Postgraduate prospectus · 2018. 2. 16. · ‘Postgraduate study at New College of the Humanities...

Postgraduate prospectus

2018–19

04 Welcome

07 Postgraduate study

11 MA Communicating Economic Policy

17 MSc Global Politics

23 MA Historical Research & Public History

29 MA Philosophy

35 Teaching

37 Academics

32

Contents 39 Libraries

41 Research

42 Enrichment courses

44 Your future

46 Living in London

53 Social life

56 Applying

58 Fees & funding

59 Your qualifications

54

‘NCH is located in Bloomsbury, London, which is home to the largest concentration of university-level institutions and personnel in the world, with a rich array of activities and organisations open to scholars across the humanities and social sciences.

‘In addition to being able to participate in and learn from all that London has to offer, NCH postgraduates have the added

advantage of belonging to our close-knit community of NCH academics, undergraduates and alumni, which provides an unrivalled support network both academically and personally.

‘We look forward to giving our postgraduate students a warm welcome at NCH, and to our outstanding faculty working with them in furthering and deepening their studies at this higher level.’

‘Postgraduate study at New College of the Humanities (NCH) is distinguished by, among other things, very small, highly interactive classes, personal supervision, access to the best study and research resources at Senate House Library and the School of Advanced Study, and contact with the College’s leading international Visiting Professoriate.

Welcome to

New College of

the Humanities

Professor A C Grayling

MA, DPhil (Oxon), FRSL, FRSA

Master of the College & Professor of Philosophy

WELCOME

Postgraduate study at NCH

NCH is small by design, with fewer than 300 students across undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This provides students with an unprecedented level of access to academics and an enhanced educational experience.

NCH offers four innovative, rigorous postgraduate degrees at master’s level, created and taught by our pioneering faculty. Each programme is designed to challenge, stimulate and inspire, and encourages the development of advanced skills in critical questioning, information gathering, synthesis and analysis, and oral and written communication.

The College offers postgraduate students small group teaching with specialist, research-active academics, as well as access to Professorial Lectures delivered by luminaries including Simon Blackburn, Sir Partha Dasgupta, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, A C Grayling, Bettany Hughes and Steven Pinker.

Our postgraduates benefit from access to some of the finest research resources in the country, including close proximity to all the world-class libraries, discussion groups and academic societies that London has to offer.

76

POSTGRADUATE STUDY

98

Our intellectual hub in the heart of London

Situated in London’s academic heartland, NCH has the great fortune of being based in one of the best locations for a higher education institution in the UK. Our main building, The Registry, is nestled in vibrant Bloomsbury, with its strong literary history, and is mere steps from Senate House Library and the British Museum.

The Registry is a stunning Grade I-listed, five-storey townhouse built between 1776 and 1781. It sits in the centre of one of the most beautiful examples of a Georgian terrace, and is home to most of the College’s teaching and administrative facilities. The Registry is opposite Bedford Square Garden. NCH holds keys to this private garden, allowing students and staff to enjoy its beauty and tranquility.

Characterised by a unique spirit of community, support and openness, The Registry functions as an epicentre of intellectual debate and exchange. The intimate size of NCH means that there are fewer boundaries between students and academics. Students experience more contact time, and more meaningful use of that contact time, with academics than at other institutions, and undergraduates, postgraduates and staff mix as equals.

Postgraduates and faculty members regularly meet and socialise at the College to discuss their studies and interdisciplinary research, and to take advantage of the myriad learning and self-development opportunities that come from being part of a small, lively institution.

POSTGRADUATE STUDY

An enthralling mix of economic policy and the communication of economic knowledge, this MA will train you to understand how economic knowledge is used in the modern world.The programme has three main strands: economic policy, which equips you

with an understanding of the conceptual tools of an economist; research

skills, which teaches you the skills required to handle quantitative data,

offers a grounding in qualitative research skills, and prepares you to

undertake the entire production process of independent research; and

economic communication, which invites you to reflect on what the field

of economics can achieve, what its limitations are, and how these can be

communicated to non-expert audiences.

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta

BSc (Delhi), BA, MA, PhD (Cantab), FBA, FAAAS

Visiting Professor of Economics

One of the world’s leading economists, Professor Sir Partha

Dasgupta was named a Knight Bachelor in the Queen’s 2002

Birthday Honours List for services to economics. He has the rare

distinction of being a Fellow of both the British Academy and

the Royal Society and a Foreign Associate of the US National

Academy of Sciences.

Reading for a degree in Physics at the University of Delhi, Sir Partha

then moved to the University of Cambridge, where he took a

degree in Mathematics, followed by a PhD in Economics. His first

teaching position was at the London School of Economics.

Sir Partha divides his time between NCH and Cambridge, where he is the Frank Ramsey

Professor Emeritus of Economics, and Manchester, where he teaches

graduates Environmental & Development Economics.

MA Communicating Economic Policy

1110

MA COMMUNICATING ECONOMIC POLICY

Award MA Communicating Economic Policy

Location Bloomsbury, London

Study mode Full-time or part-time

Duration One year (FT) or two years (PT)

Start date 17th September 2018

Tuition fees UK, EU, EEA, Swiss: £8,000 International: £13,000

Why choose this degree

n Suitable for those who have studied the humanities or social sciences at undergraduate level, with no previous study of economics or mathematics required. Applications from those with equivalent professional experience or qualifications are also encouraged.

n Prepares you for a career as a communicator of economic policy, such as a journalist, civil servant, policy maker, or in the corporate sector.

n Delivers a stimulating combination of communications alongside economic policy; it is rare you find a degree offering both disciplines together.

n Offers an exceptional level of contact with academics in smaller groups, with opportunities to present your research to academics in sessions including the termly Economics Research Afternoon.

n Opportunity to attend three annual lectures by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, as well as lectures by Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker and Peter Singer as part of the Ethics & Evaluation of Communication course.

1312

What will I study?

CORE

Public & Industrial Economic Policy (15 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Examination

This course focuses on three specialisms in microeconomics to address questions about our daily economic lives: Industrial Organisation, Public Economics and Behavioural Economics.

You will gain a comprehensive understanding of how different fields of economics are used to inform complex policy debates and decisions, and will learn how to evaluate the potential welfare implications of well-functioning markets. You will develop a critical awareness of the limits of applying abstract theory to real world problems, and will evaluate and develop critiques of methodologies used in published papers.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Competition

n The role of information & the internet in markets

n Being a knowledgeable consumer

n Taxes

n Human capital & consumption

n Incorporating biases into economics

n Behavioural economics in government

CORE

Communication & Public Understanding of Economics (15 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Portfolio & essay

The first of a three-part series, this course introduces you to the analysis of communication, and combines the study of communication with reflection on economics as a field of knowledge. The objective of the course is to enable you to analyse economic writing and communications from a wide range of producers, including print and electronic media as well as social media. You will consider the specific challenges of the public understanding of economics, including the often asymmetric nature of economic information, and the tendency of economists to disagree on assumptions and policy recommendations.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Theories of communication

n Understanding the media

n Key schools of economic thought

n To what extent is economics value-neutral?

n The communication of scientific disagreement

n Current practices & policies of economic communication

CORE

Statistics & Quantitative Research Skills (15 credits)Learning: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Examination & computer-based project (MS Excel or similar)

