History
MA or PGDip or PGCert
Key facts
Start dates
September 2023 / September 2024
Location
Course length
Full time: PGCert: 4 months, PGDip: 9 months, MA: 12 months
Part time: PGCert: 2 semesters, PGDip: 3 semesters, MA: 24 months,
Overview
Our MA in History is a highly flexible programme, offered in a close, supportive, tutorial-style environment. It aims to build on your interest in History to help you develop your knowledge and skills as a practising historian.
The course has been shaped by leading researchers in our department. This means that our modules reflect the most recent developments in various historical fields.
We offer core skills training modules. You also have the opportunity to conduct research on topics of your choosing. This takes the form of independent study and dissertation modules. This freedom, combined with advanced training, enables you to graduate confident in your ability to research, write and develop your own work. And puts you in the ideal position to pursue further academic study, or new lines of endeavour.

How to apply
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
You should normally hold a minimum of a second class honours degree (2:2), or equivalent, in History or in a related subject.
If it is some time since you completed your undergraduate education and you do not meet the standard requirement, it may be possible to consider your application based on evidence of other relevant personal and professional experience and the support of your referees.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language you will need to satisfy the university's English language requirements:
- IELTS 6.5 overall and including a minimum 6.0 in all components.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
English requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Pathways courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.
Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.
If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Application process
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.
The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.
How and when to pay
Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
- For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
- For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page
Additional costs
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.
Optional costs
Additional costs | Amount (£) |
---|---|
It’s your responsibility to cover print / binding costs where coursework submission is required. Please note that a lot of the coursework is now submitted online. |
From £30 |
You may choose to purchase books to support your studies. Many books on our reading lists are available via the Library, or can be purchased secondhand. | £20-60 per book |
Accommodation fees in Brookes Letting (most do not include bills) |
£94-265 per week |
Accommodation fees in university halls (bills included, excluding laundry costs) |
£122-180 per week |
Graduation costs include tickets, gowning and photography. Gowns are not compulsory but typically students do hire robes, starting at £41. |
Typically £0-200 |
Students are responsible for their own travel to and from university for classes. BrookesBus travel is subsidised for full-time undergraduate students that are on a course with a fee of £9,250 or more, or living in an Oxford Brookes hall of residence. There is an administration fee for the production of a BrookesKey. |
From £10 |
Funding your studies
Financial support and scholarships
Featured funding opportunities available for this course.
All financial support and scholarships
Learning and assessment
You will study four modules to gain your MA in History:
- a compulsory core module
- two elective modules
- dissertation.
Shorter courses in History are also available: the postgraduate diploma and the postgraduate certificate. It is possible to transfer between these and the MA course.
Postgraduate diploma students take the compulsory core module and two elective modules.
Postgraduate certificate students take the compulsory core module and one elective module.

Study modules
The modules listed below are for the master's award. For the PGDip and PGCert awards your module choices may be different. Please contact us for more details.
Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.
Learning and teaching
We use a range of teaching methods, including:
- small-group seminars
- discussion groups
- workshops
- individual tutorials
- historiographical and bibliographical presentations.
As a part-time student you will attend the University one evening per week. You will need to spend an additional 12–15 hours per week on private study.
As a full-time student you will attend classes on two evenings per week. You will spend 30 hours per week in private study.
Research
Our historians are regarded as experts in their field and their research informs some of the key debates in society.
Principal research areas in which our teaching staff specialise include:
- Early modern history
- History of religion from the Reformation onwards
- Health, medicine and society
- Social and cultural history
- History of art and visual culture
- History of crime, deviance and the law
- Modern political and international history
As well as meeting to discuss and analyse central texts in the field, each group undertakes a number of activities including organising work-in-progress seminars, and offering support and feedback for external grant applications.
The department boasts a wealth of research expertise and two important research centres:

After you graduate
Career prospects
Students who have completed the MA in History have developed a variety of careers. A significant number have gone on to undertake PhD study and secondary school history teaching. Others have taken up careers in:
- archive management
- law
- accountancy
- local government
- the civil service
- GCHQ.
All jobs which require excellent research and analysis skills. Our careers service provides practical tips, training and advice for up to three years after graduation.
Student profiles
Our Staff
Professor Johannes Dillinger
Dillinger is mainly interested in early modern history. He is currently working on the history of early modern terrorism, the cult of relics and a microstudy of a border community between France and Germany.
Read more about JohannesDr Katherine Watson
To understand our criminal justice system, it is crucial to understand the long-running historical debate on the nature, incidence and causes of crime, as well as the way in which medicine has played an active part in shaping legal, political and social change. Dr Watson’s specialist teaching focuses on the origins of these foundations of modern legal practice, while her broader teaching considers the wider socio-political contexts within which these practices developed.
Read more about KatherineProgramme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been
published on the website. For more information, please visit our
changes to programmes page.