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Archives and Records Management MA

London, Bloomsbury

Become career-ready for the world of records management through this degree that blends theory with hands-on practice. The Archives and Records Management MA provides a core education in managing records and archives for current use and future preservation. Taught at UCL, this is an exceptional opportunity to gain the knowledge you’ll need to work in this field.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
£12,700
£6,350
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
£31,100
£15,550
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2024
Applications accepted
All applicants: 16 Oct 2023 – 05 Apr 2024

Applications closed

Find similar courses still open

Entry requirements

Normal requirements for admission are a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or equivalent. A period of paid or voluntary experience (usually 4-12months) in archive, records or information governance work. Applicants that do not meet these requirements but demonstrate a strong understanding of the programme and the recordkeeping field will be given due consideration.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The programme focuses on the management of records and archives in a variety of digital and hard copy formats. You will learn to manage, organise, interpret and provide access to a wide range of records and archives, focusing on both the management of records for ongoing purposes, and their selection, preservation and accessibility for future uses including historical research.

Who this course is for

The MA/Postgraduate Diploma provides a foundation education for graduates seeking to enter the profession. The Postgraduate Certificate has certain professional elements, but is not recognised as a professional qualification.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

UCL boasts one of the longest-established archive education programmes in the UK. It is taught by leading experts in the field, drawing on their innovative research as well as extensive practical experience of archives and records work through a work placement.

You will benefit from UCL's location close to many records management services, and the broadest grouping of historical archives in any city in the English-speaking world.

The programme hosts an impressive range of visiting speakers, organises frequent field visits to a wide variety of working environments, and a two-week placement, all of which provide unique occasions to network and create professional links with key players in the sector.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

This programme will prepare you to work in a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional archives and information management roles in both the private and public sectors, in the UK and internationally.

You will benefit from the department's excellent links with employers in the information professions, which will provide you with 'real life' experiences through guest lectures, visits and a placement. You will also receive specific careers advice, including how to construct CVs. Longer term, the programme will equip you with the skills and knowledge to have a long and successful career in your chosen field and to become a leader in your profession.

Employability

Past graduates have taken up professional roles at prestigious organisations and institutions including national societies, university libraries and the House of Commons.

Networking

Alongside visits to and speakers from a diverse and extensive range of records management services and archives, and the two week placement, you will be provided with the opportunity to develop your network by being introduced to the main professional societies underpinning the sector, in particular the Archive & Records Association (ARA). Speakers from ARA’s new professionals section encourage students to join as student members and begin developing their competencies under the guidance of a mentor in order to work towards professional registration. The Centre for Critical Archives & Records Management (CCARMS) also provides students with opportunities to be involved in research, engagement and dissemination activities, which is also an excellent profile-raising opportunity.

Accreditation

Our ARA reaccreditation will take place in 2024 as part of a normal cycle of accreditation processes. We have agreed to be the first trial site for ARA’s new accreditation framework process.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, computer laboratory sessions and class-based practical exercises, with a strong emphasis on group and peer learning and the acquisition of practical skills underpinned by archival theory and knowledge.

Assessment is through a mixture of essays, reports, and practical assignments.

You can expect to spend around 1,800 hours completing the MA programme, and 1,200 hours completing the PG Dip programme.

The core module Concepts & Contexts will involve 300 hours of study, of which 40 hours are in-person contact hours. The remaining hours are spent on self-directed study, such as private reading, research, and preparation for assessment. In addition, you can expect to spend 150 hours on each of the remaining five taught modules, of which 20-25 hours are in-person contact hours. The remaining hours are spent on self-directed study.

MA students can expect to spend around 600 hours completing their dissertation, of which around six hours are spent in contact time and another six hours in tutorials. The remaining hours are spent on independent research, private reading, and writing up.

A Postgraduate Diploma, five core modules (90 credits), two optional modules (30 credits), full-time nine months or flexible study up to five years, is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate, four optional modules (60 credits), full-time 15 weeks or flexible study over a period of up to two years, is offered.

Modules

You will undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. You will undertake seven taught modules and the research dissertation. Five of the modules are compulsory and cover the themes of:

  • concepts and contexts
  • curation and stewardship
  • the record-keeping professional
  • creation and capture
  • access and the use of archives

To complete the seven modules, you will choose two optional modules that individually cover a broad range of subjects, such as:

  • reading and interpretation of archives from 1500
  • information governance
  • database theory and practicedigital resources in the humanities
  • manuscript studies
  • oral history: creation to curation
  • knowledge organisation
  • information literacy
  • historical bibliography
  • digital curation
  • trauma-informed approaches to managing archives, records and cultural heritage
  • introduction to digitisation

Full-time structure:

Term 1:

You will take four compulsory modules, one of which is a double module: it provides the key concepts and contexts of the programme, and is taught across Terms 1 and 2.