This course prepares you for economic data analysis on other courses, including the Research Design & Data Collection course, as well as your final dissertation. The course assumes no prior knowledge of statistics or mathematics, and is intended to accustom you to using statistical methods systematically in your studies by contextualising why statistical skills are useful, introducing you to data analysis, and fostering quantitative research skills. Dedicated sessions teach you the data analysis functions of MS Excel, and you will be set a statistics project at the end of the course, which forms part of the assessment.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The uses & abuses of statistics

n Probability & distributions

n Sampling distributions

n Hypothesis testing

n Correlation & regression

n Least squares estimation

n Communication of statistical results

n Causation & experimental design

CORE

Macroeconomic Principles (15 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures


This course introduces the key principles of macroeconomics. You will be introduced to models that explain the relationships between economic variables, such as GDP, unemployment, inflation, savings, and investment. You will look at fiscal and monetary policy, and how and why governments use these. You will also consider the recent global financial crisis, and how it has led macroeconomists to reassess traditional models, before using this knowledge to evaluate popular bestselling books that meld pop culture with macroeconomics, such as Freefall: America, Free Markets & the Sinking of the World Economy.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Long-run economic growth

n Savings, investment spending & the financial system

n Aggregate supply & aggregate demand

n Fiscal policy

n Money, banking & the federal reserve system

n Inflation, disinflation & deflation

CORE

International Economic Policy (15 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures


This course prepares you for understanding what an economy is, how macroeconomic policy is formulated, how countries trade, and the ideas and assumptions on which these processes are based. You will be taught to recognise and describe given models, methods, and theories of macroeconomics, trade, and economic development, and evaluate academic research in these fields. You will gain skills to analyse new and existing policy rigorously and from a number of angles, and will be able to make policy recommendations for complex or unpredictable situations involving given or independently selected country scenarios.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n National economic development & wellbeing

n Economic growth

n Fiscal policy & public services

n Exchange rates & the open economy

n Trade theory & policy

n Financial crises


CORE

Microeconomic Principles (15 credits) Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures


This course introduces the key principles of microeconomics. You will analyse the behaviour of firms and individuals, and explore supply and demand analysis. Drawing on insights from welfare economics, you will examine concepts such as competition and market power, and will use this knowledge to critically evaluate segments of popular bestselling books that meld pop culture with microeconomics, including Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The economic problem: scarcity & choice

n Demand, supply & market equilibrium

n Household behaviour & consumer choice

n Monopoly

n Oligopoly

Core Courses

You will take all of the following core courses.

Nick Robertson

Economics BSc with Politics & International Relations (Lond/NCH, 2017) ‘Studying economics at NCH is a unique and rewarding experience. The one-to-one tutorial system means that there is time to explore the subject beyond its concepts and models. You gain a depth of understanding that allows you to apply your economic tools to other academic disciplines.’

CORE

Research Design & Data Collection (15 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Presentation & research proposal

This course is designed to prepare you for writing an extended piece of independent economic research. You will locate appropriate academic literature and data to make an informed choice on a topic area and an initial research question, and you will gain practice in presenting early research ideas both verbally and in writing. The course concludes with the production of a written research proposal, which demonstrates understanding of the components of academic research, for use as a basis for the dissertation.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The purpose of a dissertation

n What makes a good research question?

n Producing a quantitative research design

n Overview of qualitative research methods

n Producing a qualitative research design

n Presenting & disseminating academic research

CORE

Ethics & Evaluation of Communication (10 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Essays

The final part of a series of three economic communication courses designed to prepare you for communicating specialist economic knowledge to different audiences, this course focuses on an analysis of communications as a link between academic scholarship and the world of public communication. You will develop a familiarity with the field of public understanding of science by observing lectures led by established scientists for lay audiences.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Good economic and scientific communication

n Public understanding of economics & the natural sciences

n Public understanding of ethical issues

CORE

Dissertation (50 credits)Teaching: One-to-one supervision meetings

Assessment: Dissertation & lay summary article

Undertaken in your final term, this sustained and in-depth piece of independent research is the culmination of your MA studies. The dissertation enables you to deepen your understanding of an area of economics and economic communication that is of particular interest to you, and offers you the opportunity to choose a topic independently, ultimately producing a piece of academic research of approximately 15,000 words in length, including a lay summary article of approximately 1,000 words.

What will I study?

1514


CORE

The Making & Communication of Economic Knowledge (15 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Presentation & essay

This course is the second part of a three-part series that prepares you for communicating specialist economic knowledge to different audiences. You will consider how economists produce knowledge, and how this knowledge can best be disseminated to a range of audiences. You will be invited to consider the limitations of modern economics – such as why theoretical paradoxes exist, or the ability of quantitative models to incorporate unobservable or intangible factors – and how such complex matters should be communicated to non-expert audiences.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The purposes, practices & limitations of economic communication

n What is an economic model?

n What are economic theory and economic policy?

n Why do economic paradoxes exist?

n Human behaviour in economic models

n Statistical data

n Explaining past events

n Predicting future events

1716

The MSc Global Politics investigates dominant issues in global politics and global citizenship. By the end of the programme, you will have developed in-depth and applied knowledge of this vibrant field.This degree blends the development of key concepts, theory, and research methodology skills in political science and political theory with a focus on political processes and institutions in action. You will gain detailed and varied knowledge of how institutions, ideas, and methods in political science affect global citizenship within the larger context of global politics.

The programme culminates in a substantial piece of original research in the form of a 15,000-word dissertation, for which you will have one-to-one supervision meetings.

MSc Global Politics

MSC GLOBAL POLITICS

n Suitable for those who have studied the humanities or social sciences at undergraduate level, with no previous study of politics required. Applications from those with equivalent professional experience or qualifications are also encouraged.

n Offers an exceptional foundation in methodological and research skills.

n Places symmetrical emphasis on political theory and empirical political science, enabling the development of both qualitative and quantitative skills.

n Provides unparalleled access to faculty, in smaller groups and with individualised attention and supervision on dissertation topics.

Award MSc Global Politics





Tuition fees UK, EU, EEA & Swiss: £8,000 International: £13,000

n Access to world-class research resources including the British Library and Senate House Library, and close proximity to institutions, bodies and think tanks such as Chatham House, the European Council on Foreign Relations, and the Royal United Services Institute.


1918

OPTIONAL

Nations & Nationalism (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lecturesAssessment: ExaminationThis course addresses the impact of nations and nationalism on the conduct of global politics in the modern era. You will explore both theoretical concerns and practical case studies of nationalist movements across the world, and will consider the competing accounts advanced by scholars to explain the rise of nationhood as a cultural and political signifier, as well as the rival concerns of ethnicity and citizenship for state Institutions. You will examine the distinctive features of nationalism as a political and economic ideology, and its connections to major ideological traditions such as liberalism, socialism and fascism.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The rise of nations

n Nationhood, ethnicity & citizenship

n Nationalism as ideology

n The future of nationalism

n Nationalism in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa & Asia

OPTIONAL

Security Issues in Global Politics (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures


This course will further familiarise you with the study of security and stability as concepts within international relations, comparative politics and political thought. You will look at security as a concept that extends beyond the balance of power within the international arena, including a focus on the armed forces, minority rights, terrorism, migration, poverty, climate change, disease, organised crime and other international social problems.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n What is security?

n The nation and the state as security arrangements

n Theories of the state & security studies

n Democracy, legitimacy & security

n From war to terrorism

n Human security

CORE

Global Politics II (20 credits)

Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Essay

This course applies the theoretical and conceptual tools studied in Global Politics I to empirically focused issue areas in the fields of global organisation, global political economy, security, conflict and communications. Key to the course is to engage with the power, character, extent, quality and range of agents and institutions involved in global political dynamics and in evolving policy frameworks for solidarity.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n International organisations

n Global civil society

n Global communications & media

n Development regimes, poverty & aid

n Financial crises

n Globalisation, war & conflict

n Humanitarian assistance, intervention & Responsibility to Protect

n Liberal peace, state-building & securitised development

.

