MSt in History

Watch the recording of our MSt in History Information Session from our Master's Open Week 2024.

The Master of Studies (MSt) in History is a University of Cambridge qualification, offering education and research training at master’s level, and provides you with the opportunity to carry out advanced research in history. It is designed for those who have relevant or humanities-related experience at first-degree level, and helps to develop critical awareness and theoretical understanding of the associated skills and techniques that can be deployed. 

The taught elements of the syllabus, Part I, are offered during the first year in three intensive study blocks/modules, usually scheduled inside full term, each of which is examined by an assessed essay. Sessions are offered in research training, and essay and dissertation writing. In the second year, Part II, you will undertake a dissertation under the supervision of a supervisor and there are three day schools with training in dissertation research and writing.

The MSt is taught over two academic years in short, intensive study blocks, and begins in October 2025 (Michaelmas Term). It has been designed to be accessible to those in full or part-time employment, and to international students.

You are expected to attend all of the in person residentials in Cambridge in Year 1, and participate actively in the Day Schools in Year 2.

Successful applicants will become members of a Cambridge College and will join the wider graduate community, with full access to the facilities of the University.

Aims of the programme

By the end of the course you should have:

• developed an understanding of, and ability to apply critically, the main academic theories and concepts underpinning the study of history
• extended and developed your analytical, evaluative and critical capacities
• developed the ability to form independent judgements based on your reading, research and writing
• gained demonstrable specific subject knowledge and analysis relevant to your dissertation
• developed research skills required for further postgraduate research

Student Support

Depending upon your needs, a variety of support opportunities are available to you including wellbeing support sessions, short-term counselling, and study skills support sessions. Find out more in our student support webpages.

Expected academic standard

Applicants for this course will normally have achieved a UK 2.1 honours degree or overseas equivalent in history or a humanities-related subject.

If your degree is not from the UK, please check International Qualifications to find the equivalent in your country.

We are able to consider 'non-standard' applicants who do not meet the standard academic criterion. In such cases, you will need to produce evidence of relevant and equivalent experience, and your suitability for the course.

Language requirement

If English isn’t your first language, you will be required to submit evidence that you meet the University’s English language requirement before you are admitted.

Please see full details on the University Language Requirement webpage.

Language requirements for this course are below:

• IELTS Academic: Overall band score of 7.5 (with a minimum of 7.0 in each individual component)
• TOEFL Internet: Overall score of 110 (a minimum of 25 in each individual component)
• C1 Advanced: Grade  A or B (with at least 193 in each individual element), plus a Language Centre assessment.
• C2 Proficiency: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200, with no element lower than 185)

There are no exceptions to this requirement and, if you are offered a place on the course, it will be subject to you meeting this requirement.

Visa information 

Students registered on a part-time Master of Studies (MSt) will be able to attend the short teaching sessions with a visitor status in the UK. Entry to the UK as a visitor has a number of expectations and restrictions which you should consider carefully.

Further information is provided on the International Students website and prospective students are advised to read this in full.

Students attending sessions taking place at intervals across the year with a visitor status are expected not to remain in the UK for extended periods. The majority of study must be undertaken outside the UK and generally students will be required to leave the UK at the end of each session and return for the next. As a visitor on a course of more than 6 months, it is not possible to make the UK your main study location or residence, or make frequent or successive visits to stay in the UK for extended periods.

The MSt in History is structured around three residential modules that you must attend. In the first year, each of the three residential blocks will be preceded by guided preparatory reading and other activities.

A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) offers you learning support while you are on the programme, including learning resources, to build a virtual community of practice. You are expected to have sufficient IT skills to engage with the VLE and all assignments are uploaded to the VLE for assessment.

Teaching

Year 1

The taught elements of the syllabus are offered during Year 1 in three intensive study blocks, each of which is examined by an assessed essay of 3,000 words maximum. Sessions are offered in research training, and essay and dissertation writing. Teaching methods combine informal lectures and class discussion, the study of primary sources, and student-led peer-to-peer learning. Teaching is planned to take place at Girton College, Cambridge.

Module 1: Approaches to history 

You will be introduced to a range of approaches to history, possibly including  social and economic, political, local history, political thought, American history, world history.

Teaching dates: Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 October 2025

Module 2: Sources, methods and research skills 

This module provides research training in using, for example: quantitative and qualitative approaches; literature, visual sources, and material culture; oral history. Topics might include using library resources and archives, the census, microhistory, sources for early modern history.

Teaching dates: Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 February 2026

Module 3: Theory, concepts and historiography 

Theoretical, conceptual and historiographical approaches are developed through a number of thematic topics drawn from, for example: class and social status; race and gender; the Annales School; and religion.

Teaching dates: Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 May 2026

Please note that the content of all modules is indicative and may be subject to change.

Year 2

The second year is characterised by focus on the dissertation. You will work independently on your chosen topic under the supervision of an expert in the chosen field who you will have regular contact with. You will be required to attend five supervisions between May 2026 and May 2027 and will be able to agree with your supervisor whether these are face-to-face or online.

There will also be three day-schools at which students provide short presentations on their research to date, alongside some training in dissertation research and writing:

• day school 1: Friday 23 October 2026
• day school 2: Friday 22 January 2027
• day school 3: Friday 23 April 2027

Contact time

Lectures, seminars and classes: c.75 hours in Year 1 (including some reading/prep time), c.18 hours in Year 2.

• Supervision: 5 x 1-hour sessions in Year 2.

