History (MA by Research)

Start date

1 October 2024

6 January 2025

21 April 2025

Duration

The maximum duration for an MA by Research is 1 year (12 months) full-time or 2 years (24 months) part-time with an optional submission pending (writing-up) period of 4 months.

Sometimes it may be possible to mix periods of both full-time and part-time study.

If studying on a part-time basis, you must establish close links with the University and spend normally not less than an average of 10 working days per year in the university, excluding participation in activities associated with enrolment, re-registration and progression monitoring. You are also expected to dedicate 17.5 hours per week to the research.

Application deadlines

For September 2024

07 June 2024 for International and Scholarship Students

28 June 2024 for Home Students

For October 2024

07 June 2024 for International and Scholarship Students

28 June 2024 for Home Students

For January 2025

18 October 2024 for International and Scholarship Students

15 November 2024 for Home Students

For April 2025

24 January 2025 for International and Scholarship Students

21 February 2025 for Home Students

About the research degree

A Master of Arts (MA) by Research allows you to undertake a one-year (full-time) or two-year (part-time) research degree. It contains little or no formal taught component. This type of study gives you the chance to explore a research topic over a shorter time than a more in-depth doctoral programme.

Our research degrees are available as full-time, part-time and some are offered distance learning.

Research Master's students choose a specific project to work on and have a greater degree of independence in their work than is the case with a taught Master’s course.

You’ll be expected to work to an approved programme of work which you will develop in conjunction with your supervisor within the first few months of starting your studies. Whilst undertaking the research project you will also develop your research skills by taking part in training courses and events.

You will be appointed a main supervisor who will normally be part of a supervisory team, comprising up to three members to advise and support you on your project.

At the end of the project you’ll write up your findings in the form of a short thesis of around 25,000 words, which will then be examined. We also accept applications for projects which are practice-orientated, and which include portfolio submissions. These include practice submissions with written components. You will receive guidance from your supervisory team as to the percentage equivalents between the practice and written elements of your research.

On successful completion, you will be awarded your degree and if you have enjoyed this taste of research, you may then decide to apply for the full research doctoral degree (PhD).

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirements for enrolment on a MA by Research is an Honours degree (2:1 or above) or an equivalent professional qualification.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

Postgraduate Study

Shabina is studying for a PhD in History. Watch her film to hear her talk about her research into âbussing outâ in 1960s and 70s Bradford, and how her research has been picked up by national media. She talks about editing a postgraduate research journal and how working on that has informed her own writing. She enjoys working in the Postgraduate Study Suite in the Oastler Building.

Windrush Documentary

The UK experiences of people of African-Caribbean descent over four generations are charted and explored in an ambitious new film that draws on more than 80 newly-recorded interviews with individuals whose ages range from 11 to well over 80. It focusses on the African-Caribbean descent community in Huddersfield, and the townâs University â staff and students â contributed to the projectâs diverse production team. As part of Black History Month, the 70-minute documentary, titled Windrush: The Years After â A Community Legacy on Film, had two showings at the University of Huddersfield in October. A key collaborator was the film historian Dr Heather Norris Nicholson, who has been a Senior Research Fellow at the Universityâs Centre for Visual and Oral History.â

Read the Latest 'Discover' Issue

Our 'Discover'magazine tells the stories behind our research and highlights the impact this work has on the world we live in.

Find out more

Joe Hopkinson PhD Researcher

My project is about âThe experiences of visible minoritized groups at school in the North of England, 1960â1981â. The most exciting aspect of my project is the documentary film that I will produce from the interviews and the rest of my research. As a historian I tend to use the library and online research materials a great deal. Having access to searchable databases of national newspapers, for example, is incredibly useful. The main resource I access is my supervisors. Without their guidance and expertise, I wouldnât be able to produce high-quality work. I carried out a Masterâs by Research degree at Huddersfield prior to starting my PhD, which left me perfectly placed for the next step of becoming an academic historian.

