Qualifications
History MA: University of Edinburgh (1985-9)
History PhD: University of Glasgow (1997-2000)


Posts
Visiting Professor of Military History at the University of Hull (2007-8), teaching undergraduate modules on 'Massacres and Maharajas: India in the 1850s' and 'Generals and Generalship: 1642-1945'.

Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and Course Director of Buckingham's new London-based MA in Military History (see below)



University of Buckingham

Department of International Studies

Regulations for the one-year MA degree in Military History by research

 

  1. The course.  The MA in Historical Studies is designed so that candidates can concentrate on producing a substantial research-based dissertation on a historical topic in one of several areas designated by the International Studies Department.
  2. Location of teaching. All teaching for the programme shall be conducted in central London; the European School of Economics, SW1, has been provisionally booked by the Vice-Chancellor as the venue for the Research Seminars and as the location for supervision-meetings between the students and their supervisors.
  3. Year. The course of research shall run with the Calendar Year. The majority of the Research Seminars shall be concentrated in the first two Terms of the year (January-July) and the second half of the year (July-November) shall be devoted to the completion, under supervisions, of the research dissertation.
  4. Student Numbers. The course shall be available in its inaugural year to up to twenty students. Any increase in numbers in future years shall require the approval of the Research Committee.
  5. Pre-requisites for the Course. Students for the MA shall meet all the usual admissions requirements for Graduate Students of the University of Buckingham, and shall usually have, as a minimum, a good upper second-class degree from a recognized university. Students for the MA in Military History shall also have satisfied the Course Directors that they have sufficient background knowledge to undertake the course (see also Paragraph 6).
  6. Course Direction and Supervisions.  The Course Director shall be Professor Saul David (currently Professor of Military History at the University of Hull); the assistant Course Director shall be Professor Gary Sheffield (Professor of Military History at the University of Birmingham). Responsibility for supervising the dissertations (up to a maximum of ten dissertations per supervisor) shall lie with the Course Directors.
  7. Prior knowledge. It is assumed that students on the programme will already have a background of study in history or a cognate discipline such that they have identified a research topic which they wish to study and which they are qualified to pursue. Hence, the MA does not offer systematic instruction in the facts of history, nor does it require written examinations on broad areas of history; instead, the emphasis is on independent research. But the MA does seek to support and develop candidates’ work by close personal supervision, by training in research techniques, by an intermediate essay with feedback from two readers and (in some subject areas) by workshops on research in progress.
  8. Supervision. At the heart of the MA is the close working relationship between candidate and supervisor. While the final thesis must be the candidate’s 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 thesis. Supervisors and candidates shall meet frequently throughout the year, and not less than twice each term; and the supervisor shall always be the candidate’s primary contact for academic advice and support.
  9. Research Seminar Series. In addition to the dissertation, the course’s research programme shall be complemented by a series of ten seminars, given by scholars and military experts of international distinction. These shall usually consist of a research paper, presented by one of the programme’s panel of distinguished experts, and be followed by a question and discussion period of up to an hour. The scholars and experts will include Professors Hew Strachan, Sir Lawrence Freedman, Michael Burleigh and Gary Sheffield, and Generals Lord Guthrie, Sir Frank Kitson and Sir Mike Jackson.
  10. The MA Dissertation Research for, and the writing of, the dissertation is the most important part of the student’s work for the MA in Military History; it is expected to take up as much as eighty to ninety per cent of the student’s work over the four terms of the course. In their dissertations candidates must demonstrate that they can present a coherent historical argument based upon a secure knowledge and understanding of primary sources, and they will be expected to place their research findings within the existing historiography of the field within which their subject lies.
  11. Dissertation Length. The dissertation will usually be between 20,000 and 40,000 words, and under no circumstances longer than 40,000 words, including appendices but excluding footnotes, references and bibliography. Statistical tables will be counted as 150 words per page of tables. Candidates are required to make a written declaration indicating the number of words in the dissertation and to have this declaration bound with the thesis. A candidate may be required to resubmit a dissertation that significantly exceeds the word limit in order to ensure equity with other candidates.
  12. Dissertation Submission. Dissertations must be submitted in two copies, bound, and together with further copies on two CDs. These shall be mailed to the examiners. The structure the title page of the MA. dissertation shall be as follows: 1) the approved title of the dissertation in full; 2) full name; 3) “A Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in Military History at the University of Buckingham”; 4) The month and year, eg. November 2009.
  13. Dissertation Deadline. DEADLINE: Dissertations including CDs are due by 30 November 2009.
  14. Incentive: The best student to be given the chance to turn his dissertation into a book by the offer of a year's representation by top London literary agent, Peter Robinson of Robinson Literary Agency. Robinson has placed books with all the major publishing houses and represents many highly-regarded and best-selling historians, including David Starkey, John Adamson, Saul David, Richard Miles and John Guy.

For further information, contact Professor Saul David at saul.david@buckingham.ac.uk