find your perfect postgrad program
Search our Database of 30,000 Courses
Birkbeck, University of London: History
| Institution | Birkbeck, University of London View institution profile |
|---|---|
| Department | School of Historical Studies |
| Web | http://www.bbk.ac.uk/ |
| Telephone | 0203 907 0700 |
| Study type | Taught |
Graduate Certificate
Summary
Our Graduate Certificate in History is a fascinating one-year course that will introduce you to the theories, tools, techniques and research skills of historical analysis.
Why choose this course?
-
This course is ideal if you are keen to explore history further but have gained an undergraduate degree in a different subject. Or you may wish to explore advanced postgraduate historical study without yet committing to an MA.
-
It will give you the skills you need to pursue your passion for the past and study history at a higher level.
-
It offers you two routes through the course: one focusing on research, the other pursuing a topic of your choice in history, classics or archaeology.
What you will learn
Throughout this course you will explore and analyse different types of evidence, discuss the theories that inform historical writing and look at the great debates that shape our perception of the past. You will also learn about how the concept of history has changed over time, and how different cultures perceive the past.
By introducing you to the practical skills of the historian and the various schools of thought that inform historical research and writing, this graduate certificate enables you to reskill and change direction to pursue postgraduate study in the field.
How you will learn
This course is taught via a combination of seminars, workshops and lectures, and follows an evening timetable.
You will take a foundation module in your first term and then choose either a taught route consisting of one option module offered by the School of Historical Studies, or a research-focused route where you will complete a dissertation on a historical subject of your choice.
Throughout the course, you will also engage in hands-on analysis of sources, debating and discussing the wider implications of evidence to historical analysis.
Highlights
-
Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
-
Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists and archaeologists in the same academic team investigating every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.
-
We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources, including the Institute of Classical Studies, with its library, training facilities and seminars; the British Museum, with its extensive collection of classical antiquities; and the British Library, the largest national library in the world.
-
We are home to a number of affiliated research centres that actively run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research. These include the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the Raphael Samuel History Centre and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Careers and employability
On successfully graduating with this Graduate Certificate in History, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:
-
basic knowledge of historical composition, use and analysis of evidence, scholarship
-
critical reading of sources, forensic analysis of data
-
critical thinking
-
collaborative thinking and working.
Graduates can pursue career paths in research and archiving, education, the heritage industry, publishing, journalism and the media, and the charity sector. Possible professions include:
-
historian
-
higher education lecturer
-
archivist
-
journalist
-
heritage manager
-
politician’s assistant
-
academic librarian
-
museum/gallery curator.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners. |
| Location | Main Site Malet Street London WC1E 7HX |
Fees
| England | 3780 GBP for Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 3780 GBP for Year 1 |
| Scotland | 3780 GBP for Year 1 |
| Wales | 3780 GBP for Year 1 |
| International | 6950 GBP for Year 1 |
Master of Research - MRes
Summary
This MRes History is a taught postgraduate research course that equips you with the advanced historical research skills and conceptual framework you need to complete an individual, large-scale research project.
Why choose this course?
-
Ideal if you are self-motivated, committed and interested in research, this MRes centres on you completing a 30,000-word dissertation in which you demonstrate the advanced historical research skills you have learned on the course’s two core modules.
-
This course sits between our MA provision and PhD research degrees, and is suitable if you already have an MA in a humanities subject.
-
It provides you with a valuable opportunity to complete independent, professional research and can be useful preparation for research at PhD level.
What you will learn
You will be taught practical historical skills and techniques, including:
-
locating and retrieving historical material
-
critiquing primary and secondary sources
-
examining and organising historical information.
You will also develop the skills needed to complete your dissertation, including learning how to conceptualise a research project, write a proposal and plan your research.
How you will learn
This course’s core modules first focus on developing your analytical skills and project management skills through the planning and writing of a long literature review and development of a detailed research proposal.
Both modules are taught by experienced, research-active academics using a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches. For your research project, you will work with a supervisor who is an internationally renowned specialist in your chosen field. You will also be invited to events organised by, and for, our vibrant MPhil/PhD community, which provide opportunities to meet new academic and intellectual contacts.
This course is available to study full- or part-time with classes taking place in the evening.
Highlights
-
Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
-
Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists, archaeologists and art historians in the same team of academics investigating every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.
-
All MA students are eligible to apply for our prestigious Eric Hobsbawm Scholarships, subject to availability. One of the most influential historians of the twentieth century, Eric Hobsbawm taught at Birkbeck for over five decades.
-
We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources such as the Institute of Historical Research and the Institute of Classical Studies, the British Museum and the British Library.
