MSc History of Science, Technology and Medicine

Our MSc History of Science, Technology and Medicine taught master's course focuses on a broad range of mostly nineteenth and twentieth century case studies, from the local to the global.

We will explore key debates such as:

Why does Britain have a National Health Service?
Can better science education cure economic problems?
How did epidemic disease affect the colonial ambitions of the European powers?
Why do we end up depending on unreliable technologies?
Your studies will pay particular attention to the roles of sites, institutions, and schools of thought and practice, and to the changing ways in which scientists and medics have communicated with non-specialist audiences.

You will learn through lectures, seminars and tutorials and gain experience of historical essay-writing, before researching and writing an extensive dissertation on a specialised topic, supervised by experienced researchers.

This MSc focuses on humanities skills, but may be taken successfully by students from any disciplinary background. It works both as an advanced study course for students with undergraduate experience in the history of science, technology and medicine, and as a conversion route for students from other backgrounds, often in the sciences, but also including general history, social policy, and other fields.

The History of Science, Technology and Medicine pathway is appropriate if you have wide-ranging interests across the field, or are interested in the histories of the physical sciences or the life sciences in particular.

If you wish to focus on biomedicine or healthcare, you may prefer the Medical Humanities pathway. If you are particularly interested in contemporary science communication or policy, you should consider the MSc Science Communication course.