""
Language skills
required, minimum level of B2
Programme length
2 years.
Study mode
Face-to-face learning
Application status
International students:
Students with Icelandic or Nordic citizenship:
Overview

  • Are you interested in history?
  • Do you want a wide range of graduate career options?
  • Do you want a useful and focused education which will be an asset in many different fields?
  • Do you want to do a graduate degree?

The MA in history teaching is part of the programme in upper secondary school teaching, which allows students to specialise in history teaching. The pedagogy section of the programme is taught at the School of Education while the history is taught at the School of Humanities. 

Programme structure

The programme is 120 ECTS and is organised as two years of full-time study.

The programme is made up of:

  • Mandatory courses, 50 ECTS
  • Student placements, 10 ECTS
  • Elective courses, 20 ECTS
  • Research project, 10 ECTS
  • Master's thesis, 30 ECTS

There are 6 mandatory courses at the School of Education. These courses provide a foundation of pedagogical knowledge, understanding and skills for student teachers. The structure of the programme is designed to link theory and practice. Students complete the mandatory courses during the first year of the programme.

Organisation of teaching

This programme is taught in Icelandic but most textbooks are in English.

Courses in core academic subjects and training placements require physical attendance. Students are expected to attend weekly classes as well as placements, totalling around 30 hours per semester plus meetings at the student’s host school.

Vocational training takes place during the school day at the upper secondary schools where student teachers are allocated places – this is organised in consideration of their timetables. Attendance is compulsory for placements and core courses

Main objectives

The programme aims to educate upper secondary school teachers with specialist knowledge of their subject, promoting good general knowledge among upper secondary school pupils. The programme is designed to comply with current legislation on teacher education and confers the right to apply for a teaching licence.

Learn more about upper secondary school teacher education

Other

Completing this programme qualifies a student to teach in Icelandic schools and use the professional title of teacher.

Completing the programme may allow you to apply for doctoral studies.

Applicants to this course, please note:
On the online application form, select Upper Secondary School Teaching, MA, 120 ECTS, and the specialisation History Teaching.
Students who have completed a BA programme in History with a first class grade from a recognised university may apply for admission to the MA programme in History Teaching. Students must have completed at least 120 ECTS at the BA level in the relevant field.

An MA degree shall require 120 ECTS following completion of a BA degree. There are two components to the programme: courses, including individual projects, and the MA thesis. Students must also participate in a seminar in History. a. In the first semester, students shall take Theories in Humanities (10 ECTS), which is a joint course for other Master's students at the Faculty of History and Philosophy. b. In the second semester, students shall take New Research in History (10 ECTS). c. In the third semester, students shall take Research Project for MA Thesis (10 ECTS). d. In the fourth semester students shall write an MA thesis, generally evaluated for 30 ECTS. The thesis shall generally be 20-30,000 words in length. The format of the MA thesis shall be in accordance with the Regulation on postgraduate study at the Faculty of History and Philosophy. e. All other courses are elective. Individual projects are elective and may be worth 10 or 20 ECTS. Students may not take more than 20 ECTS in individual projects. They may, however, take two 10 ECTS projects.

The following documents must accompany an application for this programme:
  • CV
  • Statement of purpose
  • Reference 1, Name and email
  • Reference 2, Name and email
  • Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts

Further information on supporting documents can be found here

Programme structure

Check below to see how the programme is structured.

This programme does not offer specialisations.

First year | Fall
Pedagogy for Social Studies and practical training 1 (SFG105F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
5 fieldwork credits
Course Description

Students are introduced to different methods of teaching, the making of assignments and different methods of evaluation in social studies and the humanities (except from Icelandic and foreign languages). Students are trained to think critically about their own positionality when it comes to studying and teaching. Assignments in this course are connected to student’s fieldwork. The role of reflection for teachers to be is a focuspoint of the studies. It is important that participants in the course reflect on their work and develop their ideas on studying and teaching social studies. The aim is to help participants to become better teachers and give them the tools needed to continue their professional development.

