To give students the opportunity to carry out and successfully deliver independent study at an advanced level;

To draw on and extend the skills and knowledge of relevant historical, historiographical and theoretical debates, issues and materials acquired during the first five semesters of the programme.

(LO1) An ability to read, analyse and reflect critically and contextuallyupon primary sources.

(LO2) An ability to read, analyse and reflect critically and contextually upon secondary evidence, including historical writings and the interpretations of historians.

(LO3) An ability to design, research and present a sustained andindependently-conceived piece of historical writing.

(S1) Confidence, independence of mind, responsibility, organisation and time-management.

(S2) The ability to work collaboratively and to participate in group discussion

(S3) Gathering, analysing and organising information, including online and digital resources.

(S4) Structure, coherence, clarity and fluency of oral expression.

(S5) Structure, coherence, clarity and fluency of written expression

The History Dissertation is an independent research project, and as such is guided and supervised rather than taught. Contact hours are therefore focused on group and individual meetings designed to cultivate and encourage the necessary independence of mind and autonomous working.

Lecture:
The module has an initial briefing lecture that sets out the aims and administrative processes of the module. It also offers an overview of good practice in time-management and organisations, taking students in detail through the milestones and deadlines associated with the research essay. The aim is to address a core set of questions, freeing up workshop and supervision time for more advanced discussion.

Workshop:
Workshop classes bring together all members of a tutor’s supervision group to compare experiences and develop a common sense of the demands of the research process. This is an efficient and constructive way of inculcating research and writing approaches that need to be common to all projects regardless of the detailed subject matter. It is also an opportunity for students to informally learn from each other, and support each other as independent learners who are nevertheless part of a subject community.

Tutorial:
These individual t utorials focus on addressing subject-specific issues arising from individual research projects that are too detailed for discussion in the class workshops. Their focus will be on discussing feedback on draft chapters, given that more generic issues will be dealt with in the workshops.

GradStart graduate recruitment preparation course:
In addition to the scheduled activities, students will also be offered the opportunity to attend GradStart sessions. These will provide students with practical advice and support and the skills needed when applying for graduate roles.

The majority of teaching will be delivered face-to-face on campus. Online delivery will be used to complement the on-campus delivery and where technology affords a better learning experience.