School of Humanities

School of Humanities

Postgraduate Study in History

Postgraduate Pages

Introduction

The History Programme welcomes applications from qualified students from Canterbury and other universities for enrolment in postgraduate work. In 2008 there were 33 postgraduate students in the school; of these 5 were PhD students, 13 writing MA theses, and 15 taking BA Honours courses.

The school's main field of postgraduate research is in New Zealand history. Amongst the 10 tenured staff, research is also done in twentieth century history, feminist history, Medieval and European history, colonial and modern American history, eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century British history, Australian, and South Asian history.

This History Postgraduate Handbook provides an introduction to postgraduate study in the school, outlining its staff, research strengths, facilities and general policies and procedures. Other University publications to which reference should be made:

  1. The Calendar, particularly for the exact degree regulations, and for the general regulations of the University.
  2. Code of Practice for heads of schools, supervisors, and students, with respect to research work for a masters or PhD thesis.
  3. Masters thesis work: guidelines, policies, procedures, for students, supervisors, and schools.
  4. PhD Regulations and Guidelines.

The Code of Practice and Guidelines may be found at Academic Services.

On enrolment, students will also be given a Supplementary Guide which details the BA Honours timetable; coursework requirements and deadlines for the year; the seminar programme for new thesis writers; the school facilities currently available to Honours students and thesis writers; and any other additional information.

What use is a postgraduate degree in history?

It is widely believed that studying History has little or no vocational value - that a person who has majored in History is less able to secure a job than someone who has a degree in, say, Politics, Economics, Computer Science, Law and so on. This belief is completely false. According to the annual surveys by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee of the destinations of students, graduates majoring in History have been far more successful in securing full-time jobs than the graduates in most other subject areas (University Graduates Destinations). Moreover, according to the same surveys, the percentage of History graduates unable to find full-time work has been lower than that for graduates in the vast majority of other subjects, in some instances much lower.

The reason why History graduates enjoy this superiority in the job market is that studying History develops a certain cluster of skills - or what can otherwise be called mental tools, qualities of mind - on which employers set great store. There are five such skills, all being concerned with the processing of information, especially verbal information. The skills are the capacities to:

  1. collect raw data accurately and thoroughly;
  2. evaluate the reliability of the raw data;
  3. create a meaningful pattern - story, theory, interpretation - from the raw data;
  4. write about the pattern using decent English; and
  5. justify and critically evaluate the pattern.

Although several other disciplines are obviously good at cultivating many of the same information-processing skills, only History is able to develop the whole set. For example, the social sciences may perhaps be as able to equip students with the skill of critically evaluating theories. But History does more to develop the skills of collecting raw data, appraising the reliability of raw data, and of making sense of raw data; and it goes much further in teaching students how to write decent prose.

A small number of our students obtain higher degrees and enter academia. A significant number have found employment as historical researchers in Wellington at the Historical Branch and Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Department of Internal Affairs; Waitangi Tribunal and treaty issues offices at Justice, Crown Law, Crown Forestry Rental Trust; libraries and museums. Many go into primary and secondary teaching.

There are increasing opportunities for contract historians - writing histories of businesses, local government agencies, voluntary organisations and so on. However, by far the largest group of our graduates obtain general advisory positions (usually called 'policy analysts') in the government or private sectors. Others have become journalists and even Members of Parliament!

Postgraduate degrees in history

FOUR options are available:

  1. BA (Hons) - 4 courses, one year.
  2. MA (Hons) - 4 courses and thesis, two years.
  3. MA - Thesis alone - for those who have already graduated B.A. (Hons) in History - normally one year.
  4. PhD - Thesis alone - normally three years.

Enrolling for BA(Hons) follows graduation as BA. The two degrees are quite separate. There is no significant difference in status between MA(Hons) and MA by thesis only. Students can progress from any of the first three options to PhD, depending on grades. Those interested in enrolment for MA or PhD should discuss their plans with the Director of Graduate Students at an early stage.

Graduates of other New Zealand universities will be admitted if they hold the equivalent of the school's prerequisites for each degree. They should forward a copy of their academic record to the Director of Graduate Students at the time of enquiry or application for enrolment.

Graduates from beyond New Zealand should first make informal enquiries to the Programme, accompanied by a copy of their academic record. They will then need to apply for ad eundem admission to the University on the appropriate form, available from the Registrar. Students from further afield than Australia will also need a student permit before they can enrol. Details about this and other matters of interest to overseas students can be obtained from the Registrar and from the University Postgraduate Handbook.