Within the course students receive training in teaching and interacting with students and an introduction to school culture and working procedures. Each student is allotted a secondary school where they spend an allocated time under supervision during both autumn and spring terms. The training is connected to the course Introduction to Teaching and Learning so these courses should be taken simultaneously.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Attendance required in class
First year | Fall
Introduction to Teaching (KEN104F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

The aim of the course is to give students an insight into main theories and research of learning and teaching (Icelandic and international). Main topics of the course are theories and research on learning and teaching, teachers' professionalism, teaching methods, and assessment.

The main field of work for graduates will be in upper secondary school, and this fact will determine the selection of learning tasks.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Attendance required in class
First year | Fall
Theories in Humanities (FOR709F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

Language of instruction: Icelandic/English
Face-to-face learning
First year | Spring 1
Pedagogy for social studies and practical training 2 (SFG206F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
5 fieldwork credits
Course Description

Students are introduced to different methods of teaching, the making of assignments and different methods of evaluation in social studies and the humanities (except from Icelandic and foreign languages). Students are trained to think critically about their own positionality when it comes to studying and teaching. Assignments in this course are connected to student’s fieldwork. The role of reflection for teachers to be is a focuspoint of the studies. It is important that participants in the course reflect on their work and develop their ideas on studying and teaching social studies. The aim is to help participants to become better teachers and give them the tools needed to continue their professional development.

Within the course students receive training in teaching and interacting with students and an introduction to school culture and working procedures. Each student is allotted a secondary school where they spend an allocated time under supervision during both autumn and spring terms.

The training is connected to the course Curriculum and School Development in Secondary Schools and these two courses should be taken simultaneously.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Attendance required in class
First year | Spring 1
Curriculum and School Development in Secondary Schools (KEN213F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

This course is about curriculum theory and educational policy with emphasis on the curriculum, student body and school development in Icelandic upper secondary schools.

Assignments are designed to enable students to work as professionals on the development of school practice, curricula, and policies.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Attendance required in class
First year | Spring 1
New researches in history (SAG201F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

In the course, well-known historical studies from Western culture will be read that deal with a variety of topics. An attempt will be made to show how historians, both at the end of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, struggle with different topics in their research. The discussion will be put into an ideological context and emphasis will be placed on showing the different approaches of historians when the subject has been connected to the aforementioned field of study. An attempt was made to select interesting books that are likely to give us an interesting picture of the state of the arts of history today.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
First year | Spring 1
The Icelandic Household in the 18th Century (SAG414M)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

The course offers an in-depth study of the Icelandic 18th Century household. What different types of households were there and what was the difference between the households of peasants, fishermen, pastors, lodgers or paupers? How did young people move out of their parents’ households and start their own? How did households provide for their members and what additional expenses such as rent, taxes and dues did they need to pay? How did subsistence farming work and did the households engage in any trading? The course introduces the rich sources of the time period to students, which provide us with insights into daily life in the period, from the census of 1703 to travel journals and magazine articles of Enlightment writers of the late 18th century. Among other exercises, students practice methods of digital data entry for quantitative study.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Course taught second half of the semester
First year | Spring 1
Electronic archiving (SAG207F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Students will get an insight into electronic record keeping and learn about the rules that apply to electronic record keeping. The process from the creation of an electronic document to its long-time preservation in a public archive will be reviewed. Students also gain an understanding of the structure of electronic systems, the relationship between filing system and the files, the importance of the general records schedule and the filing plan in that context. The requirements for registration and storage in record management systems will then be reviewed and the systems used will be examined. The necessary metadata and what needs to be considered when reporting electronic systems to public archives will be reviewed. Various databases will be discussed and how access to electronic documents will be in the future will be examined.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Distance learning
First year | Spring 1
Echoes of a Global Medieval Ages in Contemporary History (SAG413M)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

"Echoes of a Global Medieval Ages in Contemporary History" is a course that explores the intersection of medieval and contemporary eras, considering how memories, symbols, and narratives from the medieval world continue to shape current ideologies, identities, and global perspectives. Through a thematic, regional examination, the course analyzes how different societies today reinterpret and reconstruct their medieval pasts, addressing legacies of imperialism, nationalism, and cultural exchange. Key topics include the influence of medieval governance, cultural symbols, trade networks, and ideological conflicts on contemporary issues.

