Applied Heritage Studies

Entry requirements

Please see our website

Months of entry

September

Course content

Our MA Applied Heritage Studies course offers critical enquiry of, and practical engagement with, the increasingly diverse heritage sector.

As the heritage sector transforms, with an increasingly diverse range of agencies and organisations drawing on the past and mobilising it in different ways, this course combines critical enquiry with practical experience to understand and engage with the changing dynamics of the sector.

Why study with us

• We have good connections with industry specialists from a variety of heritage institutions and providers across the region, who have helped design the programme.
• We examine community-based heritage, as well as institutional providers.
• While broad in scope, there is particular emphasis on community engagement, digital heritage and heritage in the creative industries.

What you'll do

• A central feature of the course is a work placement, where you’ll have the opportunity to experience a heritage setting from within.
• You’ll have the opportunity to design and develop a project in liaison with an external organisation.
• There is a series of site visits and talks by industry specialists.

Learning and assessment

Learning and teaching will take place through a combination of classroom discussions and debates, visiting speakers, skills training sessions, site visits, work placement and independent research and design work. The emphasis is on practical experience in a range of settings, underpinned by engagement with scholarly debate.

The course team has extensive experience of working with diverse areas of the heritage sector. Key members of the team include Dr Jack Southern, Lecturer in Public History who leads on engagement with external organisations. He has been working closely with the National Trust to develop a programme of collaborative activities.

Prof Robert Poole is well known for his work on the Peterloo commemorations, and previously on the Lancashire witches. Dr Keith Vernon is School lead for Heritage Development and organises a programme of work placements. The course draws on colleagues from across the University, in the areas of Architecture, Archaeology, Fine Art, Journalism and Media, Health, and Tourism.

Pathway opportunities:

There are opportunities to proceed to a research degree – MPhil / PhD.