MA Biography by Research
The cutting-edge MA in Biography remains unique to Buckingham and is consistently rated ‘excellent’ by examiners and inspectors.
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Course overview
About the course
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The University of Buckingham’s Master’s in Biography (by research) is led by Ophelia Field, an acclaimed biographer whose research interests span the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. The MA (and its associated PhD) is the only academic programme offered by a UK university which focuses solely on how to research and write biography. The MA may be undertaken either full-time (over one year) or part-time (over two).
Each student’s prime objective during that time is the completion of a dissertation of 25,000 words on a subject of their choice. The range of choices is almost limitless, extending from the already well-known – among them princes and Prime Ministers – to the unfamiliar, including unjustly negected figures in literarture and the arts, to the researcher’s own ancestors. Family history is an increasingly prominent part of biographical studies.
In conducting their research, students receive guidance from experienced practitioners of the art of biography whose expertise spans from the sixteenth to twenty-first centuries. Students meet with their supervisors at least once a term (if studying part-time) or twice as often (if studying full-time) one-to-one and in person. (Meetings can also be arranged online if the student so prefers.)
Although this original individual research is the prime focus of this course, there is also a strongly collegial aspect, as all research students meet regularly throughout the year for a series of early-evening seminars delivered by a range of distinguished biographers (see below for the programme). These seminars survey the many ways in which biographies can be written and the research skills that are required.
Seminars also take place at 51 Gower Street at 5:30 pm on selected Tuesdays during the teaching terms and provide an opportunity for students to meet and debate with the visiting speaker and with one another. Seminars may be followed by either drinks or a working dinner at a nearby restaurant, where discussion continues.
The seminars with visiting biographers are supplemented by a number of classes which provide instruction in specific research skills, relevant to biographical research. These include archival research, the use and reading of historical documents, and genealogical research.
The MA is awarded solely on the basis of a dissertation (there are no ‘exams’), and the relationship between the student and supervisors is therefore at the heart of the course. Guidance will be provided on suitability of topics, but the choice of subject is ultimately the student’s own. The maximum length for the MA dissertation in the School of Humanities is 25,000 words (or approximately 75 pages at line-spacing of 1.5), excluding notes and references.
The University of Buckingham MA programmes are intended to impart all the skills necessary for the student to work as an independent researcher and writer – skills that are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. But the MA can be undertaken just as fulfillingly as an exercise in the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, and as a means of exploring areas of enquiry that are of particular interest to the student.
The academic year begins in October with the Course Induction Day, followed in November by a more general Humanities Induction Day (see dates below for 2026-27).
Defining a Subject for Research
Students are expected to produce a Research Proposal, including literature review and draft bibliography, by the end of the first term if full-time, or midway through the first year if part-time. It is therefore advisable for applicants to identify a viable biographical subject prior to commencing the course, though the Programme Director is happy to provide guidance where this viability may be uncertain or where the student does not commence with a subject already in mind.
The Research Proposal is ultimately revised by each student to become the basis for the introduction to their examined dissertation and the basis for its final bibliography.
Research Seminars and Dining
Private research and supervision are complemented by a rich programme of seminars which give students direct access to some of Britain’s most distinguished biographers, who will speak about their work. These seminars, which are chaired by the Programme Director, take place at 51 Gower St (as above).
All seminars begin at 5:30 pm with the talk by the visiting speaker, and this is followed by questions and discussion. There is usually a drinks reception for the speaker and students after the seminar, or dinner at a local Bloomsbury restaurant. The costs of refreshments and dining are included in the fees (see below). The seminars are of course academic events, with a talk by a visiting expert; but they also have a social dimension, bringing research students and senior scholars together to discuss matters of common interest in an informal and congenial atmosphere.
Seminar and Classes: Dates and Venues for 2026-27
Unless otherwise stated below, all seminars and events take place at 51 Gower Street (Bloomsbury, London) between 5:30-7:00 pm. Where drinks take place after a London seminar, they conclude no later than 7:30pm and any post-seminar dinners conclude no later than 9:00 pm.
