Military History PGDip

Program Overview

Course overview

Warfare has been the crucible of History. This course will fascinate anyone wanting to explore Military History more widely and in depth. The assignments will encourage you to pursue this specialised approach to historical events, from ancient into modern times. Study skills are developed to enable progression to undertake advanced historical writing and research.

Learn how war has been conducted across the ages. Explore the military organisations that societies have created to engage in warfare. Investigate how technological and social change has affected armed conflict. Conduct your own research project.

Why study this course with us?

Military History is more than just battle tactics.

You will take a varied journey through the past, from Roman times to the 20th century. This will feature operational military history – including campaigns, generalship, and weaponry. However, as the renowned 19th-century German military theoretician Carl von Clausewitz argued, "War is not an independent phenomenon".

Accordingly, there is opportunity to engage with scholarship more broadly viewing the place and effect of war and of the military within society as a whole, including organisational, economic, political and motivational themes.

The University Centre Shrewsbury site allows you to study at the heart of a rich military heritage.

The town of Shrewsbury, the city of Chester, and the historic counties of Shropshire and Cheshire together have a military past spanning at least 2,000 years.

The region has a high concentration of prehistoric Hillforts and the Imperial Roman Army left its mark. It is also densely studded with earthwork and stone-built Medieval castles, and was heavily fought over during the English Civil Wars. Remains of military activity from both 20th-century World Wars still dot the landscape. Shrewsbury and Chester have long, historic relationships with both the regular and part-time British armed forces.

Program Outline

Teaching methods

Teaching approaches are flexible, including lectures, seminars/discussions, workshops, individual tutorials, and field visits. Taught delivery supports the requisite self-directed personal study component. Taught modules each have eight timetabled sessions of two-and-a-half-hours' duration. These sessions are usually timetabled within week-day office hours.

Assessment

Each module is assessed by coursework equivalent to 4,000 written words in total (apart from the 8,000-word 'Military History Research Extended Essay'). Assignments are varied and creative, and include essays and a book review, analysis of primary sources, a designed research poster, and oral presentation.

Careers service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability - Student Services aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.

Students and graduates of the University of Chester can use our services free of charge for up to two years after graduating.