MA History (research)
Leiden, Netherlands
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
EUR 19,300 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* non-EU/EEA students | dutch, EU/EEA, swiss and surinamese students: €2,314 per year | second dutch master’s programme: €15,400 per year
Introduction
The research master in History at Leiden University offers five specializations in which you will focus on historical processes, historical research, historiography, and methodology.
Why study History Research MA at Leiden University?
The two-year research master's in History at Leiden University offers you the chance to determine a study based on your own particular interests and ambitions. During your studies, you will experience the riches and challenges of academia not only via frequent meetings with your tutor but also during the seminars in which staff members and research master's students discuss one another's research findings and exchange scholarly views and insights.
Accredited
History (research) at Leiden University is an accredited degree program. After successful completion of this program, you will receive a research master’s degree in History and the title Master of Arts (MA).
Curriculum
Literature Seminar
The programme starts with an intensive literature seminar, which covers the first 8 weeks of the semester. During this course, you will discuss recent insights and key issues within your specialisation. The literature seminar is valued at 10 EC.
Research Seminars
You will follow two research seminars within your specialisation during which you will carry out research on the basis of original source material or published documents. You will take one research seminar during the first semester. The second research seminar may be taken during the second semester, or abroad during the third semester. Each research seminar is valued at 10 EC.
Historical Theory
This course is compulsory for all Research MA students. It discusses major problems in historical theory or philosophy of history through close readings of relevant texts. Topics that will be addressed include explanations, models, intentions, representations, narratives, paradigms, comparisons, objectivity, and ethics. The course is valued at 10 EC.
Developing Research Proposals
This course focuses on writing a research proposal. You will discuss various types of successful research projects and reflect upon the organization of academic research. You will develop your own proposal, developing a good research question and including debate, feasibility, and innovative character. The course will guide you through this process. Senior researchers will visit the class to comment on their own ongoing research projects. The course is valued at 10 EC and is compulsory for all Research MA students.
Tutorial
The tutorial is the mainstay of our Research MA as it offers intensive, eye-to-eye discussions with one of Leiden’s many specialists. During the tutorial you will explore the field and determine the subject and research question of your thesis. The tutorial is valued at 10 EC.
Courses Research Schools
Within the Research MA History, you will take courses at a national Research School, amounting to at least 10 EC. You will compose this set of courses yourself, together with the Coordinator of Studies. Research School courses offer training in both methodology and area-specific knowledge. Research MA students choose courses at the Research school that relate most to their possible area of research.
Optional Courses
You will also choose a number of optional courses, worth up to a total of 20 EC. You are advised to study these courses abroad. The optional courses may also be spent on a research internship, or at courses (level 500) offered at any department of Leiden University or at another Dutch university.
Thesis
The program concludes with a thesis, based on original source research and a final oral exam. Together they are valued at 30 EC. The level of the thesis will have to meet high standards. In principle, the (shortened) thesis will have to be worthy of publication in an academic journal. During the final ceremony, you are expected to present and defend your thesis vis-à-vis with your thesis supervisor and a second examiner.
Admissions
Rankings
A top-ranking program
According to the QS World University Rankings 2023, History at Leiden University is rated 1st in continental Europe and 17th in the world.
Gallery
Program Outcome
The research master’s program in History at Leiden University aims to equip you with a range of important skills and knowledge that will help you achieve your personal career goals. Whichever your area of expertise, you will have a broad and global context to your knowledge and critical-thinking skills that can be applied to the most complex conceptual problems.
Program Tuition Fee
Ideal Students
Is this program for you?
If you are interested in dedicating more time to in-depth research or are thinking of a future in academic or non-academic research, you should consider choosing the Research MA over the MA. A love for reading and discussing intensively with your fellow students, as well as conducting your own research, is essential. If, moreover, you are ambitious and not averse to hard intellectual work, you have what it takes to complete this program successfully.
Career Opportunities
Create a world of opportunities with a master's degree from Leiden University.
- PhD candidate at a university in England
- PhD candidate at a Dutch university
- Assistant publisher at a large publishing house
- An online content specialist at a PR company
- Project officer for video and audio-visual collections at a provincial archive
- Policy officer at a city council
- Researcher and teaching staff member at Leiden University
- Communications advisor at a consultancy firm
- Coordinating strategy advisor at a Ministry of Security and Justice
- Curator at a gallery