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Course Info

This London-based course is an interdisciplinary programme enabling students to examine, by way of a dissertation of around 25,000 words, aspects of the history of the Tudor dynasty and its international importance.

Students will be encouraged to consider the interrelation of political, architectural, art, and social history. After the Course Director’s general introduction, there will be a series of ten seminars which explore the origins of the Tudor dynasty in the Wars of the Roses and the government of the early Tudor state (and its limitations). The reign of Henry VIII will be examined as an example of ‘Renaissance monarchy’. Female monarchy and its implications for the Tudor government will be another major theme. The course will also consider the material culture of Tudor England at all social levels, examining propaganda and print, architectural patronage and its development throughout the Tudor period. It will review the evidence of artistic patronage and the development of Renaissance literature and drama in the Tudor period. Reading lists will be made available before each lecture to allow for background reading and discussion with the expert speakers.

Each seminar will take place in the early evening at the Reform Club in Pall Mall, and will include 30 minutes for questions with the seminar speakers, all internationally recognised experts in their fields.

Each seminar will be followed by a dinner at which there will be further discussion with the speaker and a general conversation about the topic at hand. The cost of the dinners is included in the tuition fees. Click on the Teaching & Assessment tab for more information.

Tutorials and meetings will normally take place at the University of Buckingham’s London offices at 51 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, WC1E 6HJ.

Teaching & Assessment

The MA does not offer systematic instruction in the facts; instead, the emphasis is on independent thought and research.

At the heart of the Buckingham MA is the close working relationship between student and supervisor. While the final thesis must be an independent work, it is the supervisor who offers advice on refining the topic (if necessary), on primary sources, on secondary reading, on research techniques and on writing the final text (which should be not less than 25,000 words). Supervisors and students will meet frequently throughout the year, and not less than twice a term; and the supervisor shall always be the student’s primary contact for academic advice and support.

After Your Course

The University’s Course Directors, students’ supervisors, and the Research Officer and Tutor for Graduate Students are available to discuss students’ post-graduation plans and how they may utilise most effectively the skills acquired during their studies.