MA Modern History Programme Specification 2024-25

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1	ACADEMIC QUALITY TEAM
2	Programme Specifications 2024-25
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5	Programme Title			MA Modern History
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7	This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:			September 2024			Award type			MA
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9	What level is this qualification?			7			Length of programme			12 Months
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11	Mode of study (Full / Part Time)			FT and PT
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13	Will the programme use standard University semester dates?			yes			For York Online programmes, will standard dates for such programmes be used?			n/a
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15	Awarding institution			University of York			Board of Studies for the programme			History
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17	Lead department			History			Other contributing departments			N/A
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19	Language of study and assessment			English			Language(s) of assessment			English
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21	Is this a campus-based or online programme?			Campus
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23	Partner organisations
24	If there are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme, please outline the nature of their involvement. You may wish to refer to the Policy on Collaborative Provision
25	N/A
26	N/A
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28	Reference points
29	Please state relevant reference points consulted in the design of this programme (for example, relevant documentation setting out PSRB requirements; the University's Frameworks for Programme Design (UG or PGT); QAA Subject Benchmark Statements; QAA Qualifications and Credit Frameworks).
30	The standard UoY and QAA reference points were consulted.
31	The standard UoY and QAA reference points were consulted.
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33	Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning
34	Will this programme involve any exemptions from the University Policy and Procedures on Credit Transfer and the Recognition of Prior Learning? If so, please specify and give a rationale
35	No.
36	No.
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38	Exceptions to Regulations
39	Please detail any exceptions to University Award Regulations and Frameworks that need to be approved (or are already approved) for this programme. This should include any that have been approved for related programmes and should be extended to this programme.
40	None
41	None
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43	Internal Transfers
44	Please use the boxes below to specify if transfers into / out of the programme from / to other programmes within the University are possible by indicating yes or no and listing any restrictions. These boxes can also be used to highlight any common transfer routes which it would be useful for students to know.
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46		Transfers in:	Yes, the only restrictions relating to entry requirements and capacity.				Transfers out:	Yes
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49	Statement of Purpose
50	Please briefly outline the overall aims of the programme. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
51	This distinctive, ambitious programme is delivered by a large group of internationally recognised modern historians working on Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, who work with you in small seminar groups to consider questions of continuity and change from c.1750 to the present day. Studying with these historians at the MA level exposes you to a variety of cutting-edge approaches, including transnational history, the history of emotions, environmental history, and the history of memory, as well as well-established fields such as political, cultural, intellectual, social and economic history. Students in the programme also enjoy access to the interdisciplinary Centre for Modern Studies (literature, film, history, politics, philosophy, sociology, music, media studies, performance studies and the fine and applied arts), which provides everyone with a distinctive breadth of vision, constant immersion in research, and a wide choice of modules. The programme centres on skills of independent learning: for every module you will have to set and solve your own problems using essays, presentations and a dissertation. At MA level you will have to critically reflect upon and further enhance the intrinsic skills of historians: these include an ability to read extensively—to discern what matters from a mass of data; to read intensively, by for example finding out the provenance of and purpose behind a particular source, enabling you to contextualise information and forge original arguments. The majority of your work will be explicitly interdisciplinary, and you will have to critically analyse a diverse range of textual and non-textual sources using a carefully chosen and honed techniques. This means that your overall problem-solving capabilities will be thoroughly sharpened. Your presentation skills will improve considerably via practice at small-scale seminars, tutorials and workshops, and by the writing research-led extended essays and a dissertation under the guidance of world leading professional historians. The MA opens up possibilities for further professional development or progression to a research degree. On graduating from the MA in Modern History you will have immersed yourself in the complex and diverse history of modern times developing skills of critical thinking, document analysis, synthesis, exposition, project management, and creativity. This will open up possibilities for progression to a research degree or for further professional development, allowing you to pursue a successful career in academia, teaching, research centres, civil service, and the private sector. In sum, the programme will enable you to challenge conventional thinking, pursue independent research, and master a set of convertible skills that would support a range of research interests and career choices.
