MSc/PgDip Historical Studies
ApplyKey facts
- Start date: September
- Study mode and duration: MSc: 12 months full-time; 24 months part-time
PgDip: 9 months full-time; 18 months part-time
Study with us
- deepen your historical knowledge, understanding and awareness
- assess historical themes and historiographical interpretations across a broad chronological range
- develop transferable skills necessary for employement
- gain invaluable research tools and practical skills while studying a range of thematic, historiographical or theoretical topics across a broad chronological and geographical range
Why this course?
This taught postgraduate programme aims to introduce you to advanced level study of history while deepening your historical understanding and awareness. You'll gain invaluable research tools and practical skills while studying a range of thematic, historiographical or theoretical topics across a broad chronological and geographical range.
You’re offered a wide choice of classes as well as rigorous training in historical research methods and sources. You can choose to study thematic, historiographical or theoretical topics across a broad chronological and geographical range. There’s also the possibility of specialising in a particular area such as:
- international relations history in the 19th and 20th centuries
- early modern Scottish history
What you’ll study
The course is organised into core and elective classes. The core class provides you with the skills required to undertake primary research while further skills training will be offered as optional classes. The opportunity to carry out an extended piece of original historical research and writing is provided in the form of the dissertation.
Classes can be built into a Masters degree. This can form the basis for future doctoral research funded by the:
- Arts & Humanities Research Council
- Economic & Social Research Council
Dissertation
MSc students also write a dissertation of 15,000 words. You’ll research a topic of your choice, under the supervision of a member of staff.
Research skills, sources and methods for Historians
You'll be introduced to methodological and practical issues in historical research.
Britain, France and the United States, 1945-1958: Diplomacy, Strategy and Alliance
This class explores the diplomacy of the post war world. It will provide students with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the key international issues faced by Britain, France and the United States after the Second World War. Students will examine the issues which strengthened the post-war alliance and those which challenged it.
Nationalism and Nation-states in the Arab Middle East, 1900-1945
This class examines cultural, religious, social and political conditions that favoured the emergence of an Arab political national identity in its regional variants. It considers a number of case studies and will examine the origins and development of Arab nationalist movements and their contribution to the creation of nation-states in the Middle East.
Advanced Oral History
Advanced Oral History allows you to explore advanced oral history theory and practices as a valuable means of understanding the past. In weekly seminars, we'll examine the advantages and limitations of oral history as both a research methodology and an outcome by reading and discussing key texts written by leading oral historians and related practitioners. In addition, you'll gain practical experience designing and implementing a mini oral history project directly related to your postgraduate dissertation.
Palaeography, c1500-c1800
This class will teach students how to read handwriting from the sixteenth through to the eighteenth centuries. It will introduce students to different types of hand (e.g. secretary) and the various contractions often used in documents from the early modern period.
Pharmaceuticals, Ethics and Health: 1800-1980
This class analyses core debates in the History of Pharmaceutical Science and the History of the Pharmaceutical Industry.
It uses a series of cases studies including: the establishment of pharmacology as a medical science, standardisation and the quality of medications, the globalisation of the medicinal market, pharmaceutical legislation, drug scandals and the politics of pharmaceutics.
Through analysis of the historiography and primary materials, students will engage with the ethical debates which have accompanied the rise of the pharmaceutical industry as a global giant.
War, Sacrifice and the Nation in Europe, 1789-1918
Transnational Radicalism and the Irish World: 1845-1923
In this class, you'll explore radical political movements in the complex transnational space between Ireland and its massive diaspora, from the Great Famine to the Irish Revolution. Focusing on a set number of individual lives, you'll examine how Irish emigrants connected with their homeland and with other centres of Irish settlement, and mobilised in movements for social reform and national independence. You'll investigate the roles of class, gender and generation in political mobilisation, and identify how Irish nationalism connected with international reform movements of the era, including socialism, feminism and humanitarianism.
Work Placement in History
This class offers students the opportunity to spend eight weeks in a placement of their choice with museums, archives, historical associations and healthcare providers (only for students registered with the MSc in Health History) in Glasgow.
This module aims to provide students with an insight into the day-to-day workings of an organisation, in order to develop history-specific vocational skills and promote reflection on employability and also on the issues involved in disseminating history outside academia.
