History

The MRes History is a taught postgraduate research course which sits in between our MA provision and PhD research degrees. It equips you with the advanced historical research skills and conceptual framework needed to complete an individual, large-scale research project. The course centres on the research and writing of a 30,000-word dissertation which allows you to demonstrate the advanced historical research skills learned in the two core modules.

The core modules extend your analytical skills and project management skills through, first, the planning and writing of a long literature review which advances your critical knowledge of your chosen field of research; and second, the development of a detailed research proposal. You will be taught practical historical skills and techniques, including locating and retrieving historical material, critiquing primary and secondary sources, and examining and organising historical information. Both modules are taught by experienced, research-active academics using a wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches. You will work with an internationally renowned specialist supervisor in your chosen field of research and will be invited to events organised by, and for, our vibrant MPhil/PhD community, thus broadening your range of academic and intellectual contacts.

This course is ideal for self-motivated and committed students who already have an MA in a humanities subject, and wish to research and write on a defined historical topic from pre-history to contemporary history. Students who take this course often do so because they wish to do independent, professional research or in preparation for research at PhD level.

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 and archaeologists 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 Master’s 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 and embodied what is central to our teaching and research: a continued commitment to critical enquiry and public engagement.

We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources. Situated very close by are: the Institute of Classical Studies, with its library, training facilities and seminars; the British Museum, with its extensive collection of classical antiquities; and the British Library, the largest national library in the world.

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

Graduates can pursue career paths in research and archiving, education, the heritage industry, publishing, journalism and the media, and the charity sector. Possible professions include:

historian

higher education lecturer

archivist

journalist

heritage manager

politician’s assistant

academic librarian

museum/gallery curator.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.