Curious about studying International History MAat University of Staffordshire? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
MA - Master of Arts
Online
Part Time
Sep 2027
2 Year
The course spans the late 18th and early 19th centuries up to the contemporary era. You will explore international relationships and rapid changes over time, from regional microhistories to sweeping diplomatic affairs, and from cultural developments to military encounters. It touches on core concepts like nationalism, imperialism, modernisation and globalisation, often through the prism of key case studies: the two unifications of Germany, the decline of Russia, the rise of China. We’ve designed the course so you have the freedom to delve into the topics that most interest you. Using research skills and primary sources, you will produce your own historical narratives, drawing on artefacts and documents from the relevant period. These skills will also help shape your dissertation, where you will answer a research question. Recent dissertation topics have looked at everything from socialist movements in early 20th century Europe to the Vietnam War and nationalism in Ukraine. There is also the opportunity to choose a specialist pathway, in Intelligence, Contemporary China or Russian Studies. If you opt for the pathway route, your award title will reflect this. The course is taught and assessed entirely online, giving you the flexibility to study anytime, anywhere. You will still get lots of tutor engagement and support. It will involve using digital platforms for a weekly programme of study and debating key topics with fellow students. You will also benefit from the guidance of internationally recognised staff, who bring a wealth of experience. Whether you are looking to develop your professional profile in a related field, or you’re an enthusiast wanting to explore the relationship between history and politics, this MA is for you. On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: MA International History.
This module introduces you to key concepts in international history, specifically related to the study of international history in the modern and contemporary eras. The module will help you to transcend narrow or regional studies of history and remove some of the limitations inherent in such an approach. The module will consider the problems of definition, the historical background and evolution of each concept and finally the application of the concepts by historians over time.
This module takes you on a journey through the many scales on which historians have understood human societies, ranging from the individual and local to the national, international and global. We often think of history within the bounds of the nation and the nation-state ? ?British?, ?French?, ?Chinese?, ?Indian? or ?Australian? history, as if these categories and their borders have always existed. Using primary and secondary materials, including images, audio and video, you will explore the ways in which nations are constructed, and how the states which give them political form have emerged and developed over historical time. You will also explore approaches to history which challenge and transcend the nation and nation-state, at the smaller and greater levels, and which emphasise the entangled nature of human relations.
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