The module provides a vocational component to the History postgraduate taught portfolio, and aligns with similar provisions planned by the School of Humanities.
It may be of particular interest to those MA students not planning to pursue a PhD after their studies. Students will be asked to complete a small project or piece of research for their host and to write a reflective essay on their experience.
Dissertation
You’ll research a topic of your choice, under the supervision of a member of the programme staff. You’ll be able to use the extensive archive holdings relating to the history of medicine and of health and healthcare available in Glasgow and elsewhere in Central Scotland.

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Entry requirements
Academic requirements | First or upper second-class Honours degree in History or overseas equivalent. |
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English language requirements | You're required to have a suitable minimum level of competency in the English language if your first language is not English or if you have not been educated wholly or mainly in the medium of English. For postgraduate studies, the University of Strathclyde requires a minimum overall score of IELTS 6.5 (no individual test score below 5.5) or equivalent. Tests are valid for two years. Pre-sessional courses in English are available. If you’re a national of an English speaking country recognised by UK Visas and Immigration (please check most up-to-date list on the Home Office website) or you have successfully completed an academic qualification (at least equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree) in any of these countries, then you do not need to present any additional evidence. If you are from a country not recognised as an English speaking country by the United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI), please check our English requirements before making your application. |
Pre-Masters preparation course
The Pre-Masters Programme is a preparation course held at the University of Strathclyde International Study Centre, for international students (non EU/UK) who do not meet the academic entry requirements for a Masters degree at University of Strathclyde. The Pre-Masters programme provides progression to a number of degree options.
Upon successful completion, you will be able to progress to this degree course at the University of Strathclyde.
International students
We've a thriving international community with students coming here to study from over 100 countries across the world. Find out all you need to know about studying in Glasgow at Strathclyde and hear from students about their experiences.
Visit our international students' sectionGlasgow is Scotland's biggest & most cosmopolitan city
Our campus is based in the very heart of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. National Geographic named Glasgow as one of its 'Best of the World' destinations, while Rough Guide readers have voted Glasgow the world’s friendliest city! And Time Out named Glasgow in the top ten best cities in the world - we couldn't agree more!
We're in the city centre, next to the Merchant City, both of which are great locations for sightseeing, shopping and socialising alongside your studies.
Find out what some of our students think about studying in Glasgow!
Find out all about life in GlasgowFees & funding
2020/21
All fees quoted are per academic year unless stated otherwise.
Scotland/EU | £6,800 |
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Rest of UK | £6,800 |
International | £15,300 |
Available scholarships | Take a look at our scholarships search for funding opportunities. |
Please note: the fees shown are annual and may be subject to an increase each year. Find out more about fees.
How can I fund my course?
Scottish and non-UK EU postgraduate students
Scottish and non-UK EU postgraduate students may be able to apply for support from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). The support is in the form of a tuition fee loan and for eligible students, a living cost loan. Find out more about the support and how to apply.
Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.
Students coming from England
Students ordinarily resident in England may be to apply for postgraduate support from Student Finance England. The support is a loan of up to £10,280 which can be used for both tuition fees and living costs. Find out more about the support and how to apply.
Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.
Students coming from Wales
Students ordinarily resident in Wales may be to apply for postgraduate support from Student Finance Wales. The support is a loan of up to £10,280 which can be used for both tuition fees and living costs. Find out more about the support and how to apply.
Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.
Students coming from Northern Ireland
Postgraduate students who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland may be able to apply for support from Student Finance Northern Ireland. The support is a tuition fee loan of up to £5,500. Find out more about the support and how to apply.
Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.
International students
We've a large range of scholarships available to help you fund your studies. Check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.
Strathclyde Alumni
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Alumni Discount
10% tuition fee discount is offered to all Strathclyde alumni completing a full-time postgraduate taught course in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences.
Find out moreApply
Historical Studies
Qualification: MSc
Start Date: Sep 2020
Mode of Delivery: full-time
Historical Studies
Qualification: MSc
Start Date: Sep 2020
Mode of Delivery: part-time
Historical Studies
Qualification: PG Diploma
Start Date: Sep 2020
Mode of Delivery: full-time
Historical Studies
Qualification: PG Diploma
Start Date: Sep 2020
Mode of Delivery: part-time
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