History MLitt
Course code: V201
Study mode: You study most days of the week and complete all course units /modules in the standard time., You take fewer course units/modules per week compared to full time.
Course type: MLitt
International: Available to study online
Study at: Centre for History
Start in: January; September
Learning mode: You access classes and/or materials digitally.
Duration: Full time: 1 year; Part time: 2-6 years
How: You complete course tasks independently. These may be set by your lecturer or chosen by you.
What is special about this course?
This online programme provides a broader history award, both thematically and geographically, than our MLitt History of the Highlands and Islands.
Throughout the MLitt History you may have the option to investigate the cultural, political, social and economic history of Britain, Europe and the Atlantic World. You will also develop skills in historiographical and primary source research, oral history and palaeography.
Taught from the Centre for History in the Highlands, the MLitt History is available from anywhere in the world.
Special features
- One of 7 UHI postgraduate courses to achieve a perfect 100% overall student satisfaction score (2025 PTES)
- The course is taught by a research-active and dynamic team of historians, reflecting staff research expertise
- You can study from a distance online through the university’s virtual learning environment (VLE), which means you can fit your studies around your personal and professional commitments
- You can study individual modules for personal or professional development, or work towards the PgCert, PgDip, or full masters degree
- You will develop key skills in researching different types of primary sources as preparation for work in a related field or further study
- 2:1 honours degree or above (or international equivalent) in history
- If you have an honours degree in a cognate, or strongly-related subject your application will be considered on an individual basis
*Funding support notice*
Postgraduate Loans (SAAS) (Scottish domiciled students)
Loans for tuition fees are available from SAAS for eligible Scotland domiciled students, and loans for living costs for eligible Scottish students.
Access routes
- You can progress from our own undergraduate Humanities degrees.
You must complete one of the 20-credit core modules below as part of your studies in order to exit with a PgCert qualification (60 credits):
- Unlocking languages and palaeography for historians
- Voices from the past: understanding and using oral history
You will choose two further 20-credit option modules (to make a total of 60-credits overall), which may include any of the following:
- British identities
- Castles in context: from medieval to modern
- Crossing the seas: migration, identity and community in the early modern North Sea and Baltic regions
- Maritime lives: the Scottish northern isles during the early modern period
- Renaissance Venice: lagoon, city and empire
- Rivers, ports and coasts in history
- Royal power, propaganda and performance in early modern Europe
- One 20-credit option module from MLitt History of the Highlands and Islands
- One 20-credit option module from MLitt Early Modern European Studies
Alternatively, you may choose to study Research skills in history (40 credits, year-long module) alongside your core module.
Please note that option modules are rotational and may not be available each year.
You will study the following core module:
- Research skills in history (40 credits, year-long module)*
You will also study one of the following 20-credit modules (whichever you didn't choose to study at PgCert level):
- Unlocking languages and palaeography for historians
- Voices from the past: understanding and using oral history
You must have completed the core module and both of the above options as part of your studies in order to exit with a PgDip (120 credits).
*if you completed this module at PgCert level, you will instead choose two further 20-credit modules from those listed in the PgCert
You will complete a 60-credit research dissertation to achieve the award of MLitt History (180 credits).
How will I study my course?
- Full-time
- Part-time (structured)
- Part-time (unstructured)
- You will study through supported online learning using the university's virtual learning environment (VLE)
- You will have support from expert staff at the UHI Centre for History throughout your course
How long will my course last?
- Full-time: 1 year @ 35 hours per week
- Part-time (structured): 2 years @ 17.5 hours per week
- Part-time (unstructured): up to 6 years
Number of hours per week indicates the total number of hours you should dedicate to the course, which includes time spent in lectures and online class discussion and your own time spent on individual study and research.
- UHI Centre for History - You can study this fully online programme from anywhere in the world. You will be enrolled and supported by staff at the UHI Centre for History.
