| Skip to main content | Skip to navigation | Skip to Search |

[University home]

School of Arts, Histories and Cultures

MA in Modern British History

1. Studying Modern British History at Manchester
2. International Students
3. Programme Structure

A. Core Course
B. Optional Courses
C. Research Training
D. Dissertation

4. Archives
5. Academic Staff
6. Entrance Requirements and Funding Opportunities
7. Contact Details

1. Studying Modern British History at Manchester

British History is thriving, invigorated both by the boom in popular history, and by innovative new approaches to research. The Modern British History MA is one of the most established programmes at Manchester. Some students enrol in prepration for PhD research and an academic career. Others simply want to pursue an interest sparked, but not satisfied, as an undergraduate. Whatever your motivation, Manchester, the world's first industrial city, offers an unrivalled location for the study of modern British history.

So, why choose Manchester from the many other programmes on offer?

" MA Programme: I spent three years in the History programme at the University of California at Berkeley and was inspired by the vibrant intellectual atmosphere fostered by postgraduate seminars. The University of Manchester is one of the only institutions in England which can offer a comparable experience, with an unrivalled range of seminars and innovative research training. Oxford and Cambridge, for example, are both terrific institutions with unique strengths, but neither offers a Master's programme in modern British history centred around postgraduate seminars. Manchester's seminar-based MA programme both lays the intellectual foundations for successful thesis research, and helps students make friends in a new city.

" Academic Staff: The quality of teaching is the key to the success of any MA programme, and Manchester is fortunate to house one of the most outstanding colllections of modern British historians in the country. For more information go to Academic Staff  below

" Archives: Primary sources are the foundation of historical research, and modern British historians at Manchester are, quite simply, spoiled for choice. The John Rylands University Library offers a splendid central resource, while the city and surrounding region offer an astonishing range of collections. No student at Manchester will have problems locating previously unused sources for research. For more information go to Archives below.

" Manchester: The city and surrounding region are one of the major attractions of academic study in Manchester. Whether you're interested in football and night-life, or theatre and hiking, Manchester has it all. And, unlike London, you won't spend hours every day simply struggling to get from place to place. For more information go to http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/manchester/

back to top

2. International Students

Students from around the world contribute to a thriving postgraduate community in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures. (Within three years of arriving in Manchester, I'd taught postgraduates from Eastern Europe, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Japan, and the USA). Manchester's international airport, home to established airlines and budget carriers, makes the city both easily accessible and a great base for exploration. The Master's programme is completed within twelve months and offers an ideal platfom for doctoral research either in the UK, or back home. Recent graduates have found positions on doctoral programmes in the USA and Japan.

back to top

3. Programme Structure

Students must accumulate 180 credits to complete the MA programme:

A. Core Course: 'Revising the History of Modern Britain' (30 credits)

The core course, 'Revising the History of Modern Britain', strands at the heart of the MA programme. Weekly seminars explore key debates and concepts from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Over the last two decades, the traditional narratives of modern British history  - the industrial revolution, the forward march of labour etc. -  have been re-examined and challenged by scholars. New subjects have captured the historical imagination, from the monarchy to war memorials, masculinity to mass consumption. 'Revising the History of Modern Britain' offers an overview of these changing interpretations, examining key texts by historians such as David Cannadine, Linda Colley and Catherine Hall.. Weekly seminars focus on a wide range of topics including '"Separate Spheres"?: Gender & the Re-writing of British History'; '"The Empire Strikes Back"?: The New Imperial History'; and 'Modernity and Decline'.

back to top

B. Optional Courses (60 credits)

One of the great strengths of post-graduate study at Manchester is the tremendous range of optional MA course units on offer. Students usually choose two 30-credit course units, offered either within the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, or elsewhere in the university (e.g. the School of Social Sciences, the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine etc.). New courses are regularly added. The following are simply some popular recent options:

For information on History MA Optional Course Units go to

http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/subjectareas/history/postgraduatestudy/maoptions/

Most courses are assessed by one 5 to 6,000-word essay.
Semester 1 course essays are due in mid-January.
Semester 2 course essays are due in mid-May.

back to top

C. Research Training (30 credits)

Students on the MA in Modern British History usually combine HI7062 'Historical Research: Methods, Theory, Sources' with participation in Manchester's unique SAGE scheme, to fulfil their research training requirements. Students tailor their research training to fit their individual needs, developing both generic skills (e.g. making oral presentations) and subject-specific skills (e.g. interpreting historical sources).

