ABSTRACT
‘Independent Study in History’ 1 is a third-year option offered to students taking the BA Historical Studies and the BA Humanities/Social Studies degrees at Manchester Metropolitan University. The course unit was devised with two central objectives in mind – to allow students to apply skills acquired during their undergraduate programme to practical topics encountered in an environment outside academia, and to extend their educational experience by emphasising new skills that would be required in these practical situations. By allowing students to gain work experience in a non-academic environment, though one appropriate to their historical training, ‘Independent Study’ sought to augment their range of competences and thus help prepare them for later employment.
