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The M. Phil. in Public History and Cultural Heritage

M.Phil. in Public History and Cultural Heritage Course Handbook - Please note that module choices change from year to year

M.Phil. in Public History and Cultural Heritage Brochure

Our taught Masters course in Public History and Cultural Heritage (1 year full-time, 2 years part-time) is designed to provide students with a rigorous grounding in public history and to prepare high-calibre graduates in a unique and thorough fashion for the management of cultural heritage. We define 'public history' and 'cultural heritage' broadly. The course involves analysis of cultural memory, its construction, reception and loss; and study of the public status and consumption of history in modern society. Political issues surrounding public commemoration and 'sites of memory' are examined and the role of museums, galleries and the media in shaping public perceptions of the past is considered. The course also surveys the more concrete questions involved in the conservation, presentation and communication of the physical heritage of past cultures, particularly where interpretation and meaning are contested.

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The course is taught in collaboration with the leading cultural institutions located in Dublin and several organisations offer internships to students. In recent years participating bodies have included Dublin City Gallery; Dublin City Library and Archive; Glasnevin Trust; Hugh Lane Gallery; The Little Museum of Dublin; Marsh's Library; the National Gallery of Ireland; the National Library of Ireland; the National Museum of Ireland; and St Patrick's Cathedral.

Course Details

In a variety of modules, students are trained in the analysis and the presentation of their research findings. They are also introduced to the methodological challenges of advanced study and research at postgraduate level. The course includes a compulsory core module, entitled 'Remembering, Reminding and Forgetting: Public History, Cultural Heritage and the Shaping of the Past', which runs across both terms. A suite of term- long electives is available on substantive themes. A three- month internship, located in one of our collaborating institutions, runs throughout the second term. Practitioner workshops are held in the second term and provide an opportunity for national and international 'public historians' to discuss their work with the class. In any given year this may include novelists, artists, museum directors, or heritage and tourism policymakers. The course concludes with the production of a dissertation or major project, individually supervised by a member of staff.

Awards and Scholarships

Government of Ireland International Education Scholarships are awarded to high calibre students from non-EEA countries to study in Ireland for a period of one year. They provide a €10,000 stipend towards living costs and Trinity provides a full fee-waiver to recipients for one year. Further information is available here https://www.tcd.ie/study/international/scholarships/postgraduate/goi/

All applicants will automatically be considered for the following internal awards:

The Constantia Maxwell Faculty Studentship, with a value of 3000 euro, is usually offered to a student in any of the School's MPhil programmes.
The School of Histories and Humanities also offers one bursary of 1000 euro, to be deducted from the course fees, for each of its MPhil programmes.

Awards will be made on academic merit. All completed applications with an unconditional offer by the deadline of June 30th will be considered for the internal awards.