Archives and Records Management (MA)

Become career-ready for the world of records management through this degree that blends theory with hands-on practice. The Archives and Records Management MA provides a core education in managing records and archives for current use and future preservation.

Taught at UCL, this is an exceptional opportunity to gain the knowledge you’ll need to work in this field.

Entry requirements

• Normal requirements for admission are a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree or equivalent. A period of paid or voluntary experience (usually 4-12months) in archive, records or information governance work. Applicants that do not meet these requirements but demonstrate a strong understanding of the programme and the recordkeeping field will be given due consideration.

About this degree

• The programme focuses on the management of records and archives in a variety of digital and hard copy formats. You will learn to manage, organise, interpret and provide access to a wide range of records and archives, focusing on both the management of records for ongoing purposes, and their selection, preservation and accessibility for future uses including historical research.

Who this course is for

• The MA/Postgraduate Diploma provides a foundation education for graduates seeking to enter the profession. The Postgraduate Certificate has certain professional elements, but is not recognised as a professional qualification.

What this course will give you

• UCL boasts one of the longest-established archive education programmes in the UK. It is taught by leading experts in the field, drawing on their innovative research as well as extensive practical experience of archives and records work through a work placement.
• You will benefit from UCL's location close to many records management services, and the broadest grouping of historical archives in any city in the English-speaking world.
• The programme hosts an impressive range of visiting speakers, organises frequent field visits to a wide variety of working environments, and a two-week placement, all of which provide unique occasions to network and create professional links with key players in the sector.

Employability

• This programme will prepare you to work in a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional archives and information management roles in both the private and public sectors, in the UK and internationally.
• You will benefit from the department's excellent links with employers in the information professions, which will provide you with 'real life' experiences through guest lectures, visits and a placement. You will also receive specific careers advice, including how to construct CVs. Longer term, the programme will equip you with the skills and knowledge to have a long and successful career in your chosen field and to become a leader in your profession.

Networking

• Alongside visits to and speakers from a diverse and extensive range of records management services and archives, and the two week placement, you will be provided with the opportunity to develop your network by being introduced to the main professional societies underpinning the sector, in particular the Archive & Records Association (ARA). Speakers from ARA’s new professionals section encourage students to join as student members and begin developing their competencies under the guidance of a mentor in order to work towards professional registration. The Centre for Critical Archives & Records Management (CCARMS) also provides students with opportunities to be involved in research, engagement and dissemination activities, which is also an excellent profile-raising opportunity.

Accreditation

• The Archives & Records Management MA/PG Diploma was assessed under the Archives & Records Association's (ARA) new accreditation framework process, and has had its ARA accreditation as professional level qualifications extended to 2029.

Teaching and learning

• The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, computer laboratory sessions and class-based practical exercises, with a strong emphasis on group and peer learning and the acquisition of practical skills underpinned by archival theory and knowledge.
• Assessment is through a mixture of essays, reports, and practical assignments.
• For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 12 hours per week. Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.
• In the First and Second Terms, full-time students can typically expect between 10 and 12 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, crits and tutorials. In the Third Term and the summer period students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors.
• A Postgraduate Diploma, five core modules (90 credits), two optional modules (30 credits), full-time nine months or flexible study up to five years, is offered. A Postgraduate Certificate, four optional modules (60 credits), full-time 15 weeks or flexible study over a period of up to two years, is offered.

Compulsory modules

• Access and Use of Archives and Records
• The Record-keeping Professional
• Creation and Capture
• Concepts and Contexts
• Curation and Stewardship
• Dissertation

Optional modules

• Database Theory and Practice
• Historical Bibliography
• Manuscript Studies
• Reading and Interpretation of Archives from 1500
• Individual Approved Study A
• Oral History: Creation to Curation
• Information literacy
• Knowledge Organisation
• Digital Curation
• Trauma-Informed Approaches to Managing Archives, Recordsand Cultural Heritage
• Introduction to Digitisation
• Information Governance

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

MA students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Archives and Records Management. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Archives and Records Management. Upon successful completion of 60 credits, you will be awarded a PG Cert in Archives and Records Management.

Placement

• The work placement provides MA/PG Dip students experience of how the techniques they have learned may be applied in practice. They last for two weeks and are undertaken as part of the core module that covers the topic of curation and stewardship in the Third Term. We arrange placements individually for each student and do our best to match the placement with their interests and experience.