-
We are home to a number of affiliated research centres that actively run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research. These include the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the Raphael Samuel History Centre and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Careers and employability
On successfully graduating from this MRes History you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:
-
analysis
-
research
-
project management
-
writing.
Studying this course will prepare you for career paths in a range of fields and professions including:
-
historian
-
higher education lecturer
-
archivist
-
journalist
-
heritage manager
-
author
-
librarian
-
museum/gallery curator.
Graduates from this course have gone on to be employed in education and at thinktanks, the BBC and Reuters.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | A second-class honours degree (2.2 or above) and an MA degree (with a Merit or above). At least one of these degrees should be in history. You are expected to complete a 500-word dissertation proposal, to be included with the application form. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners. |
| Location | Main Site Malet Street London WC1E 7HX |
Fees
| England | 12000 GBP for Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 12000 GBP for Year 1 |
| Scotland | 12000 GBP for Year 1 |
| Wales | 12000 GBP for Year 1 |
| International | 20850 GBP for Year 1 |
Summary
This MRes History is a taught postgraduate research course that equips you with the advanced historical research skills and conceptual framework you need to complete an individual, large-scale research project.
Why choose this course?
-
Ideal if you are self-motivated, committed and interested in research, this MRes centres on you completing a 30,000-word dissertation in which you demonstrate the advanced historical research skills you have learned on the course’s two core modules.
-
This course sits between our MA provision and PhD research degrees, and is suitable if you already have an MA in a humanities subject.
-
It provides you with a valuable opportunity to complete independent, professional research and can be useful preparation for research at PhD level.
What you will learn
You will be taught practical historical skills and techniques, including:
-
locating and retrieving historical material
-
critiquing primary and secondary sources
-
examining and organising historical information.
You will also develop the skills needed to complete your dissertation, including learning how to conceptualise a research project, write a proposal and plan your research.
How you will learn
This course’s core modules first focus on developing your analytical skills and project management skills through the planning and writing of a long literature review and development of a detailed research proposal.
Both modules are taught by experienced, research-active academics using a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches. For your research project, you will work with a supervisor who is an internationally renowned specialist in your chosen field. You will also be invited to events organised by, and for, our vibrant MPhil/PhD community, which provide opportunities to meet new academic and intellectual contacts.
This course is available to study full- or part-time with classes taking place in the evening.
Highlights
-
Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
-
Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists, archaeologists and art historians in the same team of academics investigating every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.
-
All MA students are eligible to apply for our prestigious Eric Hobsbawm Scholarships, subject to availability. One of the most influential historians of the twentieth century, Eric Hobsbawm taught at Birkbeck for over five decades.
-
We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources such as the Institute of Historical Research and the Institute of Classical Studies, the British Museum and the British Library.
-
We are home to a number of affiliated research centres that actively run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research. These include the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the Raphael Samuel History Centre and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Careers and employability
On successfully graduating from this MRes History you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:
-
analysis
-
research
-
project management
-
writing.
Studying this course will prepare you for career paths in a range of fields and professions including:
-
historian
-
higher education lecturer
-
archivist
-
journalist
-
heritage manager
-
author
-
librarian
-
museum/gallery curator.
Graduates from this course have gone on to be employed in education and at thinktanks, the BBC and Reuters.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | A second-class honours degree (2.2 or above) and an MA degree (with a Merit or above). At least one of these degrees should be in history. You are expected to complete a 500-word dissertation proposal, to be included with the application form. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners. |
| Location | Main Site Malet Street London WC1E 7HX |
Fees
| England | 6000 GBP for Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 6000 GBP for Year 1 |
| Scotland | 6000 GBP for Year 1 |
| Wales | 6000 GBP for Year 1 |
| International | 10425 GBP for Year 1 |
Located in Bloomsbury, in the heart of London, everything the UK’s Capital city has to offer is on our doorstep.
We offer over 250 taught and research postgraduate programmes across the humanities and social sciences, business, law; and science and we’re a part of the prestigious University of London, one of the world’s best known and most highly regarded universities.
Birkbeck, University of London is built for the busy. We have over 200 years’ experience of providing exceptional learning experiences designed to fit in with students’ schedules. Our range of different study options allow our students to choose …
View ProfileNot what you are looking for?
Browse other courses in Humanities, History or Historical research, or search our comprehensive database of postgrad programs.Postgraduate Bursary Opportunity with Postgrad.com
Are you studying as a PG student at the moment or have you recently been accepted on a postgraduate program? Apply now for one of our £2000 PGS bursaries.
Click here