Library and Archive Studies MA
Year of entry: 2026
Course length: 12 months full-time | 24 months part-time
About the course
The MA in Library and Archive Studies is taught in collaboration with The University of Manchester Library. This is major multi-site research library with National Research Library status.
This MA focuses on contemporary practices in collection-led librarianship and archival studies. It provides unique curriculum-based access to world-leading special collections and comparative cultural institutions alongside a strong professional practice element in collaboration with University of Manchester Library staff.
Course delivery includes compulsory courses in librarianship, archival studies, and records and information management in addition to optional work placements in a variety of library and collections-based fields.
Students are offered a choice of optional courses in a variety of specialist topics linked to rare books curation, information governance and compliance, exhibitions and public engagement, digital practices, and community engagement. Students are also given the option to take modules from and gain experience with a variety of research specialisms within the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures in art gallery and museum studies, arts management and policy, creative and cultural industries, digital media and culture, and heritage studies.
This course consists of taught units and a dissertation. Taught units cover topics including:
- Strategic Practice in Libraries
- Archives and Special Collections
- Records and Information Management
- Exhibitions in Libraries and Archives
- Law, Information Governance, and Compliance
- Palaeography, Codicology, Sources
- Describing and Cataloguing Rare Print
These are example course units based on 2025/26 options and are subject to change each year.
Similar courses:
School of Arts, Languages and Culture
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester