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HISTORICAL RESEARCH (ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY)(MSC) HISTORICAL RESEARCH (ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY)(MSC) Birkbeck, University of London ../webroot/files/Institutions/cover_photo/1563773744Birkbeck-University-1.jpg

Birkbeck, University of London

Postgraduate Certificate , Social History

  • Start Date October, 2025

  • Duration 1 year

  • Study Mode Full Time

  • Course Fees

  • UK/EU Fees£8,350.00

Send an Enquiry Apply for the Course

Course Description

This specialist Master's degree in history is designed specifically as training for the 1+3 funded PhD studentships in the ESRC Doctoral Training Programme. It will give you the advanced conceptual, theoretical and practical skills you need to undertake historical research, particularly statistical analysis, at an advanced level, professionally or for doctoral research.

The programme will equip you with an awareness of contemporary historical practice and an understanding of the methodologies used in the analysis and interpretation of historical documents and other primary and secondary source material.

Course Content

You take two compulsory modules, choose two option modules, and research and write a dissertation.

COMPULSORY MODULES

  • Intermediate Quantitative Social Research
  • Mastering Historical Research: Birkbeck Approaches

INDICATIVE OPTION MODULES

  • Britain and Germany: The History of a Relationship, 1815-1990
  • China and the West: Encounters
  • Civil Society: Ideas, Practices and Dilemmas in the Modern World, 17th Century to the Present
  • Contested Past, Troubled Present: Britain and Ireland since 1800 - Religion in Society and Politics
  • Cultural History of War in Britain and America between the First World War and the Conflict in Vietnam
  • Darwin, Darwinism and the Modern Ages
  • Death, Disease and Early Modern City
  • Early Modern London: Society and Culture
  • Empires in Modern East Asia
  • Gender in Britain
  • Globalisation and the Rise of the Modern Consumer
  • Globalisation: A Short Historical Introduction
  • Jews and Antisemitism in Modern Europe: Histories and Approaches
  • Madness and its Meanings
  • Magic, Science and Religion in the Renaissance
  • Monastic Lives in Medieval England
  • Money and Empire c. 300-c. 800
  • Opposition and Dissent in Early Modern France
  • Plots, Conspiracy Theory and Political Culture in Early Modern Britain and France
  • Politics and Islam
  • Power and Communication in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe (1400-1800)
  • Public Histories in Practice
  • Race and the Victorians
  • Renaissance Florence: Society, Religion and Culture
  • Technology, Modernity and the Nation: Britain and Germany, 1880 to 1930
  • The Making of Modern Societies: Britain and Europe, c.1500-c.1750
  • The Origins of the French Revolution
  • The Two Irelands 1911-1998
  • The Victorian Communication Revolution
  • Venice and Istanbul, 1453-1797
  • Vice and the Victorians: Moral and social reform in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century

MSC HISTORICAL RESEARCH (ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY) DISSERTATION

  • Research Dissertation

Course Intakes

Location Start Date Fees Duration  

Classroom

Birkbeck, University of London

Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, UK

October, 2025

UK/EU:

£8350.00

1 year,

Full Time

Send Enquiry

Entry Requirements

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university, or an equivalent international qualification.

We will review every postgraduate application to Birkbeck on its individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve.

Apply now to secure your place and allow enough time for the application and enrolment process. You do not need to have completed your current qualification to start your application.

COURSE SPECIFIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Second-class honours degree in a humanities or social sciences subject and references.

We also offer a one-year Graduate Certificate in History, which can be used as a conversion course if you want to study history at postgraduate level, but have a degree in a significantly different discipline.

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in each of the sub-tests and at least 7.0 in writing.

INTERNATIONAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement for international students is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or an equivalent international qualification.

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. Some courses may require higher scores, particularly in the following subject areas:

  • arts management
  • cultural studies
  • development studies
  • film and media
  • geography
  • history
  • law
  • organizational psychology
  • psychology.

Please carefully check the Course-Specific Entry Requirements on your chosen programme for details of higher English language entry requirements.

VISA REQUIREMENTS

If you are not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa.

The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

  • Courses of more than six months' duration.
  • Courses of less than six months' duration.
  • Pre-sessional English language courses.

International students who require a Tier 4 visa should apply for our full-time courses (with the exception of modular enrolment certificates of higher education and graduate certificates), as these qualify for Tier 4 sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Tier 4 visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck's part-time courses (with the exception of some modules).

Assessment Methods

Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework and examinations, although this will vary from course to course - on some of our courses, assessment is entirely by coursework. The methods of assessment on this course are specified below under 'Methods of assessment on this course'. You will need to allow time to complete coursework and prepare for exams.

Where a course has unseen written examinations, these may be held termly, but, on the majority of our courses, exams are usually taken in the Summer term, during May to June. Exams may be held at other times of the year as well. In most cases, exams are held during the day on a weekday - if you have daytime commitments, you will need to make arrangements for daytime attendance - but some exams are held in the evening. Exam timetables are published online.

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