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.
Widening your analytical lens beyond anything you will have been asked to do at undergraduate level, you will learn to ‘ask better questions’ that would matter just as much to a medievalist or a historian of the present. You join the same community as our postgraduate research students and benefit from the direct supervision of our world-leading experts in historical research.
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.
In Trimester 1, you study the modules, Research Project Management for Historians, and Practising History Further developing your key historical skills and linking you directly to the world of historical research.
In Trimester 2, you take both thematic options, Power, Authority and Freedom in History and Memory, Meaning and History. Together, these will challenge you to draw conclusions from the past which range beyond your specialist period into a wider field of historical debate.
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 18,000 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.
All modules are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.
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Research Project Management for Historians
You will reach a new level as a professional researcher by studying essential skills necessary for the design and successful completion of a postgraduate dissertation. These include core generic skills, such as the handling of primary and secondary sources or the identification of special needs, and orientation in the professional research environment, including communication skills and the handling of impact, as well as employability in various areas of professional research.
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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.
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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.
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Memory, Meaning and History
This module provides you with the opportunity to look at an exciting choice of historical themes through a new and transformative analytical lens - memory.
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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.