CORE

Research Methods (20 credits)


Assessment: Dissertation proposal

You will engage with specific research problems aimed at developing your ability to think and research reflectively and critically, in order to write up a substantial dissertation. You will develop specific methodological skills to gain an understanding of the different approaches to the analysis of political practices, institutions and texts, and will gain an appreciation of the complex research method frameworks within global politics, including citizenship, democracy, justice and rights. The outcome of this course is a 5,000-word dissertation proposal.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Research proposal components

n Empirical qualitative methods of research

n Methodological choices

n Validating hypotheses

n Problem-solving strategies

n Documentary sources

CORE

Dissertation (60 credits)

Teaching: One-to-one supervision meetings

Assessment: Dissertation

The dissertation allows you to further explore and deepen your understanding of a particular area of global politics. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise you have gained to date, you will produce a dissertation of approximately 15,000 words on a politics topic of your choosing. The topic can be identified from a field of strength of the Politics & International Relations Faculty, or where interdisciplinary collaboration is available, then from another area of expertise within the College. Dissertations can take a wide variety of forms, including an empirical case study or a comparative study approach, among others.

What will I study?

Choice of Optional Courses

Choose three of the following courses.

MSC GLOBAL POLITICS

CORE

Global Politics I (20 credits) Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Essay

This course introduces you to the key processes, concepts, theories, approaches and debates relevant to the study of global politics and global citizenship. Central to your study is the tension in the study of global politics and international relations between frameworks emphasising the endurance of the Westphalian order and those stressing the arrival of a post-Westphalian, post-national order based on transnational institutions, laws and norms.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The Westphalian order & international society

n Globalisation theory & theories of globalisation

n Subaltern approaches to global politics

n Global political economy

n Globalisation, statehood, sovereignty & territoriality

n Global governance

n Political community & identity

Core Courses


2120

OPTIONAL

Universal Man: Global Citizenship in Western Political Thought, 1750-1850 (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Essay

Most cosmopolitan theorists reject the idea of world government for a variety of intellectual, political, and practical reasons. This raises a series of questions, including what does it mean to be a global citizen? This course examines this question historically by tracing its development in late 18th and early 19th century Europe. Examining the works of Rousseau, Kant, Bentham and Comte, among others, you will consider three central themes – citizenship, human nature and rights – and will think reflectively about the uses of political thought for contemporary theorising, as well as the methodological issues that can and do arise.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Citizenship

n Human nature

n Rights

Dr Diana Bozhilova AKC

BA (Hons), PhD (KCL)

Head of Faculty & Senior Lecturer in Politics &

International Relations

Dr Diana Bozhilova AKC

BA, PhD (KCL)

Dr Diana Bozhilova is a published author on democratisation and

reform since the end of the Cold War, and on energy security in

the EU-Russia partnership. She served as an expert witness

on the House of Lords Select Committee on the European

Union and, in 2010, she undertook a historical review of a century

of relations in South-East Europe since the London Peace Treaty.

Following completion of her PhD in Justice & Home Affairs

& Industrial Policy Reform from King’s College London, where she

was jointly an ORC UK and an Open Society New York Scholar, Diana was A C Laskarides Post-

Doctoral Research Fellow at the London School of Economics,

with a project on energy security.

Diana has a first class undergraduate degree with

distinction in European Studies, also from King’s College London.

MSC GLOBAL POLITICS

OPTIONAL

The European Union (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures


This course focuses on the politics and policies of the European Union (EU), as well as on its key propositions as a model for regional cooperation within international society. The complexity of policy decision-making affected by the structure of the EU institutional processes will be analysed in considerable depth, and rigorous discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of the EU as a regional supranational authority are integral to the study of this course.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, functionalism & the English

n New institutionalism

n Reforms & challenges

n Conditionality (external engagement)

n Additionality (internal structuration)

n Social-learning in inter-regional settings: ASEM

2322

Dr Lars Kjaer

BA (Aarhus), MPhil, PhD (Cantab)

Head of Faculty & Senior Lecturer in Medieval History

Dr Lars Kjaer

BA (Aarhus), MPhil, PhD (Cantab)

Head of Faculty & Senior Lecturer in Medieval History

Dr Lars Kjaer gained a PhD in Medieval History from the University of Cambridge in 2012. He holds a BA in History & Social Anthropology from Aarhus University in Denmark.

Lars’ research focuses on the challenges and possibilities of using approaches from social anthropology when studying the central Middle Ages. He is known for his work on the role of gift exchange and feasting in creating social bonds between aristocrats.

Our MA Historical Research & Public History offers a rich and intensive study of historical research and public history, and is designed to produce talented and sought-after historians who are able to apply their skills not only to academia but also to the practice of history in the public sphere.This degree is unique in its combination of advanced training in historical method, historiography, theory and practice of historical research, and evaluation of primary evidence, alongside an exploration of public history as it is represented, constructed, debated and contested in the public sphere, including in museums and galleries, heritage sites, public policy, and the media.

The programme provides exceptional preparation for graduates from a range of humanities and social sciences disciplines who plan to continue their studies at PhD level, while also being aimed at graduates from a liberal arts or other humanities and social sciences background who now wish to pursue their interest in history.

MA Historical Research & Public History

MA HISTORICAL RESEARCH & PUBLIC HISTORY

Award MA Historical Research & Public History







n Suitable for those who have studied the humanities or social sciences at undergraduate level, including English literature, philosophy, psychology or any of the liberal arts subjects, with no previous study of history required. Applications from those with equivalent professional experience or qualifications are also encouraged.

n A flexible degree that allows you to choose between continuing in academia to PhD level, or going out into the market as a public historian.

n The Applied Public History course asks you to produce a contemporary piece of public history, which could be a blog, a YouTube film, an interactive walking tour or a virtual exhibition, for example.

n Enjoy access to the Institute of Historical Research, which offers free seminars throughout the year, and visit sites of historical interest with the NCH History Faculty.

n The Dissertation I course provides you with the skills to finesse your initial dissertation idea into a serious contribution to historic debate, and you will receive exceptional support through one-to-one supervision meetings to achieve this.

Rob Howell History with English BA

‘My time at NCH has allowed me to develop my capacity for cogent

argument, to debate, challenge and engage with the giants of

the field, and to explore the broad vista of human experience

with academic rigour. Above all else, I’ve learned that the study of history is not for the

faint of heart: you must learn to be bold, curious and daring –

not an easy task – but you will be nurtured, encouraged and

supported every step of the way by an intellectually reflective and personally generous faculty. Thus

far, it has been a life-changing journey, and it is one I look

forward to continuing.’

CORE

Public History (20 credits)

Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Essays

Public history is history in the public sphere, including in museums and galleries, heritage sites and historic houses, radio and television broadcasting, film, popular history books, or public policy within government. This course explores the theory and practice of public history in heritage, broadcasting, and publication. You will consider the principles of visitor interpretation, museology and curatorship, and will engage with the challenge of how to represent history in television documentaries, radio broadcasts, mainstream cinema, in the making of public policy, and as popular history or historical fiction.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n What is public history?

n Heritage, history & the museum

n Visitor interpretation

n Ethics, authority & public history

n Broadcast history I: introduction

n Broadcast history II: meeting TV/ radio producers

n History on film

CORE

Dissertation I (20 credits)


Assessment: Research proposal & bibliographic essay

This course is designed to help you identify a dissertation topic appropriate to your interests and expertise. You will explore the problems of methodology, develop the research techniques, analyse the historiography, and undertake the project planning that are the necessary preliminaries to researching and writing a 20,000-word dissertation. The outcome of this course will be a 5,000-word research proposal and bibliographic essay.

