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MA by Research in History (2025 Entry)

This image shows a group of History students in a faculty building.

Postgraduate Research

Explore our History Master's by Research degree at Warwick

With a reputation for national and international excellence and innovation, our History Department was ranked fourth in the country for the highest combined percentage (92%) of world-leading and internationally excellent research outputs (REF 2021). Surrounded and supported by a host of exceptional historians, you will be exposed to diverse and international views, people and research, all encouraging and challenging you to think unconventionally and creatively about the past.


Course overview

The breadth of expertise and experience in the History Department (currently forty or so full-time members of staff), along with a thriving culture of research, seminars and conferences, make Warwick one of the very best universities in the UK to undertake research in history.

Students taking the MA by Research are expected to complete their degrees in one year of full-time study, or two years part-time. As a research student your closest contact will be with your supervisor, or supervisors, who will meet with you regularly to discuss your work, and agree a programme of reading, research and writing with you.

Additional support and training, including English language support, are provided by the Department, Arts Faculty and the Graduate School, as well as by History’s many reading groups, seminars, workshops and conferences. History researchers will benefit from the University Library’s Research Exchange, a dedicated postgraduate conference and study area, with state-of-the-art facilities.

Please contact the department to discuss whether the MA by Research, rather than the Taught MA, is the right course for you.

For postgraduate queries, please email PGHistoryOffice at warwick dot ac dot uk. For further information about the department, please visit the History Department web pages.

Teaching and learning

You will take one core module Historical Research: Theories, Skills and Methods.

This 40 CATS one-term MA module for students is designed to equip students with the methodological skills needed to carry out an extended piece of historical research and writing.

General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a closely related subject.


English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

  • Band B
  • Overall IELTS (Academic) score of 7.0 and component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

All of our courses are delivered in English so, if English is not your first language, you have not graduated from an English speaking university or worked in an English speaking environment for at least two years you must demonstrate a minimum overall standard in a recognised English Language Test. The certificate will be required as evidence.


International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.


Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our research

The Department of History at Warwick has particular strengths in the history of the early modern and modern periods. Our Faculty have expertise in subjects across the world, and we host a number of specialist Research CentresLink opens in a new window (in Global History, the History of Medicine, the Early Modern and Eighteenth Century, and Modern European History) facilitating new research by students and scholars.

The Department has an outstanding reputation as pioneering practitioners of social, cultural, early modern, European, Latin American and medical history, and has more recently been at the forefront of developing the methodologies of the new global history. Inspired by an expansive and inclusive vision of historical research, our historians' work is multi-disciplinary and draws on environmental, literary, visual and material sources spanning the globe across five centuries.

Warwick’s History Department features a host of exceptional historians and has an outstanding national and international reputation. You can search our academic staff by their areas of expertiseLink opens in a new window.

Our historians highlight global and innovative perspectives on traditional themes and share an enthusiasm for history beyond the confines of academia. Their research and teaching reflects a cutting-edge take on established historical fields and ideas. They are prepared to take an unconventional view. This willingness to look beyond the traditional boundaries of the discipline makes for a distinctive learning environment at Warwick.

The Department’s commitment to supporting research that is internationally field-leading, innovative, and engaged is underpinned by the belief that understanding the past helps to shape the present and the future.

Research within the Department is underpinned by three key guiding principles: rendering visible people, objects, themes, institutions and processes whose histories have been neglected, misunderstood or under-valued; achieving engagement and impact for our findings, within academia, museums and archives and beyond; and internationalism, in terms of the scope of research, the composition of the Department, and our approach to collaboration.

If you are intellectually curious, and prepared for your investigations to take you into unexpected territories, you will be at home in Warwick’s Department of History.

You can also read our general University research proposal guidance.

Find a supervisor

Find your potential supervisor using the link below and contact them to discuss what you would like to research.

View our History Staff Directory where you will be able to explore the areas of expertise, research centres and research networks within the department. If you need additional guidance please email us.

You can also see our general University guidance about finding a supervisor.


Research proposals

For the application, we would expect a detailed research proposal of approximately 2,000 words (excluding footnotes and bibliography).

This should give:

  • an overview of your research questions and why they are important;
  • how these build on, challenge or supplement with existing research;
  • the methodology you plan to adopt; and
  • the sources you might use.

Please add a short bibliography of key relevant works. Please upload all this as a single supporting document in Word or PDF document.

See more details about the application procedure on our webisteLink opens in a new window.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your research course fees


Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status


Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

  • Core text books
  • Printer credits
  • Dissertation binding
  • Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Department content block about careers

History at Warwick

Each year, we attract excellent students like you to Warwick.

We will help you develop the skills needed to conduct research, including in the archives, engage critically with your sources, and support you in developing critical thinking and writing skills.

Whether you’re working with classmates in seminars and workshops, or getting involved with the History Society, at every turn you’ll find like-minded people who share your fascination with the past and its significance in the present.

Get to know us better by exploring our departmental website.Link opens in a new window


Our courses

Read more about our courses on the History website:

How to apply

The application process for courses that start in September and October 2025 will open on 2 October 2024.

For research courses that start in September and October 2025 the application deadline for students who require a visa to study in the UK is 2 August 2025. This should allow sufficient time to complete the admissions process and to obtain a visa to study in the UK.

How to apply for a postgraduate research course  

After you’ve applied

Find out how we process your application.

Applicant Portal

Track your application and update your details.

Admissions statement

See Warwick’s postgraduate admissions policy.

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Explore ways to connect with us

We understand how important it is to visit and explore your future university before you apply. That's why we have put together a range of online and in-person options to help you discover more about your course, visit campus, and get a sense of postgraduate life at Warwick. Our events offer includes:

  • Warwick hosted events
  • Postgraduate Fairs
  • Live chats
  • Talk and Tours
  • Department events