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Introduction

The MLitt in Cultural History is a taught postgraduate degree programme designed around the large number of academic staff in the College of Arts and Social Sciences conducting research in cultural history (see the Cultural History website). It introduces the various methodologies embraced by cultural history, provides a thorough grounding in research methods and skills, and offers expert research training in a wide range of topics. You will also have the opportunity to conduct a research project of your own, supervised by a member of the cultural history staff. This programme is the best possible introduction to the subject for potential PhD students, but is designed chiefly as a rewarding, stimulating programme in its own right, whether or not you envisage further study. The qualifications ‘MLitt’ and ‘PgDip’ are valuable and widely respected.

Aberdeen is an ideal place to study this subject. It is the only university in Britain offering a full undergraduate programme in Cultural History, and this commitment continues at postgraduate level. The University of Aberdeen is internationally renowned as a research centre, boasting some of the finest collections of books, manuscripts, and pamphlets in the English-speaking world (click here). All the images on these web-pages are from the University’s own collections. History of science, technology, and medicine is a particular strength, enhanced by extensive collections in the University’s museums. Almost uniquely among British academic institutions, Aberdeen’s impressive collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century periodicals can be browsed on open-access shelves, enabling students to engage directly with key research materials.

The university hosts a thriving interdisciplinary programme of cultural history events. These include talks, seminars, conferences, and field-trips organized by staff or by the student-run Cultural History Society. They enable students to broaden their learning experience and engage and socialize with other members of the academic community.

How the programme works

Our programme is structured to give you as much flexibility as possible to pursue your own interests at your own pace. You may take the programme:

• either as a Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) or, by additionally writing a dissertation, as a full Master’s Degree (MLitt)
• either in one year (full-time) or two years (part-time) (NB: owing to UK immigration regulations, non-EU overseas students cannot take it part-time)
• either by itself or as preparation for a research degree such as an MPhil or PhD – for example, as part of a 1+3 scheme funded by a grant-giving body such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council

(NB: this is subject to the normal admission requirements of the relevant further degree programme either at Aberdeen or elsewhere).

Your studies begin in late September and consist of up to 180 credits of courses. During the two semesters you take courses totalling 120 credits, normally by taking 60 credits in each semester (or 60 credits per year for part-time studies). By passing these courses you earn the Diploma and the opportunity to obtain the MLitt by writing a 60-credit dissertation during the summer months. The dissertation will be on a subject of your own choice, and will be supervised by whichever member of staff is best equipped to advise on your chosen topic.

What’s in the programme

All students take the core course ‘Approaches to Culture’, which introduces the range of methodologies available to the cultural historian. A further course on research skills and methods must also be taken. Students aiming for the MLitt also take a course on sources and source criticism, which will provide guidance on how to research and plan the dissertation. The rest of the timetable, apart from the dissertation itself, consists of a range of elective courses on different themes. Students normally take three or four of these in order to gain the right number of credits. Subject to availability, these courses include:

• Images of Nature since 1495
• Narratives of Nature: Literature and Popular Science 1800-2000
• Trolls, Druids and the Walking Dead: Imagining the Pagan Past in Mediaeval Norse and Gaelic culture
• Science, Technology, Medicine, and the Creation of Empire, c. 1760-1939
• Writing the History of Science
• History of Medicine in the Twentieth Century
• Food, Nutrition, and History
• Witchcraft, Traditional Practices and the Rise of a Protestant Culture in Early Modern Scotland
• The Enlightenment in Comparison: Scotland and Central Europe, 1650-1800
• Gender, Politics and Culture in France
• Feminisms and the Writing of History
• US Women’s History
• American Disability History

Assessment

Assessment is mostly based on written work and moderated according to university standards. For the award of the MLitt you are required to write a dissertation of 15,000 words in English.

Entrance requirements

You should normally hold a 2(1) Honours Degree or equivalent in an appropriate discipline.

If your mother tongue is not English you will normally need to have an IELTS score of at least 6.5 (including writing score 6) or a TOEFL score of at least 580 (including TWE 4.5).

Cost

Details of the costs involved in postgraduate study at the University of Aberdeen can be found at www.abdn.ac.uk/sras/postgraduate/howmuch.shtml

Grants and scholarships for study at Aberdeen

Several funding opportunities are offered by the University on a competitive basis. You can apply to:

• the College of Arts and Sciences: offers a number of awards to postgraduate students

• the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy: will be offering a number of awards to postgraduate students; a web link will be placed here when the competition is announced, likely to be in late 2006

• the Department of History, supported by the Historical Model Railway Society: offers bursaries for students wishing to study any aspect of railway history
  (for details and an application form ask Dr Tony Heywood)

Other funding opportunities include:

• the Carnegie Trust: Scottish students with a first class honours degree can apply for a bursary from the Carnegie Trust (www.carnegie.org.uk)

• the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC): this provides fees and maintenance for UK students and fees only for European Union students (www.ahrc.ac.uk)

• the Overseas Research Student (ORS) scheme: this makes awards on a competitive basis to outstanding non-EU nationals undertaking a research degree, usually a PhD, and lowers the fees payable to British levels.  By taking an MLitt in Cultural History you may increase your chances of obtaining ORS funding for PhD studies (www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/ORS)

Making an application

• Applicants must submit the following supporting documents alongside their application form:
• Copies of degree certificates from their previous academic studies
• Academic transcripts - The transcript, which lists all of the classes taken and marks gained, must be requested by the student and sent to us. You should therefore get in touch with the University where you gained your degree, and they will tell you what you need to do and will arrange to produce and send us the transcript.
• Two academic references; either submitted online with your application form, scanned and sent to dhp-pgs@abdn.ac.uk by your referees or please provide the details of the referees on the application form. Applicants may also send the reference letter, in a signed sealed envelope, directly to the school at the address below.
• Your research proposal

If you have any queries about making your application, please contact the Postgraduate Secretary

Postgraduate Applications Secretary
School of Divinity, History and Philosophy
50/52 College Bounds
University of Aberdeen
Aberdeen AB24 3DS
Scotland, UK
Email dhp-pgs@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1224 272890
Fax: +44 (0)1224 273750

If you would like further information about the programme, please contact the Convener, Ben Marsden:

Dr Ben Marsden
Department of History
University of Aberdeen
Crombie Annexe
Meston Walk
Old Aberdeen AB24 3FX
Scotland, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1224 272637

International students should note that there is an application deadline at the end of June, so that visa applications can be completed in time for Autumn arrival; EU students may apply later.