Language of instruction: English
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Course taught first half of the semester
First year | Spring 1
Wretched Girls and Virtuous Ladies: Women in Iceland from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century (SAG412M)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

This course examines the status of women in Iceland during the long nineteenth century. The aim is to explore sources that shed light on women's circumstances, opportunities, and agency, both in rural areas and villages. The period will be examined both thematically and chronologically, exploring and analysing changes in women's status and agency. The course will explore what legal rights women had – were they autonomous? Could they travel abroad for education or travel at all? Could they marry whom they wanted? Run their own business? What kind of clothes did they wear? What work did they do inside and outside of the home? The status of women in Iceland will be examined in a transnational context, both concerning legal rights and agency, as well as in relation to major theoretical frameworks about women's history in the nineteenth century (e.g., separate spheres). The period spans from the late eighteenth century, from which time sources such as private letters and biographical texts are preserved, to c. 1900 when the struggle for women's rights had begun in Iceland and new times were ahead. The course will delve into memoirs, funeral speeches, and correspondence along with other sources and scholarly works about the period to get as close as possible to women's experiences and attitudes.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Second year | Fall
Research Project in History for MA-thesis (SAG704F)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Research Project for MA-thesis in collaboration with supervisor.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
From Fascism to Populism: Democratic Crises, Radical Nationalism, and Authoritarian Regimes in the 20th and 21st Centuries (SAG604M)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

The current surge of nationalist, populist right-wing parties and authoritarian regimes not only poses a challenge to traditional political elites and to the functioning of liberal-democratic systems. It also invites comparisons with historical fascism and authoritarian rule in the interwar period, raising the question of how to define, classify, and position these parties, regimes, and ideologies on the political spectrum. The course deals with crises of the liberal order and the effects of ultra-nationalism in Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries by focusing on historical fascism and Nazism as well as contemporary populist and authoritarian formations. While the focus will be on Europe, ultra-nationalist and anti-liberal ideologies in other parts of the world will also be considered. The emphasis will be on historiographical and theoretical problems relating to the ideologies of fascism, authoritarianism, and populism; the effects of economic and political crises on the rise of radical nationalist movements; the roles of race, ethnicity, and gender; ideas about modernization, culture, welfare and racism, and foreign policy platforms. Populist and authoritarian regimes in the present will be put in a historical context, their programs and policies explored, and an attempt will be made to explain what has been termed “populist authoritarianism.”

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Second year | Fall
Reading documents 1550-1850 (SAG813F)
Free elective course within the programme
5 ECTS, credits
Course Description

A survey of Icelandic handwriting in the period and of methods of transcription. Students learn to read different kinds of handwriting from the period.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Second year | Fall
Women's Day Off 1975: Myths and communication (SAG510M)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

"The struggle does not end today," was written on a banner held by one of the 25,000 women who rallied in downtown Reykjavík on the 24th of October 1975. The Women's Day Off, as the organizers ironically called it, was essentially a strike to protest gender-based discrimination and wage differentials. The banner mentioned above is only one example of many of how the women communicated their views and demands through different media such as music, print, public speeches, and mass media. The Women's Day Off was the result of a collective agency of Icelandic actors, but their initiative should still be regarded in an international context as the women were urged to unite under the theme of the International Women's Year: "EQUALITY - DEVELOPMENT - PEACE. "

The course is built around the Women's Day Off in 1975, but as teachers and students research its historical legacy in Icelandic and international context, they will explore and implement new ways of communicating history with younger generations. The course is organized in collaboration with Rúv and The Women's History Archives, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary with an exhibition at the National Library.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Second year | Fall
Individual Special Subject A (SAG014F, SAG604F)
Free elective course within the programme
20 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Einstaklingsverkefni A

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
Individual Subject C (SAG014F, SAG604F)
Free elective course within the programme
20 ECTS, credits
Course Description

.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Second year | Fall
History of Ideas after 1750 (SAG706F)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

History of Ideas after 1750.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Face-to-face learning
Second year | Fall
The Medieval North (SAG716M)
Free elective course within the programme
10 ECTS, credits
Course Description

Historical and historiographical survey of major topics in the history of the medieval North, with special emphasis on Iceland and Norway from the Viking Age into the fourteenth century. Topics include: power, kingship and state; law and feud; kinship, gender and social ties; religious and mental outlook(s); conversion, Christianity and church; economic conditions. Prior knowledge of the “factual” narrative is helpful but not necessary. Reading ability in German and/or the modern Scandinavian languages is also helpful but, again, not necessary (all mandatory readings are in English). Students produce a paper and lead discussion; no final exam.

