MA in Geschichte per Fernstudium

Are you interested in taking your knowledge of history to a higher level? Do you want to add to your repertoire of skills? Or maybe you want to continue your professional development?

This two-year distance learning programme offers you the opportunity to explore a number of historical themes, drawing on the Department of History’s broad range of expertise. You may pursue one of five pathways through the MA:

• Contemporary History
• Global History
• Medieval Studies
• Early Modern History
• Modern British Studies

Your chosen pathway will determine your choice of core modules and the theme of your dissertation, but you also have the opportunity to study two optional modules in other areas which suit your particular interest.

Birmingham’s Department of History is ranked eighth in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework exercise 2021 based on Grade Point Average (Times Higher Education). Research in the department spans the medieval to the modern, including topics such as China’s Middle Period, the material culture of the early modern household, and non-governmental organisations in modern Britain.

This research expertise is evident within our teaching within our programmes drawing on the diverse regional and chronological expertise available in the Department of History.

Why study this course?

• Research expertise – Times Higher Education ranked the Department of History first in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise.
• Excellent reputation – the University of Birmingham has been ranked as one of the world's top 100 institutions to study History in the 2023 QS World University Rankings.
• Flexibility – you will have an exciting opportunity to explore your chosen area of study in-depth, through your choice of optional modules and dissertation topic.
• Career changing – a qualification from the University of Birmingham can be the springboard to promotion with your current employer, the platform from which to launch a new career or simply a way to become more effective in your current role.
• Ongoing support – you will be assigned a personal tutor who will guide and support you throughout the programme

Our College of Arts and Law Graduate School is a vibrant international community of over 1500 postgraduate students. We benefit from excellent research resources and a supportive environment that allows your research to flourish. Located in the Arts building at the main Edgbaston campus, our team of academic and operational staff is on hand to offer support and advice whenever you need it.

As a College, we have top class facilities that encourage interaction between disciplines and research areas so you’ll be amongst like-minded people, giving you the stimulation, support, and challenges you need to succeed.

The University of Birmingham

Birmingham is constantly developing and evolving in its desire to become a leading global university. This is being achieved through our enhanced research power and reach; the distinctiveness of our exceptional student experience; the breadth and depth of our academic portfolio; our size and the extent of our global networks.

The city of Birmingham

Birmingham is no longer transforming; it is transformed. With independent restaurants, shops and bars throughout the centre and popular districts around the city, this new and vibrant Birmingham is nestled among local markets, iconic buildings of our industrial heritage and contemporary architecture such as the new Library of Birmingham.

New bars and shops open frequently as the city continues to build its youthful and unique identity. There is so much diversity and history within Birmingham that the shops, food and venues reflect this. Old icons such as the Custard Factory host alternative shops and bars, just a short walk from the famous Birmingham wholesale fish and rag markets, all of which nestle close to the new Grand Central train station and shopping precinct.

Birmingham Law School

For almost a century Birmingham Law School has led the way in legal education and research. Today, we continue to provide our students with innovative, challenging, and research-driven education.

The Birmingham LLM takes one year (full-time) or two years (part-time) to complete and involves the study of six specialist modules and a dissertation. Applicants must have a good undergraduate degree in Law or equivalent.

The Birmingham LLM allows students to follow a general route, with complete flexibility in module selection, or follow one of our specialist pathways. When applying to the Birmingham LLM, students do not need to decide whether they wish to specialise at that stage, as pathway specialisms can be decided once students start on the course.

The Shakespeare Institute

The Shakespeare Institute, located in Stratford-upon-Avon, has been a beacon for international Shakespeare scholarship since its foundation in 1951.

The University of Birmingham is engaged in an exciting collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). This pioneering project is the result of the longstanding relationship between the RSC and the Shakespeare Institute at Birmingham.

The collaboration is rooted in a vision of theatre as an engine room for creative thinking and research, a place for the exchange of artistic and academic knowledge and practice, and a shared commitment to enriching student experience and contemporary Shakespeare studies.

Our students are at the heart of the collaboration and encouraged to study and create theatre in Shakespeare's own daring spirit. They benefit from the expertise of RSC artists and practitioners through innovative modules, masterclasses, workshops and projects.