Why has the end of the Cold War not inaugurated a more harmonious world order? Do we see the continuation of old rivalries or the birth of a fundamentally different world? Do we still live in a globalised world or are we facing nationalist retrenchment? Is liberal democracy in crisis? Is US power declining and being replaced by new leaders on the world stage?

This MSc allows you to explore such questions critically and analytically while discovering how the recent past shaped the modern world. You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the increasingly global experience of humankind in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A specialised methodological and historiographical course will help you appreciate the distinctiveness of contemporary history; its use of radio, television, film, and internet-based sources such as Wikileaks; and its methodology. This rigorous skills training will be supplemented by a variety of topical, specialised options, covering virtually every distinctive approach to history (e.g. political, social and economic) and every region on the globe, underlining the increasing globalisation of our recent past.

This is an advanced qualification, valued and respected by employers and also suitable as preparation for a PhD and a long-term academic career. The combination of skills training, specialised seminars, and independent research provides you with transferable skills that will be beneficial whatever path you choose.

Graduates work in related areas such as museums, policy think-tanks, national and international civil services, non-governmental organisations, galleries, libraries and historic trusts. Others enter business, media, public administration or marketing.