MA in Public History
Last Updated: February 18, 2022
University Rd
Belfast, BT7 1NN
Director(s)
Professor Olwen Purdue
+44 (0)7719791792
Program Introduction
Queen's University Belfast has been teaching Public History since 2012. In 2017 we launched a stand-alone Masters in Public History and have an intake of about 20 students each year from all around the world, including Australia, China, and many parts of Europe, with our largest intake coming from the US. History at Queen’s is ranked in the top 150 History School worldwide (QS world rankings 2017). Students have the opportunity to continue independent study in our PhD programme.
Belfast offers a unique opportunity to engage with issues surrounding contested histories, national narratives, public memory, commemoration, cultural heritage, tourism and community history in a very real and meaningful way.
Degrees Offered
- M.A. in Public History
- Ph.D. in History
Program Strengths
- Archival Practices
- Film/Video
- Local/Community History
- Museum Studies
- Oral History
- Other
Credit Hour Requirements
1800
How Many Students are Admitted Annually
MA20
PhD4
MAs produced last year
22
Full-time Program Staff/Faculty
Professor Olwen Purdue (Director). Difficult public histories; history of poverty, welfare and instiutions
Dr Leonie Hannan (Internship co-ordinator). Museums; material culture; eighteenth-century Britain and Ireland
Professor Sean O’Connell. Oral history; working-class history; deindustrialisation
Dr Niamh Cullen. The public history of fascist Europe; gender; modern Italy
Dr Hiroki Shin. Museums and sustainability; public history of the environment; history of nuclear energy
Deadline To Apply
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
Internship Requirements
Each student has a guaranteed work placement with a cultural institution or heritage organisation. Students have the opportunity to chose from a wide range of existing partnerships or can arrange their own internship with the approval of the course director.
The internship module is double-weighted so is worth 400 credit hours over 30 days in the spring semester. Students are not paid, but all travel expenses are covered.
Assessment is by a portfolio of work, a poster prepared for an exhibition, and a blog post.
Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years
- The Ulster Museum
- Great Place North Belfast
- Titanic Belfast
- Northern Ireland Museums Council
- BBC Northern Ireland
- DoubleBand Films (Film & TV production company)
- Below the Radar (Film & TV production company)
- Hillsborough Castle (Historic Royal Palaces)
- Mount Stewart (National Trust)
- Castle Ward (National Trust)
- Clifton House (Belfast’s Old Poorhouse, 1782)
- Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
- Newry and Mourne Museum
- Museum of Free Derry
- CARA-Friend (community organisation supporting NI’s LGBTQI+ community)
- Queen’s University Special Collections Library
- ‘Enslaved‘ project
Job Placement Assistance
The program provides academic and career support and advice from faculty and program directors. It also provides the opportunity to network with practitioners through practitioner workshops, field trips and seminars.
Job Placement Percentage Within One Year
25%Employers Who Have Hired Graduates from this Program within the Past Five Years
- Chicago Art Institute
- Great Place North Belfast
- National Museums NI
- Northern Ireland Museum Council
- Pennsylvania House of Representatives Library
- Public Record Office, NI
- Ulster Television