Module manager: Dr Katie Carpenter
Email: k.carpenter@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
| HIST3500 | History Dissertation |
| HIST3800 | IHP Dissertation |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This final year project allows you to create a historical resource intended for a public audience. You will research a topic of your choice, provided it can be supervised by a member of staff in the School of History, utilising primary and secondary sources. For BA International History & Politics students, the project must have an international history dimension. You will explore different ways of presenting your research and choose an appropriate format – which might be a website, pop-up exhibition, film, podcast, or school resource – that best presents your research and is appropriate and engaging for the intended audience. Through this module, you will develop highly attuned communication skills that are useful in a wide range of careers.
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Address a historical problem in depth, involving the use of original sources and secondary literature;
- Design and research a sustained historical project;
- Present their findings in a manner engaging and appropriate for a defined public audience;
- Reflect on their work.
These objectives will be supported through workshops (typically organised via the relevant special subject), one-on-one supervisions, and other appropriate support.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Interpret and analyse primary source material.
2. Engage with the historiography of the topic and situate their research within relevant scholarship.
3. Undertake historical research with intellectual integrity and, where appropriate, with due consideration of research ethics.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Apply project management techniques and tools to plan and execute an independent project.
5. Identify the needs of a specifically defined audience and tailor communications to them.
6. Critically reflect on their own work, highlighting strengths, areas for development, and skills gained.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 4 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Lectures | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Practicals | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Private study hours | 391 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 9 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 400 | ||
One-on-one discussions with supervisor; written feedback on initial proposal, project plan and output sample.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Public History Project | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team