MA Public History
Queen's University Belfast
Key Information
Campus location
Belfast, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 3 Year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 19,100
Application deadline
Request Info
Earliest start date
Request Info
Introduction
The MA in Public History at Queen’s University Belfast offers an opportunity to study how historical knowledge is produced, mediated, represented and consumed in public spaces, in a region where the past continues to resonate powerfully. The close relationship Queen’s enjoys with a broad range of partners across the country, from national cultural institutions, heritage organisations and media through to community-led initiatives, provides an unparalleled opportunity for first-hand experience of how history works and is put to work in many different ways. The close involvement of partner organisations in the delivery of the course through practitioner workshops, guest lectures, field trips and events, as well as the 30-day placement, provides first-hand, practical experience of the wide range of issues, challenges and opportunities faced by the public historian.
This course approaches public history from many perspectives ranging from the local to the global. The city of Belfast offers an exciting opportunity to engage with key issues surrounding contested histories, national narratives, memory, commemoration and community history in a very real and meaningful way, and to gain a first-hand understanding of the relationship between history, heritage and public audiences at a local and national level. A global understanding of public history is encouraged through taught modules on difficult public history in a range of national contexts.
Students will carry out 30-day placements in one of a wide range of museums, archives, heritage sites or visitor experiences across the country.
The course combines academic training in historical theory and research methods with specialised topics relating to history in the public sphere, such as negotiating contested pasts, oral history, heritage and tourism, or digital curation, thus linking the analytical and critical approaches of traditional academic history with innovative ways of creating and disseminating histories for a diverse variety of public audiences.
Public History Highlights
The programme offers a unique 30-day internship placement with a public history site where in-depth sector and career development experience is gained.
Industry Links
Close involvement of practitioners from a wide range of organisations in many aspects of the course including practitioner-led workshops.
World-Class Facilities
- All students have full use of the award-winning McClay Library, which blends the best features of a traditional library with the latest technology. The library provides access to vast book and journal collections along with computing and media services, IT training rooms, quiet study and group work areas, a cafe, and a Language Centre.
Internationally Renowned Experts
- Research-led teaching by world-leading experts who have secured grants by UK and EU funding bodies for research on a range of subjects relating to public history.
Student Experience
- Guaranteed work placement with a cultural institution or heritage organisation. Internships have taken place with the following organisations: Ulster Museum, Armagh Public Library, Special Collections at Queen’s, Titanic Belfast, HMS Caroline, Ulster-American Folk Park, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, BBC, Doubleband Media, Belfast City Council, Hillsborough Castle (Historic Royal Palaces), Mount Stewart and Castle Ward (National Trust), Newry and Mourne Museum, Ulster Rugby Museum, Museum of Free Derry. The course develops a range of skills such as research methods, archival work, oral history, digital curation, and museum collections.
- Field trips to public history sites across Northern Ireland. The School has a rich research culture and postgraduate community. Postgraduate students host regular graduate-led seminars, colloquia and conferences. Students on this course have access to Queen’s Graduate School, an exclusive postgraduate hub that connects students and researchers across fields and disciplines and provides high-quality, transdisciplinary training and development programmes. Based in the beautifully restored and remodelled Victorian Lynn library, this space offers modern, hi-tech meeting and group study rooms, a silent study area and social spaces creating a vibrant hub for intellectual exchange and collaboration.
- The Centre for Public History, with its seminar series, annual lecture, and regular conferences and symposia, provides an exciting interdisciplinary and collaborative environment in which to study public uses and understanding of the past.
Career Opportunities
The Public History MA can be regarded either as an end in itself, culminating in the distinction of having obtained a postgraduate degree and enhanced your employability skills as a researcher, or as a stepping stone to the higher research degree of PhD. Many graduates have gone on to PhD programmes. Others go into a wide variety of employment including careers in museums, archives or libraries; journalism or media-related work; teaching; private and public administration; economic development and the voluntary sector.
The MA in Public History provides you with the essential skills and in-depth knowledge of history and its public audiences for career development at any stage – from students straight from an undergraduate degree with limited to no prior professional experience to those seeking continued professional development. The programme enables you to broaden your horizons, providing you with a competitive edge in a global graduate market in a wide variety of areas, such as museums, archives, heritage, culture and tourism, or media.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world-leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
Gallery
Curriculum
Course Structure
The program consists of a number of taught modules and a placement module related to Public History.
Autumn Semester
- MHY7020 - Historian's Craft
- MHY7092 - History and its Audiences
Plus a further optional module from those offered across the AHSS Faculty OR an individually-negotiated topic.