2524


CORE

The Historian’s Craft (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & lectures

Assessment: Essays

This course provides a concise and compact training in advanced historical research. It will introduce you to the techniques of historical research and train you in historical methodology, as well as historical argument, writing, and presentation. You will consider how to search archives for primary sources, use evidence, and critique sources, and will investigate historical sources and theories of history.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Archives & primary sources

n Referencing, footnotes & bibliographies

n Material culture & visual sources

n Oral history & memory

n The Annales School & La Longue Durée

n Social history: Marxism & beyond

n Textual history: The Cambridge School

n Michel Foucault, genealogy & tradition

Core Courses


What will I study?

CORE

Applied Public History (20 credits)


Assessment: Presentation & project work

This course builds upon the theoretical grounding acquired in the Public History course to evaluate specific case studies of public history, and to develop a project to communicate history to a public audience that draws on best practice in the field. You will examine the characteristics of ‘successful’ public history by reviewing an example of your choice and presenting your findings. These discussions form a basis from which you will develop your own innovative public history project to disseminate your research findings to the public, taking into consideration factors including audience, appropriate media, and practical constraints of time and budget.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Introduction to public history

n Presentation: oral review of a piece of public history of your choice

n Project proposal: based on peer and faculty feedback

CORE

Dissertation II (60 credits)


Assessment: Dissertation

Drawing on the knowledge and expertise you have gained to date, you will produce a dissertation of up to 20,000 words on a historical topic of your choosing. This represents the culmination of your MA.

DEPTH

Cross-Cultural Encounters in the Early Modern World (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Essays

This course explores encounters between Europeans and the wider world during the 16th and 17th century period of discovery, conquest and colonisation. You will consider multiple cultural and interracial encounters, studying the narratives about and attitudes towards them, and the ways of negotiating cultural difference.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The encounter between Spanish Conquistadors & the Aztec/Mexica

n Native peoples in South America

n Spanish missionaries & the Maya

n The encounter between the English & native Americans

n Frontier encounters in early modern America

n Racism & attitudes to blackness in Europe and early America

n Turks, Moors & the ‘Orient’ in early modern travel writing

n Literary representations of Otherness

DEPTH

The Later Victorian Age: Society & Culture, 1870-1900 (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Essays

This course examines how Britain transformed in the last three decades of the 19th century, economically, politically, and culturally. You will look at economic change, including urbanisation and the Great Depression, and how these affected social class, before considering shifts in the nature of religious belief, and whether Britain was becoming more secular. You will examine the effects of the 1867 and 1884 Reform Acts, consider the degree to which politics in Britain became more modernised, and look at the development of new forms of political thought.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The changing nature of the British economy

n The costs & benefits of empire

n The rise & fall of Gladstonian liberalism

n The changing nature of late Victorian political theory

n A class based society? Examining conceptions of class

n The changing nature of religious belief in late Victorian Britain 2726

Choice of Depth Studies

Choose two of the following courses.

DEPTH

African Americans & Economic Inequality from Civil War to Civil Rights (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Essays

This course examines the evolving ways in which African Americans experienced and responded to the economic dimensions of racial inequality between the 1860s and 1960s. You will engage with recent scholarship challenging traditional views of civil rights as a narrowly-focused battle for equal political citizenship. Primary sources drawn from both ‘white’ and ‘black’ America will be used to examine the shifting mechanisms by which economic restrictions – especially surrounding equitable access to employment – underpinned more familiar social, cultural and political forms of discrimination.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The failures of reconstruction & the rise of Jim Crow

n Protest in the Progressive Era

n The Great Migration

n Black political protest during the New Deal

n The Cold War

n Martin Luther King & non-violent protest

DEPTH

The Royal Court: Ritual, Culture & Power in Medieval England, 1150-1300 (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Essays

This course investigates the role of the court in central medieval England in political and cultural life, with a particular focus on the importance of ceremony and symbolical behaviour in social anthropology and the challenges these present to the study of medieval history.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The role of the king in medieval England

n Ritualised communication in social anthropology

n Rituals & court life in medieval historiography

n The court as heaven: piety & ceremony

n The court as hell: criticising the court


Dr Naomi Goulder

BA, MA (Cantab), PhD (Lond)

Head of Faculty &

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy

Dr Naomi Goulder gained her PhD

from Birkbeck College, University

of London and, from 2009 to 2011,

was a teaching fellow in moral

and political philosophy at the

University of Bristol. She studied

with a Henry Fellowship in the

Philosophy Department at Harvard

and, previous to this, received a

double first in Philosophy from the

University of Cambridge.

Naomi works at the intersection

of the philosophy of action and

ethics and is especially interested

in relations between authority and

authorship. She has written for

numerous publications, including

the Routledge Encyclopedia of

Philosophy and the Continuum

Encyclopedia of British Philosophy.

2928

Studying philosophy at NCH is a truly unique proposition. Boasting a lively and interdisciplinary research culture and outstanding teaching, NCH offers a distinctive and stimulating environment that is exceptionally conducive to the successful study of the subject. Our MA Philosophy offers a rigorous and wide-ranging programme of study, which consists of two compulsory courses alongside a selection of optional historic and thematic courses, and culminates in a dissertation on a philosophical topic of your choice.

The compulsory courses provide you with the opportunity to engage with classic philosophy texts and debates, and to develop the research, speaking and writing skills that underpin an academic career in the humanities. Each optional course surveys a different area of philosophy, and encourages specialisation and more in-depth research within a given field.

MA Philosophy

n Suitable for those who have studied humanities or social sciences subjects at undergraduate level, as well as mathematics, physics, biology and the natural sciences, with no previous study of philosophy required. Applications from those with equivalent professional experience or qualifications are also encouraged.

n Offers the rigorous philosophical training required to do a PhD, as well as the development of valuable intellectual and practical skills necessary for careers with NGOs, consulting, communications, AI, tech or law.

n You can choose from a wide range of areas of specialisation, and one-to-one supervisions enable you to investigate your interests more deeply.

MA PHILOSOPHY

Award MA Philosophy






n Provides a balance of practical and theoretical philosophy in core courses taught through seminars and in live debates between academics and students.

n Guest lectures delivered by renowned philosophers including Simon Blackburn, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker and Peter Singer.


3130

CORE

Mind & Reality (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Examination & presentation

This core course in theoretical philosophy, exploring topics such as logic, epistemology, mind and metaphysics, is designed to cultivate the research, speaking and writing skills that are requisite for a career in the philosophy profession, as well as supportive of an informed, reflective and thoughtful approach to life. You will develop skills in interpretation and analysis, and will learn how to form and defend your own arguments on a wide range of issues in philosophy.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Consciousness

n Knowledge

n Theory & evidence

n Truth

CORE

Values & Society (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars

Assessment: Presentation & handout

This core course in value theory and practical philosophy is designed to cultivate the research, analysis and presentation skills required to succeed in your dissertation and viva.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n What are emotions?

n Truth, beauty & goodness

n Should political philosophy be done without metaphysics?

n Commensurability & desire

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CORE

Dissertation (60 credits)Teaching: One-to-one supervision meetings

Assessment: Dissertation & viva voce examination

In the final section of the MA, you will complete a 10,000-15,000-word philosophy dissertation on an approved topic of your choice and defend it in a viva voce exam. Your participation in the core courses of the MA will have furnished you with the necessary research, written and presentation skills to produce and present this sustained and complex piece of work, and you

will have already written and received feedback on a dissertation proposal in a group context in these seminars.

