Public History & Cultural Heritage (Online), MA

The Public History and Cultural Heritage MA programme provides a structured academic approach to the practice of history in the public domain through modern models of online learning. Graduates of this programme attain a globally-recognised postgraduate qualification in a cutting-edge area of growing national and international significance.

What will students learn?
The programme has been developed to include a combination of conceptual, methodological and practice-based modules, thus broadening the student’s intellectual and scholarly experience. The modules engage with contemporary issues in public history, including controversies, collaborations, and communications, all the time questioning: What does it mean? Why does it matter? A useful way of describing public history is as “an attitude or perception about the use and value of history”. (Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, 2013)  Students of this programme learn what this means in theory and in practice, applying the knowledge and skills they acquire to their own learning goals.

Who is this programme for?
Anyone interested in public history practice, production, performance, participation, and promotion.

The online delivery provides prospective students employed in the areas of culture, heritage, education, tourism, local history and civic development, among others, with the opportunity to become part of an international public history community. In keeping with its community-building and peer-support ethos, this programme offers continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities to those already working in public history (museums, archives, cultural heritage sites, or freelance), but is also designed to appeal to those seeking to work in this exciting field.

The coursework for this MA course will be delivered entirely online.* As there are no formal examinations, students benefit from continuous online feedback and assessment. Students are given graded assignments at regular intervals incorporating the use of primary and secondary sources, and in a variety of traditional and non-traditional formats. These range from short discussion posts to long-form essays, and content creation from social and other online media to podcasting. Students become peers in an accessible, enthusiastic and inclusive online learning community, contributing to discussion forums and debating the most up-to-date public history issues (e.g. controversies about commemorations, flags and statues, remembering and forgetting pasts, etc). The programme includes training on the methodological, practical and ethical aspects of historical research and interpretation, with input from public history practitioners and cultural sector partners.

* Some modules may also be available on campus (blended delivery). Please note that a good basic level of digital literacy is required and elective modules are subject to change each year.

A primary degree (with first or second class honours) (Level 8 - National Qualifications Authority of Ireland) in a relevant or appropriate subject, or equivalent prior learning that is recognised by the University as meeting this requirement. Applicants must also satisfy the English Language Requirements of the University. The University reserves the right to shortlist and interview applicants as deemed necessary.

What to Include with your Application

• Qualification transcripts and certificates
• English language qualification if English is not your first language
• Certified English translations of your transcripts/certificates where the originals are in a language other than English.
• A copy of your birth certificate or passport

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence of either prior successful completion of a degree qualification taught through the medium of English or meet one of the criteria below (no longer than two years prior to application):

Acceptable English Language qualifications include the following:

• Matriculation examinations from European countries where English is presented as a subject and an acceptable level is achieved
• Irish Leaving Certificate English –Ordinary Level Grade D or above
• TOEFL – 580 (paper based) or 90 (internet based)
• IELTS – Minimum score of 6.5* with no less than 6 in any one component.
• English Test for English and Academic Purposes (ETAPP) – Grade C1
• GCE ‘O’ level English Language/GCSE English Language – Grade C or above
• Cambridge Assessment English –Certificate of Proficiency in English - Grade C / Certificate in Advanced English Grade B
• GCE Examination Boards – Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations – Grade C / Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate – School Certificate Pass 1-6 / University of London Entrance and School Examinations Council – School Certificate Pass 1-6

Results in examinations other than those listed above may also be accepted as meeting our English language requirements. Contact the International Education Division for advice.
 

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Deirdre Cuss, Graduate, MA Public History and Cultural Heritage

‘The MA in ‘public history and cultural heritage’ has offered me the chance to explore career paths throughout the museum, heritage and cultural institutions in Ireland and abroad. Whether exploring the academic or more practical  side of things, the course developed each element fully so that the students would be equipped to enter the industry.’

While graduates of this MA are well placed to pursue a multiplicity of career pathways, the programme will prove to be of particular value to

• Graduates seeking to pursue a career in public history, in the heritage, education and tourism sectors
• Practitioners of public history seeking theoretical and methodological upskilling
• Those wishing to pursue doctoral research in this area