Spring Semester
- MHY7091 - Public History Internship (double weighted - 40 credits)
- MHY7089 - Case Studies in History
- MHY7011 Individually Negotiated Topic in History OR IRS7011 Belfast: Place, Identity and Memory in a Contested City.
- MHY7010 - Dissertation
The Public History strand consists of six taught modules and a dissertation
Core modules
- MHY7092 - History and its Audiences – Semester 1
- MHY7091 – Public History Internship – Semester 2 (double weighted)
- MHY7089 – Case Studies in History – Semester 2
- MHY7020 – Historian's Craft – Semester 1
- MHY7010 – Dissertation – (triple weighted)
Autumn
Students are required to take two core modules: MHY7020 and MHY7092 and ONE further optional module from below:
MHY7011 Individually Negotiated Topic in History or IRS7011 Belfast: Place, Identity and Memory in a Contested City.
Spring
Students are required to take TWO CORE modules MHY7091 (Double-weighted 40-credit module) and MHY7089.
Full-year
Students are required to take MHY7010 (Full-year dissertation module).
Students will be notified each academic year of the optional modules being offered in the following academic year. Students are advised that not all optional modules will necessarily be offered in each academic year. Also, the delivery of a module may be subject to a minimum number of enrolments as well as unforeseen circumstances (e.g. illness of a member of staff). The range and content of optional modules will change over time as degree programs develop and students’ choice of optional modules may also be limited due to timetabling constraints.
Learning and Teaching
Educational Aims of the MA Public History Programme
Intellectual aims
This will give students the opportunity to:
- develop advanced knowledge and understanding of the core theories, issues, concepts, and scholarly debates in the field of Public History.
- explore critically the range of ways in which history is presented to and experienced by public audiences, and how history is engaged with and used for a variety of purposes in the public realm.
- understand a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives and intellectual contexts when considering the relationship between the past and the public realm.
- explore and understand issues relating to the exploration, presentation, and consumption of difficult or contested historic narratives in the public sphere in a number of comparative contexts.
Skills development aims
This will give students the opportunity to:
- develop skills in presenting history to a range of public audiences for a variety of purposes using a range of methods (including public presentation, media, photography, exhibition design, online curation, and oral history collection).
- develop a range of academic and professional skills including the ability to engage in independent research.
- work collaboratively with practitioners in the cultural and heritage sectors.
- work independently and as part of a team in presenting aspects of history to a range of public audiences
Impact development aims
This will give students the opportunity to:
- understand how their learning, knowledge, and understanding equip them to contribute to debates around the practice, purpose, and understanding of history in the public realm.
- contribute to academic impact by stimulating and shaping intellectual debates in Public History.
- work with practitioners and academics to build capacity in the heritage and cultural sectors across Northern Ireland and beyond.
- develop their own academic and professional impact across a wide range of developmental skills through training events, peer engagement, engagement with public audiences and heritage professionals, and a placement.
Knowledge and Understanding
Critically evaluate the communication of historical knowledge and understanding by bodies outside the academy. Understand how the content and communication of knowledge can be adapted to meet the needs of a range of audiences. Understand the challenges presented in conveying contested historical narratives to public audiences.
Learning Outcomes
Recognize and use appropriate theories, concepts, and principles from history and relevant cognate disciplines. Understand and communicate complex ideas and concepts to both academic and public audiences. Critically evaluate the theory and practice of history in academic and public spheres.
Learning and Teaching
Learning and teaching take place through seminars, practitioner workshops, field trips, and placements.
Subject Specific Skills
Demonstrate an ability to use effectively relevant archives, finding aids, and online resources in completing a major personal research project. Undertake a public history project in the workplace both individually and as part of a team and reflect critically on their practice. Handle, catalog, describe and organize historical sources and artifacts. Develop skills relating to the assessment and analysis of sources.
Transferable Skills
Communicate complex ideas effectively to a range of audiences.
Manage time and resources and work effectively as part of a team. Demonstrate an ability to conceptualize, plan and see through to the completion a major personal research project to a high standard of historical professionalism. Demonstrate competency and a professional approach to undertaking research and the presentation of project work
Assessment
Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:
Assessment is by coursework:
- essays
- projects
- critical commentaries on primary sources;
- portfolio and reflective essay
- blogs and placement-related assessment
- PowerPoint presentations
- practical work on documents or placement related assessment
- and a dissertation
Feedback is given appropriately across the range of assessments given.
Admissions
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Master's courses in all subject areas. Criteria, eligibility, repayment, and application information are available on the UK government website.
International Scholarships
English Language Requirements
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