Master in Modern and Contemporary History
Utrecht, Netherlands
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 20,605 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Non-EU/EEA students (institutional fee) | Dutch and other EU/EEA students (statutory fee, full-time) 2026-2027: € 2.694
Developing historical expertise
The broad range of expertise of our History Department pertains to the following areas of (early) modern history:
- political history
- cultural history
- history of international relations and conflict studies
- economic and social history
The programme’s courses are taught in small groups by first-rate instructors. You will learn advanced research skills whilst developing historical expertise in your specific areas of interest. We will also challenge
you to connect your work to ongoing scholarly debates and to reflect on current affairs.
Why this programme in Utrecht?
An active student community
In Utrecht, you will become part of a dynamic and diverse student community. Class discussions and extracurricular activities will allow you to develop and test your ideas about history as an academic discipline. You will have the chance to assist in organising the programme’s annual student conference and participate in one of our Department’s regular academic seminars.
Societal relevance
Our instructors use the historical landscape to contribute to scholarly debates with high social impact, including global inequality, cultural diversity, democratisation processes, and terrorist threats, to name a few. They also often engage directly in public debates about these issues. Likewise, most of our students aspire to become professional researchers, tackling important academic debates and societal issues. Many go on to pursue PhDs and work in academia, while others work as researchers in the numerous non-academic public and private organisations that demand advanced research skills, such as governmental agencies and NGOs.
International network
Our Department participates in various national and international networks for historical research, and our staff is well connected with leading research universities and institutions abroad. This extensive network will help you find exciting internship opportunities suited to your particular interests, either in the Netherlands or abroad, if you prefer to gain international experience.
Teaching staff
You will work under the supervision of leading experts in cultural history, political history, social and economic history, and the history of international relations, who will teach you advanced research skills and help you develop your historical expertise. Our staff will also share their commitment to in-depth and collaborative work with you, as well as their enthusiasm for the interdisciplinary course content.
Our alumni are working in diverse jobs in which an expertise in the field of history plays a role. They work as:
- Assistant to the Secretary General of the Konferenz der Kantonsregierungen in Bern
- Researcher for the international executive recruiting firm Egon Zehnder
- Policy Advisor of the Raad voor Maatschappelijke Ontwikkeling (RMO)
Bright Minds Fellowship
- Number of scholarships: approximately 10
- Available to: EU/EEA students (including Dutch students)
- Scholarship amount: €5,000 or €10,000
- Made possible by: Utrecht University alumni and the Utrecht University Fund
Utrecht Sylff Scholarships
- Eligible candidates: Outstanding University College Utrecht graduates, Outstanding Economics and Business Economics graduates (at Utrecht University)
- Amount of scholarship: At least 25,000 USD per year for non-EU students, but variable; At least 10,000 USD per year for EU students, but variable
- Number of scholarships: Approximately three
- Provided by: Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF)
Year 1 | Compulsory courses
In the first year you will take five compulsory courses:
- Fundamentals: perspectives and approaches across the historical discipline: In this course, experts in political history, cultural history, economic and social history, and the history of international relations introduce students to current debates in their respective fields and highlight similarities and differences in their approaches. After this course, students will have a clear perspective on the state of the art in historical research, a crucial first step in developing their own line of research.
- Research as a Profession introduces students to vital skills for successful professional researchers and the various options and routes to work in research. Students are given the tools necessary to craft viable strategies throughout the Master’s program that will help them achieve their professional goals upon graduation.
- History lab: tools, methods and techniques for deciphering the past provides hands-on training in the numerous methods used by historians to explore and analyze historical sources and provide fresh insights into the past. The classes are a mixture of hands-on ‘labs’ and collective discussions that encourage creative exploration and innovating thinking.
- Research Seminar invites our students to become active researchers in ongoing projects being carried out by senior staff members at Utrecht University. Students can choose from projects in cultural history, political history, economic history, or history of international relations. By the end of this course, students will have gained intensive experience carrying out independent research in the sub-discipline of their choosing.
- History in Practice: Research Apprenticeship encourages our students to explore their own interests with a mentor of their choosing. Each student has the freedom to select an inspiring member of staff with whom they collaboratively explore historical topics that they find mutually exciting. Students will be invited to engage with the research being carried out by their expert-teacher, while the teacher will help students find their own original research agenda as preparation for the eventual thesis.
- Research design: crafting original projects takes students through the steps to develop a concrete plan for their thesis research project. Students begin by evaluating existing research proposals to identify strong and weak research design strategies; they then write a research proposal for their thesis and they get feedback from the course teacher to sharpen their proposal.
Please note: Course titles and descriptions may change slightly from what is noted here.
Year 1 | National research school electives
You will also choose two electives (10 EC) from a broad range of specialised courses offered by the National Research Schools focused on historical studies: the Huizinga Institute, N.W. Posthumus Institute, and Research School Political History. These courses introduce students to a wide array of topics and methods in their related historical field, giving students wide freedom to explore beyond our curriculum.
Year 2 | Master's thesis
In the first semester of the second year, you will write your research Master’s thesis, in which you demonstrate that you are able to independently contribute to a scholarly debate in your chosen field of history. Your thesis supervisor, who will be an expert in your chosen field, and our thesis coordinator will help you along the way.
Year 2 | Research internship
As the capstone to your training as a professional researcher, we help you make your first leap into the labour market with an extensive research internship, which will span the second semester of the second year. You can choose to pursue an internship in the Netherlands or abroad and can choose an internship within academia or at public or private organization. Our dedicated internship coordinator will assist you in finding the right internship to help you jumpstart your professional career in research!