MSc/PgDipHistorical Studies

Why this course?

We're ranked second in Scotland, and ninth in the UK, by the Times Higher Education Supplement for research intensity.

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

History at the University of Strathclyde has a long tradition of the highest quality research in its field.

You’ll study

The course is organised into core and elective classes. The core class provides students 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.

Teaching staff

Course content

Compulsory classes

Research skills, sources and methods for Historians

You'll be introduced to methodological and practical issues in historical research.

Elective classes

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.

Scotland and Ulster in the early modern North Atlantic World

This class examines the relationship between Scotland and Ulster in terms of the ‘Three Kingdoms History’ of the early modern period and how this then developed and interacted in the context of colonial North America in the eighteenth century.

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

This class explores the changing concepts of death in war in the European conflicts between the French Revolution and the First World War. From being left on battlefields to being granted permanent resting-places and being remembered in war memorials, this period saw fundamental shifts in practices and attitudes towards soldiers’ death in war. Students will therefore analyse the efforts to create meaning for soldiers’ sacrifices and to inspire future generations to follow in their footsteps. The underlying themes of this class will be the emergence of national sentiment and national consciousness and the role of religion in concepts of sacrifice in war. The class will focus upon Europe (including Britain), but comparisons will also be made with the American Civil War, in which treatment of the war dead and memorialisation shifted fundamentally, prefiguring changes that were to occur with the Franco-Prussian War only a few years later.

MSc

If you progress to MSc level, you'll also write a 10,000 word dissertation.

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.

Assessment

A full account of assessment will be provided in each module handbook. The pass mark is 50% in all classes.

Entry requirements

first or upper second-class Honours degree in History or overseas equivalent

For postgraduate studies, the University of Strathclyde requires a minimum overall score of IELTS 6.5 (no individual test score below 6.0) 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 Visa and Immigrations (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 Visa and Immigration (UKVI), please check our English requirements before making your application.

Pre-Masters preparation course

The Pre-Masters Programme is a preparation course for international students (non EU/UK) who do not meet the entry requirements for a Masters degree at University of Strathclyde. The Pre-Masters programme provides progression to a number of degree options.

To find out more about the courses and opportunities on offer visit isc.strath.ac.uk or call today on +44 (0) 1273 339333 and discuss your education future. You can also complete the online application form. To ask a question please fill in the enquiry form and talk to one of our multi-lingual Student Enrolment Advisers today.

Fees & funding

How much will my course cost?

All fees quoted are for full-time courses and per academic year unless stated otherwise.

Scotland/EU

2017/18

MSc - £4,800
PgDip - £4,000

Rest of UK

2017/18

MSc - £4,800
PgDip - £4,000

International

2017/18

MSc - £13,500
PgDip - £9,000

How can I fund my course?

To recognise academic achievement, the Dean's International Excellence Award offers international students a merit-based scholarship of up to £3,000 for entry onto a full-time Masters programme in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences.

Students on this course are eligible to apply for the Research Preparation Master's Award scholarship.

Check our Scholarship Search for more help with fees and funding.

Scottish and non-UK EU postgraduate students

Scottish and non-UK EU postgraduate students starting in 2017 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 can 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

Postgraduate students starting in 2017 who are ordinarily resident in Wales can apply for 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. We are waiting on further information being released about this 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 starting in 2017 who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland can apply for support from Student Finance NI. The support is a tuition fee loan of up to £5,500. We are waiting on further information being released about this support and how to apply.

Don’t forget to check our scholarship search for more help with fees and funding.