Public History MA

Discover the many ways history comes alive across museums, heritage, culture, media, technology, and even the video game industry with this one-year MA at UCL’s dynamic new East campus, with access to historic Bloomsbury. Learn from leading practitioners and gain real-world insights through exclusive behind-the-scenes field trips with industry experts. The MA in Public History combines cutting-edge, research-led knowledge of how history is produced and engaged with in public contexts, with training in the practices through which public historical understanding is created and communicated. The approach of the MA in Public History is distinctively global and interdisciplinary. Students will be primarily based out of UCL East, working alongside those undertaking studies in the related fields of global urbanism, heritage studies, creative humanities, and media studies. They will first examine what public history means and how it changes over time and place across distinct global contexts, exploring key concepts and debates centring on memory, heritage, history as activism, history as business, policy, and as institutional and community memory, as well as the arts and acts of remembrance. Students will then focus on developing their practical public history skills in an area, or areas, of public history relevant to them, through project-based work in collaboration with one of UCL’s experienced practitioner-mentors. The programme’s emphasis on combining a theoretical framework with practice-based learning will allow students to critically self-reflect on their public history efforts as they produce them. The programme provides an ideal foundation for students interested in expanding their knowledge of public history and their skills in communicating historical research to diverse audiences or those keen to pursue careers in various public-history-related sectors, such as the media or heritage industries. The programme will also appeal to those with existing public history experience eager to develop critical and practical skills.

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.