MAContemporary History

Location	United Kingdom, Birmingham
Type	Master courses, full-time
Nominal duration	1 year
Study language	English
Awards	MA

Tuition fee	To be confirmed

Entry qualification

Undergraduate diploma (or higher) At least a Bachelor degree or postgraduate diploma from a UK university or equivalent. The degree must be in a relevant subject You will need an Honours degree in a relevant subject, such as History, Politics, Cultural Studies, normally of an upper second-class standard. The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original. Upload documents in original language and translations. Take originals along when you go to study.

Language requirements	English Accepted proof of proficiency: FCE or CAE, IELTS 6+ or TOEFL 79+ IELTS : Score 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band. Or Cambridge English(CAE): Advanced Minimum overall score of 176, with no less than 169 in any component. Please note: TOEFL IBT test will not be accepted for September 2015 entry.

Other requirements	At least 2 reference(s) should be provided. Two academic references (or if appropriate to the programme applied for, one could be from your employer).

More information	Expenses, accommodation, working etc. birmingham.ac.uk/..y.aspx#CourseDetailsTab

Overview

The programme is designed to provide you with a solid grounding in the major outlines of recent world history, along with a wide choice of specialised modules to suit your own interest. By combining breadth with depth, it provides a framework within which you will be able to develop both your empirical and conceptual knowledge of the recent past.

You will study two core modules which use some of the best recent historical writing to cover the period since 1914:

Mass Society and Modernity 1914-1945 (Autumn term)
Globalisation since 1945 (Spring term)
You will also take two ‘skills and methods’ modules:

Historical Methods (Autumn term)
Dissertation Preparation (Spring term)
You will also choose optional modules, one per term, or a double special subject module over two terms. These are chosen from a wide range of modules available both in and beyond the History department.

You will complete the programme with a 15,000-word dissertation

Programme structure

You will study four core modules:

Mass Society and Modernity, 1914–45

The module examines various aspects of the first half of the twentieth century, focussing particularly—but not only—on Europe and America. It examines the rise of mass society and modernity as social and cultural phenomena; the rise of mass politics in Europe, America, and beyond; the phenomenon of mass statelessness; the main strands of totalitarian ideology and liberal democracy; mass mobilisation in war and politics; economic and military conflict; and the growing ascendancy of the United States.

Globalisation since 1945

The module examines various aspects of global history in the second half of the 20th century. It takes its cue from a growing literature which sees ‘globalisation’ as a key feature of global history over the last half century. It will begin by examining the key institutions of a ‘new world order’ built after the Second World War; in particular, those connected to the United Nations and Bretton Woods. It will then explore the key actors in the processes of globalisation: inter-governmental organisations; nation states (especially, the USA, the USSR and the non-aligned); multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations.

Historical Methods

This module introduces you to the major developments in historical approaches since the Second World War and to some of the major schools of, or tendencies in, historical research such as the Annales School, the English historians’ response to Marxism, cultural history, the linguistic turn, gender, history of science and critical social theory (Geertz and Foucault). The focus is on the application of the ideas to historical practice then and now.

Dissertation Preparation

This module covers what the dissertation project will entail. You will be expected to produce a short dissertation proposal for submission and you will be allocated a tutor who will supervise your dissertation preparation work. You will have one-to-one meetings with your supervisor, but you will also attend available generic sessions on skills run on the Research Skills module and available across the University.

You will then take two optional modules, one per term, or a double special subject module over two terms.

Career opportunities

Over the past five years, over 92% of History postgraduates were in work and/or further study six months after graduation.

Some of our History postgraduates go on to use their studies directly, for example in heritage, museum or archivist work. Others use their transferable skills in a range of occupations from finance to civil service to fundraising.

Employers that graduates have gone on to work for include: Alcester Heritage Network;
HSBC;
KPMG;
Ministry of Defence;
and the National Trust.