2020/21 Taught Postgraduate Programme Catalogue

MA War and Strategy

Total credits: 180

Entry requirements:

BA in History or a related subject at 2.1 or above

School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme:

School of History

Examination board through which the programme will be considered:

School of History

Relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Groups:

History

Programme specification:

The MA Military History was successful popular degree offered by the School of History. It was suspended in 2009 when Professors John Gooch and John Childs retired. The School did not have enough staff with expertise in military history to offer a robust and distinctive degree. The School now has the expertise in place to re-launch and re-brand the degree.

Leeds was one of the pioneers in the Masters level study of war. In recent years other Russell Group Universities have acknowledged the drawing power of the subject. There are comparable programmes at King's, Birmingham, Hull, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Outside the Russell Group, Salford and Wolverhampton offer programmes. Some universities were consulted by the Ministry of Defence about military education whilst Leeds was out of the game. The level of demand is indicated by the policies of competitor institutions. The challenge is to establish a course that will offer sufficient differentiation. Leeds now combines a blend of expertise that will make this possible. The University is competing in three markets. The first is amongst students who wish to study the history of war and have a geographic preference for northern England. Second, the scheme will appeal to students who wish to apply the history of war in a policy and contemporary setting. Third, we will offer a programme on the history of war which covers a wide area of expertise, including the middle ages, early modern times, up to contemporary history of war.

Leeds will differentiate itself by:
1. Drawing on its distinguished international reputation for medieval history and its links with the Royal Armouries.
2. Offering students the opportunity to forge links with potential employers and gain unique insights into the contemporary structures of security politics.

The University of Leeds is well equipped to teach the history of war at postgraduate level. The Brotherton Library is a superb research library that includes the vast Liddle Collection within its Special Collections. The Second World War Experience Centre, located in Wetherby, offers an even bigger collection of private papers. Furthermore, the library, artefacts and manuscripts of the Royal Armouries Museum offer additional possibilities, as well as the British Library Lending Division at Boston Spa, and the Imperial War Museum North at Salford.

The compulsory core module will provide knowledge of contemporary military and strategic thinking. This is reinforced with a number of optional modules where more specialist topics are studied in greater depth and detail. The programme incorporates a compulsory research methodology component in order to prepare students to research and write a 15,000 word dissertation, the pinnacle of the degree. On completion, students will have acquired a thorough grounding in military affairs spanning a broad chronological and geographical range, and the techniques necessary for pursuing independent research.

Year1 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Compulsory modules:

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Optional modules:

Candidates will be required to study 90 credits from the following option modules:

Last updated: 24/05/2021 09:33:34

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