Term 2:

You will take two compulsory modules, one of which is the continuation of the double module started in Term 1, and two optional modules.

Term 3:

The dissertation research and writing commence in Term 3 and continues over the summer, although some initial planning, including choosing a dissertation topic, takes place at the end of Term 1 and during Term 2. You also undertake a supported two-week work placement at the beginning of Term 3.

You will undertake modules to the value of 180 credits over two years. You will undertake seven taught modules and the research dissertation. Five of the modules are compulsory and cover the themes of:

  • concepts and contexts
  • curation and stewardship
  • the record-keeping professional
  • creation and capture
  • access and the use of archives.

To complete the seven modules, you will choose two optional modules that individually cover a broad range of subjects, such as:

  • reading and interpretation of archives from 1500
  • information governance
  • database theory and practicedigital resources in the humanities
  • manuscript studies
  • oral history: creation to curation
  • knowledge organisation
  • information literacy
  • historical bibliography
  • digital curation
  • trauma-informed approaches to managing archives, records and cultural heritage
  • introduction to digitisation

Part-time structure:

Year 1:

In Term 1 you will take two compulsory modules, one of which is a double module: it provides the key concepts and contexts of the programme, and teaching for this module will continue in Term 2 of Year 1.

In Term 2 you will take two modules, one of which is the continuation of the double module started in Term 1. For your second module, you may choose to take either a compulsory module or an optional module. If there is an optional module being offered in Year 1 that you are particularly interested in taking, we suggest you do so in Year 1, as we cannot guarantee to run the full range of optional modules every year.

In Term 3 of Year 1, students will concentrate on self-study. You also undertake a two-week work placement if you have elected to take the module that explores the topic of curation and stewardship.

Year 2:

In Terms 1 and 2 you will take two modules. These will be a mix of compulsory and optional modules, depending on your choices the previous year.

In Term 3, you will commence the dissertation research and writing and continue during the summer, although some initial planning, including choosing a dissertation topic, takes place at the end of Term 1 and during Term 2 in the second year of the course. You will also undertake a two-week work placement if you have elected to take the curation and stewardship module.

You will undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. You will undertake seven taught modules and the research dissertation. You will have a maximum of five years in which to complete the programme. Five of the modules are compulsory and cover the themes of:

  • concepts and contexts
  • curation and stewardship
  • the record-keeping professional
  • creation and capture
  • access and the use of archives.

To complete the seven modules, you will choose two optional modules that individually cover a broad range of subjects, such as:

  • reading and interpretation of archives from 1500
  • information governance
  • database theory and practicedigital resources in the humanities
  • manuscript studies
  • oral history: creation to curation
  • knowledge organisation 
  • information literacy
  • digital curation
  • trauma-informed approaches to managing archives, records and cultural heritage
  • introduction to digitisation

Modular structure:

You will have a maximum of five years in which to complete the programme. We strongly recommend that you start with the double module in Year 1 (taught across Terms 1 and 2) as it covers the key concepts and contexts of the programme. Other than that, you choose how many and which modules you take in any given year of study.

Compulsory modules








Optional modules










Trauma-Informed Approaches to Managing Archives, Recordsand Cultural Heritage




Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

MA students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Archives and Records Management. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Archives and Records Management. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Archives and Records Management.

Placement

The work placement provides MA/PG Dip students experience of how the techniques they have learned may be applied in practice. They last for two weeks and are undertaken as part of the core module that covers the topic of curation and stewardship in Term 3. We arrange placements individually for each student and do our best to match the placement with their interests and experience.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team.

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All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Archives & Records Management MA/PG Dip

Interested in studying an MA or PG Diploma in Archives and Records Management at UCL? Join us online to meet tutors and hear about the wide range of modules on offer, tracks for students interested in specific careers, the work placement scheme, how we work with employers, careers, pastoral, disability and professional development support. For queries please e-mail Laura Keshav: l.keshav@ucl.ac.uk.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25) £12,700 £6,350
Tuition fees (2024/25) £31,100 £15,550

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

The department strives to keep additional costs low. Books and journal articles are usually available via the UCL library as hard copies or via e-journal subscriptions.

While students are not expected or required to attend any professional or academic conferences for the programme, should students wish to undertake these enrichment activities during their course, the department is unfortunately unable to assist with the associated costs.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers offers a tuition fees scholarship annually for a full-time or part-time Archive and Records Management MA student, normally under the age of 25 years. There is flexibility on the age limit. This is an external scholarship to UCL and is usually announced in January/February.

Scottish applicants may be eligible for an award from the Student Awards Agency Scotland.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications and £115 for paper applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Archives and Records Management at graduate level
  • why you want to study Archives and Records Management at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
  • where you would like to go professionally and/or academically with your degree

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Got questions? Get in touch

Information Studies
Information Studies

infostudies-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk

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