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History at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2026 - 2027
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Course summary

This MRes History is a taught postgraduate research course that equips you with the advanced historical research skills and conceptual framework you need to complete an individual, large-scale research project. Why choose this course?

  • Ideal if you are self-motivated, committed and interested in research, this MRes centres on you completing a 30,000-word dissertation in which you demonstrate the advanced historical research skills you have learned on the course’s two core modules.
  • This course sits between our MA provision and PhD research degrees, and is suitable if you already have an MA in a humanities subject.
  • It provides you with a valuable opportunity to complete independent, professional research and can be useful preparation for research at PhD level.
What you will learn You will be taught practical historical skills and techniques, including:
  • locating and retrieving historical material
  • critiquing primary and secondary sources
  • examining and organising historical information.
You will also develop the skills needed to complete your dissertation, including learning how to conceptualise a research project, write a proposal and plan your research. How you will learn This course’s core modules first focus on developing your analytical skills and project management skills through the planning and writing of a long literature review and development of a detailed research proposal. Both modules are taught by experienced, research-active academics using a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches. For your research project, you will work with a supervisor who is an internationally renowned specialist in your chosen field. You will also be invited to events organised by, and for, our vibrant MPhil/PhD community, which provide opportunities to meet new academic and intellectual contacts. This course is available to study full- or part-time with classes taking place in the evening. Highlights
  • Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
  • Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists, archaeologists and art historians in the same team of academics investigating every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.
  • All MA students are eligible to apply for our prestigious Eric Hobsbawm Scholarships, subject to availability. One of the most influential historians of the twentieth century, Eric Hobsbawm taught at Birkbeck for over five decades.
  • We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources such as the Institute of Historical Research and the Institute of Classical Studies, the British Museum and the British Library.
  • We are home to a number of affiliated research centres that actively run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research. These include the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the Raphael Samuel History Centre and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Careers and employability On successfully graduating from this MRes History you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:
  • analysis
  • research
  • project management
  • writing.
Studying this course will prepare you for career paths in a range of fields and professions including:
  • historian
  • higher education lecturer
  • archivist
  • journalist
  • heritage manager
  • author
  • librarian
  • museum/gallery curator.
Graduates from this course have gone on to be employed in education and at thinktanks, the BBC and Reuters.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

The assessed components include a literature review and a detailed dissertation proposal.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2.2 or above) and an MA degree (with a Merit or above). At least one of these degrees should be in history. You are expected to complete a 500-word dissertation proposal, to be included with the application form. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

To be confirmed
History at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS