The MA in the Digital Humanities assists students to develop the analytical and practical skills that will enable them to understand and apply computing to the source materials and problems of the humanities. Its subject matter comprises formal methods and techniques and the consequences and implications of applying them. Instruction includes lectures, demonstrations, and practical classes and exercises.
KEY BENEFITS
- The MA in Digital Humanities opens up career opportunities within cultural heritage institutions such as museums, libraries, and archives; publishing houses; multimedia and new media companies; social media oriented advertisement; PR companies and other creative industries as well as providing a solid foundation for doctoral research.
- Study at the Department of Digital Humanities, the largest most prestigious department in its field.
- Learn application of digital tools and methods to the textual, visual and material data of the humanities.
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Alumni of the MA in Digital Humanities have followed a number of different routes; they have pursued careers in the academic and research sector, they have undertaken PhD studies, and they have found work in the cultural heritage industries, in publishing houses, and in web based businesses in London and overseas.
Programme leader/s
Dr Elena Pierazzo, 020 7848 1949
Awarding Institution
King's College London
Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent)
UK 180/ECTS 90
Duration
One year FT, two years PT, September to September.
Location
Strand Campus.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of Digital Humanities
Closing date
31 August 2013.
Please note that applicants wishing to apply for funding (e.g. AHRC) must submit their application by the relevant funding deadline, which is usually early in the year. Please see
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for information on the available funding opportunities and deadlines.
No set number.
Fees
PT Home: £3950 (2013)
PT Overseas: £8125 (2013)
FT Home: £7900 (2013)
FT Overseas: £16250 (2013)
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2765 / 2232 / 7232
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
PURPOSE
The MA in Digital Humanities has a twofold aim:
1. To develop a critical understanding of digital technologies and research in the arts and humanities.
2. To teach a set of practical computational skills which enable the creation of digital resources and which can also open up exciting professional perspectives for students.
DESCRIPTION
Digital Humanities is a discipline born from the intersection of humanities scholarship and computational technologies. Its key purpose is to investigate how digital methodologies can be used to enhance the understanding and research in disciplines such as History, Literature, Languages, Art History, Music, Cultural Studies and many others. Digital Humanities has a very strong practical component as it includes the concrete creation of digital resources for the study of specific disciplines, while at the same time having a strongly theoretical basis as it studies and contributes to the development of traditional disciplines.
This programme gives the student a rare opportunity to:
- Learn the analytical and practical skills needed to understand what digital tools and methods can and cannot do for the humanities.
- Develop a critical perspective on computing and on how it is currently used in his or her discipline of origin.
- Undertake research that combines the construction of digital objects with critical reflection on them.
Representative case studies are drawn from a number of disciplinary areas to exemplify analysis of typical problems and the combination of technical means needed to approach them successfully.
This programme focuses on analytical and practical skills needed to understand what digital tools and methods can and cannot do for the humanities. Your research will combines the construction of digital objects with critical reflection on them.
The core modules are Methods & Techniques of the Digital Humanities, which surveys the basics, and Tools & Resources, in which you learn how to construct simple tools for common practical tasks.
Optional modules allow more detailed investigation of textual, visual & material artefacts, drawing on representative case studies to exemplify analysis of typical problems and the combination of technical means needed to approach them successfully. A one-month work placement is optional.
STRUCTURE OVERVIEW
Core programme content
- Methods and Techniques of the Digital Humanities
- Tools and Resources of Digital Humanities.
Indicative non-core content
- Methods and Techniques of the Digital Humanities
- Tools and Resources of Digital Humanities
- Material Culture of the Book (optional)
- Digital Arts and Cultures (optional)
- Material Culture of Archaeology (optional)
- Digital Publishing in the Humanities (optional)
- Advanced Text Technologies (optional)
- Applied Visualization in the Arts (optional)
- Structured Data in the Digital Humanities (optional)
- Digital English (optional)
- Digital Visualization (optional)
- Web Technologies (optional)
- Digital Resources for Historical Studies (optional)
- Dissertation (optional)
- Digital Humanities in the Workplace - Internship (optional).
FORMAT AND ASSESSMENT
Lectures on theoretical topics; demonstrations; practical classes and exercises. Two compulsory one-term modules, options to the value of 80 credits and a dissertation. Modules are assessed by coursework and/or examination.
MODULES
More information on typical programme modules.
NB it cannot be guaranteed that all modules are offered in any particular academic year.
Module code: 7AAVMMET
Credit level: 7
The module acquaints you with the standard ways in which the computer is applied to humanities data. You engage directly in modelling each problem by designing and implementing a digital representation of it, investigating how far it replaces the original and how new things can be done with the representation.
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Minimum 2.1 honours degree (or overseas equivalent) in any arts or humanities subject; familiarity with basic computer use, including email and word processing.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Your application will be assessed by two members of staff. We normally interview applicants, either in person or by phone if overseas, and you are welcome to call the department to arrange a visit. We aim to process all applications within four to six weeks although this may take longer in February and March, and over holiday periods.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Please provide a personal statement.
FUNDING
AHRC, Graduate School and School of Arts & Humanities studentships and bursaries, self-funded.
Student profiles
Digital Humanities MAI attended the Digital Humanities MA program at CCH during the 2008/9 academic year. I arrived at the course as an art historian looking for ways to approach the subject from a different angle but with no clear idea of what this angle might be. Right from the start it was apparent that there was a huge range of possible avenues my research might take but also ample opportunity to explore specialties in which I had no experience at all. One of these specialties in which I had no experience was 3D heritage visualization.
As soon as I started the visualization module I was hooked. Some of classes were taught in Second Life, a novel and useful way to learn as you are experimenting in the class itself rather than listening and taking notes. I chose to base my dissertation on 3D visualization and produced a model of one of Piet Mondrian’s studios in Paris. My project will feature as an article in a 2011 book discussing intellectual t
ransparency in historical visualizationand I was given the opportunity to present my research at a
conference in southern Italy in October 2010 The MA undoubtedly provides the training required to produce exceptional research in the Digital Humanities as the focus is not simply technical but very much geared to using technology creatively and my experience demonstrates that you don’t need to be a technical wizard to make a genuine contribution to research in the field.
Staff profiles
Digital Humanities MARecently I was been appointed as chair of the Teaching Committee at DDH and programme Director for the MA Digital Humanities and co-Director of MA Digital Assets Management. Previously I was member of the research staff at the Department of Digital Humanities and involved in many collaborative research projects such as the Jane Austen's Fiction Manuscripts, The Jonathan Swift Archive, CHARM- the AHRC Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music and many others.
My research interests are digital textual scholarship, modern manuscripts and genetic digital editions. Since 2007 I chair the Special Interest Group on Manuscripts of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), the standard for text encoding in the humanities.
In the MA Digital Humanities I teach the core module on 'Methods and Techniques', a module on 'Digital Publishing' and a skilled-based module called 'Advanced Text Technologies', all of them can be also taken as part of the MA in Digital Assets Management. All of these modules address what happens to texts when they meet computers, what the consequences are from a scholarly point of view and the implications for the users of digital texts.
The MA in Digital Humanities and in Digital Assets Management benefit from the presence of teachers which are all internationally renowned leaders in their respective fields, which engagement in the many DDH research projects bring to the students first-hand experience in how to do Digital Humanities. The Department of Digital Humanities has more than 20 years experience of innovative research in the field, representing the bigger centre for Digital Humanities in Europe and one of the biggest worldwide, both in term of number of researchers employed and research funding and I feel privileged to be part of such an outstanding research and teaching environment.