Home

United States Studies: History and Politics MA

London, Bloomsbury

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

£15,100

£7,550

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)

£31,100

£15,550

Duration

1 calendar year

2 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2024

Applications accepted

All applicants: 16 Oct 2023 – 05 Apr 2024

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

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

Students will develop analytical and critical perspectives on multidisciplinary aspects of US history, politics, cultural studies and international relations, depending on their chosen areas of specialisation. They will gain key research skills, enhance their capacity for oral and written presentation, and develop their knowledge of up-to-date scholarship and theoretical/conceptual debates in United States studies.

Who this course is for

This degree is suitable for qualified candidates who wish to gain the subject-specific and transferable skills necessary to prepare for careers in research, teaching, and private/public sector organisations in the multidisciplinary field of United States studies.

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

What this course will give you

The Institute of the Americas occupies a unique position at the core of academic study of the region in the UK, promoting, co-ordinating and providing a focus for research and postgraduate teaching on the Americas, including Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.

The institute actively maintains and builds ties with cultural, diplomatic and business organisations with interests in the Americas, and provides resources to the wider academic community, serving and strengthening national networks of North Americanist, Latin Americanist and Caribbeanist scholars.

Students benefit from tuition by world-leading scholars in an academic environment at the cutting edge of research in the humanities and social sciences.

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

The foundation of your career

With its strong emphasis on recent politics and public policy, our MA equips our graduates for a wide range of careers with government departments, Non-Government Organisations, pressure groups and charities. Additionally, some of our students go on to pursue doctoral degrees and then secure academic employment.

Employability

Graduates of this programme will be well placed to use their skills and knowledge to find employment in government, business, journalism, finance and international NGOs, and teaching, or to engage in doctoral research in this field.

Networking

Our MA students benefit from two exciting visiting speaker series and may also attend U.S. history and politics events organised by the Institute of Historical Research and the British Library’s Eccles Centre.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of seminars, lectures, presentations, research skills training, independent reading and research.

Assessment is through written assignments (which may include essays, term papers and analytical exercises, depending on selected options), group and seminar presentations, and the dissertation.

The programme will include a total of 40 hours of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Additional learning hours will include independent study and assessment.

Modules

In terms one and two, you will take one compulsory research skills module which provides guidance for undertaking the research dissertation in term three. You will then select five modules of further substantive subject options from a broad range of options. Full time students usually take two of these options in term one and three in term two.

In term three, you will fully develop your research dissertation in consultation with a specifically designated dissertation supervisor. Many of our Master's students undertake fieldwork in order to carry out research for their dissertation projects.

Part-time students will split the taught modules between year 1 and year 2. The research skills module is usually taken in year 1, the dissertation is taken in year 2.

All part-time students must complete a minimum of 60 credits in their first year. These include any core modules that need to be taken in year 1.

Compulsory modules

Researching the Americas

Dissertation

Optional modules

Post-Cold War US Foreign Policy

From the New South to the Modern South: The (Re)Making of an American Region

Challenging the Straight State: Regulation Repression, and Resistance in US Sexual Politics

States of Exception: US State-building through its Exceptional Geographies

The Making of the Modern U.S. Presidency

The United States at War: Decolonial Perspectives, 1898-present

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.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in United States Studies: History and Politics.

Fieldwork

Many of our Master's students undertake fieldwork in order to carry out research for their dissertation projects.

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.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£15,100	£7,550
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£31,100	£15,550

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

There may be travel costs associated with fieldwork. The institute has limited funds available to students to help towards the costs of fieldwork. These funds are awarded on a competitive basis on the criteria of academic performance to date, the quality of the research proposal and the importance of fieldwork for completing the research.

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

Funding opportunities at the Institute of the Americas can be found here.

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

: Aziz Foundation Scholarships in Social and Historical Sciences

Value: Full tuition fees (equivalent to 1yr full-time) (1yr)

Criteria Based on financial need

Eligibility: UK

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 United States Studies: History and Politics at graduate level
why you want to study United States Studies: History and Politics at UCL
what particularly attracts you to this programme
how your academic background meets the demands of this challenging programme
where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to elaborate on your reasons for applying to this programme and how your interests match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that some funding schemes have an earlier application deadline; please view the funding section for further details.

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.

This programme requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.