University of Liverpool

The School of Histories, Languages and Cultures offers a diverse and broad range of subjects, areas and disciplines. The School is comprised of five departments; Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology; History; Irish Studies; Languages, Culture and Film and Politics. Through research and teaching the School looks at culture and society from the origins of humanity through to modern day politics.

Postgraduate study in the School of Histories, Languages and Cultures can offer you an opportunity to pursue academia, with specific support designed for those looking to move onto PhD study, but can also open doors for your chosen career path. You will be supported throughout your studies, and given the chance to develop academically, personally, and professionally.

Whether you choose to study an MA in Chinese-English Translation and Interpreting, or an MRes in Irish Studies, our wide range of postgraduate programmes can help you to specialise, change career paths, move into a new field or gain the qualifications needed for your chosen vocation.

History has shaped today’s world. From race, gender and war; to knowledge, climate change and civil rights. To understand this, you need to search the global past. All this is embedded in a city like Liverpool, where the echoes of the past are everywhere.

Postgraduate study at the Department of History covers a huge breadth of subject areas, from Archives and Records Management to International Slavery, taught by world-renowned experts in medieval, early modern and modern British, European, American and world history.

Our MA programmes are taught by research-active specialists who bring their knowledge of, and passion for, their subject areas into the seminar room. 

Joining the department introduces you to lively and engaged academic community of over 500 students and give you the opportunity to work closely with not only Liverpool’s famous galleries and museums, but many other national and international partners.

Key local partners include:

• International Slavery Museum
• The Athenaeum
• Central Library
• Museum of Liverpool

We also have some of the finest archive and library facilities in the country, helping to enhance your degree experience, and an active programme of departmental events to supplement your learning experience with the opportunity to hear from eminent visiting speakers on a variety of topics.

Find out more about the Department, our research and what it’s like to study with us.

We are proud to be ground-breakers. Merging ancient studies with modern technology, we are examining the most fundamental questions about life. From humankind’s early origins, to ancient civilisations, to archaeology and heritage in contemporary society, we are transforming the understanding of key questions in our history. Together we are reconstructing the past.

Postgraduate study in the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology covers a unique breadth of taught master’s degrees in Classics and Ancient History, Archaeology (MA or MSc), Palaeoanthropology and Egyptology. You can configure a wide choice of modules to suit your interests and requirements and there are opportunities to learn different approaches and techniques, as well as ancient languages such as Greek, Latin, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian and Coptic. All our master’s degrees provide intensive training to prepare you for doctoral research and employment.

Archaeology and the Ancient World has been studied at Liverpool since the 1880s and we have built an enviable library of resources and facilities since that point.

The Garstang Museum, housed within the department includes collections excavated from Egypt, Sudan and the Near East, with highlights including an exceptional Nubian collection and the Egyptian mummy at the heart of the Egyptian Afterlife gallery. The Museum is a key part of Departmental activities and collections; and collections are used for teaching, research and student projects.

The department also has extensive laboratory facilities for conservation, lithics, geomagnetism, stable isotope, trace elements, finds processing and sample preparation. There is also a GIS suite with facilities for archaeological drawing.

Our academic staff are actively engaged in research, ranging from early prehistory through to late antiquity:

• Ancient near east
• Cultural evolution
• Early technologies
• Egyptian material and archaeological culture
• Egyptian written culture
• Evolutionary theory
• Graeco-Roman civilisation
• Human osteology
• Palaeolithic archaeology
• Palaeoclimatic change
• Research skills
• Upper Palaeolithic art

Find out more about the Department, and our research, facilities and activities.

We are the changemakers. We challenge systems and ask difficult questions. Our pioneering academics are at the forefront of global politics and relations. From climate change to the surveillance state, protests, unrest, and displacement of people, join us to explore the topics that dominate today’s political landscape.

Taught by experts who regularly appear in the media, you will focus on power, citizenship, authority, conflict and cooperation in the world around us. While studying politics at Liverpool, you’ll gain critical, communication and research skills and have access to our extensive academic and industry networks to enhance your employability.

Our postgraduate portfolio is designed to challenge you and introduce you to complex and diverse political theory. We currently offer two distinct MA programmes, Contemporary Europe and International Relations and Security.

Contemporary Europe MA offers the chance to study a subject of continued political and intellectual intrigue both in the UK and Europe. This multi-disciplinary master’s programme, which is attached to the Europe and the World Centre and located in the Department of Politics, explores how Europe has been shaped, since the late C19, through interactions with the wider world and vice versa. The MA aims to equip you with a wide range of skills, combining significant elements of political science, political economy and theory with broader cultural and sociological themes, enabling you to develop skills for deeper understanding and study into the complexity and diversity of European culture and politics.

International Relations and Security MA offers a fantastic opportunity for postgraduate students from across the world to learn about contemporary debates around the meaning of security, democracy and the role of political processes in International Relations. This MA programme gives you the chance to enhance your career prospects by learning about international relations, academic methods and contemporary security debates. One of the key characteristics of the programme is flexibility and choice, which allows you to pursue your own particular areas of interest through our optional pathways, many of which draw on unique expert knowledge of staff in the Department of Politics i.e International Relations and Security, Conflict Resolution, Political Communication and International Law.

Find out more about the Department, our research and what it’s like to study with us.

School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
8-14 Abercromby Square
Liverpool
L697WZ
+44 (0) 151 794 2393