History (Taught)

The MA in History is the perfect next step for anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of the past or move into a career involving history. We teach a variety of historical approaches through courses that focus on different periods and places.

You can opt to take specialist master's level units in History and other subjects, join undergraduate History units, or undertake independent solo research projects supervised by a specialist. Our teaching also offers opportunities to engage with external partners, such as BBC History Magazine, the National Trust, or the SS Great Britain.

The research and teaching expertise in the department ranges from the medieval to the modern, with particular strengths in:

• race, colonialism and empire

• environmental history

• public history

• histories of gender, sexuality, and the body

• medieval and early modern history

• contemporary Britain and America

• global history (especially Africa and Asia)

On the MA, you may want to deepen your specialism in one of these areas or you may prefer to obtain a broad knowledge of different historical subjects, themes, debates and methodologies.

The MA offers unique opportunities to get hands on experience for students looking to move into work in heritage and research, including options involving creative writing and research methods.

As well as benefitting from the research expertise of our staff, you will be immersed in a vibrant postgraduate community at Bristol. This is underpinned by regular seminar series, guest speakers, and skills workshops, as well as social events organised by our History Society and student reps. You'll also have access to several prestigious research groups within the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, where the Department of History plays a key role. These include the Centres for Medical Humanities, Black Humanities, Environmental Humanities, and Medieval Studies.