The M. Phil. in Public History and Cultural Heritage
Course Co-ordinator: Dr Georgina Laragy
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.
Click here to see students discuss this M.Phil programme
The course is taught in collaboration with Dublin’s leading cultural institutions, and several organisations offer internships to students. In recent years participating bodies have included; Dublin City Library and Archive; Old Anatomy Museum, TCD; Douglas Hyde Gallery; Marsh’s Library; Edward Worth Library, Grangegorman Public Histories; Experience Glasnevin, EPIC Museum; 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 12,000-15,000 words, supervised by a member of staff. A recent open access publication with De Gruyter comprises several of the best dissertations in recent years, edited to article length form. G. Laragy, R. Legay, C. O’Neill, & Hannah K. Smyth (eds), Public history in global perspective: inquiry, exchange and practice can be accessed here.
Career Opportunities
The M.Phil. helps prepare graduates for a wide variety of careers including in the museum and heritage sectors, libraries and archives, public policy and administration, teaching, and the media. It also provides invaluable training in research for those planning to pursue a doctorate and/or career in research. Former students of the programme have gone on to work in the heritage sector, in civil service, in academia, law and libraries and archives.
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.
Further information about funding can be found here and here.
Applications
Applications open in November for the following September. In recent years the number of applicants has grown significantly, and it is a highly competitive process. As Trinity College operates a ‘rolling offer’ system (basically first come, first served), the course can be full before the final deadline arrives in April. Should you wish to apply for this programme we advise you to do so as early as possible after the portal opens in November.
- Further information for applicants is available on the School of Histories and Humanities website.
- Further information about the application process is available here and here.
- Further information about postgraduate life at Trinity College Dublin can be found here
Applications should be made online through www.tcd.ie/courses/postgraduate/faculty. Up to date information on fees is provided on the Academic Registry website.