History - Irish Historical Research MA

Course details

The MA in Irish Historical Research is a taught, one-year course that provides training in the research skills needed to investigate and interpret modern Irish politics and society.  Focused on the period c.1840-1990, the course is structured around three taught modules and a dissertation of 20,000 words. The modules cover a deliberately broad range - from the history of the press in Ireland and its interactions with the main processes of political and social change, to the history of female activism in Ireland from the campaign for the vote to the campaign for employment equality and access to fertility control in the 1970s and 1980s.  There is also the opportunity to choose a module related to the history of the Irish Revolution, 1916-22.  The dissertation allows students to design, carry out and write up their own research project that will build on the broad themes explored in the taught modules. 

Course Details

Programme Requirements

Students take modules to the value of 90 credits comprising taught modules to the value of 45 credits (Part I) and a dissertation to the value of 45 credits (Part II).

Students take 90 credits as follows:

Part I

• HI6072 Press, Politics and Society: Irish newspapers, periodicals and journalism, 1842-1990 (15 credits)
• HI6073 Female Activism and Feminism in Ireland, c. 1860-1985 (15 credits)

and one of the following:

• HI6042 Sources and Debates in the Irish Revolution (15 credits) 
• HI6049 Historiography of the Irish Revolution (15 credits) 
• HI6050 Public History, Commemoration, and the Irish Revolution (15 credits)

Part II

• HI6100 History Dissertation (45 credits)

A dissertation of a maximum of 20,000 words must be submitted by a specified date in September.

Detailed Entry Requirements

To be considered for registration an applicant will normally have an honours primary degree of at least second-class honours Grade 1 level in a suitable subject or the equivalent

Applications from students with a 2H2 level in a suitable subject may be considered and may be requested to submit a proposal and/or an interview following application.

All candidates must satisfy a selection committee who may request applicants to provide letters of reference.

Important Note: Before completing the online application and online Supplementary Question Form (see further details below), intending candidates must consult with the relevant course co-ordinators or prospective supervisors to discuss/confirm their proposed research area (Course Co-Ordinator names and contact details are available in the Course Content section further down). Following this consultation the proposed supervisor should be named on the online supplementary questions form.

Assessment

• Part 1 (taught modules) will be examined by coursework, consisting of essays, field work reports and a learning journal.
• Part 2 consists of a dissertation (maximum 20,000 words) submitted in September.