OPTIONAL

Aesthetics (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course is concerned with aesthetic experience and aesthetic objects, their nature and their value. Critical texts from the past, from Plato to Hume to Collingwood, are explored and set in context with contemporary works and commentaries.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Art, mimesis & pleasure

n Tragedy & catharsis

n The Expression Theory of Art

n Pictorial representation

n The Standard of Taste

n Subjectivity & universality

n Values & secondary qualities

OPTIONAL

Ancient Philosophy (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course surveys ancient Greek philosophy from the pre-Socratics to the post-Aristotelian schools, with most attention paid to Plato and Aristotle, and in particular the Phaedo, Republic, Physics and De Anima. Topics covered belong mainly to epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy of mind. There is a focus on the evolution of philosophy as a discipline with a distinctive method, chiefly as shaped by Socratic practice. Aristotle’s work is considered as a critical response to Plato’s, especially in metaphysics and philosophy of mind.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Knowledge

n The Socratic philosophical model

n The unity of the psyche

n Dualism & tripartition in Plato

n Aristotle’s hylomorphism

n Phaedo & Physics on ‘causes’

OPTIONAL

Contemporary Ethics (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course investigates recent ethics literature, with a focus on ‘second-order’ questions about the nature and significance of our ethical practices. Key texts from the 20th and 21st centuries are explored and set in context with ethical thinkers of the more distant past.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The amoralist’s challenge

n Reasons, desires & motivation

n Enlightened self-interest

n Freedom & reason

n Realisms, irrealisms & error theory

OPTIONAL

Epistemology & Philosophy of Science (20 credits) Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

You will investigate questions about knowledge and the justification of beliefs, both generally and in the particular setting of the sciences. What relations must our beliefs have to the world, and to each other, to count as knowledge? You will look at approaches ranging from those shaped by the Cartesian pursuit of individual certainty through first-person reasoning to those that treat the topics in more naturalistic and social terms.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Foundationalism & coherentism

n Perception & testimony

n Scepticism

n Observation & theory

n Hypothetico-deductivism

n Bayesianism

Choice of Optional Courses

Choose four of the following courses.

What will I study?

MA PHILOSOPHY

Core Courses


3332

OPTIONAL

History of Ethics (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course investigates the history of philosophical ethics in the west, including classical works by Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant and Mill, alongside other important trends and figures from the ancient, medieval and modern periods. You will consider to what extent the questions of ethics have changed, and how the ostensibly divergent outlooks of different thinkers relate to each other. You will also look at ethical debate, and consider the relationship between philosophical and everyday thinking.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Greek ethics

n Plato’s Republic

n Christian ethics

n Early modern ethics

n Kant’s groundwork

n Mill’s Utilitarianism

OPTIONAL

Kant to Nietzsche (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course engages with Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and the works of major thinkers who followed in the century after it, in particular, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Themes include freedom, reality and morality, and set readings include substantial extracts from Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, Schopenhauer’s The World as Will & Representation, and the whole of Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morality.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Kant

n Hegel

n Schopenhauer

n Nietzsche

... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OPTIONAL

Logic (20 credits) Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials


You will be introduced to the languages and tools of classical elementary

logic, and explore questions about the relations between formal and natural languages. You will engage with topics such as analyticity, necessity, existence, identity, truth, meaning and reference.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Sets, relations & arguments

n Syntax, semantics & natural deduction in propositional logic

n The analytic/synthetic distinction

n Modality & possible worlds

n Naming & rigidity

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OPTIONAL

Metaphysics (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course investigates the fundamental nature of reality, beginning with ontology (the science of being), before turning to consider topics such as time, modality, causality, personal identity and free will.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Ontology

n Modality

n Causation & freedom

n Time & persistence

n Personal identity

OPTIONAL

Modern Philosophy (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course focuses on the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a period in which there was a decisive break with ancient philosophy. You will become familiar with the main works of Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume, with an emphasis on their views on epistemology and metaphysics.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n The Cartesian Circle

n Substance, essence & materialism

n Immaterialism

n Idealism

n Spiritual substances

n Naturalism

OPTIONAL

Philosophy of Mind & Language (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

This course introduces you to foundational concepts, problems and theories in the philosophy of mind and language. You will begin by looking at the mind: What, if anything, is it, and how does it relate to the body? What is the nature of a mental state, such as a qualitative sensation (pain) or a propositional attitude (a belief)? What is consciousness? You will also consider language: How are the meanings of our expressions fixed? Are they determined by what is in our heads or are these meanings constructs of our environment and our practices of interpreting each other?

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Dualism & behaviourism

n Functionalism & identity theory

n Anomalous monism & mental causation

n Intentionality & proposition attitudes

n Meaning

MA PHILOSOPHY

OPTIONAL

Political Philosophy (20 credits)Teaching: Small group seminars & one-to-one tutorials

Assessment: Essay

You will investigate five themes in-depth: authority, liberty, democracy, justice, and the market. These themes are addressed in classic works by Plato and Aristotle, by the giants of the modern period – Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill and Marx – as well as by some outstanding contemporary authors.

INDICATIVE TOPICS:

n Hobbes

n Locke

n Rousseau

n Mill

n Marx

n Authority & democracy

n Liberty & liberalism

n Distributive justice

3534

Teaching & assessment

Studying for a master’s degree at

NCH is a rewarding and intensely

stimulating pursuit that aims to

help you reach the pinnacle of

your academic potential.

Our postgraduate students are

taught through a variety of methods,

including small group seminars of

between three and 15 students, core

courses lectures, and one-to-one

supervision meetings, in addition to

independent study. Postgraduates

are expected to undertake 200

notional study hours for each

20-credit course, and 600 study

hours for a 60-credit dissertation.

For the dissertation, you will be

allocated a dedicated academic

supervisor, who will be on hand

to guide you through the writing

process, and to help you develop

your academic research and

presentation skills. The dissertation

allows you to deepen your knowledge

and understanding of an area of

study that interests you most,

and offers you the opportunity to

produce a piece of research that aims

to make a serious contribution to

your academic field.

Assessment for your master’s

programme varies by course, and

methods include examination,

presentation, bibliographic exercises

and project work, culminating in the

submission of the dissertation at the

end of the programme.

TEACHING

Paul Smart MA Philosophy

Philosophy BA (Warwick, 2017)

‘The MA Philosophy is an excellently organised course. The programme covers material

from the academics’ own research, which we discuss in depth. We have wonderful discussions!

‘The academics here are lovely people. They have more academic freedom, in comparison to academics at other UK universities. They’re not over-obsessed with their research and are teaching-focused – this was especially important to me and my decision to study at NCH.’

Professor Howard Jacobson

BA (Cantab)Visiting Professor of Creative Writing

Our Professoriate comprises some of the most established and influential thinkers in the world. NCH Visiting Professors contribute to the College’s academic life, delivering a number of lectures in each academic year for NCH students, and working with our faculty members, who lead day-to-day teaching.

Postgraduate students are strongly encouraged to attend lectures given by the Professoriate, which present an opportunity to hear and learn from these groundbreaking academics first-hand.

