Postgraduate History 2026-2027

A postgraduate student of medieval and early modern history or literature often needs to be able to use unedited literary and archival sources, or to check the completeness and accuracy of existing editions.  Medievalists often need to consult material available only in later copies, extracts and antiquarian notes. To do so, you must be able to read pre-modern scripts. This course is designed to give students the necessary skills to use manuscript sources for themselves, whatever their date,  describe manuscripts, and transcribe texts.  Assessment is by exercises and a final essay.

This course allows you to participate in lectures and seminars for a specialist upper-level undergraduate (Honours) course in History or a neighbouring discipline, with tailored postgraduate-level research and assessment methods. The course is open to students on any of the campus-based PGT programmes in History, and you are able to choose the option that best suits your interests and programme, in consultation with your programme coordinator.

Example courses, from a wide range available each year, include: History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; The Scottish Wars of Independence, 1286-1328; Britain and Revolutionary Russia 1917-1924; The Black Radical Tradition; Myths of the North; Enlightenment Compared: Ireland, Scotland, Central Europe.

An individually supervised research project, supported by whole-group information sessions, with a 15,000-word dissertation for students to complete their MLitt qualification.

This course allows you to design a tailored, focused line of study related to your interests and postgraduate degree programme. Expert, one-on-one supervisory support will guide your project as you develop independent research skills and specialist knowledge, culminating in a concise research essay in your chosen area. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your work and develop professional presentation skills via a poster presentation of your work in progress.

This course allows you to design an independent research project on a topic tailored to your interests and degree programme.

You will work one-on-one with an expert supervisor to develop a sustained line of inquiry. Regular meetings with your supervisor allow for in-depth discussion of your research, which you will have the opportunity to showcase in a poster presentation and finally produce an extended research essay in your chosen area.

This core course is aimed at providing an introduction for students who have chosen the MLitt in Medieval and Early Modern Studies and want to study the Renaissance and early modern period from around 1450 to 1750 through a variety of interdisciplinary approaches.

Old Norse was also the primary literary language of the Scandinavian Middle Ages, notably the Icelandic sagas and skaldic and eddic poems. This course will provide the basic linguistic tools needed to read Old Norse texts, and some background about the history of the language and its links with other languages. No prior knowledge of Old Norse is assumed. This course uses Old Norse literature, in particular the sagas and Eddas, to introduce aspects of early Scandinavian culture, including literature and pre-Christian religion.

What is an archive and how can it be used? Students are introduced to some archives in Aberdeen and learn how to make best use of these important resources for research. Seminars investigate the history and philosophy of archival collections, and how they relate to museums, libraries and galleries; approaches to the evaluation of contents of archives and qualitative analyses of specific collections. Assessment is based on a 5000-word essay in which students are asked to identify and analyse material from a specific archive which may be in Aberdeen, or elsewhere in Scotland, the UK, or abroad.

This course allows you to design a tailored, focused line of study related to your interests and postgraduate degree programme. Expert, one-on-one supervisory support will guide your project as you develop independent research skills and specialist knowledge, culminating in a concise research essay in your chosen area. You will also have the opportunity to showcase your work and develop professional presentation skills via a poster presentation of your work in progress.

This course allows you to design an independent research project on a topic tailored to your interests and degree programme.

You will work one-on-one with an expert supervisor to develop a sustained line of inquiry. Regular meetings with your supervisor allow for in-depth discussion of your research, which you will have the opportunity to showcase in a poster presentation and finally produce an extended research essay in your chosen area.

The use of creative media to examine the past is increasingly recognised as a discrete field of ‘creative history’. In this course students will engage with the growing literature in this area, developing their understanding of historical theory and creative practice to find new ways of looking at their historical subjects of interest. They will also dive into the practice of creative history for themselves through practice-research projects using media of their choice.