Entry year
2026/27
History MA
- Typical Annual Fee Scholarship & Discount eligibility may apply
- Modules
- Entry Requirements
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Mode of Study
2 years Part Time (Distance Learning)3 other options available
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Start Date
September 2026
Overview
Module Information
Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.
Year One Core Modules
You will learn how to identify the intellectual, social, and cultural contexts that inform advanced research in historical studies. The module trains you in the skills necessary to compile historiographical material and develop theoretical knowledge about the past, including contextual analysis, source scrutiny, and understanding the ever-changing state of the historical field. These skills have major implications for your research. Most importantly, you will explore the methods and critical theories that define the study of your particular field of history. Thus, your curiosity and inquisitiveness underpin the direction of assessment. You will need to collect, sift, and analyse the secondary sources that dominate the historical understanding of your research topic. The module provides an overview of the ways in which historical writing has changed over time, and considers how theory and conceptual thinking has influenced historians. You will also learn how the historiography has developed in relation to your own research topic.
Year One Optional Modules
Optional modules may include:
- Britain’s Empires: Imperialism and Resistance since the 16th Century
- Individually Negotiated Topic
Year Two Core Modules
What were the social, cultural and political consequences of war? How have people analysed war, and how have they tried to prevent or end violent conflicts? The module invites you to explore these questions from a variety of angles, drawing on approaches from political history, cultural history and the history of ideas. We will address debates on, and experiences of, war and peace in different historical contexts – from the early modern period to the contemporary world.
The module is divided into three parts: ‘Theories and Thinkers’, ‘Peace-Building in Practice’ and ‘Conflicts in Context’. In the first section, we will analyse influential theories of war and peace. The second section allows you to explore different attempts to create a more peaceful world, encompassing high-level diplomacy, the work of international organisations such as the League of Nations as well as the campaigns waged by peace activists. In the final section of the module, we investigate different types of conflict, from civil war to total war.
In this module, you will learn about the advantages and potential pitfalls of doing History in the digital age. In doing so, you will develop skills that are essential for postgraduate research. The module develops your understanding of the relationship between planning research (formulating research questions, considering methodology), doing research (using a range of digital and traditional investigative techniques) and reflecting upon research (data handling and organization, the politics and ethics of research and reflective practice for writing). The module is designed to prepare you to collect, interpret and disseminate research as a means of supporting all of the modules that you take at Masters level. Crucially, the module equips you with the conceptual tools needed to approach your extended research project, the dissertation.
Throughout the module, you will consider the advantages and disadvantages of studying History in the 21st century. You will consider the historical, cultural and political role of archives, libraries and museums, but also the way in which digitized sources, digital research tool and the internet are shaping the nature of research. You will reflect on how digital methods differ from more traditional forms of historical enquiry, and how you, as a historian, can best use new technologies to develop your work.
In this module you will be provided with the skills to complete a dissertation on a topic that you will negotiate with your supervisor. The History dissertation represents the culmination of your postgraduate studies. It will enable you to apply the skills you have acquired in core modules and options to a discrete body of primary sources related to an identifiable area of historical enquiry. It is an exercise in research and is intended to develop your research skills and your ability to work independently. Dissertation topics will be supervised by an expert in the field who will guide you through the various stages of formulating, researching and writing this substantial piece of work
Entry Requirements 2026/27
Applicants should normally have:
A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree, or equivalent, in a related discipline.
International qualifications:
If you have studied a non UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in, from our country pages. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English language requirements:
International applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
Fees and Funding 2026/27 Entry
Tuition fees in the academic year 2028/29* are yet to be confirmed. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap.
*if your course is longer than one year
Full International Fee: £9,950
"Students may wish to but are not compelled to purchase supplemental material for research, such as primary texts specfic to the project, for their own personal use to allow for annotation and close engagement. The combined cost of purchasing and/or printing primary texts is approximately £100 per year, though this figure depends on editions purchased and can be reduced significantly by using the library, purchasing second-hand copies accessing e-books and locating articles electronically where possible and appropriate."
Scholarships and Discounts
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Page last reviewed: 2 November 2026
