Study options
- Starting in
- September 2025
- Location
- University of London in Paris
- Fees
- Home: £12,250
Overseas: £25,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students
What you'll study
The MA in Urban History and Culture is a unique opportunity to study the development of the modern city from historical perspectives and through the comparative experience of two of the great urban laboratories of the Western world, Paris and London.
You can choose to spend a full year in Paris with short visits to London, or you can study modules at Queen Mary in London in your second semester.
You will explore the development of urban topography and planning through site visits and analysis, using a primarily bifocal approach to the growth of city living and management, and how that has shaped the fabric of the world.
With faculty expertise drawn from three Schools at Queen Mary as well as ULIP, the programme will allow you to develop your empirical understanding of and your methodological approaches to what distinguishes and what connects these two cities. You will be able to expand these comparative insights towards a broader engagement with urban history and culture, and the challenges cities face today.
Additional costs
You will be responsible for your travel costs between London and Paris.
Structure
Full year in Paris
- Three compulsory modules
- Two elective modules
- Compulsory 15,000-word dissertation
Paris/London split
- Three compulsory modules
- Two to three elective modules
- Compulsory 15,000-word dissertation
Compulsory/Core modules
Dissertation (MA Paris)
This core module provides students with an overview of the history of the cities of Paris and London from earliest times to the present day while developing acquaintance and understanding of key critical paradigms in social, political and cultural history. Including core readings, but also field visits and research on the cities' streets, squares, bridges and monuments, and an intensive study trip to London, it will help students develop a sense of the "shape" of urban history and discover that moving around the city offers multiple opportunities for historical enquiry in action.
This compulsory module approaches the city as an imaginary construction, represented on the page or on the canvas, or potentially on the walls of the city itself. It asks how these means of representing the city - to those who live in it and those how may potentially never see it - deal with questions of totality and exemplariness. It considers the interplay between movement and unchanging essence, and it gives students the means to grasp that a city is constructed in culture as well as in bricks and mortar, and that these two processes are inseparable.
This compulsory module supports students in the development of their dissertation projects. Through a series of workshops with practical engagement with different methodologies, including work-in-situ analysis, ethnographic research and using archival material, students will develop their analytical skills and discover the range of methods of enquiry that they can bring to bear in advancing their dissertation project. Students will also be guided towards the preparation of a dissertation proposal that will be presented orally to a combined faculty and student session to be held on the Mile End campus at the beginning of the 3rd semester.
Elective modules
Paris in the Nineteenth-Century Imaginary (E)
Exiles and Outsiders
Centrality and the City
Assessment
- 67% Modules
- 33% Dissertation
Modules are assessed by coursework.
You'll also be assessed by a 15,000-word dissertation. Supervision of which is available from associated faculty from both ULIP and Queen Mary. Dissertation projects are elaborated through a “Dissertation Day” bringing associated faculty and students together.
Dissertation
Recent dissertation topics include:
- Here Lived, Here Died, Here Remembered: reading occupation and liberation in the plaques of Paris
- Contaminated and contaminating: the female body in relation to space in Zola’s Paris.
- Paris by Postcard - how the introduction of photographic process and the influence of government affected the postcard depiction of Paris in the time of the third republic
- A critique of neo-liberal urban environmental policy: a comparative study of London and Paris and their responses to cycling
Teaching
The programme is delivered via small-group seminars where you will be encouraged to discuss key issues and participate through seminar presentations. The programme will also be supported by a hands-on approach, including site visits and workshops.
Seminars will be supplemented by consultations with advisers, with option course leaders, and with dissertation supervisors.
—The nature of the program is adaptable and the small size allows a lot of individualised application of topics for a balance of personal initiative alongside a strong presence of, and relation with, the teaching staff. Its location in Paris as an English-taught program also gives a unique opportunity for cultural immersion and has granted an international experience that is not easily found.
Kathleen Horan, MA, Urban History and Culture, 2019
Where you'll learn
Facilities
In Paris:
- teaching facilities
- library facilities, including silent reading areas, group study areas, printing, scanning and photocopying facilities and a computer area
- student social spaces.
In London:
- our new Graduate Centre: purpose-built study spaces and a roof-top common room with a terrace
- Queen Mary's libraries
- the University of London’s research facilities and collections.
Campus
The University of London Institute in Paris is in the 7th arrondissement, overlooking the Esplanade des Invalides and the Eiffel Tower. This central location means that students are within easy reach of many Parisian sites, museums and institutions.
In London, the British Library is the best library in Britain for historians, and you can gain free access to its many collections.
Paris offers an extensive choice of public and institutional libraries. Several university and private libraries are within close proximity to ULIP, and many have substantial holdings in English, including the American Library in Paris and the Sciences Po Library.
About the School
University of London in Paris (ULIP)
The University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) is a small and specialised institution with a long standing academic partnership with Queen Mary University of London. ULIP provides research-led teaching from experts in their field and has a strong sense of community, all from the culturally and intellectually stimulating heartbeat of France: Paris.
Career paths
Studying the MA in Urban History and Culture will provide you with a deep understanding of the history and contemporary organisation of two capital cities through a multidisciplinary approach. You will also develop a range of advanced analytical and research skills.
Gaining a recognised postgraduate qualification with strong intercultural skills and international experience, along with a range of advanced project management skills will prepare you for many career paths or further study.
Previous graduates now work in a range of careers, including academia, NGOs, the travel industry, filmmaking, galleries, auction houses and photography.
—Our MA in Urban History and Culture gives you Paris and London, with the breadth and expertise of a great research-led university and the intensity and support of a small urban campus.
Dr Anna-Louise Milne, Director of Graduate Studies (ULIP)
Fees and funding
Full-time study
September 2025 | 1 year
- Home: £12,250
- Overseas: £25,500
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Unconditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Part-time study
September 2025 | 24 months
- Home: £6,150
- Overseas: £12,750
EU/EEA/Swiss students
Unconditional deposit
Home: Not applicable
Overseas: £2000
Information about deposits
Queen Mary alumni can get a £1000, 10% or 20% discount on their fees depending on the programme of study. Find out more about the Alumni Loyalty Award
Funding
There are a number of ways you can fund your postgraduate degree.
- Scholarships and bursaries
- Postgraduate loans (UK students)
- Country-specific scholarships for international students
Our Advice and Counselling service offers specialist support on financial issues, which you can access as soon as you apply for a place at Queen Mary. Before you apply, you can access our funding guides and advice on managing your money:
Entry requirements
UK
Degree requirements
A 2:1 or above at undergraduate level in a relevant Humanities-related subject.
Find out more about how to apply for our postgraduate taught courses.
International
English language requirements
Visas and immigration
Find out how to apply for a student visa.