Benefit from our flexible evening teaching, and gain professional experience in history research with our research internship
The course offers you the opportunity to refine your knowledge and practice of historical research, and is ideal for those seeking PhD study in History, a career in the museum or heritage industries, or simply a challenging intellectual exercise for its own sake. Whether you left university recently or some time ago, the flexible delivery of the course (which includes evening teaching and distance learning) means you can study at a time convenient to you.
All students on MA Historical Research take two compulsory modules. The Theory and Methods Module gives you the specialised skills needed to be a historical researcher, and the 15,000 word Dissertation allows you to pursue an independent research topic in-depth.
You are additionally required to study a further four optional modules. Depending on which options you choose, you can graduate with a specialised pathway in Classical History, Social and Cultural History, or Local History and Archival Practice (via Distance Learning). Alternatively, you can choose to do a general degree in Historical Research by taking a selection of the modules below.
Option Modules:
- Eating the Renaissance: Cultures of Early Modern Food
- Explanation in the History of the Family
- The Big House and Estate 1480-1700: a Cultural and Social History
- Ritual, Riot and Rebellion: Understanding Popular Politics in England 1500-1950
- Crime in the Archives: Nineteenth Century Britain
- Medicine and the Politics of Health from Cholera to the NHS
- Oral History
- Paleography and Source Analysis
- Beginners Latin
- Intermediate Latin
- Intermediate Ancient Greek
- Classical Languages: Special Author
- Gender and Crime in Ancient Greece
- Religion and Society in Rome of the 1st Century BC
- Research Internship
*Please note that only a selection of options will be available each year.
In 2012-13 we are introducing a new Research Internship which will allow students to do a volunteer or work placement at a museum, gallery, archive or similar in London. This means you can gain hands-on experience of historical research in the period of your choice. Possible placements include Queen Mary Hospital Archive and Museum, Fulham Palace and the Bishopsgate Institute Library.
Programme details
Teaching methods include small-group seminars, one-to-one tuition and supervision, lectures and a range of online activities, including podcasrs, electronic sources, and interactive forums. Assessment mehtods include seminar presentations, source analyses, essays and an extended essay or dissertation.
In the part-time Distance Learning mode, teaching is delivered online via moodle, Roehampton’s virtual learning environment, through audio and video lectures and podcasts and staff/student discussion forums. Our tailor-made Distance Learning courses, such as Crime in the Archives, encourage you to engage with original documents and undertake independent research.
Entry requirements
Our postgraduate entry requirements apply. The programme convener can advise on any specific queries.
Programme start date
September and January (January part-time only)