Assessment

Essays, projects and other written work

• Three essay assignments, each of 3,000 words maximum.

Some assignments and the dissertation require literature reviews. 

Dissertation

A dissertation of 16,000-20,000 words (including appendices, but excluding bibliography and footnotes).

Feedback

You will be given formal feedback on your assignments and informal feedback throughout their course, including during supervisions. Supervisions also result in an annual progress report at the end of Year 1 and termly reports during Year 2.

Further study

A strong performance in the MSt in History might enable students to progress to PhD study at this or other leading global universities.

Fees

The fees for 2025-27, which include College membership, are: 

• £7,755 per annum for Home students (total £15,510)
• £15,510 per annum for Overseas students (total £31,020) 

The fee can be paid across the two years of the course, normally in eight equal instalments. All fees for Year 1 must be paid in full in order to progress to Year 2.

You will be expected to cover the application fee (£50 online) and any costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence during the course and residential sessions in Cambridge. 

Funding

Please see our bursaries page for information about the MSt in History research bursary. 

We recommend that you explore any potential funding well in advance of the application deadline. See our External funding page for more information.

Applications will be accepted until Friday 28th February 2025.

All applications are considered on a gathered field after the closing date. Late applications will not be considered. We encourage all applications to be submitted as early as possible, to avoid any possible technical difficulties with submission. 

All short-listed applicants will be invited to interview. This will be held online via Zoom with Professor Sam Williams and Dr Matt Neal.

Interview dates: w/c 31 March 2025 (exact dates tbc)

Apply using the applicant portal

The 'Apply Now' button on this page will take you to the Applicant Portal. There, you can create and submit your application and supporting documents, and you can also request your references.
An application is only complete when:
•    you have submitted your application and supporting documents via the Applicant Portal
•    you have paid the application fee if applicable. 
•    your referees have provided their references.

You are required to provide supporting documents as part of your application.  Please ensure that you have read the 'Supporting Documents' section of this course page.

You must have your research proposal and writing sample ready before you begin, as they will be submitted as part of the application form and cannot be submitted later.

Supporting documents

Below are details of the general and course specific supporting documents you will be asked to provide before you can submit your application. References and transcripts can be provided either at the time of submitting your application or very shortly after. Please submit all supporting documents as soon as you can, as it will be difficult to assess your application without them, and certainly by the application deadline. 

Research Proposal

This is one of the most important parts of the application. Applicants are admitted for the topic of their research proposal and an expert supervisor has to be secured before an applicant can be admitted. 

Please entitle this as 'Statement of intended research'. The 'statement of intended research' should state clearly the intended area (place, theme) of research, the chronological period, how the research contributes to the existing historiography on that topic, and the primary sources that might be consulted, within the scope of the MSt, and should be between 600-1,000 words (2-5 pages) in length. The chronological period should be appropriate to the research question and body of original sources and it is advised that a long chronological period is avoided. The proposal should display an awareness of the relevant secondary literature on the place of study and wider research area, as well as the national and/or global context. A strong proposal would indicate the possible primary sources to be consulted. The research proposal will be strengthened with a bibliography of suitable primary and up-to-date sources. A strong statement of intended research is not overly ambitious: remember that this research will be undertaken over one year, part-time. A weak proposal will think that far more research can be undertaken than can reasonably be achieved in this time scale. 

Sample of work

Applicants should submit a writing sample (in English). This should be a complete final-year undergraduate paper (or a number of shorter papers) in History or a related field (Humanities or Social Science) or approximately 10-20 pages of historical research.

References

You will need to provide the details of two referees who can provide academic references (preferable) or professional references. If at all possible, referees should comment upon your academic ability and suitability for this course. Please try and avoid personal references. You will be asked to provide email addresses for your referees so that they can submit their references via the online referencing system, so it is important for you to ensure that each referee is able to provide a reference for you before you submit your application form.

It is your responsibility to ensure that all references are received by the application deadline.

Transcripts

A transcript is a list of all the courses you have taken during a programme of study, with the result you obtained, and with the credit value if applicable. 

If you are currently studying, please provide a transcript listing the courses taken during your programme of study, with the results or grades obtained for each. Current Cambridge students should upload a copy of their unofficial transcript from their Student Self-Service. 

If you have previously completed degree-level study, please provide a transcript or degree certificate for each degree-level programme you have studied, showing the date the degree was awarded and the final class or grade obtained. 

The transcript should be uploaded via the Applicant Portal. Please note that we may also ask you to send the originals via post if we make you an offer of admission and supplying these may be a condition of your offer. 

If your documents are not in English, you must also upload a full translation of each document, prepared by a registered translator. 

College membership

Students taking this course may apply to the following partner Colleges: 

• Lucy Cavendish
• Selwyn
• Wolfson

We will do our best to allocate students to their preferred College(s), but this is dependent on capacity and ensuring an equal balance between all partner Colleges. To find out more about College membership, see the most recent ‘Meet the Colleges’ recording. 

If you have a pre-existing membership at a Cambridge College which is not listed above, you can approach them to ask if they would consider you as a member for this course. However, we are unable to arrange this for you. It is only possible to select membership of one of the above partner Colleges if this is not your case.  

Note that there may be small additional fees payable to a College for specific services provided; for further information please contact the College directly.

Some Colleges might be able to offer accommodation for a fee during residentials (subject to availability), but this is not guaranteed. You are also free to make your own accommodation arrangements.

When completing your application, please note the University restrictions and risks of using AI tools.