You should have an honours degree or equivalent, ideally, but not necessarily, in History. If you have not taken a History degree or a degree where History formed a substantial part of your studies, you might consider first taking one of our undergraduate courses.

If you'd like to check that you're ready for MA study, have a look at our self-assessment diagnostic test.

Our free OpenLearn course, What do historians do? will give you some insight into the study of history you might undertake if you were to study the MA History.

If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course or need more information you can talk to one of our study advisers. Call us now on 0300 303 0064 or follow this link to book a call back.

Preparatory work

The following text is used as the set book on A883. We recommend reading it before the start of the module:

• John Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of History, Routledge. The current edition is the 7th edition, but students may also use the 6th edition.

It is also recommended that you read one or two books which provide an overview of the history of Britain and Ireland in your chosen period of study.

Open Learn offers two free courses which are designed to prepare students for postgraduate study: Succeeding in postgraduate study and Are you ready for postgraduate study? We strongly encourage you to complete one or both.

As this module focuses largely on the use of digital resources for the study of history, we also recommend the Open Learn course Digital Humanities: Humanities research in the digital age which will help you to develop your research skills.