Information for Prospective Postgraduates

Taught postgraduate degree schemes: the MA

The Department of History and Welsh History at Aberystwyth offers a range of taught MA degrees. These degrees combine of both taught elements and a substantial research project, and are designed to interest three groups of students in particular:

  • those wishing to consolidate their existing historical knowledge and interests or extend those interests in a different direction
  • those considering further research at PhD level, and looking for the necessary foundation in advanced technical research skills
  • those intending to embark on a career in history or heritage-related employment

The full range of MAs on offer in the department are as follows:

MAs in History

MAs in Welsh History

Please note: not all these schemes may be available in every year; please check with the department for further information.

In Part 1 of your MA studies you will typically take a core module, a specialist option and a number of research training modules, including Skills and Sources for the Historian and Dissertation Preparation (taken by all MA students) plus others specific to your study scheme, in which you will receive advanced training in the location and handling of primary source materials, the interrogation of sources and the appraisal of received historical interpretations, and will design your own extended research project (ie your MA dissertation). In Part 2 you will then write up your 20,000-word dissertation with the aid of specialist supervision in the department. The MA can be completed in twelve months of full-time study (with up to an additional year permitted for final submission of the dissertation), or in two years of part time study.

The MA is suitable for home, international, and EC students with an interest in the relevant periods of history, and with appropriate qualifications. Students on our MA degree schemes will normally have gained an upper second or First class undergraduate degree, or equivalent, in history or a related field. We welcome applicants in their third year of undergraduate studies who wish to progress immediately to an MA as well as those who wish to return after a break to university life.

All of the department's taught MA degree schemes are designed to provide the necessary elements of skills training required by the central national grant-awarding bodies. All these MA schemes have been specifically designed to fulfil the requirements of a Research Preparation Masters course as defined by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) formally recognises our MA in the Economic and Social History of Wales as one of its advanced courses for which a studentship is available. Thus our MAs function as both stand-alone qualifications and as preparation for PhD research.

Funding your MA

Funding for MA degree schemes is, as all applicants will know, very limited. However Aberystwyth University offers the following funding opportunities for MA students

  • All Aberystwyth graduates are entitled to a 10% discount on MA tuition fees, rising to 20% for Aber graduates who graduated with a First Class degree
  • International students (non-EU) are eligible for a Aberystwyth International Excellence Scholarship worth either £2000 or £3000 towards their tuition fees. For further details see Aberystwyth University Funding

The department does not currently offer any MA bursaries; however it maintains a postgraduate research fund that offers support to all MA students for research expenses for their dissertations.

For further information on current postgraduate fees, see Postgraduate Information