Our world-renowned Professoriate

Professor Richard Dawkins

BA, MA, DPhil (Oxon), FRS, FRSLVisiting Professor of Science Literacy

Professor Simon Blackburn

BA, MA, PhD (Cantab) Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Bettany Hughes

BA, MA (Oxon), PhD (York)Visiting Professor of History

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta

BSc (Delhi), BA, MA, PhD (Cantab), FBA, FAAASVisiting Professor of Economics

Professor Daniel C Dennett

BA (Harvard), DPhil (Oxon)Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Niall Ferguson

BA, MA, DPhil (Oxon) Visiting Professor of Economic History

Professor Rebecca Goldstein

BA (Columbia), PhD (Princeton)Visiting Professor of Philosophy & Literature

3736

Professor Sir Christopher Frayling

BA, PhD (Cantab), DArts (Bath)Visiting Professor of Art History

Professor Sir Christopher Ricks

BA, MA, BLitt (Oxon), FBAVisiting Professor of English

Professor Barbara McDonald

BA, LLB (Syd), LLM (Lond)Visiting Professor of Law

Professor Nicholas Humphrey

BA, MA, PhD (Cantab)Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Steven Pinker

BA (McGill), DPhil (Harvard)Visiting Professor of Psychology

Professor Lawrence Krauss

BSc (Carleton), DPhil (MIT)Visiting Professor of Science Literacy

Professor Simon May

BA (Lond), MA (Oxon), PhD (Lond)Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Stephen Neale

BA (UCL), PhD (Stanford)Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Christopher Peacocke

BA, BPhil, DPhil (Oxon), FBA, FAAASVisiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Sir Trevor Nunn

MA (Cantab)Visiting Professor of Drama

Professor Geoffrey Robertson QC

BA, LLB (Syd), BCL (Oxon)Visiting Professor of Law

Professor Peter Singer

BA, MA, (Melbourne), BPhil (Oxon)Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Adrian Zuckerman

LLM (Jerusalem), MA (Oxon)Visiting Professor of Law

ACADEMICS

3938

Libraries

Our postgraduate students can

choose from a rich selection

of world-class library facilities,

including The Registry Collection

located at NCH, the British Library,

and Senate House Library, which

includes a selection of books

exclusively for the use of NCH

students.

Just three minutes’ walk from The

Registry, Senate House Library

is the main library used by our

students. It is one of the top

three research libraries in the UK,

particularly focused on the arts

and the humanities, and home

to more than three million items.

Our students have full access to

its borrowing, digital and print

services.

The NCH Collection has its

home in one of the most spacious

and beautiful reading rooms

within Senate House Library. The

collection contains classic texts

and contemporary commentaries,

which have been chosen by the

College’s academic staff for their

direct relevance to our degrees.

As well as housing the world-

famous library, Senate House is

home to the University of London’s

School of Advanced Study. The

institution runs free seminars

and lectures on a diverse range of

humanities topics and research in

the field, which NCH students are

encouraged to attend.

LIBRARIES

4140

Research

The College is keen to support its

faculty members, who are leading

authorities in their fields, to further

their own research, and is equally

enthusiastic about postgraduate

students learning from these

academics at a higher level.

As a postgraduate student at

NCH, you will be invited to attend

academic conferences hosted by

the College. You will also have

the opportunity to engage in

interdisciplinary discussion at

regular, informal research seminars

and subject evenings with fellow

postgraduate students and faculty.

We are keen that our students take

advantage of the many outstanding

research facilities that are on our

doorstep. These include the world-

famous Senate House Library, the

School of Advanced Study, and

the British Library, as well as the

Royal Institute of Philosophy, the

Royal Society of Literature, and the

Institute of Historical Research,

many of which run their own

research groups and events for

London students.

Atlanta Yeatman MA Philosophy

Philosophy & Ethics with Drama BA (Bath Spa, 2017)

‘What’s really impressive about the Philosophy MA at NCH is the range of courses to choose from given the size of the College and the small postgraduate population here. Alongside compulsory

courses you can choose from different optional courses, which gives you the freedom to follow your interests and go much deeper into a particular area of study. I think that’s extremely important.

‘The faculty has also been incredibly helpful; whenever I need any kind of advice they take the time to sit down and talk things through, and I have a good amount of one-to-one, personal time with them. Because there are fewer students it means they can really give you time when you need it.’

RESEARCH

43

Enrichment courses

Postgraduate students at NCH have the opportunity to attend optional and uncredited core courses lectures, and can also access the College’s online core courses study portal. These courses cover a variety of core topics within the fields of Applied Ethics, Critical Reasoning and Science Literacy, and are intended to equip students with an intelligent understanding of the essential concepts, arguments and theories that underpin the study of the humanities, as well as engendering a more enlightened and contextualised approach to master’s study.

The lectures are delivered by our expert faculty, as well as members of our esteemed Professoriate, including Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker and Peter Singer, among others.

42

Applied EthicsThe study of ethics considers what constitutes a good life and a just society, and encourages us to consider how we balance our own needs and desires with those of other individuals, our environment and the ‘greater good’. Centring on ethics in public and professional life, as well as human rights and individual responsibility, this course engages with a variety of ethical challenges and debates including civil liberties, corporate responsibility and the freedom of the press.

Indicative topics:

n Authority access to justice

n Corporate responsibility

n Freedom of the press

n Medical ethics

n Happiness

n Civil liberties

n Ethics & animals

n Effective altruism

Critical ReasoningFocusing on scientific reasoning, and formal and informal reasoning, this course introduces the fundamental methods and principles of good reasoning, including identifying patterns of argument, evaluating evidence, and articulating ideas clearly and persuasively.

Indicative topics:

n Concepts & techniques of formal logic

n Deduction & induction

n The tropes of informal logic

n The value of truth

n Rhetoric & persuasion

n Experiment, observation & theory

n Scientific explanation

n Confirmation theory

n Thought experiments

n The value of computer simulations

Science LiteracyDesigned for non-scientists and requiring minimal mathematical skills, this course provides insight into fundamental scientific principles and approaches, such as the rise of modern science, scientific revolutions, and the innovations made by pioneers such as Galileo, Newton and Darwin. You will explore the beginnings of the universe and the history of science, as well as fundamental physics, evolutionary biology, social evolution, neurobiology, cosmology and human psychology.

Indicative topics:

n Ecology & biodiversity

n Fundamental physics

n Natural selection

n The expanding universe

n Neurons & behaviour

n Darwin & his predecessors

n Geocentric & heliocentric models

n Motion: from Aristotle to Newton

n Scientific revolutions

n The rise of cognitive science

Professor Simon Blackburn BA, MA, PhD (Cantab) Visiting Professor of Philosophy

Professor Simon Blackburn is one of the country’s leading philosophers, highly regarded as a proponent of a distinctive approach to ethics and a defender of neo-Humean views on a variety of topics.

Previously Vice President of the British Humanist Association and a former editor of the journal Mind, Simon is an Honorary Foreign

Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as a Fellow of the British Academy. His books include Being Good: An Introduction to Ethics, Lust, Truth: A Guide and Plato’s Republic: A Biography.

He was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge until 2011. He is currently both a Visiting Professor at NCH and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

ENRICHMENT COURSES

4544

Support for your future

NCH offers a uniquely nurturing

and supportive environment in

which to think about and discuss

your next steps after your degree.

Our graduates are likely to

pursue a research degree and an

academic career, or employment

opportunities in a range of diverse

industries.

Your subject faculty will be on

hand throughout your time at

the College to provide advice on

how best to grow your academic

career, on working towards a PhD,

academic publishing, funding, and

any other queries you may have.

