MA Modern and Public History

About this course

The MA Modern and Public History is designed for students who want to study modern history while also thinking seriously about how history is researched, communicated and used beyond the university.

• Go beyond the archive – study modern history with a real emphasis on public engagement, heritage and the politics of memory
• Develop skills that matter – build expertise in research, interpretation, communication and project design, applied to real audiences and real questions
• Learn from specialists – work alongside historians researching across a wide range of periods, themes and approaches
• Make the most of Liverpool – one of the UK's most historically significant cities, with exceptional archives, museums, heritage sites and community history networks on your doorstep
• Connect with the field – engage with heritage professionals, external speakers and live public history debates in both the UK and Ireland.
• Build your portfolio – graduate with a strong body of work to support careers in heritage, museums, education, policy, community engagement, research and beyond

The programme explores key themes including power, identity, memory, inequality, conflict, empire, enslavement and its legacies, while equipping students to produce historically informed work for different audiences and contexts.

Students join an active research environment at LJMU, with direct connections to the rich historical culture of Liverpool, the North West and Ireland. Teaching draws on archives, museums, historic spaces and community networks, and encourages students to think about history as something made through dialogue: between researchers and sources, between universities and communities, and between the past and the urgent questions of the present.

The programme combines academic rigour with public-history practice. Modules such as Liverpool and Slavery, History Beyond the University, and the dissertation allow students to build specialist knowledge alongside practical approaches to interpretation, engagement and independent research. Site visits, fieldtrips and public history case studies allow students to test ideas in real-world settings as they develop their own interests and professional confidence.