I recognise that specialist courses, ‘Star Wars’ Studies, or Soap Opera Studies, often attract significant criticism from discipline purists. However, having a focus, a passion, and a shared point of reference that engages students across a range of disciplines, including cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, and economics, is a way to engage interest and ensure motivation—exposing students to academic perspectives while having them study something that they’re already passionate about. One has to wonder why there aren’t more programmes like this, particularly at the postgraduate level.
Get ready, Beatles fans! Soon, students will be able to ‘come together’ with fellow enthusiasts and scholars from around the world to study the Fab Four. The University of Liverpool is reviving its unique Master of Arts course on the Beatles, and this time, it will be offered fully online.
Launching in September 2026, the part-time MA in The Beatles, Heritage, and Culture programme will delve deeply into the band’s lasting cultural and economic influence on Liverpool and its surrounding areas.
This course isn’t just about the songs. It explores how the Beatles’ legacy continues to shape everything from urban planning and civic design to heritage, tourism, and the creative industries in their hometown. Students get a chance to see how four lads from Liverpool changed not only music but also the very landscape of their city.
While the program is online, students have the option to add a special two-week experience in Liverpool. This module includes daily lectures and site visits to iconic Beatles locations. It’s presented as students’ chance to interact with lecturers, peers, and industry professionals, and see the history they’re studying firsthand.
Dr. Holly Tessler, the Program Director, offering the program online will allow people from all over the globe to “study Liverpool’s unique Beatles environment, history and heritage from scholars and practitioners who are immersed in this work.”
The University of Liverpool is a leading authority on the academic study of the Beatles. The university’s Department of Music staff are part of the City of Liverpool’s Beatles Legacy Group, where they help shape local policy on Beatles heritage and tourism. Dr. Tessler herself is the co-editor of The Journal of Beatles Studies, so students will be learning from those who literally write the book on the subject.
Applications for the programme will open in October 2025.
Here a link for more information: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/08/26/liverpools-beatles-ma-returns-in-distance-learning-format/