Postgraduates are encouraged to

take advantage of the College’s

careers service, which offers

one-to-one meetings with our

expert Careers Advisers, access

to employer receptions with

professionals from a range of

industries, and use of the LAUNCH

electronic Careers Centre, replete

with features and functionality for

careers guidance, interview advice

and job searching. Our master’s

degrees offer excellent preparation

for professional roles in areas

including public policy, research,

journalism and the media.Suzi Broadaway BA (Surrey, Roehampton) Careers Adviser

Suzi Broadaway built her career in the advertising and creative industries for over a decade before joining NCH as a Careers Adviser. She worked as a Business

Director in London and New York at top-tier companies including CHI & Partners, JWT and Inferno, and her client portfolio included TalkTalk, BSKYB, Rolex, Pfizer, Argos and Kimberly Clark, among others. Suzi holds a BA from the University of Surrey, Roehampton.

4746

Experience the vibrancy of London for yourself

Postgraduate study at NCH presents an enviable opportunity to live and study in London, one of the world’s most dynamic cities. No matter what your interests or what you want to get out of London, there is always something to do or somewhere to be, from art galleries and museums, theatres and historical sites, to clubs, restaurants and

bars, world-famous shopping streets, spectacular parkland, or even boating on the Thames!

NCH is in the heart of central London, within walking distance of a plethora of iconic attractions including Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Theatreland, the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye.

For some students, the thought of living in a city as vast as London may be daunting, but at NCH you will enjoy the best of both worlds: an intimate, friendly community with exceptional support networks and pastoral care, from which you can launch yourself confidently into London life.

Brian OosthuizenPhilosophy with Economics BA

‘It is no understatement to say that there is an endless number of new places to see, and experiences to have, in London. One night you may end up in a blues bar in Camden and the next morning you’re walking through a sunlit

Hyde Park on the way to a seminar. The life I now live at NCH is unlike anything I could have imagined. Surrounded by such immense beauty, whether it is the stunning parks or streets around the College, local cafés or whatever else, and immersed in such a curious and challenging academic and social environment, it would be no exaggeration to say that my time at the College has been remarkable.’

LONDON

Hannah AverillHistory with Politics & International Relations BSc

‘At NCH you have the perfect mix: the close-knit community combined with the whole of London on your doorstep. Only in London could you have

such a vast expanse of (free!) culture at your disposal, and NCH is only a stone’s throw from some of the most incredible galleries and museums in the world. Nip into the British Museum on your lunch break, pop into the National Gallery on your afternoon off, or study in Russell Square in the sunshine.’

Tower of LondonHyde Park

Regent’s Park

Victoria Park

Tower Bridge

St Paul’s Cathedral

Southbank Centre

Royal Opera House

Buckingham Palace

The BritishMuseum

Royal Albert Hall

The British Library

London Zoo

London Stadium

Battersea Park

Victoria & Albert MuseumOlympia London

London Eye

Big Ben

Tate Britain

UrbanestWestminster

UrbanestKing’s Cross

/St Pancras

TufnellHouse

Helen GrahamHouse

River Thames

The O2

Cutty Sark

Trafalgar Square

New College ofthe Humanities

Mannequin House

GoodenoughCollege

4948

RussellSquare

BedfordSquare

TottenhamCourt Road

GoodgeStreet

RussellSquare

The BritishMuseum

Oxford Street

Tottenham Court Road

Southampton Row

Gower St

University CollegeLondon (UCL)

Royal Instituteof Philosophy

StudentCentral

Royal Academyof Dramatic Arts

Senate HouseLibrary

Southeby’sInstitute of Art

Arcitectural AssociationSchool of Architecture

DominionTheatre

London School ofEconomics & Political

Sciences (LSE)

LondonReview Bookshop

Helen GrahamHouse

SOASBirkbeck

School ofAdvanced Study

CartoonMuseum

Museumof Comedy

GoodenoughCollege

Cultural institutions Universities Halls of residence

London

LONDON

5150

London offers a huge range of accommodation options for an even wider range of budgets. Postgraduates studying in the city have the choice of living in student halls, or securing private accommodation. Living in student halls enables you to meet many different students from a diverse range of institutions across London, and it can be a very sociable and personally fulfilling option. Should you wish to live in halls, we recommend some excellent accommodation options for our postgraduates.

For more information, visit

nchlondon.ac.uk

Goodenough College is an independent educational charity situated in one of Bloomsbury’s most beautiful garden squares, Mecklenburgh Square. Approximately 15 minutes on foot from NCH, it provides a safe and supportive community for its postgraduate members in an historic, Grade II-listed building.

Helen Graham House is located directly opposite the main entrance to the British Museum and is less than a five-minute walk from The Registry and Senate House. This very popular accommodation houses both postgraduate and undergraduate students in a stunning period building and offers exceptional value for money.

Mannequin House is newly built accommodation that offers more space for your money than other more central options. Located in Walthamstow, in the heart of trendy east London with its abundance of things to see and do, Mannequin House boasts a wide variety of beautifully furnished rooms with double beds, spacious desks and ample storage. There are also fantastic social spaces and a quiet study space on site.

Tufnell House is within walking distance of spectacular Hampstead Heath, with views across the whole of London, and is only a few stops from Camden High Street by bus. It is the College’s most popular student accommodation, with a variety of rooms including studio options and en-suites, spacious common areas and sports facilities.

Urbanest is student accommodation with a difference, where everything is just that bit better. NCH recommends Urbanest sites in St Pancras and Westminster, both of which provide safe, well-connected accommodation a short Tube ride from the College. Rooms boast high-quality fixtures and fittings, including underfloor heating and luxury en-suite bathrooms. Urbanest Westminster, which benefits from an incredible central London location overlooking Westminster Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the London Eye, even has a deli and its own swimming pool, sauna and gym.

Living in London

Goodenough College Helen Graham House Mannequin House Tufnell House Urbanest

LONDON

5352

The NCH social scene

At NCH, we believe that

an active social life is a vital

part of your higher education.

From the College’s burgeoning list

of clubs and societies and the wide

array of social events hosted by

our students, to the electrifying

social opportunities across London

itself, there really is something for

everyone.

The social scene at NCH is ably

supported by the New College

of the Humanities Student Union

(NCHSU), the representative

body for the College’s students.

Events organised by NCHSU range

from music nights with NCH Live to

film screenings and plays, and

are complemented by regular

bar nights.

As a master’s student, you’ll be

offered the opportunity to attend

dedicated postgraduate events

during Freshers’ Week. You can

also join Student Central, a social

hub managed by the University

of London running a huge variety

of clubs and societies for all

London students, for a £40 annual

membership fee*.

*Price correct at time of going to press.

SOCIAL LIFE

5554

The sharpest minds from across the globe, meeting in the world’s most exciting capital cityThe College is proud to attract some of the world’s most enquiring minds, and we consider postgraduate students to play an integral role in the ongoing development of our vibrant, and truly international, collegiate community. Our students, alumni and staff come from all over the world.

Albania

Afghanistan

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Bulgaria

Canada

China

Colombia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Democratic Republic of Congo

France

Germany

Greece

Hong Kong

Hungary

Iceland

India

Isle of Man

Italy

Kenya

Lithuania

Malaysia

Malta

Mexico

Moldova

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Poland

Qatar

Republic of Ireland

Romania

Russia

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

UK

USA

STUDENTS & GRADUATES

Australia

Austria

Bulgaria

Canada

Denmark

Ecuador

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

India

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Macedonia

Mexico

New Zealand

Poland

South Africa

The Philippines

UK

STAFF

Joseph O’Reagain

MA Philosophy

Agricultural Science BSc (University of Queensland, 2008)

‘I’m from Charters Towers, a small town in Queensland. Living in London is very different to Australia and the lack of sunlight has been tough!