Language of instruction: English
Face-to-face learning
Prerequisites
Second year | Spring 1
MA thesis in History Teaching (SAG442L)
A mandatory (required) course for the programme
0 ECTS, credits
Course Description

.

Language of instruction: Icelandic
Part of the total project/thesis credits
First year
  • Fall
  • SFG105F
    Pedagogy for Social Studies and practical training 1
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    5 fieldwork credits
    Course Description

    Students are introduced to different methods of teaching, the making of assignments and different methods of evaluation in social studies and the humanities (except from Icelandic and foreign languages). Students are trained to think critically about their own positionality when it comes to studying and teaching. Assignments in this course are connected to student’s fieldwork. The role of reflection for teachers to be is a focuspoint of the studies. It is important that participants in the course reflect on their work and develop their ideas on studying and teaching social studies. The aim is to help participants to become better teachers and give them the tools needed to continue their professional development.

    Within the course students receive training in teaching and interacting with students and an introduction to school culture and working procedures. Each student is allotted a secondary school where they spend an allocated time under supervision during both autumn and spring terms. The training is connected to the course Introduction to Teaching and Learning so these courses should be taken simultaneously.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • KEN104F
    Introduction to Teaching
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    The aim of the course is to give students an insight into main theories and research of learning and teaching (Icelandic and international). Main topics of the course are theories and research on learning and teaching, teachers' professionalism, teaching methods, and assessment.

    The main field of work for graduates will be in upper secondary school, and this fact will determine the selection of learning tasks.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • FOR709F
    Theories in Humanities
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • SFG206F
    Pedagogy for social studies and practical training 2
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    5 fieldwork credits
    Course Description

    Students are introduced to different methods of teaching, the making of assignments and different methods of evaluation in social studies and the humanities (except from Icelandic and foreign languages). Students are trained to think critically about their own positionality when it comes to studying and teaching. Assignments in this course are connected to student’s fieldwork. The role of reflection for teachers to be is a focuspoint of the studies. It is important that participants in the course reflect on their work and develop their ideas on studying and teaching social studies. The aim is to help participants to become better teachers and give them the tools needed to continue their professional development.

    Within the course students receive training in teaching and interacting with students and an introduction to school culture and working procedures. Each student is allotted a secondary school where they spend an allocated time under supervision during both autumn and spring terms.

    The training is connected to the course Curriculum and School Development in Secondary Schools and these two courses should be taken simultaneously.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • KEN213F
    Curriculum and School Development in Secondary Schools
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This course is about curriculum theory and educational policy with emphasis on the curriculum, student body and school development in Icelandic upper secondary schools.

    Assignments are designed to enable students to work as professionals on the development of school practice, curricula, and policies.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • SAG201F
    New researches in history
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course, well-known historical studies from Western culture will be read that deal with a variety of topics. An attempt will be made to show how historians, both at the end of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, struggle with different topics in their research. The discussion will be put into an ideological context and emphasis will be placed on showing the different approaches of historians when the subject has been connected to the aforementioned field of study. An attempt was made to select interesting books that are likely to give us an interesting picture of the state of the arts of history today.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG414M
    The Icelandic Household in the 18th Century
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    The course offers an in-depth study of the Icelandic 18th Century household. What different types of households were there and what was the difference between the households of peasants, fishermen, pastors, lodgers or paupers? How did young people move out of their parents’ households and start their own? How did households provide for their members and what additional expenses such as rent, taxes and dues did they need to pay? How did subsistence farming work and did the households engage in any trading? The course introduces the rich sources of the time period to students, which provide us with insights into daily life in the period, from the census of 1703 to travel journals and magazine articles of Enlightment writers of the late 18th century. Among other exercises, students practice methods of digital data entry for quantitative study.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Course taught second half of the semester
  • SAG207F
    Electronic archiving
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Students will get an insight into electronic record keeping and learn about the rules that apply to electronic record keeping. The process from the creation of an electronic document to its long-time preservation in a public archive will be reviewed. Students also gain an understanding of the structure of electronic systems, the relationship between filing system and the files, the importance of the general records schedule and the filing plan in that context. The requirements for registration and storage in record management systems will then be reviewed and the systems used will be examined. The necessary metadata and what needs to be considered when reporting electronic systems to public archives will be reviewed. Various databases will be discussed and how access to electronic documents will be in the future will be examined.