For further details of the SAGE programme go to:

http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduatestudy/sage-postgraduatetraining/

back to top

D. Dissertation (60 credits)

Students must complete a 12,000 to 15,000-word dissertation for submission in mid-September on a topic of their choice. As part of the SAGE programme, students must submit a formal 'Research Outline' of their MA thesis by mid-February. This timetable allows students who come to Manchester without a clear idea of their thesis topic, ample time to develop a new research project.

Recent MA thesis titles include:

back to top

4. Archives

The city of Manchester and surrounding region offer a wonderful range of resources for modern British historians.

Other important collections in Manchester include:

Other important collections in the region include:

For a list of registered repositories in the North West, search the ARCHON database
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/searches/locresult.asp?lrgn=North%20West

For more detailed information on specific collections, search the A2A database
http://www.a2a.org.uk/

For a list of major archives in Manchester, go to
http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/subjectareas/history/resourcesandlinks/#5

back to top

5. Academic Staff

Manchester is home to one of the most outstanding collections of modern British historians in the country. The folllowing staff play central roles in the Modern British History MA programme: Dr Hannah Barker (18th & 19th-C. social & economic), Dr Ana Carden-Coyne (cultural history of war); Dr Max Jones (19th & 20th-C. social & cultural), Dr Stuart Jones (18th & 19th-C. political culture & political thought), Prof. Patrick Joyce (19th & 20th C.), Dr Julie-Marie Strange   (19th & 20th-C. social & cultural), Prof. Penny Summerfield. (20th-C.social & cultural), and Prof. Bertrand Taithe (19th & 20th-C. social & cultural). Further details of research interests and publications can be found on individual web-pages.

The subject area has particular strengths in cultural history, gender history, urban history, and the cultural history of war

These strengths have been enhanced by the appointment of Prof. Frank Mort (19th & 20th-C. social and cultural) to direct the new Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts.

Manchester also has a strong tradition of economic and social history and students on the MA in Modern British History can draw on the expertise of Dr Theo Balderston (modern economic history), Dr Paolo Di Martino (modern economic history), Dr Till Geiger (economic history & international relations), and Dr Peter Kirby (18th & 19th-C. economic & social history).

Scholars working on aspects of British history are based throughout the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, including Dr Mark Crinson (architecture & empire), Dr Colin Trodd (Victorian culture), Dr Vicky Whitfield (portraiture & identity) in Art History and Visual Studies. Dr Rajinder Dudrah (national identities), Dr Ann Featherstone (19th & 20th-C. popular culture), Prof. Maggie Gale (20th-C. theatre), and Dr Victoria Lowe (20th-C. acting) in Drama. Dr David Alderson (19th-C. culture & sexuality), Dr Howard Booth (masculinity & empire), Prof. Laura Doan (women's history & sexuality), and Prof. Murray Pittock (national identities) in English and American Studies. Dr Jeremy Gregory (17th - 19th-C. religion), Dr Ian Jones (20th-C. religion), and Dr Daniel Langton (Anglo-Jewish history) in Religions and Theology.

A number of leading British historians also work in other Schools within the University. The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine is home to Dr Julie Anderson (20th-C. culture & history of disability), Dr Emm Barnes (19th & 20th-C. health & self-help), Dr Vanessa Heggie (19th & 20th-C. health & self-help), Dr Ian Burney (19th & 20th C. medicine & law), Dr Vladimir Jankovic (19th. & 20th C. environmental medicine), Mr Neil Pemberton (history of disability), Prof. John Pickstone (history of medicine & ways of knowing), Dr James Sumner (19th & 20th-C. technology & society), Dr Carsten Timmermann (20th-C. medicine), and Prof. Michael Worboys (19th. & 20th.-C. medicine & empire). The Sociology subject area is home to Dr Paul Keleman (20th-C. politics & empire), Dr Pete Martin (music), Prof. Sheila Rowbotham (women's history),  Dr Penny Tinkler (20th-C. women's history, lesiure), and Prof. Mike Savage (20th-C. social identities).

Prof. Savage is Co-Director of the ESRC Centre for Research on Social and Cultural Change which, alongside CIDRA and the Centre for the Cultural History of War, provides an important forum for research on diverse aspects of modern British history.

Students on the Modern British History MA programme may choose to attend these scholars' postgraduate seminars, to approach them regarding MA thesis supervision, or simply arrange to meet for an informal discussion of their research.

back to top

6. Entrance Requirements & Funding Opportunities

For further information on both entrance requirements and funding opportunities go to:

http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/subjectareas/history/postgraduatestudy/funding/

back to top

7. Contacts

If you require any further information on the MA in Modern British History, please don't hesitate to email me at max.jones@manchester.ac.uk

Dr Max Jones
Director of the MA Programme in Modern British History

back to top

| Skip to main content | Skip to navigation | Skip to Search |