Master's Degree, Year 1 - Political History of the Contemporary World

Learning Objectives

• The Master’s program in Political History of the Contemporary World (HPMC) offers ENS students an in-depth and rigorous education in contemporary history, from the 19th century to the present, structured around a wide variety of themes, with a strong research focus and an openness to other disciplines within the DER SHS.
• The master’s program combines the completion of a research thesis in history during the first and second years of the master’s program with thematic and methodological courses that enable students to acquire strong critical thinking, writing, and analytical skills applicable to various professional fields.
• A wide variety of career paths are possible. The HPMC master’s program prepares students to continue on to the M2 research track, leading to the agrégation in history or social and economic sciences (SES), and then to a doctoral dissertation, as well as to civil service competitive exams (INSP, hospital administration, the Quai d’Orsay…), or even jobs in cultural institutions (heritage curator…).
• This master’s program may include study abroad periods, which must be planned in advance and integrated into the student’s academic plan in consultation with the SRI and the DER.

The Academic Environment

• The program is taught by the faculty in contemporary history, as well as researchers from other DER disciplines (sociology, economics, etc.) for interdisciplinary courses.
• Two research laboratories at the ENS : the Institute for Social and Political Sciences (ISP), which combines sociology, history, and political science; the Laboratory for Institutions and Historical Dynamics of the Economy and Society (IDHES), which develops a multidisciplinary approach to economic activities and the institutions that structure them.

For more information on the Master 1 in Political History of the Contemporary World, visit the University of Paris-Saclay website .