Hi all, I do not know if this will be of any interest to anyone, but I've recently been looking at a career change of some sorts and I've been looking at different Uni's and their undergraduate courses...I came across "BA (Hons) War Studies" this is offered at two Uni's in my area Wolverhampton and Birmingham. You can study full time (3yrs) or part time (4-6yrs). I have been sent their prospectus so if anyone is interest I will post the modules that are included in this course. Regards Kieron
Hi Kieron, sounds interesting. I'd be interested in seeing what periods, campaigns and military philosophy is covered If you are thinking of doing the degree for future work prospects, it is vital that the courses are well established and taught by specialists. Hardly fair or correct, but many employers, in their ignorance, can at first glance dismiss 'non-conventional' - i.e. not English, languages, common humanities, maths, sciences etc. - degree courses and view them in the same light as Media Studies, etc. (Again, there are no doubt many excellent and academically rigorous M.S. degree courses, but they are new and the highlighting of some of the lower level courses has tarnished all their reputations.) If you want to study in depth and focus on your interests, have you considered undertaking an MA in this subject? Paradoxically, these are often 'easier' than undertaking the long-term and diverse commitment of a BA. Cheers Richard
Hi Richard, This an outline of what the course involves. War studies focus on a number of key issues: military history and the conduct of war, contemporary security issues and the future of warfare, the social and phychological preconditions of war, morality and ethics in war and images of war and peace in the media. Other forms of international conflict and internal strife are covered in addition to external war, with particular reference to the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of the skills aquired during the war studies programme - critical analysis, debate, reasoning and composition - are highly relevant to a range of graduate carerrs. Teaching and assessment As a war studies student, you will be involved in lectures, seminars and tutorials. During seminars, you will take an active role in discussions and delivering presentations. Each module is assessed differently and you will be required to produce a combination of essays, individual and group presentations, individual projects, fieldwork reports and computer simulation studies. You may also be required to sit exams. Typical modules may include: Year 1 British politics introduction to international relations main themes of europen history the holocaust in the age of total war the world of war 1931-1945 war and reconstruction in the balkans war and the modern world Year2 Film, literature and war nuclear politics and post cold war conflicts terrorism the battle for normandy 1944 the cold war vietnam and america Year3 Conflict and accommondation in northern ireland resistance and collaboration the decision to use the atomic bomb the great war 1914-1918 the gulf war and the media the study and practice of war the us civil war 1861-1865 thinking about war and peace Fact Visits and field trips abroad(for example to Normandy) Taught by leading scholars in the field Careers: a wide range of careers in management, the heritage industry, teaching or the armed forces will be open to you. This was from the Wolverhampton prospectus...so I guess Birmingham will be pretty much the same. regards Kieron
Hi Kieron, Looks very interesting and with a good range of diverse topics. The good thing about courses such as these is that they offer a new perspective and an interest in periods one might otherwise neglect to study. Should provoke some interesting essays and research. Richard
Sounds like a good course. I'd like to take it myself. I'm glad you included the material about careers coming out of it. My MFA in Creative Writing and $2.00 gets me a ride on the New York Subway. When young kids ask me what they should major in, I tell them to learn about computers, business, engineering, or biochemistry. As long as you can write a kiss-up memo to a boss or a snotty memo to an underling, you're fine.
You can do a Certificate, Diploma and Degree in War Studies through Birmingham Univ. by Part-Time Study. The Certificate programme takes two years, the Diploma four, and the degree six http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/ There's the Scottish Centre for War Studies at University of Glasgow. website at: www.gla.ac.uk, war/military studies in some form has also been offered at KCL, Wolverhampton, Salford, Aberystwyth. BTW Lancaster University also ran a Summer School (5 days) for WW1 Studies. I do not think you can or will be allowed to do the MA without having done their BA or someone elses of a similar vein, this would be rare. Cheers Ryan
Originally posted by salientpoints@Sep 14 2004, 07:07 PM I do not think you can or will be allowed to do the MA without having done their BA or someone elses of a similar vein, this would be rare. [post=28147]Quoted post[/post] Sounds like a good course, but Ryan is correct; it would be highly unlikely that you would be allowed to proceed to post-graduate level without evidence of previous study. My advice is by all means study what interests you, but if you are looking for a career in a history related job then you are better doing a more general history degree to give you a good grounding. My own BA(Hons) is in History & Geography (Historical Geography, rather than physical) and my MA in Twentieth Century history. Because of my interest in military history, I was able to specialise with this when it came to dissertations etc. But having a more general knowldge of history helps in being able to see the 'wider picture' as it were.
I do not think you can or will be allowed to do the MA without having done their BA or someone elses of a similar vein, this would be rare. Scottish Universities offer MA courses to anyone, you can even do a MA(Hon)! Takes four years though. I did mine at a English uni!
On undertaking my MA history course, we all had to have a BA(Hons) with 2:2 or higher and show our certificates (OO-ER) prior to being enrolled. >>> Saint Andrews and Glasgow both have MA(Hon) courses which can be accessed without a lower degree. Herriot Watts used to offer its alumna MAs after ten years for only 10 pounds! I got on to my BA(Hon) with a ONC in Marine Electroncs and a paper on the Suez crisis. My Thesis in my MA was "Hitler as War leader". :ph34r: :ph34r:
I'm currently doing an MA (Hons) in History at Glasgow, and this is my first degree. I completed the University's own access course to win a place. At my age, I considered that an MA offered better employment prospects than a BA, especially since I hope to train as an archivist and the minumum entry qualification is a 2:1 honours degree. I hope to specialise in Mediaeval History.