Tuesday 13 October
Course Induction Day (10:00-5:00 pm) – including seminar with Professor Adam Sisman (biographer of James Boswell, AJP Taylor, Wordsworth and Coleridge, Hugh Trevor Roper and John Le Carré) and an Introduction to the History of Biography
Monday 2 November
Humanities Induction Day (10:00-5:00 pm) at the Society of Antiquaries, Somerset House, Piccadilly
Tuesday 10 November
Seminar with Dr Martin Spychal on researching Nineteenth Century Political Lives
Tuesday 24 November
Class on using memoirs, letters and diaries as sources, and on the Ethics of Biography
Tuesday 8 December
Seminar with Professor Kathryn Hughes (biographer of George Elliot, Mrs Beeton and the commercial artist Louis Wain) including discussion of Biography Today
Tuesday 26 January
Class on the legacy of Romantic, Victorian and Modernist Biography
Tuesday 2 February
Seminar with Caroline Moorehead OBE (biographer of Sidney Bernstein, Freya Stark, Bertrand Russell, Iris Origo, Lucie de la Tour du Pin, and Mussolini’s daughter Edda) including discussion on Conducting Interviews
Tuesday 9 February
Class on the ‘2nd Golden Age of Biography’ (1980s-90s), Quest Biography, and the First Person in Biography
Tuesday 2 March
Seminar with Dr Lucy Worsley OBE (biographer of Jane Austen, Queen Victoria, William Cavendish, Agatha Christie and other royal lives) including discussion of Royal Biography
Tuesday 9 March
Class on Literary Biography
Tuesday 16 March
Class on Group Biography
Tuesday 23 March
Seminar with Anne Sebba (biographer of Enid Bagnold, Laura Ashley, Mother Teresa, William Bankes, Jennie Churchill, Mrs Simpson, Ethel Rosenberg, and the members of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz) including discussion of Writing about Historical Trauma
Tuesday 13 April
Seminar with speaker TBC
Tuesday 27 April
Seminar with Flora Fraser (biographer of George and Martha Washington, Pauline Bonaparte, Queen Caroline, the daughters of George III, Emma Hamilton, and Flora MacDonald) including discussion of Writing Women’s Lives
Wednesday 3 June
Biography Research Day (2:00-7:00 pm or 9:30 pm) at the campus in Buckingham, including presentations by MA and PhD students of their research in progress, including feedback from a professional or academic biographer, who will also present a paper for discussion prior to drinks and dinner
Tuesday 22 June
Class on Writing an Abstract and on Preparing a Book Proposal
Study Period
Applicants for this MA are strongly encouraged to undertake part-time study, completing over two years. Full-time study is also available for those who can demonstrate to the Programme Director that they already possess a strong grounding in a related discipline, a knowledge of issues related to biography, and excellent writing skills.
Research Supervision
Every Master’s student in the School of Humanities is supported by two supervisors. There is a First (or Principal) Supervisor, who is the student’s main guide during his or her research, and with whom the student meets regularly throughout the year. There is also a Second Supervisor, whom the student may consult on a more limited basis where a ‘second opinion’ may be helpful or who may bring additional expertise on a chosen period or topic. Full-time students see their supervisor for one-to-one supervisions not less than twice a term, and part-time students not less than once a term. The University has an extensive group of scholars available to undertake supervision relating to a wide range of literary and historical biographical subjects.
Programme Director
Ophelia Field is the author of a critically acclaimed life of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (1660-1744) titled The Favourite, first published in 2002 and in revised edition in 2018. In 2008, she produced a group biography, again set in the early eighteenth century, titled The Kit-Cat Club: Friends Who Imagined a Nation, which was one of the Financial Times’ History Books of the Year. She has also written and taught extensively on the essay form, including a chapter on political essays in On Essays: Montaigne to the Present (Oxford University Press, 2020). She has been teaching on the University of Buckingham’s Biography programme since 2019, and previously taught biography at the University of London’s Centre for Editing Lives and Letters (CELL).
Associate Students
For those who wish to attend the seminars and to join the post-seminar drinks or dinners with the visiting speakers, it is possible to join the programme as an Associate Student (what is known as an Audit Student in the United States). Associate Students do not enrol for the MA and do not have to submit any written work, but they are otherwise full members of the seminar and free to take part in discussion. There is also a substantially reduced fee.
For further information, please contact humanitiespg-admissions@buckingham.ac.uk
Entry Requirements
The minimum entry level required for this course is as follows:
- a first or upper second-class honours degree from a recognised university, or
- a recognised professional qualification with relevant work experience
Candidates will be asked to attend an interview (in person or online) as part of the application process; in some cases, they may also be asked to produce a short sample of written work.
Mature students
Age is no barrier to learning and we welcome all applications from suitably qualified students. Due to their flexibility, our London-based MAs by research attract a wide variety of applicants from a range of backgrounds, including people in full-time employment and retirees.
International students
We are happy to consider all international applications and if you are an international student, you may find it useful to visit our international pages for details of entry requirements from your home country.
The University is a UKVI Student Sponsor.
English levels
If English is not your first language, please check our postgraduate English language requirements. If your English levels don’t meet our minimum requirements, you may be interested in applying for our Pre-sessional English Language Foundation Programmes.
Selection process
Candidates apply online, sending in their supporting documents, and will be assessed on this basis by the Admissions Office and Programme Director. The Programme Director or Admissions Assistant will be happy to answer any enquiries. Call us on +44 (0)1280 820227 or get in touch via our online form.
Student Contract for prospective students
When you are offered a place at the University you will be notified of the student contract between the University and students on our courses of study. When you accept an offer of a place on the course at the University a legal contract is formed between you and the University on the basis of the student contract in your offer letter. Your offer letter and the student contract contain important information which you should read carefully before accepting an offer. Read the Student Contract.
