Modern History

M.Litt./Graduate Diploma in Modern History

This degree programme offers students of Modern History an opportunity to deepen their understanding of key issues in the discipline by pursuing their studies at a conceptually advanced level.

Making full use of the wide spectrum of specialist areas covered by members of the School of History at St. Andrews, the programme invites postgraduate historians to work intensively in a variety of subject areas while achieving a steady progression in core fields such as historiography and methodology.

The programme is designed in a way that maximises choice. This allows students either to specialise in a particular area (e.g. French History, German History, Transnational History, American History) or to gain a broader introduction to the study of History at postgraduate level.

The course is open to students with an undergraduate degree in History or to those who can demonstrate an equivalent level of historical training.

The following programmes are available:

• Graduate Diploma: a nine-month programme comprising three taught modules (September to May)
• M.Litt.: successful completion of the Graduate Diploma plus a 15,000-word dissertation to be completed by the end of August.
• M.Phil.: a two-year programme – successful completion of the Graduate Diploma plus a 40,000-word dissertation

Course Structure:
In the course of two semesters students complete three modules.

1. Core module:

All students are enrolled in the core module: History in the Making.

2. Optional module (semester 1 or 2):

Students have a choice of several options. These modules are taught in a seminar-style format to small groups and consist of eleven weekly meetings of two hours duration. The modules taught in any given year are subject to tutor availability and student demand, but might include the following:

• Key Issues in German Historiography
• Themes in American History
• Perceptions of Central and Eastern Europe
• The 1960's: An International Perspective
• Themes and Debates in Modern French History
• Building Britain: The Construction and Deconstruction of Britishness, 1707-2000
• Crossing Borders: European History in Transnational Perspective

3. Directed Reading in Modern History (semester 1 or 2):

This module will give students the opportunity to pick a topic from a wide range of choices and study in the format of six one-to-one tutorials under the guidance of an expert supervisor.

The course will be assessed through continuous assessment.

Those students who successfully complete the taught part of the programme will be admitted to the dissertation stage. With the help of a personal supervisor, they will research and write a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice. The dissertation will be submitted on 31 August in the year following matriculation.

For additional information, please contact the Postgraduate Secretary on pghist@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

 

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