Joe Hopkinson - History PhD Researcher

What can I research?

According to REF2014, 100% of research produced by historians at Huddersfield is internationally recognised, and two thirds of this is internationally excellent or world-leading. We are also specialist in the co-production of historical research projects and outputs with non-academic partners. We work together on projects within four key research strands which reflect our distinctive expertise and interests:

Medieval and early-modern material culture Health Histories Global and Transnational History
Feelings, Emotions and Affective Histories

Our research encompasses a wide range chronologically, geographically and conceptually. Spanning the Middle Ages to the modern day, Huddersfield’s historians are internationally acknowledged experts in the fields of health history including mental health, histories of war and humanitarianism, political and social history, oral and digital history, religious history, and public history. As individuals we are specialists in a variety of fields including topics such as the interaction between kingship and masculinity in the Middle Ages; social and cultural responses to mental illness in the 20th Century; the experience of children in Vichy France; the scientific culture of Nazi Germany; and the history of post-Independence India.

To find out more about the research we conduct, take a look at Research, Innovation and Skills webpages, where you will find information on each research area. To find out about our staff visit ‘Our staff’ which features profiles of all our academic staff.

In the first instance please contact the member of staff whose project/s interest you and they will advise you on the completion of a research proposal, which forms part of the application.

We also offer the following MA by Research pathways:

MA by Research in Public History, Oral History and Community Heritage Masters by Research in the History of Childhood

Facilities

Oastler Research Study Area

Heritage Quay

Oastler Building

Collaborative working

Library

Oastler Research Study Area

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Researcher Environment

The University of Huddersfield has a thriving research community made up of over 1,350 postgraduate research students. We have students studying on a part-time and full-time basis from all over the world with around 43% from overseas and 57% from the UK.

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through undertaking research our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, which means you develop knowledge and skills which are current and relevant to your specialist area.

[Find out more about our research staff and centres|http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/]

In 2024/25 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £4,900.

Tuition fees for UK researchers will cover the cost of your study at the University. For more information about funding, fees and finance for UK students, including what your tuition fee covers, please see our Fees and Finance. Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years of study may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X).

If you are interested in studying with us on a part-time basis, please visit our Fees and Finance pages for part-time fee information.

If you are an EU or international student coming to study at the University of Huddersfield, please visit the International Fees and Finance pages for full details of tuition fees and support available.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

In 2024/25 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £2,450.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Fees and Finance

Tuition fees - full-time

In 2024/25 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £4,900.

If you are interested in studying with us on a part-time basis, please visit our Fees and Finance pages for part-time fee information.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Tuition fees - part-time

In 2024/25 the part-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate researchers will be £2,450.

Please email the Student Finance Office or call 01484 472210 for more information about fees and finance.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

When you are offered a place on a research degree, your offer will include confirmation of your supervisory team, and the topic you will be researching and will be governed by our terms & Conditions, student handbook and relevant policies. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Whilst the University will use reasonable efforts to ensure your supervisory team remains the same, sometimes it may be necessary to make changes to your team for reasons outside the University’s control, for example if your supervisor leaves the University, or suffers from long term illness. Where this is the case, we will discuss these difficulties with you and seek to either put in place a new supervisory team, or help you to transfer to another research facility, in accordance with our Student Protection Plan.

Changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, for example the University being unable to access it’s buildings due to fire, flood or pandemic, or the University no longer being able to provide specialist equipment. Where this is the case, we will discuss these issues with you and agree any necessary changes.

Your research project is likely to evolve as you work on it and these minor changes are a natural and expected part of your study. However, we may need to make more significant changes to your topic of research during the course of your studies, either because your area of interest has changed, or because we can no longer support your research for reasons outside the University’s control. If this is the case, we will discuss any changes in topic with you and agree these in writing. If you are an international student, changing topics may affect your visa or ATAS clearance and if this is the case we will discuss this with you before any changes are made.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.