    Distance learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG413M
    Echoes of a Global Medieval Ages in Contemporary History
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    "Echoes of a Global Medieval Ages in Contemporary History" is a course that explores the intersection of medieval and contemporary eras, considering how memories, symbols, and narratives from the medieval world continue to shape current ideologies, identities, and global perspectives. Through a thematic, regional examination, the course analyzes how different societies today reinterpret and reconstruct their medieval pasts, addressing legacies of imperialism, nationalism, and cultural exchange. Key topics include the influence of medieval governance, cultural symbols, trade networks, and ideological conflicts on contemporary issues.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Course taught first half of the semester
  • SAG412M
    Wretched Girls and Virtuous Ladies: Women in Iceland from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This course examines the status of women in Iceland during the long nineteenth century. The aim is to explore sources that shed light on women's circumstances, opportunities, and agency, both in rural areas and villages. The period will be examined both thematically and chronologically, exploring and analysing changes in women's status and agency. The course will explore what legal rights women had – were they autonomous? Could they travel abroad for education or travel at all? Could they marry whom they wanted? Run their own business? What kind of clothes did they wear? What work did they do inside and outside of the home? The status of women in Iceland will be examined in a transnational context, both concerning legal rights and agency, as well as in relation to major theoretical frameworks about women's history in the nineteenth century (e.g., separate spheres). The period spans from the late eighteenth century, from which time sources such as private letters and biographical texts are preserved, to c. 1900 when the struggle for women's rights had begun in Iceland and new times were ahead. The course will delve into memoirs, funeral speeches, and correspondence along with other sources and scholarly works about the period to get as close as possible to women's experiences and attitudes.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Fall
  • SAG704F
    Research Project in History for MA-thesis
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Research Project for MA-thesis in collaboration with supervisor.

    Prerequisites
  • Course Description

    The current surge of nationalist, populist right-wing parties and authoritarian regimes not only poses a challenge to traditional political elites and to the functioning of liberal-democratic systems. It also invites comparisons with historical fascism and authoritarian rule in the interwar period, raising the question of how to define, classify, and position these parties, regimes, and ideologies on the political spectrum. The course deals with crises of the liberal order and the effects of ultra-nationalism in Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries by focusing on historical fascism and Nazism as well as contemporary populist and authoritarian formations. While the focus will be on Europe, ultra-nationalist and anti-liberal ideologies in other parts of the world will also be considered. The emphasis will be on historiographical and theoretical problems relating to the ideologies of fascism, authoritarianism, and populism; the effects of economic and political crises on the rise of radical nationalist movements; the roles of race, ethnicity, and gender; ideas about modernization, culture, welfare and racism, and foreign policy platforms. Populist and authoritarian regimes in the present will be put in a historical context, their programs and policies explored, and an attempt will be made to explain what has been termed “populist authoritarianism.”

