Unlike most other medieval and early modern history departments in the Netherlands, Leiden offers additional expertise in Iberian and Central European history as well as in the political and cultural history of the Netherlands. There are also optional courses in the history of early modern European expansion in Asia and the Americas. You are encouraged to think comparatively about the transformations in politics, culture and religion of this era. 

The staff runs larger research programmes on issues like court culture and state building, war memories and identity formation, and feuding and factionalism. Many of the courses relate to the research interests of the academic staff. The courses allow you to engage closely with current scholarly debates and offer you a chance to scrutinise new ideas as they are being developed. 

Excellent library and archival resources in Leiden and The Hague offer you quick and efficient access to many primary sources and secondary studies. The courses offer research training, as well as a chance to study current historical debates, so as to prepare you for the writing of an independently researched MA thesis.

See the Prospectus for more information about the study programme.

Components MA History

• Literature Seminar [10 ECTS]  
  The introductory course of the master is taught in the form of an intensive literature seminar, in which you will be given an outline of issues relevant to your specialisation. You will use secondary literature sources. Students start their programme with a Literature Seminar, whether they start in September or February.
• Research Seminar [2x10 ECTS] 
  You will take two research seminars where you will carry out research on the basis of original source materials or published documents. Objective of this seminar is enhanced performance in the following areas: research skills, presentation skills, composition skills, and ability to evaluate the findings of other researchers. Students follow one Research Seminar during the first semester of their programme. Students starting in September follow their Research Seminar in the Fall Semester, students starting in February in the Spring Semester.
• Optional Courses [10 ECTS] 
  Students follow one or two optional courses. 
  All MA courses offered at level 400 or higher can be followed as ‘Optional Course’. These may comprise MA-courses offered by Leiden University (including any Literature and Research seminars offered by the Department of History, subject to availability of space) and those offered by other universities. 
  You can either follow one course of 10 ECTS or two of 5 ECTS. It is advisable to take these courses in the first semester of the programme, but it is possible to take them in the second semester, provided you start already with the thesis in the first semester.
• Thesis [20 ECTS] 
  The Master’s Programme will be concluded by a 20 ECTS MA-thesis. This thesis will be based on original research and will be at minimum 16.000 and at maximum 18.000 words in size. Students are guided in writing their thesis by thesis supervisors. Students are also expected to follow a thesis seminar. This seminar consists of a number of meetings in which students are given the opportunity to present their work and to comment on the work of others. The seminar aims at providing students with some additional support in the writing process as well as achieving further uniformity where practical matters are concerned. Upon graduation students sit for a final ceremony for which they defend their thesis and answer questions on additional literature. 
  A student has to ask a member of staff active in the field of his/her specialisation to act as their thesis supervisor. In the overview of staff, divided by specialisation, possible supervisors can be identified.

Programme schedule

• Full-time MA History

Start in September

Always check the schedule for the exact deadlines. 

Start in February 

  
Always check the schedule for the exact deadlines.