Final Project (History): History Dissertation Course Descriptor

Course Overview

The course provides students with an opportunity to conduct a longer, self-directed, research project acting in the mould of a professional historian. 

The dissertation represents the culmination of the undergraduate history degree programme and offers an opportunity for students to deploy the ideas, methods and skills they have acquired during their studies to this point. It affords students a chance to develop an in-depth and independent piece of work that should not merely summarise the existing state-of-the-field as other historians have rendered it, but which actively seeks to advance our understanding of a particular aspect of the past. 

The selection, analysis and communication of appropriate primary sources are a fundamental part of the process. As such, the dissertation requires students to show maturity, independence and skill in the design and delivery of the project over the course of their final year.

Throughout the process, students are supported by a supervisor whom they will meet with regularly throughout the research and writing of the dissertation.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a range of resources to orientate the student and provide support for their directed study.

The teaching and learning activities for this course are: 14 scheduled hours. 

Indicative example:

• 12 hours of seminars / workshops 
• 2 hours of 1:1 or small-group meetings
• Office Hours (up to 4 short meetings)

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 300 

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE. 

Summative Assessments

In the written assignments, students will draw on the and reflect on their learning across their studies to create a scholarly rigorous and clearly communicated final project. In the presentation students will reflect critically on and set out the achievements and goals of their work for wider public and professional audiences. Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note 1: the required and recommended reading and any other resources will be agreed based on an initial discussion between the student and the supervisor.

Note 2. The indicative additional reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Grytham, B. (2009), How to Write your Undergraduate Dissertation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Swetnam, D. (2001), Writing Your Dissertation: How to Plan, Prepare and Present Your Work Successfully. Begbroke: How To Books Ltd. 

Indicative Topics

Note: the topic and provisional title will be agreed based on an initial discussion between the student and the supervisor.

• How to plan and organise your research
• How to write effective dissertations.