Teaching & Assessment
At the heart of the Buckingham Master’s degree is the close working relationship between student and supervisor. While the final thesis must be an independent work, it is the supervisor who offers advice on refining the topic (if necessary), on primary sources, on secondary reading, on research techniques and on writing the final text (which should be not more than 25,000 words).
Supervisors and students meet regularly throughout the year, and at least once in each of the academic year’s four terms if enrolled part-time or twice as often if enrolled full-time. The supervisor is the student’s primary contact for academic advice and support.
Teaching methods
These are degrees by research which require an original contribution to the body of knowledge in a particular academic or professional discipline. The completed dissertation is examined by an internal (i.e. The University of Buckingham) examiner and external examiner (an academic drawn from another university) who have not previously seen the student’s work.
In some cases, students undertaking the MA by Research and wishing to work more expansively on their subject may be permitted to move directly on to doctoral study (up to 80,000 words). If so, the time spent in MA study counts as the equivalent of their first year in full-time PhD research.
All research degrees are regulated by the University’s Research Committee and students are required to conform to guidelines laid down in the Research Degrees Handbook.
After Your Course
Founded by eminent historian Professor Emeritus Jane Ridley some thirty years ago, this programme has produced many alumni who have gone on to successfully publish academic and popular biographical works.
What our students and alumni say
‘The course that Buckingham offered was perfect for me – a regular day a week in Gower Street, the heart of London academia, a chance to meet like-minded enthusiasts, and expert tuition from Professor Ridley and Ophelia Field, two masters of the biographical craft. It completely rebuilt my confidence and gave me the tools to tackle my subject more professionally. By the time my degree came through, I had an agent, and a book deal on the way.’
– Sarah Harkness (MA, Distinction awarded 2021)
‘I joined the MA Biography course because I already had a book in mind and needed to learn how to do the research, including digital research of foreign archives, and the vital business of completing references.
When it came to the final dissertation, I was fortunate to benefit from the informed advice, support and wise counselling of my supervisor, Ophelia Field […] Ophelia’s literary skills were invaluable to me in the drafting and structuring of my work and in acquiring command of the necessary academic style of writing.’
– Gillian Jones (MA, Distinction awarded 2025)
‘A sound basis for individual research into an historical, literary or more contemporary figure, whether it’s someone famous, obscure or with whom you have a connection. […] The participation of guest speakers adds real zest to discussions. Established writers generously offer insights into their own research and writing methods, as well as pitfalls to avoid. […] Working under university auspices can also help provide reassurance to people you might approach as possible contacts or research leads.’
– David Campbell (MA, Distinction awarded 2025)
‘I loved every stage of my PhD time. The classes gave me so much, not just from professional teaching but by the exchange of ideas with other students and visiting experts. I enjoyed the ferreting in archives, websites and books that research demands. I relished the crafting inherent in writing a thesis; I even liked the “buffing up” period that good writing demands. Since my PhD, I have found employment as a tutor, and I have earned a research project from which I hope a book will emerge.’
– Dr Christina Dykes (PhD awarded 2020)
‘Completing Buckingham’s Biography PhD course was a fantastically rewarding experience. As somebody who began as a Master’s student, the transition over to doctoral status was made very straightforward – just one element that demonstrates the flexibility of the University (another being the encouragement and support I received in switching biographical subjects mid-stream). The seminar discussions and the supervisory guidance – of both former (Jane Ridley) and current (Ophelia Field) Programme Directors – was consistently peppered with profound insights into the life-writing form gleaned by a deep professional experience in the genre. If you’re thinking of writing a biography but are overwhelmed by the thought of setting out unguided, you couldn’t do better than to sign up with Buckingham.’
– Dr Harland Mitford (PhD awarded 2026)
Course fees
The fees for this course are:
| Start | Type | 1st Year | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Month Year Full-time (2 Years) | UK | £00,000 | £00,000 |
| INT | £00,000 | £00,000 | |
Month Year Full-time (2 Years) | UK | £00,000 | £00,000 |
| INT | £00,000 | £00,000 |
The University reserves the right to increase course fees annually in line with inflation linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI). If the University intends to increase your course fees it will notify you via email of this as soon as reasonably practicable.
Course fees do not include additional costs such as books, equipment, writing up fees and other ancillary charges. Where applicable, these additional costs will be made clear.
Postgraduate Loan Scheme
A system of postgraduate loans for Masters degrees in the UK is available with support from the UK Government. The loan is available for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas. The loans can be used for tuition fees, living expenses or both.
Scholarships and bursaries
How to apply
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Apply online from this page as:
- You can apply until shortly before the course starts.
- There are no application fees.
You can apply directly through our website by clicking the ‘Apply Now’ button.