Teaching

The University of Edinburgh is home to one of the largest groups of historians in the United Kingdom, covering almost every major area of historical inquiry, and facilitating intellectual breadth and imagination whilst studying. This range of expertise is reflected in the broad scope of option courses and dissertation topics available on the Online Masters in History.

See available courses

You will gain advanced knowledge and understanding of selected topics in history, as well as enhance your skills in independent research, critical analysis, and both oral and written presentation.

The teaching materials are written for the courses and the reading material is provided online through ebooks, eReserves and eJournal articles. Some course authors may suggest a few optional books that are recommended, but not essential for your studies.

All of our teaching is divided into themed weeks. The method of teaching will vary from course to course and may include screencast (pre-recorded) lectures, group work and reflective discussion posts. 

We consider full-time study to be between 35-40 hours for 60-credits of study.  Each course is 20 credits, for which you would be expected to study around 12-15 hours per 20-credit course taken (hours cover all work on the course, including reading/preparation, working on assessments, and participating in seminars and discussion forums). The total time spent per week is likely to vary, depending on assessments.

A comprehensive online induction for new students introduces our virtual learning environment and teaching methods prior to the start of your first semester. Through the induction you will lay the foundations for a good working relationship with course authors and classmates, gain confidence in the technology and establish a clear sense of what to expect from the programme and what is expected of you.

Before the induction we will email you with detailed Welcome Information, including essential advice about the University and the organisation of the programme.  

Learn Ultra, our e-learning platform, is where forum seminars are held. Most weeks there will be forum discussions that will engage with key readings or selected documents and are based around key questions or tasks set by the academic leading the course. These will lead into a student-led discussion as the week progresses. The forums are moderated and guided by the course author.

Blackboard Collaborate is the e-learning platform we use to connect academic members of staff and students from all over the world in our live seminars. It enables you to contribute to the session using a microphone (and optionally your device camera) as well as a text chat. Live seminars provide a chance to interact face to face with other students and the course tutor. Many aspects of the traditional classroom are recreated virtually, for example the tutor can present slides, use a virtual whiteboard and you can even raise your hand to ask a question.

Attendance at live seminars is not mandatory. To provide more flexibility all sessions are recorded and can be watched at your leisure.

The course author will be engaging in the debates on the discussion forum, providing guidance and feedback and leading live seminars in Blackboard Collaborate.

Additional contact with course authors is available via multiple channels: you can arrange a Microsoft Teams or Zoom call, meet in the virtual classroom, and/or exchange emails.