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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
Exploring the past is exciting, thought-provoking and sometimes revelatory. Our Graduate Certificate in History will help you develop the skills needed to become a historian, with a taught foundation module in the first term that will acquaint you with the theory, tools, techniques and research skills of historical analysis.
We will look at the varied primary sources through which we study the past, from laws and official reports to diaries, letters, memoirs, newspapers, oral testimony, paintings, cartoons, music, film, architecture, landscape, archaeological remains and the internet. We will consider how a secondary source differs from a primary one and the problems involved in interpreting a source and ascertaining its truthfulness and reliability.
Thereafter, the course offers two routes for you to choose between: the first route is research-focused and will support you in producing a dissertation of 7000 words on the historical subject that most interests you; the taught route lets you select one module from any of the extensive range of option modules offered in history, classics and archaeology.
This course is ideal for those who wish to pursue their passion for the past, those who want to experience postgraduate historical study without committing to a full Master’s degree, and those who are changing direction and moving to history from a different undergraduate subject.
This is an undergraduate-level qualification that will prepare you for postgraduate study. Graduate Certificates typically take one to two years to complete and are made up of two, three or four modules at final-year undergraduate degree level (worth 60, 90 or 120 credits).
**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. Situated very close by are: 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**
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.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
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 | 3600 GBP for Year 1 |
---|---|
Northern Ireland | 3600 GBP for Year 1 |
Scotland | 3600 GBP for Year 1 |
Wales | 3600 GBP for Year 1 |
International | 6610 GBP for Year 1 |
Master of Research - MRes
Summary
The MRes History is a taught postgraduate research course which sits in between our MA provision and PhD research degrees. It equips you with the advanced historical research skills and conceptual framework needed to complete an individual, large-scale research project. The course centres on the research and writing of a 30,000-word dissertation which allows you to demonstrate the advanced historical research skills learned in the two core modules.
The core modules extend your analytical skills and project management skills through, first, the planning and writing of a long literature review which advances your critical knowledge of your chosen field of research; and second, the development of a detailed research proposal. You will be taught practical historical skills and techniques, including locating and retrieving historical material, critiquing primary and secondary sources, and examining and organising historical information. Both modules are taught by experienced, research-active academics using a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches. You will work with an internationally renowned specialist supervisor in your chosen field of research and will be invited to events organised by, and for, our vibrant MPhil/PhD community, thus broadening your range of academic and intellectual contacts.
This course is ideal for self-motivated and committed students who already have an MA in a humanities subject, and wish to research and write on a defined historical topic from pre-history to contemporary history. Students who take this course often do so because they wish to do independent, professional research or in preparation for research at PhD level.
**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 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 Master’s 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 and embodied what is central to our teaching and research: a continued commitment to critical enquiry and public engagement.
- We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources. Situated very close by are: 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**
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.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
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 | 10800 GBP for Year 1 |
---|---|
Northern Ireland | 10800 GBP for Year 1 |
Scotland | 10800 GBP for Year 1 |
Wales | 10800 GBP for Year 1 |
International | 19830 GBP for Year 1 |
Summary
The MRes History is a taught postgraduate research course which sits in between our MA provision and PhD research degrees. It equips you with the advanced historical research skills and conceptual framework needed to complete an individual, large-scale research project. The course centres on the research and writing of a 30,000-word dissertation which allows you to demonstrate the advanced historical research skills learned in the two core modules.
The core modules extend your analytical skills and project management skills through, first, the planning and writing of a long literature review which advances your critical knowledge of your chosen field of research; and second, the development of a detailed research proposal. You will be taught practical historical skills and techniques, including locating and retrieving historical material, critiquing primary and secondary sources, and examining and organising historical information. Both modules are taught by experienced, research-active academics using a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches. You will work with an internationally renowned specialist supervisor in your chosen field of research and will be invited to events organised by, and for, our vibrant MPhil/PhD community, thus broadening your range of academic and intellectual contacts.
This course is ideal for self-motivated and committed students who already have an MA in a humanities subject, and wish to research and write on a defined historical topic from pre-history to contemporary history. Students who take this course often do so because they wish to do independent, professional research or in preparation for research at PhD level.
**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 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 Master’s 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 and embodied what is central to our teaching and research: a continued commitment to critical enquiry and public engagement.
- We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources. Situated very close by are: 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**
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.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
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 | 5400 GBP for Year 1 |
---|---|
Northern Ireland | 5400 GBP for Year 1 |
Scotland | 5400 GBP for Year 1 |
Wales | 5400 GBP for Year 1 |
International | 9915 GBP for Year 1 |
Birkbeck, part of the University of London, offers nearly 300 taught and research postgraduate programmes across arts and humanities, business and economics, law, science and social science. As an evening teaching specialist, Birkbeck offers its taught postgraduate courses between 6-9pm, with some courses available through distance learning. As with undergraduate courses, postgraduates can study full-time or part-time.
Home to 44 research and specialist institutes, Birkbeck is the sixth largest provider of taught postgrad courses for UK and EU students - some 44% of its 11,000-plus students are on postgrad programmes. Around 90% of its academics are active in research, and …
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