MA in Medieval History
Aspects of the medieval past exert a continuing fascination in the popular imagination: medieval castles, abbeys and churches are among the most frequently-visited heritage sites in Britain; exhibitions at museums like the V&A attract huge crowds; and there is a seemingly constant audience for representations of the more blood-thirsty aspects of the medieval past on television.
The MA in Medieval History allows you to carry out specialist research under expert supervision in your chosen area of study while acquiring the wider range of knowledge and skills that will enable you to do so as enjoyably and effectively as possible. You will be working closely with members of staff whose research interests range widely in time and space, from late Antiquity to the Renaissance, and across Europe and beyond, and who approach the medieval period from a variety of thematic and methodological perspectives.
The taught component of the MA is designed to both develop your understanding of these approaches though a core module, which examines the essential workings of the medieval world and develops your skills in using medieval sources. You can also undertake the language and technical training best suited to your research needs, elect to study major themes in medieval history in closer detail, and if you are interested in going on to doctoral research, receive guidance on how to put together a PhD proposal. You will also receive the regular and supportive supervision needed to help you define the topic of your dissertation and pursue it through to a successful conclusion.
The MA meets the research and training needs of those intending to progress to doctoral study, but is also appropriate for those with a more general enthusiasm for medieval history. The analytical skills you acquire together with an advanced knowledge of this period will equip you for careers in business, government, the civil service and public administration as well as for further study in your chosen field.
If you are planning to pursue doctoral study after your MA, an optional module, PhD proposal, allows you to devise and refine a research proposal, following the guidelines and advice set out by the funding councils, particularly the AHRC. Another distinctive module on this programme is the Work Placement scheme.
Work Placement Scheme
This opportunity to acquire vocational experience is a unique feature of the Sheffield MA. A taught module entitled Work Placement provides an opportunity to develop history-specific vocational skills in a working environment. Examples of recent placements include archive work for a local archaeological consultancy company, exhibition research and design for English Heritage, working with teachers in Sheffield schools, cataloguing small collections in the Sheffield Archives, working in the Humanities Research Institute on Old Bailey criminal records, devising a publicity strategy, analysing digitised material, and designing online learning environments for school children studying history.
What our students say about the work placement scheme...
I was a secondary school history teacher and wanted to make a move into museum-based education. I applied for a few jobs straight from teaching but was told that without specific museum experience I was unlikely to be successful. I soon realised I would need help to find a volunteer opportunity that would give me the experience I was looking for, so when I saw that the MA at Sheffield had a work placement module, I realised it was perfect for me because it allowed me to get experience, whilst gaining a higher qualification in Twentieth Century History.
I was placed with English Heritage at Brodsworth Hall and worked on a range of projects that gave me museum experience I would never have been able to get by myself, including a project of my own that involved researching and writing the stewards' reference file for the newly opened Aga Kitchen. I was also able to make other useful contacts in the wider English Heritage organisation who gave me additional volunteer opportunities, the largest of which involved me designing and producing educational materials for an entire English Heritage site.
I am about to start a new job at the Imperial War Museum as an Education Officer in their formal learning department, something I would never have been able to achieve without the experience I gained through the work placement module at Sheffield. I am really glad I decided to do my MA at Sheffield! 
Eleanor Macdonald