‘The great thing about NCH is the small size. I find the staff very knowledgeable, very accommodating, understanding and approachable. When you walk around The Registry you see a lot of familiar faces, and it’s easy to make friends. You’re not just a number!’

57

How to apply

Entry requirements The College welcomes applications from candidates who have attained an upper second class honours undergraduate degree, or equivalent. We also accept applications from those who may not have studied the subject before in a formal capacity or mature students who have been out of education for a while, if they can demonstrate relevant professional experience or equivalent qualifications, together with the potential to thrive as a postgraduate student at NCH. Each applicant will be assessed on an individual basis through their application, a reference and personal statement.

If English is not your native language, you will need to demonstrate proficiency in English in order to study at the College. Typically, we require an IELTS score of 7.0 (with a minimum of 6.5 in each component). If you require a visa to study in the UK, we can only accept the IELTS text from a UKVI-approved centre. We are not able to accept any other English language tests due to the visa requirements set by the UK government. You must have obtained these scores within two years before application to NCH.

EU/EEA students who have taken higher level English as part of their university examinations, or who have been educated entirely in English for a minimum of three years before application, may be exempt from these requirements.

How to applyApplications should be made directly to the College through our website. We accept applications on a rolling basis.

1. Go to nchlondon.ac.uk and click on Apply. Here, you’ll find our online application form, with details of how to start, save and complete your online application to the College. Providing you have already written your personal statement, it usually takes around 20 minutes to complete the form.

2. Your appointed Admissions Adviser will ask you for a referee’s name and contact details. Your referee should be someone who has taught or worked closely with you in an academic or professional context.

3. Within a few weeks of receiving your completed application and reference, we will let you know, informally, whether we will make you an offer. Your formal offer pack will follow.

4. If you do not have an upper second class honours undergraduate degree but your application demonstrates potential, you will be invited to attend an interview at the College. The interview is not designed to be a test of your knowledge, but is an opportunity for you to meet an academic from your subject area in a one-to-one setting similar to a dissertation supervision meeting, in order to assess your candidacy.

56

International student visasNCH is licensed by the UK government to sponsor and assist with Tier 4 visa applications for all of our programmes. Nationals of the EU and EEA, as well as Switzerland, do not require a visa to study in the UK.

We know that visa applications can be complicated and daunting, so we have dedicated staff on hand to help you through the visa application process. Please contact [email protected]

Part-time study is not available for NCH postgraduate students who require a Tier 4 visa.

Attend a Postgraduate Open Day or Open EveningExperience NCH for yourself by joining a selection of our staff and students at an NCH Postgraduate Open Day or Evening, based at The Registry on Bedford Square. Bookings are now being taken for the following events. Contact our Admissions Team for more information and to secure your place.

25th April 2018, 5.00pm–7.00pm

6th June 2018, 5.30pm–7.30pm

8th August 2018, 5.00pm–7.00pm

Book a personal consultationPersonal consultations are your opportunity to ask a faculty member in your subject or an Admissions Adviser any questions you have about studying at the College.

Contact a member of our friendly Admissions Team to arrange a consultation in person, by phone or via Skype.

Meet us at a PG fairCome along to one of the following postgraduate fairs to meet members of the NCH community and ask us any questions you have about studying at the College.

14th February 2018 12.00pm–3.00pm Postgrad LIVE! Sheffield

15th February 2018 12.00pm–3.00pm Postgrad LIVE! Liverpool

21st February 2018 12.00pm–3.00pm Postgrad LIVE! Edinburgh

10th April 2018 European Studies Association Maastricht Master’s Fair

Contact our Admissions [email protected] +44 (0)20 7637 4550

Want to find out more?

Hugo StevensenMA Philosophy

History BA with English (Lond/NCH, 2016)

‘You get opportunities at NCH that you don’t get anywhere else. The mix of the Professoriate and the faculty members is so strong, and I love the adaptability to be able to study exactly what you want.

‘I highly recommend NCH. I was also an undergraduate at the College, so I’ve been here all the way through! I’ve tried other universities and I can say this is a truly fantastic institution.’

APPLYING

59

Fees & funding

58

New College of the Humanities’ degrees have been designed and

created by the College’s world-class professors and faculty. The

courses reflect their areas of expertise and research interests,

meaning that they are strongly engaged with the material that

they teach, and there may be opportunities for students to

participate in active research.

In the case of the MA Communicating Economic Policy, the

curriculum has been overseen and developed by Dr Marianna

Koli BSc, MSc, PhD (Manchester), Head of Faculty & Senior

Lecturer in Economics.

In the case of the MA Historical Research & Public History,

the curriculum has been overseen and developed by the NCH

History Faculty, including Dr Lars Kjaer BA (Aarhus), MPhil,

PhD (Cantab), Head of Faculty & Senior Lecturer in Medieval

History, Dr Edmund Neill MA, DPhil (Oxon), MSc (LSE),

FRHistS, Lecturer in Modern History and Dr Oliver Ayers BA

(Manchester), PhD (Kent), Lecturer in History & Politics.

In the case of the MA Philosophy, the curriculum has been

overseen and developed by Dr Naomi Goulder BA, MA

(Cantab), PhD (Lond), Head of Faculty & Senior Lecturer in

Philosophy.

In the case of the MSc Global Politics, the curriculum has been

overseen and developed by Dr Diana Bozhilova BA, PhD (Lond),

Head of Faculty & Senior Lecturer in Politics & International

Relations.

The above New College of the

Humanities postgraduate degree

programmes have been validated by

Swansea University as being of an

appropriate standard and quality and

will lead to the Swansea University award of a Master of Arts

(MA) or, in the case of the MSc Global Politics, a Master of

Science (MSc).

This document is prepared ahead of the academic period to which it relates to provide potential applicants with an overview of the programme for which they are applying. As a result, there may be infrequent occasions when the College is unable to offer individual courses within degrees as advertised; on such occasions, another individual course will be offered which will have equal academic benefit to the course originally advertised.

From time to time, individual faculty members may stop teaching at the College; in such instances, the College will undertake reasonable endeavours to ensure that students are taught by another academic with an equal level of qualification, research interests, and experience.

Fees are reviewed regularly, at least annually, and are subject to increase from time to time but no more than annually. A review of the fees charged will take account of RPI, wage rises and other costs that the College bears to deliver the degree. Only in cases of force majeure will the increase in fees be above RPI +5%. If less than a term’s notice is given of a fee increase greater than RPI +5%, notice of withdrawal given within 21 days after notice of the increase was received will not incur a term’s fees in lieu of notice.

NCH reserves the right to make such alterations and amendments as necessitated by circumstances. The information this document contains is correct at the date of publication.

Tuition fees for postgraduate students entering the College in 2018-19 are listed below. Please note that international students requiring a visa to study in the UK can only apply to study full-time on our master’s programmes.

UK, EU, EEA & Swiss passport holdersMA Communicating Economic Policyn Full-time £8,000n Part-time £4,000 per year

MSc Global Politicsn Full-time £8,000

n Part-time £4,000 per year


n Full-time £8,000


MA Philosophy

n Full-time £10,000


International students requiring a visa to study in the UKMA Communicating Economic Policy n Full-time £13,000

MSc Global Politics




MA Philosophy


Your qualifications

The Registry19 Bedford SquareLondon WC1B 3HHUnited Kingdom

nchlondon.ac.uk [email protected] +44 (0)20 7637 4550

NCHLondon

@NCHLondon

Postgraduate prospectus · 2018. 2. 16. · ‘Postgraduate study at New College of the Humanities...

Documents

Transcript of Postgraduate prospectus · 2018. 2. 16. · ‘Postgraduate study at New College of the Humanities...