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Postgraduate Study in the Department of History

Postgraduate Coursework Degrees

The Department of History at the University of Sydney offers coursework degrees that enable people to pursue their interests in the past more fully, or help prepare for study toward a PhD.

The department has expertise in a wide range of fields, and is especially strong in American history, Australian history, and the history of Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. Members of the department practise a diverse range of approaches to the past, with particular strengths in cultural history, gender history and transnational history.

Our flexible courses allow you to structure a program to suit your needs. For example, qualified applicants can study for a Graduate Certificate, and then choose to complete two more units of study for a Graduate Diploma, subject to approval by the academic coordinator. We also offer Non-Award study, so you can study as an enrolled student without the award of a degree, diploma or certificate.

Master of Letters (History)

Candidates for the Master of Letters (History) must complete the two treatise units of study (24 credit points) listed for the course.

For further information on this course, please see the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Postgraduate Handbook.

Master of Arts (History)

Candidates for the Master of Arts (History) must complete 48 credit points, including a 6 credit point core unit of study and 42 credit points of elective units of study.

The MA takes one year of full-time study (usually three coursework units plus a unit of dissertation work each semester). The degree can also be undertaken part-time (one-two units per semester) over several years.

Graduate Diploma of Arts (History)

Candidates for the Graduate Diploma in Arts (History) must complete 36 credit points, including a 6 credit point core unit of study and 30 credit points of elective units of study.

Graduate Certificate of Arts (History)

Candidates for the Graduate Certificate in Arts (History) must complete 24 credit points, including a 6 credit point core unit of study and 18 credit points of elective units of study.

Units of Study

Each unit is worth 6 credit points, except where indicated

Core Unit

  • HSTY6987 Writing the Past

Electives

  • HSTY6988 Contagion: History and Culture
  • HSTY6994 Globalism, Internationalism, and the UN
  • HSTY7000 A History of Australia-US Relations
  • HSTY7001 The History of Human Rights
  • HSTY6915 MA Dissertation Part 1*
  • HSTY6916 MA Dissertation Part 2*
  • ARCA6905 History and Philosophy of Archaeology
  • ARTS7000 Academic Communication for Postgraduates
  • EUST6901 European Cinema and National Identities
  • HRTG6901 The Idea of Heritage
  • JCTC6908 The Australian Jewish Experience

Core Units - Master of Letters

  • HSTY6962 Treatise Part 1* (12 credit points)
  • HSTY6963 Treatise Part 2* (12 credit points)

*Department permission required - the dissertation is available to MA candidates only and the treatise is a compulsory component in the MLitt that may not be undertaken by candidates for other award courses. Please discuss your proposed topic for the dissertation or treatise with the postgraduate coordinator prior to enrolling in these units of study.

Additional units

All candidates may select units from outside their specialization up to a maximum of half the course requirements. Units of study may be selected from other faculties as part of this amount to a maximum of 6 credit points for Graduate Certificate candidates, and 12 credit points for Graduate Diploma and Master’s candidates. The following units are particularly recommended to complement your history degree.

The units listed below are particularily recommended to complement your study in History if you choose to undertake units of study from outside your specialization.

  • ANHS6901 Ancient Rome: Space and Power (Summer School)
  • EUST6900 European Identity and Cultures
  • GCST5905 Identity, Place and Culture
  • GCST5909 Key Thinkers for Cultural Studies
  • GCST6903 Debates in Cultural Studies
  • JCTC6915 Contemporary Response to the Holocaust
  • PHIL7021 Kant
  • PHIL7840 Philosophy and the Science of Happiness
  • PHIL7841 Reasoning, Argument and Explanation
  • GCST5902 Natures and Cultures of Bodies
  • WMST6902 Arguing the Point
  • WMST6903 Gender, Media and Consumer Societies
  • WMST6904 Modernism, Modernity and Modern Culture
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Postgraduate Coursework Coordinator

Dr Penny Russell
Room 849 Brennan Building

+61 2 9351 2362