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About the course

This London-based programme enables students to pursue research on a topic they choose (under guidance) in any aspect of the political, religious, or social history of England during this period of turbulent and sometimes revolutionary change.

The Master’s degree can be taken either full-time and completed in a single academic year, or taken part-time and extended over two years. Although original research it the prime focus of the programme, there is also a strongly collegial aspect to the course, as all research students meet regularly throughout the year for a series of early-evening seminars by some of the most distinguished scholars working in the history of early-modern England. The seminars are held in the Reform Club in Pall Mall, London, SW1, and provide an opportunity for students to meet and debate with the visiting speaker. Each seminar is followed by a working dinner at which discussion continues. (The full seminar programme is given below.)

The MA is awarded solely on the basis of the dissertation (there are no ‘exams’), and the relationship between the student and supervisor is therefore at the heart of the course.

The maximum length for the MA dissertation in the School of Humanities is 25,000 words (or approximately 75 pages at line-spacing of 1.5), excluding notes and references. Student and supervisor meet regularly on a one-to-one basis to discuss, plan, and review the dissertation as it develops through the year.

The University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø MA programmes are intended to impart all the skills necessary for the student to work as an independent researcher and writer – skills that are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. But the MA can be undertaken just as fulfillingly as an exercise in the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, and as a means of exploring areas of enquiry that are of particular interest to the student.

The academic year begins in October with classes on how to undertake archival research, how to plan and structure a dissertation successfully, and on the many online resources that are available to assist in historical research on the Tudor and Stuart periods. Specialist classes are also offered on paleography (the study of historic handwriting) to enable students to read contemporary manuscripts with speed and accuracy.

Tutorials and classes will normally take place at the University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s London offices at 51 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, WC1E 6HJ, very close to the British Museum.

DEFINING A SUBJECT FOR RESEARCH

Some students know from the outset the precise subject on which they intend to work. For most, however, the definition of a research proposal is usually a gradual process, with the student starting with a general area of interest, and then focusing on a more closely defined topic as a result of further reading and consultation, usually with the Course Director. Most students do not arrive at the final title of their dissertation until towards the end of the first Term, before Christmas.

Successful thesis subjects that have been undertaken by recent students include the early Tudor Reformation; a biographical study of Henry VIII’s little-studied daughter-in-law, Mary (née Howard), Duchess of Richmond; a study of the political role of jewels given as gifts in the Elizabethan court; the political career of the parliamentarian grandee the 2nd Earl of Warwick (1587-1658); and the impact of the ‘Smyrna convoy disaster’ of 1693 on politics and government under William III.

The Course Director, Professor John Adamson, is available to offer advice to prospective students who would like to discuss possible subjects for their research before they apply. He can be reached directly by email at: john.adamson@buckingham.ac.uk

RESEARCH SEMINARS AND DINING

The seminar meets monthly between October and June in handsome accommodation at the Reform Club in Pall Mall. All seminars begin at 6:30 pm with the talk by the visiting speaker, and this is followed by a question session and discussion that runs to 7:45 pm. There is then a short break for pre-dinner drinks and the group reconvenes at 8:15 pm for a three-course dinner with wine, during which the historical discussion continues. Proceedings usually end at 9:30 pm. The programme aims not only to offer a stimulating intellectual experience, but one which is an enjoyable sociable experience as well. The cost of the dinners is included in the tuition fees.

The seminar programme for 2024-25 will include talks by John Adamson, David Scott, Alexandra Gajda, David Starkey, Anna Keay, John Guy, Julia Fox, and others.

Location, unless otherwise stated: the Reform Club, 104 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5EW

SEMINAR DATES AND VENUES FOR 2025-26

All seminars, except that in June, are on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm in the Garden Room, Reform Club, 104 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5EW

Autumn Term

15 October 2025
12 November 2025
10 December 2025

Winter Term

21 January 2026
11 February 2026
18 March 2026

Spring Term

6 May 2026
Thursday 4 June 2026 at The University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø, 2:30-6:30 pm: the annual Research Day in Tudor and Stuart History

STUDY PERIOD

The usual period of Master’s degree research is one year for the those who engage in full-time study. Part-time study is also available, with students completing the dissertation in two years.

RESEARCH SUPERVISION

Every Master’s student in School of Humanities is supported by two supervisors. There is a First (or Principal) Supervisor, who is the student’s regular guide during his or her research, and with whom the student meets regularly throughout the year. There is also a Second Supervisor, whom the student may consult on a more limited basis where a ‘second opinion’ on a particular draft chapter may be helpful. Full-time students see their supervisor for one-to-one supervisions not less than twice a term.

The University has an extensive group of scholars available to undertake supervision in the fields of Tudor and Stuart History.

The programme is directed by Professor John Adamson, one of the country’s leading historians of early-modern England. He is the winner of the Royal Historical Society’s Alexander Prize for History, the University of Cambridge’s Thirlwall Prize and Seeley Medal for History, and the Samuel Pepys Prize and Latham Medal for his book, The Noble Revolt: the Overthrow of Charles I. His interests focus on political and religious history in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and in particular the Tudor and Stuart royal court.

Paul Lay, a former editor of History Today and author of the critically-acclaimed Providence Lost: the Rise and Fall of Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate, is a Senior Research Fellow in British History and has written extensively on English history in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Dr Glyn Redworth, a Fellow of The University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Humanities Research Institute and member of the History Faculty of the University of Oxford, is available for supervision in Tudor and early-Stuart history. He read history at Cambridge, taking his doctorate at Oxford under the supervision of Dr Christopher Haigh. The breadth of his research interests is unusually broad, as he writes on both British and European early modern history. His publications range from his first book on the mid-Tudor bishop, Stephen Gardiner of Winchester, to studies of the ill-fated Spanish Match of 1623, and the Spanish missionary to London, Luisa de Carvajal, whose correspondence he edited in a two-volume translation of her letters into English.

Dr David Scott specializes in English history in the seventeenth century, with a particular focus on the reign of Charles and the Cromwellian period. He is a Senior Research Fellow of the University’s Humanities Research Institute and the editor of the History of Parliament’s major biographical survey of members of the House of Lords between 1640 and 1660. His publications include one of the best introductions to the period currently in print, Leviathan: the Rise of Britian as a World Power, and a highly praised single-volume history of the English Civil War.

Professor Adrian Tinniswood OBE, Professor of British Cultural History in the University, is one of the country’s most eminent historians of social history, with a series of books ranging from studies of early-modern piracy to studies of the social role of architecture and, in particular, the significance of the country house. Professor Tinniswood is available to supervise in Tudor and Stuart social history.

PROGRESSION FROM THE MA TO THE PHD DEGREE

A number of MA students also wish to undertake the PhD degree. This is often in a different area from that which has been studied at MA level. In such cases, the student starts afresh, and the PhD degree usually requires a further three years of full-time study.

Alternatively, a number of students opt to stay with their MA topic and to expand the scope of the project to PhD level. Those wishing to do so may apply at the end of their first year for ‘upgrading’ to PhD status. Where this is granted, the student’s year of MA-related research can be counted as the first year of the three years of full-time study required for the PhD.

ASSOCIATE STUDENTS

For those who wish to attend the seminars and to join the post-seminar dinners with the visiting speakers, it is possible to join the programme as an Associate Student (what is known as an Audit Student in the United States). Associate Students do not enrol for the MA and do not have to submit any written work, but they are otherwise full members of the seminar and free to take part in discussion. There is also a substantially reduced fee.

For further information, please contact humanitiespg-admissions@buckingham.ac.uk