees.

Am I eligible?

International Scholarships and Bursaries

For a list of all scholarships and bursaries for international students, please visit the International Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Scholarships and Bursaries

The University offers a range of scholarships to help you with your studies.

For more information, please visit the Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Follow your interests in the social, cultural, art, indigenous, military, maritime and economic history of Britain, Europe and the wider world.

Study under active researchers whose historical expertise and passion underpins the modules they teach.

Resources include one of the UK's best university libraries, plus the Hull History Centre, Maritime Historical Studies Centre and the Wilberforce Institute.

Research ranges from Palaeolithic America to the contemporary Philippines, by way of modern Australia, India, the Middle East, and Britain and Europe from the early middle ages to the 21^st

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold a 2.2 Honours degree in history or a related discipline (or international equivalent).

In order to ensure our students have a rich learning and student experience, most of our programmes have a mix of domestic and international students. We reserve the right to close applications early to either group, if application volumes suggest that this blend cannot be achieved. In addition, existing undergraduate students at the University of Hull have a guaranteed ‘Fast Track’ route to any postgraduate programme, subject to meeting the entry criteria (excluding Social Work).

International students

Language requirements

If you require a student visa to study or if your first language is not English you must provide acceptable evidence of your English language proficiency level.

This course requires academic IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each skill. See other accepted English language proficiency qualifications.

If your English currently does not reach the required standard, you may be interested in our pre-sessional English Language programmes.

Visit your country page to find out more about entry requirements.

Future prospects

Students on our MA History programme often aim to continue into doctoral research at Hull or another higher education institution. Those who use their level 7 qualification as a springboard to a career often go into commercial research, teaching, management, law or the Civil Service.

The programme develops a number of key skills for the workplace, including the ability to defend ideas confidently when challenged by others, to challenge accepted practices or ideas with reasoned arguments and to propose solutions to problems using knowledge as the foundation.

The research-planning element of our skills modules develops the ability to manage your own time under pressure. Collaboration and negotiation with other students also develops teamwork and leadership skills. Through the professional development element of the programme, you become adept at expressing your professional attributes with great assurance to potential employers.