United States Studies: History and Politics MA

Students will develop analytical and critical perspectives on multidisciplinary aspects of US history, politics, cultural studies and international relations, depending on their chosen areas of specialisation. They will gain key research skills, enhance their capacity for oral and written presentation, and develop their knowledge of up-to-date scholarship and theoretical/conceptual debates in United States studies.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of one core module (15 credits), five optional modules (75 credits), and the research dissertation (90 credits).

Please note: all optional modules are subject to availability.

• Researching the Americas: The USA

Students choose five optional modules from a selection that includes the following:

• American Political Development: Politics and Institutions, 1900 - Present
• Confronting the Colossus: US Anti-imperialism, 1945-present
• From Skid Row to Obamacare: The Politics of Social Welfare in the United States Since 1900
• From the New South to the Modern South: The (Re)Making of an American Region
• Politics of US Foreign Policy
• Post-Cold War US Foreign Policy
• US Presidents and the Presidency
• Challenging the Straight State: Regulation Repression, and Resistance in US Sexual Politics

Of the 75 optional module credits, students can choose a maximum of 30 credits from other departments or from other University of London colleges, subject to the Programme Director's approval.

All students write a dissertation of 15,000 words (90 credits) on a research topic of their choice linked to the subject area of one of their taught modules.

The programme is delivered through a combination of seminars, lectures, presentations, research skills training, independent reading and research. Assessment is through written assignments (which may include essays, term papers and analytical exercises, depending on selected options), group and seminar presentations, and the dissertation.

Many of our Master's students undertake fieldwork in order to carry out research for their dissertation projects.