Modern History (MLitt) 2027 entry

Course information may change. Module information and course content, teaching and assessment may change each year and after you have accepted your offer to study at the University of St Andrews. We display the most up-to-date information possible, but this could be from a previous academic year. For the latest module information, see the module catalogue.

• Compulsory

  • History in the Making: Theories, Approaches and Practice 1: examines the development of modern history writing and historical research, and the emergence of fields, trends and new approaches in current historiography.
  • History in the Making: Theories, Approaches and Practice 2: places emphasis on particular types of historical sources, such as travel accounts, maps, music, media, and interviews, and the ways in which historians may approach and work with these sources.

• Optional

  • Building Britain: The Construction and Deconstruction of Britishness since 1707: explores the concept of 'Britishness' and its construction and deconstruction, from 1707 to 2000.
  • Directed Reading in Modern History: Designed to encourage the development of skills of historical analysis through concentrated study of a topic chosen by the student prior to the dissertation.
  • Global Capitalism: Origins and Development from a Political Economy Perspective: interrogates the meaning of 'globalisation' and considers economic and social issues that have characterised the making of the modern world. 
  • Global Times - Plural Spaces 1: offers a strong foundation in the major approaches to comparative and transnational history as well as the emerging field of spatial history.
  • Key Issues in German Historiography: engages with some of the most hotly disputed issues in German history.
  • Perceptions of Central and Eastern Europe: examines perceptions of Central and Eastern Europe which have undergone significant transformation since the emergence of modern nationalism in the mid-19th century.
  • Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences: introduces students to the basic theoretical approaches in the social sciences, covering the methodological and epistemological issues involved in conducting social scientific research.
  • Qualitative Methods in Social Research: offers both a theoretical and practical introduction to the collection, analysis and writing of qualitative social science research.
  • Quantitative Research in Social Science: Provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of quantitative analysis - underlying principles, research design, sampling strategies, uncertainty and missing data, and some statistical approaches to data analysis
  • SGSSS Core: Becoming a Confident Social Science Researcher
  • Skills in Digital History: Maps and Text: leads to the acquisition and development of skills in the digital humanities and skills required for using specific historical sources.
  • Themes in American History: examines a selection of the most important issues in the history of North America, from its foundations as European colonies onwards.

• Dissertation

  Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.

  If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.