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG813F
    Reading documents 1550-1850
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A survey of Icelandic handwriting in the period and of methods of transcription. Students learn to read different kinds of handwriting from the period.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG510M
    Women's Day Off 1975: Myths and communication
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    "The struggle does not end today," was written on a banner held by one of the 25,000 women who rallied in downtown Reykjavík on the 24th of October 1975. The Women's Day Off, as the organizers ironically called it, was essentially a strike to protest gender-based discrimination and wage differentials. The banner mentioned above is only one example of many of how the women communicated their views and demands through different media such as music, print, public speeches, and mass media. The Women's Day Off was the result of a collective agency of Icelandic actors, but their initiative should still be regarded in an international context as the women were urged to unite under the theme of the International Women's Year: "EQUALITY - DEVELOPMENT - PEACE. "

    The course is built around the Women's Day Off in 1975, but as teachers and students research its historical legacy in Icelandic and international context, they will explore and implement new ways of communicating history with younger generations. The course is organized in collaboration with Rúv and The Women's History Archives, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary with an exhibition at the National Library.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG014F, SAG604F
    Individual Special Subject A
    Elective course
    20
    Free elective course within the programme
    20 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Einstaklingsverkefni A

    Prerequisites
  • SAG014F, SAG604F
    Individual Subject C
    Elective course
    20
    Free elective course within the programme
    20 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    .

    Prerequisites
  • SAG706F
    History of Ideas after 1750
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    History of Ideas after 1750.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG716M
    The Medieval North
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Historical and historiographical survey of major topics in the history of the medieval North, with special emphasis on Iceland and Norway from the Viking Age into the fourteenth century. Topics include: power, kingship and state; law and feud; kinship, gender and social ties; religious and mental outlook(s); conversion, Christianity and church; economic conditions. Prior knowledge of the “factual” narrative is helpful but not necessary. Reading ability in German and/or the modern Scandinavian languages is also helpful but, again, not necessary (all mandatory readings are in English). Students produce a paper and lead discussion; no final exam.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • SAG442L
    MA thesis in History Teaching
    Mandatory (required) course
    0
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    0 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    .

    Prerequisites
    Part of the total project/thesis credits
Second year
  • Fall
  • SFG105F
    Pedagogy for Social Studies and practical training 1
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    5 fieldwork credits
    Course Description

    Students are introduced to different methods of teaching, the making of assignments and different methods of evaluation in social studies and the humanities (except from Icelandic and foreign languages). Students are trained to think critically about their own positionality when it comes to studying and teaching. Assignments in this course are connected to student’s fieldwork. The role of reflection for teachers to be is a focuspoint of the studies. It is important that participants in the course reflect on their work and develop their ideas on studying and teaching social studies. The aim is to help participants to become better teachers and give them the tools needed to continue their professional development.

    Within the course students receive training in teaching and interacting with students and an introduction to school culture and working procedures. Each student is allotted a secondary school where they spend an allocated time under supervision during both autumn and spring terms. The training is connected to the course Introduction to Teaching and Learning so these courses should be taken simultaneously.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • KEN104F
    Introduction to Teaching
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    The aim of the course is to give students an insight into main theories and research of learning and teaching (Icelandic and international). Main topics of the course are theories and research on learning and teaching, teachers' professionalism, teaching methods, and assessment.

    The main field of work for graduates will be in upper secondary school, and this fact will determine the selection of learning tasks.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • FOR709F
    Theories in Humanities
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    The aim of the course is to provide students with a more comprehensive and deeper insight into the different theoretical approaches within the humanities. In the course, the main theories that have influenced theoretical discussion in the humanities over the last decades will be presented and discussed, and the students are taught how to apply them in their own research.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • SFG206F
    Pedagogy for social studies and practical training 2
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    5 fieldwork credits
    Course Description

    Students are introduced to different methods of teaching, the making of assignments and different methods of evaluation in social studies and the humanities (except from Icelandic and foreign languages). Students are trained to think critically about their own positionality when it comes to studying and teaching. Assignments in this course are connected to student’s fieldwork. The role of reflection for teachers to be is a focuspoint of the studies. It is important that participants in the course reflect on their work and develop their ideas on studying and teaching social studies. The aim is to help participants to become better teachers and give them the tools needed to continue their professional development.

    Within the course students receive training in teaching and interacting with students and an introduction to school culture and working procedures. Each student is allotted a secondary school where they spend an allocated time under supervision during both autumn and spring terms.

    The training is connected to the course Curriculum and School Development in Secondary Schools and these two courses should be taken simultaneously.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • KEN213F
    Curriculum and School Development in Secondary Schools
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This course is about curriculum theory and educational policy with emphasis on the curriculum, student body and school development in Icelandic upper secondary schools.

