History MA
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities,
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
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Start date
September 2026 -
Duration
1 year -
Attendance
Full-time
Explore this course:
Apply now for 2026 entry or register your interest to find out about postgraduate study and events at the University of Sheffield.
Course description
The MA in History is a coherent and flexible programme that allows you to pursue the history that interests you most, from medieval and early modern to modern and contemporary periods.
You'll join a thriving research community of internationally renowned historians and develop advanced techniques to research and understand history while tailoring the programme to your unique goals and aspirations.
You can choose from our diverse subject-specific modules, develop your knowledge and experience of public history and design your own independent research project in the dissertation.
You will study various approaches to history, the importance of public history, and the expanding field of digital history. At the heart of the programme is a digital history project that you develop under the guidance of experts from the Digital Humanities Institute (DHI), the UK's leading centre for digital humanities.
This all helps you to build a broad range of transferable skills, including critical thinking, digital capabilities, and interpersonal skills in collaborative work. Whether you pursue further study or employment outside academia, you will be prepared for a successful career.
Why study this course?
- Flexibility: you can tailor the programme to explore your research specialism, and to pursue your interests and career goals.
- Public history: you have the opportunity to delve into public history and heritage, including gaining work experience through a placement.
- Digital history: develop a digital history project and work with world-leading experts on a wide range of topics.
- Community: you will join a vibrant research culture with fellow postgraduate students and internationally renowned academics, giving you the chance to get involved in regular events, discussion groups and workshops.
- Support: the programme is designed to allow you to carry out specialist research under expert supervision in a friendly and supportive environment.
Modules
The programme is built around a central spine of core modules that support your independent research. From introducing advanced historical skills, to focusing on cutting-edge methods and hands-on digital projects with external partners, they'll also allow you to train your oral presentation skills.
The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we will inform students and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.
Open days
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Duration
1 year full-time
Teaching
You’ll be taught in small seminar groups that allow you to expand your historical knowledge, engage in advanced scholarly debate, and acquire the skills necessary to pursue advanced historical study at postgraduate level.
Seminars encompass group discussion, collaborative work and individual assignments such as essays, small projects and source work - all designed to prepare you for further academic study or a range of professional paths.
Assessment
Assessments are designed to develop your skills in accessible writing, critical analysis of historical material and verbal communication.
The core modules provide a spine throughout the degree and build on each other. They teach you core historical skills you need to develop your research project. Assignments range from source analysis to the development of a research proposal, as well as the ability to communicate your project ideas to others in an oral presentation to receive constructive peer feedback. These tasks are designed to build your confidence, sharpen your analytical skills and prepare you for advanced research and communication.
Core modules also include opportunities to reflect on your personal development, identify skills you want to enhance and think about the value of your research for future career paths.
Optional modules allow you to pursue innovative and creative assessment forms such as small project assignments, for example as part of digital and public history modules, alongside traditional forms of assessment such as essays.
Your research project gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to design and complete an independent piece of work that showcases all the skills you practiced throughout the degree and highlights core transferable skills such as time- and project-management.
You will receive formal structured feedback throughout the degree on all your assignments to help you improve your work. You also have access to an academic tutor to discuss any work-related or professional development questions throughout the year.
For your dissertation research, you will receive individual tutorial guidance from a supervisor who is an expert in your chosen field, helping you refine your ideas, structure your argument and shape your project. We also encourage you to seek informal feedback to develop your ideas in seminars and student hours.
Your career
The MA History is designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a range of professional careers or academic research.Our graduates are successful in both further study and a wide range of careers.
The programme develops your critical and analytical skills through in-depth source work and advanced historical debates. You will also hone your communication skills through presentations and accessible writing, alongside cutting edge skills in digital history. Furthermore, the completion of your dissertation is a major independent project that demonstrates crucial project management skills such as time management, complex research planning, and meeting deadlines.
Optional modules are specifically designed to provide you with skills in public history - particular modules giving you real hands-on experience. Our graduates work in fields from lecturing and the museum and tourist industry to business management, marketing, law and media. We also offer tailored support for students planning to progress to PhD study.
School
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities
In the School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities, we interrogate some of the most significant and pressing aspects of human life, offering new perspectives and tackling globally significant issues.
As a postgraduate history student at Sheffield you’ll be taught by historians who are engaged in cutting-edge research in a huge variety of fields which range from 1000 BCE right up to the twenty-first century and encompasses traditional historians and expert archaeologists. This diversity feeds into a vibrant and varied curriculum which allows students to pursue their interests across both space and time, from the ancient Middle East to modern day Europe, and from fifteenth-century human sacrifice to twentieth-century genocide.
You'll join a thriving and supportive postgraduate community which organises a wide variety of social and research events to help you feel fully immersed in our community and allow you to share your ideas, challenge your thinking and broaden your understanding.
Entry requirements
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject
Subject requirements
Your degree should be in an Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences subject.
View an indicative list of degree titles we would consider
English language requirements
IELTS 7 (with 6.5 in each component) or University equivalent
Other requirements
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the school.
Fees and funding
Alumni discount
Save up to £2,500 on your course fees
Are you a Sheffield graduate? You could save up to £2,500 on your postgraduate taught course fees, subject to eligibility.
Apply
You can apply now using our Postgraduate Online Application Form. It's a quick and easy process.
Contact
Any supervisors and research areas listed are indicative and may change before the start of the course.
Recognition of professional qualifications: from 1 January 2021, in order to have any UK professional qualifications recognised for work in an EU country across a number of regulated and other professions you need to apply to the host country for recognition. Read information from the UK government and the EU Regulated Professions Database.