History (Graduate Certificate)

Birkbeck, University of London

Our Graduate Certificate in History is a fascinating one-year course that will introduce you to the theories, tools, techniques and research skills of historical analysis. Why choose this course? This course is ideal if you are keen to explore history further but have gained an undergraduate degree in a different subject. Or you may wish to explore advanced postgraduate historical study without yet committing to an MA. It will give you the skills you need to pursue your passion for the past and study history at a higher level. It offers you two routes through the course: one focusing on research, the other pursuing a topic of your choice in history, classics or archaeology. What you will learn Throughout this course you will explore and analyse different types of evidence, discuss the theories that inform historical writing and look at the great debates that shape our perception of the past. You will also learn about how the concept of history has changed over time, and how different cultures perceive the past. By introducing you to the practical skills of the historian and the various schools of thought that inform historical research and writing, this graduate certificate enables you to reskill and change direction to pursue postgraduate study in the field. How you will learn This course is taught via a combination of seminars, workshops and lectures, and follows an evening timetable. You will take a foundation module in your first term and then choose either a taught route consisting of one option module offered by the School of Historical Studies, or a research-focused route where you will complete a dissertation on a historical subject of your choice. Throughout the course, you will also engage in hands-on analysis of sources, debating and discussing the wider implications of evidence to historical analysis.