    Assignments are designed to enable students to work as professionals on the development of school practice, curricula, and policies.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Attendance required in class
  • SAG201F
    New researches in history
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    In the course, well-known historical studies from Western culture will be read that deal with a variety of topics. An attempt will be made to show how historians, both at the end of the twentieth century and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, struggle with different topics in their research. The discussion will be put into an ideological context and emphasis will be placed on showing the different approaches of historians when the subject has been connected to the aforementioned field of study. An attempt was made to select interesting books that are likely to give us an interesting picture of the state of the arts of history today.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG414M
    The Icelandic Household in the 18th Century
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    The course offers an in-depth study of the Icelandic 18th Century household. What different types of households were there and what was the difference between the households of peasants, fishermen, pastors, lodgers or paupers? How did young people move out of their parents’ households and start their own? How did households provide for their members and what additional expenses such as rent, taxes and dues did they need to pay? How did subsistence farming work and did the households engage in any trading? The course introduces the rich sources of the time period to students, which provide us with insights into daily life in the period, from the census of 1703 to travel journals and magazine articles of Enlightment writers of the late 18th century. Among other exercises, students practice methods of digital data entry for quantitative study.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Course taught second half of the semester
  • SAG207F
    Electronic archiving
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Students will get an insight into electronic record keeping and learn about the rules that apply to electronic record keeping. The process from the creation of an electronic document to its long-time preservation in a public archive will be reviewed. Students also gain an understanding of the structure of electronic systems, the relationship between filing system and the files, the importance of the general records schedule and the filing plan in that context. The requirements for registration and storage in record management systems will then be reviewed and the systems used will be examined. The necessary metadata and what needs to be considered when reporting electronic systems to public archives will be reviewed. Various databases will be discussed and how access to electronic documents will be in the future will be examined.

    Distance learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG413M
    Echoes of a Global Medieval Ages in Contemporary History
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    "Echoes of a Global Medieval Ages in Contemporary History" is a course that explores the intersection of medieval and contemporary eras, considering how memories, symbols, and narratives from the medieval world continue to shape current ideologies, identities, and global perspectives. Through a thematic, regional examination, the course analyzes how different societies today reinterpret and reconstruct their medieval pasts, addressing legacies of imperialism, nationalism, and cultural exchange. Key topics include the influence of medieval governance, cultural symbols, trade networks, and ideological conflicts on contemporary issues.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
    Course taught first half of the semester
  • SAG412M
    Wretched Girls and Virtuous Ladies: Women in Iceland from the late eighteenth century to the twentieth century
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    This course examines the status of women in Iceland during the long nineteenth century. The aim is to explore sources that shed light on women's circumstances, opportunities, and agency, both in rural areas and villages. The period will be examined both thematically and chronologically, exploring and analysing changes in women's status and agency. The course will explore what legal rights women had – were they autonomous? Could they travel abroad for education or travel at all? Could they marry whom they wanted? Run their own business? What kind of clothes did they wear? What work did they do inside and outside of the home? The status of women in Iceland will be examined in a transnational context, both concerning legal rights and agency, as well as in relation to major theoretical frameworks about women's history in the nineteenth century (e.g., separate spheres). The period spans from the late eighteenth century, from which time sources such as private letters and biographical texts are preserved, to c. 1900 when the struggle for women's rights had begun in Iceland and new times were ahead. The course will delve into memoirs, funeral speeches, and correspondence along with other sources and scholarly works about the period to get as close as possible to women's experiences and attitudes.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Fall
  • SAG704F
    Research Project in History for MA-thesis
    Mandatory (required) course
    10
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Research Project for MA-thesis in collaboration with supervisor.

