Master in Intellectual History

The MLitt in Intellectual History is an interdisciplinary programme which provides students with a broad knowledge of the latest intellectual-historical research, encompassing politics, religion, philosophy, science, international relations, economics and literature.

The MLitt in Intellectual History is an interdisciplinary taught postgraduate programme run by the School of History. The course explores major historical, historiographical, and methodological aspects of intellectual history alongside an individually tailored programme of directed reading.

Highlights

• This interdisciplinary programme brings together experts from across the University with a common interest in researching and contextualising key ideas in their subject areas.
• Students learn to treat past ideas as historical phenomena, as well as assess the meanings of these ideas as intended by their authors, and in contexts beyond those, their authors may have foreseen.
• The course covers the different kinds of intellectual history being practised today, and the relationship between intellectual history and philosophy, literature and literary studies, international relations, law, politics, economics and theology.

Teaching format

The modules are taught through seminars and fortnightly tutorials, with class sizes ranging from individual supervision up to 12 students. The modules are assessed by coursework only; there is no final exam.

Students will spend the final three months of the course focusing on researching and writing the final assessment piece for the MLitt, a dissertation of not more than 15,000 words.

Modules

Each module typically comprises:

• seminars ranging from 1.5 to 3 hours per week,
• fortnightly tutorial sessions for directed reading,
• 100% coursework assessment.

Compulsory

• Current Controversies in Intellectual History: enables students to scrutinise central historiographical disputes that continue to determine the nature and practice of intellectual history.
• Directed Reading (Masterclass in Intellectual History): offers a directed reading project designed to encourage the development of skills of historical analysis through the concentrated study of a topic chosen by the student.
• Theory and Practices of Intellectual History: provides a methodological introduction to intellectual history by surveying how it has been practised in the last half-century.
• Turning Points in the History of Ideas: investigates a series of historical moments of intellectual change by directly engaging with the major political, philosophical, and scientific writings of different eras.

Dissertation

Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.

The modules listed here are indicative, and there is no guarantee they will run for 2019 entry.

Careers

History postgraduates go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law and teaching.

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students on a taught postgraduate course and offers a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Entry requirements

• A good 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in a subject-related area.
• If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
• English language proficiency.

The qualifications listed are indicative of minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• CV.
• personal statement (optional).
• a sample of academic written work (2,000 words).
• two original signed academic references.
• academic transcripts and degree certificates.
• evidence of English language proficiency (required if English is not your first language).

Funding

The School of History is pleased to be able to offer a number of competitive scholarships which contribute to the fees and maintenance for postgraduate study.

• Language Bursaries: enables students to undertake intensive language courses abroad during the summer before their programme begins.
• School of History MLitt Awards: offers the cash equivalent of one year's home fees and cannot be held in conjunction with other awards offering full fees and maintenance.

Recent Graduate Discount

The University of St Andrews offers a 10% discount in postgraduate tuition fees to students who are eligible to graduate or who have graduated from St Andrews within the last three academic years and are starting a postgraduate programme with the University of St Andrews.