Start date
- September
- January - part-time only
Fees
For students normally domiciled in Scotland, with a term-time address in Scotland, the following fees apply:
This includes
- EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status in the UK,
- EEA/Swiss nationals with settled status in the UK
- EEA/Swiss nationals with pre-settled status who are self-employed or migrant workers in the UK.
| Study Mode | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Per module (20 credits) | £610 | £647 |
| Postgraduate certificate (3 modules, 60 credits) | £1,830 | £1,941 |
| Postgraduate diploma (6 modules, 120 credits) | £3,660 | £3,882 |
| Masters degree (6 modules + dissertation) | £5,490 | £5,820 |
For students normally domiciled in the rest of the UK (England, Wales and N. Ireland) or assessed as rest of the UK for fee status, the following fees apply:
| Study Mode | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Per module (20 credits) | £840 | £890 |
| Postgraduate certificate (3 modules, 60 credits) | £2,520 | £2,670 |
| Postgraduate diploma (6 modules, 120 credits) | £5,040 | £5,340 |
| Masters degree (6 modules + dissertation, 180 credits) | £7,560 | £8,010 |
Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, the Scottish Government confirmed that EU/EEA and Swiss nationals, who do not have settled or pre-settled status, will be considered as international for fee purposes. These students will get an automatic fee scholarship.
This includes EEA/Swiss nationals with pre-settled status who are not self-employed or migrant workers in the UK.
| Study Mode | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | With scholarship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per module (20 credits) | £1,200 | £1,273 | £956 |
| Postgraduate certificate (3 modules, 60 credits) | £3,600 | £3,819 | £2,868 |
| Postgraduate diploma (6 modules, 120 credits, 180 credits) | £7,200 | £7,638 | £5,736 |
| Masters degree (6 modules + dissertation, 180 credits) | £10,800 | £11,450 | £8,588 |
For students who do not normally reside in the UK or European Union, studying online from their home country, or assessed as international for fee status, the following fees apply:
| Study Mode | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Per module (20 credits) | £1,200 | £1,273 |
| Postgraduate certificate (3 modules, 60 credits) | £3,600 | £3,819 |
| Postgraduate diploma (6 modules, 120 credits, 180 credits) | £7,200 | £7,638 |
| Masters degree (6 modules + dissertation, 180 credits) | £10,800 | £11,450 |
This course is not available to international students requiring Student Route visa sponsorship to study in the UK.
Funding
Eligible Scotland-domiciled students studying full-time can access loans up to £11,500 from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). This comprises a tuition fee loan up to £7,000 and a non-income assessed living cost loan of £4,500.
Eligible Scotland-domiciled students studying part-time can apply for a tuition fee loan from SAAS. You must be intending to complete the course in no longer than twice the length of time it would take for a full-time student. For example, if your course is available to full-time students as a one-year programme, you will be funded for a maximum of two years' part-time study. If your course does not have a full-time option, you must complete within three years. You can apply for a tuition fee loan up to £7,000, which will be paid pro-rata for each academic year of study.
Full details can be found on the SAAS website. Applications for loans open in April.
Students from the rest of the UK who meet the eligibility requirements may be able to apply for a loan from the Student Loan Company.
What can I do on completion of my course?
On completion of this MLitt History, you may wish to pursue a career in:
- Teaching
- Research
- Media, journalism and politics
- Community or adult education
- Museums and libraries
- Heritage and tourism
Can I progress into further study?
You may wish to progress to further study such as PhD or MRes at the University of the Highlands and Islands or another institution.
Course is online and open to applicants to study online from overseas. It is not eligible for a Student Route Visa.
Please see guidance for international applicants regarding entry requirements
Aside from the knowledge of Highlands and Islands history in the larger context of Scottish and world history, my greatest knowledge gain has been in the ability to think critically, deeply and widely about issues, and to write at a level required for publication.
Theresa Mackay studied online from Canada and graduated with distinction from our MLitt History in September 2016. Her studies have led her to her current role as Assistant Professor at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
The ongoing nature of academic research ensures that the Centre for History staff are constantly working to better their knowledge and understanding of the subjects they teach, which are also largely the subjects they themselves research. Students feel the benefit of this in teaching, but more than that, they often contribute to and help develop staff research interests simply through the interaction in which both staff and students are engaged.
Dr Iain MacInnes, Centre for History
Apply for History MLitt
We are delighted that you are thinking about studying at the University of the Highlands and Islands. We operate a fair and open admissions system committed to equality of opportunity and non-discrimination. We consider all applications on merit and on the basis of ability to achieve, without discrimination on grounds of gender, age, disability, ethnicity and socio-economic background. We welcome applications from all prospective students and aim to provide appropriate and efficient services to students with disabilities.