    Prerequisites
  • Course Description

    The current surge of nationalist, populist right-wing parties and authoritarian regimes not only poses a challenge to traditional political elites and to the functioning of liberal-democratic systems. It also invites comparisons with historical fascism and authoritarian rule in the interwar period, raising the question of how to define, classify, and position these parties, regimes, and ideologies on the political spectrum. The course deals with crises of the liberal order and the effects of ultra-nationalism in Europe in the 20th and 21st centuries by focusing on historical fascism and Nazism as well as contemporary populist and authoritarian formations. While the focus will be on Europe, ultra-nationalist and anti-liberal ideologies in other parts of the world will also be considered. The emphasis will be on historiographical and theoretical problems relating to the ideologies of fascism, authoritarianism, and populism; the effects of economic and political crises on the rise of radical nationalist movements; the roles of race, ethnicity, and gender; ideas about modernization, culture, welfare and racism, and foreign policy platforms. Populist and authoritarian regimes in the present will be put in a historical context, their programs and policies explored, and an attempt will be made to explain what has been termed “populist authoritarianism.”

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG813F
    Reading documents 1550-1850
    Elective course
    5
    Free elective course within the programme
    5 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    A survey of Icelandic handwriting in the period and of methods of transcription. Students learn to read different kinds of handwriting from the period.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG510M
    Women's Day Off 1975: Myths and communication
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    "The struggle does not end today," was written on a banner held by one of the 25,000 women who rallied in downtown Reykjavík on the 24th of October 1975. The Women's Day Off, as the organizers ironically called it, was essentially a strike to protest gender-based discrimination and wage differentials. The banner mentioned above is only one example of many of how the women communicated their views and demands through different media such as music, print, public speeches, and mass media. The Women's Day Off was the result of a collective agency of Icelandic actors, but their initiative should still be regarded in an international context as the women were urged to unite under the theme of the International Women's Year: "EQUALITY - DEVELOPMENT - PEACE. "

    The course is built around the Women's Day Off in 1975, but as teachers and students research its historical legacy in Icelandic and international context, they will explore and implement new ways of communicating history with younger generations. The course is organized in collaboration with Rúv and The Women's History Archives, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary with an exhibition at the National Library.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG014F, SAG604F
    Individual Special Subject A
    Elective course
    20
    Free elective course within the programme
    20 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Einstaklingsverkefni A

    Prerequisites
  • SAG014F, SAG604F
    Individual Subject C
    Elective course
    20
    Free elective course within the programme
    20 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    .

    Prerequisites
  • SAG706F
    History of Ideas after 1750
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    History of Ideas after 1750.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • SAG716M
    The Medieval North
    Elective course
    10
    Free elective course within the programme
    10 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    Historical and historiographical survey of major topics in the history of the medieval North, with special emphasis on Iceland and Norway from the Viking Age into the fourteenth century. Topics include: power, kingship and state; law and feud; kinship, gender and social ties; religious and mental outlook(s); conversion, Christianity and church; economic conditions. Prior knowledge of the “factual” narrative is helpful but not necessary. Reading ability in German and/or the modern Scandinavian languages is also helpful but, again, not necessary (all mandatory readings are in English). Students produce a paper and lead discussion; no final exam.

    Face-to-face learning
    Prerequisites
  • Spring 2
  • SAG442L
    MA thesis in History Teaching
    Mandatory (required) course
    0
    A mandatory (required) course for the programme
    0 ECTS, credits
    Course Description

    .

    Prerequisites
    Part of the total project/thesis credits

The timetable shown below is for the current academic year and is FOR REFERENCE ONLY.

Changes may occur for the autumn semester in August and September and for the spring semester in December and January. You will find your final timetable in Ugla when the studies start. Note! This timetable is not suitable for planning your work schedule if you are a part-time employee.




Additional information

The University of Iceland collaborates with over 400 universities worldwide. This provides a unique opportunity to pursue part of your studies at an international university thus gaining added experience and fresh insight into your field of study.

Students generally have the opportunity to join an exchange programme, internship, or summer courses. However, exchanges are always subject to faculty approval.

Students have the opportunity to have courses evaluated as part of their studies at the University of Iceland, so their stay does not have to affect the duration of their studies.

There are diverse career opportunities open to graduates from the programme in history teaching.

An education in this area can open up opportunities in:

  • Teaching
  • Learning materials design
  • Adult education
  • Project management
  • Mentoring

This list is not exhaustive.

There is no specific student organisation for this programme, but students meet frequently in the Student Cellar.

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