Biography (Research)

The University of Buckingham is:

• Home of the two-year degree, the University of Buckingham, based in the South East of England, is ranked 6th for Student Satisfaction in the UK (National Student Survey, 2020).

• We are proudly independent and not-for-profit, and offer courses in Allied Health, Business, Computing, Education, Humanities, Law, Medicine, Psychology and Security and Intelligence. We are one of the few universities in the UK that offer September and January start dates for almost all of our courses.

• Based in Buckingham on a riverside campus, we are only 20 minutes’ from Milton Keynes central station and a short drive from Bicester, Aylesbury, Banbury and Northampton. There is free parking on-site and we are within easy reach of London and Oxford.

• Our award-winning small class tutorials ensure every student is known by name and supported throughout their studies, including by dedicated personal tutors.

• As pioneers of the two-year degree, we offer a condensed version of the traditional three-year degree, meaning you can gain a full honours degree and complete your studies a whole year earlier. Alternatively, you can complete both your undergraduate and master’s degree with us in just three years: saving you time and money.

The cutting-edge MA in Biography was founded in 1996, and its emphasis on historical biography remains unique to Buckingham. Since then, in response to student demand, the available options have been extended to include our PhD Biography. Study can be on either a full-time or a part-time basis.

The Programme’s team has expertise in a broad range of historical periods, from the Early Modern period to the present day, and the course places particular emphasis on understanding individual subjects within their historical, social and political context. We also encourage those looking to work on life writing or critical literary biography to join us, and to benefit from the experience of academics working across the faculties (including Dr Pete Orford who has published a biography of Charles Dickens, and Dr Peter Sloane who works on refugee life writing and memoir).

Course structure
For their first year of study students attend the same weekly seminars as students taking the MA by Research in Biography. These provide the critical awareness of the subject that is an essential prerequisite, and take place as follows:

• Autobiography (September to December)

• Special Paper in Biography (January to June)

• Research Methods (January to June)

The modules on Biography and Autobiography are designed to combine the study of classic biographies and memoirs with contemporary writing. In addition, the Research Methods module provides an invaluable and innovative training, especially devised for biographers.

Guest seminars on the course are led by leading biographers, memoirists, critics, publishers and agents. Previous teachers and speakers on the course have included Andrew Motion, Kathryn Hughes, Frances Wilson, Frances Spalding, Jeremy Lewis, Rupert Shortt, Caroline Dawnay, Andrew Lownie, Miranda Seymour, John Cornwell, Simon Heffer, Catherine Taylor, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, and Craig Brown.

During the early part of the course, research students refine their research proposal with their supervisor, for eventual discussion with the Research Officer. Once the research proposal has been accepted, students concentrate on conducting independent research and the preparation of their thesis, with the one-to-one support of the supervisor and the support of their peers in small group classes once or twice a term.