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62	If there are additional awards associated with the programme upon which students can register, please specify the Statement of Purpose for that programme. This will be most relevant for PGT programmes with exit awards that are also available as entry points. Use additional rows to include more than one additional award. Do not include years in industry / abroad (for which there are separate boxes).
63	Exit Award Title			Is the exit award also available as an entry point?	Outcomes: what will the student be able to do on exit with this award?				Specify the module diet that the student will need to complete to obtain this exit award
64	Postgraduate Certificate in Modern History			exit award only					any 60 credits
65	Postgraduate Diploma in Modern History			exit award only					any 120 credits
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67	Programme Learning Outcomes
68	What are the programme learning outcomes (PLOs) for the programme? (Normally a minimum of 6, maximum of 8). Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme and represent the outcomes that students progressively develop in the programme and achieve at graduation. PLOs should be worded to follow the stem 'Graduates will be able to...'
69	1	Deploy an in-depth and comprehensive knowledge of cutting edge scholarship in the field of Modern History, c.1750 to the present day, in order to evaluate dominant themes such as state and nation building, empire, globalization, highlighting continuities as well as key moments of change.
70	2	Differentiate the perspectives of multiple historical actors, such as social elites and the masses, and assess historical causation by attributing weight to their actions.
71	3	Demonstrate a high capacity for independent thought and investigation, by taking responsibility for designing and pursuing innovative research questions for essays that deal with important historical topics such as social revolutions and the end of empires.
72	4	Use conventional historical evidence, such as private and public correspondence, and, where relevant, non-conventional sources such as social memory, visual representation and statistical series to answer novel questions. Also, in the face of chronic uncertainty about the trustworthiness of historical sources, making decisions about how to turn isolated facts into systematic historical evidence to prove conclusively a thesis regarding the making of the modern world.
73	5	Use advanced manual and digital search techniques and reflect critically on how historians handle the vast residue of information left by past societies in the modern period.
74	6	Respond responsibly and resourcefully to the ethical and practical issues that arise during advanced historical research, including disciplinary differences between historical methods and those deployed by other scholars and practitioners in academia and beyond.
75	7	Communicate research findings imaginatively, lucidly and succinctly using a variety of media forms including short reports.
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77	Diverse entry routes
78	Detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme. For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity.
79	The core module caters for students with a diverse background in History, the teaching of which varies across HEI in the UK, and overseas. All modules have formative essays which are revised for the summative work supported by tutors all of whom have twice weekly office hours. The Research Training module provide generic training in project design, finding sources, in ethics and in academic writing (ie how to construct an argument) and is undertaken before students commence their ISM.
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84	Inclusion
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86	Please confirm by ticking the box on the right that the design, content and delivery of the programme will support students from all backgrounds to succeed. This refers to the University's duties under the Equality Act 2010. You may wish to refer to the optional Inclusive Learning self-assessment tools to support reflection on this issue.										TRUE
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88	Employability
89	Please give a brief overview - no more than 5 sentences - of how the programmes helps develop students' employability. Your Faculty Employability Manager can help reflection on this issue. This statement will be used by Marketing as the basis for external content with respect to employability.
90	The programme provides an opportunity for learning advanced transferrable skills in project management—via especially the independent study module, a nine-month sets of activities to be planned and executed; in lucid and succinct report writing to a deadline; in collecting information from a diverse range of sources; in storing and analysing qualitative and quantitative data; in working collaboratively and inclusively with colleagues to debate contestable claims; in thinking critically about the advantages and disadvantages of group think (confirmation bias) which all organisations are prone to; in preparing detailed pre-meeting briefs; in conducting inclusive discussions; and in communicating in person clearly and confidently—both in one-to-one situations and in front of a large group of people.
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96	[For Undergraduate and Integrated Masters Programmes Only]
97	Are you offering any variations of this programme, such as additional years abroad or industry?
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99	Year abroad			FALSE		Will the year abroad programme be available directly via UCAS; for students to transfer in having entered the main programme; or both?				N/A
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