Thank you very much Bewildered for all of that advice! I will look into it all in the next couple of months. I definitely want to select an MA where a future PhD would also fit well in terms of expertise within the department. Oxford looks good (though the PhD is very competitive) as does Kings. Kings would be somewhat better as I could move back in with family (eek) and avoid too many living expenses as I am from London.

I'm looking into some courses I can do in the lead up to the MA at the moment to brush up on my Latin. In my previous experience the main stay of my materials were in English albeit hastily written during court cases - I definitely need some help with palaeography! I've seen that many courses cover that I remember an undergrad panic in the Kent archives and spending 3 hours plus piecing together depositions.

Kerry :)

Thanks - it's all a bit scary but I do feel better about the idea of going back and doing some studying.

Funding wise I'm okay - I have some savings and a supportive long-term partner who makes a pretty good wage in programming (very lucky).

The only thing holding me back I suppose is actually getting in. Applications begin I presume in September 2017 for September 2018?

Kerry

Hi all,

I'm at a bit of a crossroads (big old cliche) and am considering leaving my current career and embarking upon a Masters and a PhD.

Background - I love history always have but steered away from completing an MA at the end of my degree as I didn't feel my family would support my decision - I was already considered a slacker for not going straight into work at 16! With support I would have gone straight onto an MA then PhD.

I'm now 25. I worked for a year for the National Trust as part-time steward in a seventeenth-century property before becoming a teacher. I am considered a good/outstanding teacher. I've given lectures and workshops at conferences and at the IOE on and am writing an article on teaching the witch-hunts for the historical association's teaching section currently. I'm a bit miserable though and have been for about six months - I enjoy sharing my knowledge but ultimately my passion in history is in the writing, research and learning for myself.

Ultimately I have a first class degree in history during the studying for which I received academic awards and used archival research. I would want to return to studying masculine cases of witches in my MA. I'm considering applying to Oxford/Cambridge or Warwick for an MPhil/MA.

Am I mad in leaving a job I'm already considered good at? Anyone been in a similar situation?

Thanks!