Digital Humanities

This programme draws together teaching from a wide range of disciplines, investigating the application of computational technologies to the arts, humanities and cultural heritage. We study the impact of these techniques on cultural heritage, museums, libraries, archives and digital culture while developing skills that employers and students tell us are needed.

Our students develop an advanced understanding of digital resources, techniques and computational methods relevant to research and practice in the humanities and cultural heritage sectors; these include programming, XML, databases, internet technologies, image capture and digitisation. They receive both practical and theoretical training to develop a unique and critical skill set suitable for many types of employment or advanced study.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of five core modules (15 credits each), three optional modules (15 credits each), a research dissertation (60 credits) and a work placement.

A Postgraduate Diploma, five core modules (75 credits), three optional modules (45 credits), nine months full-time or flexible study up to 5 years is offered.

A Postgraduate Certificate, four from any of the available modules (60 credits), full-time fifteen weeks or flexible study up to two years is offered.

Core modules

• Digital Resources in the Humanities
• Internet Technologies
• Introduction to Programming and Scripting
• Server Programming and Structured Data
• XML

Optional modules

Students choose three optional modules from a list which may include the following: 

• Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities
• Affective Interaction
• Computer Music
• Design Practice
• Electronic Publishing
• Fundamentals of Information Science
• Geographical Information Systems
• Historical Bibliography
• Interaction Design
• Introduction to Digital Curation
• Introduction to Digitisation
• Knowledge Representation and Semantic Technologies
• Legal and Social Aspects of Electronic Publishing
• Manuscript Studies
• Multimedia Computing
• User-Centred Evaluation Methods

Dissertation/report

All MA/MSc students undertake an independent research project in the form of a 12,000-word dissertation.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, seminars and practical sessions, and will include a work placement in a relevant organisation. Assessment is through a mixture of essays, practical projects, programming exercices, written technical examinations, and group work projects, depending on the options chosen.

Placement

Students undertake a work placement. Past placement hosts have included the British Museum, National Theatre, British Library, Marx Memorial Library, Islington Museum, Ubiquity Press, UCL Communications, and UCL Art Museum.

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant humanities or computing discipline from a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.