Program Overview

• Learn about another culture on a year abroad
• Focus in-depth on some of the monumental historical events of the past two centuries, such as the world wars and the rise of Soviet Communism
• Secure work placements at leading historic and cultural venues such as the Mary Rose and British Museum
• Join a student-led history society on trips to sites of historical interest and talks by major historians
• Learn from expert tutors and their cutting-edge research

Our committed team of historians are passionate about their subjects, which cover a broad range of cultures, wars and traditions from around the globe. Studying alongside them, you gain a solid grounding in the academic disciplines of historical analysis, as well as an understanding of the great sweep of global history and its influence on today’s world.

In Year 1, you take core modules that explore the nature of history as a discipline. You look at the changing assumptions, methods and definitions of history and explore the current concerns of historians.

Having acquired research skills and knowledge in Year 1, your studies in Years 2 and 4 are more specialised.

In Year 2, core modules in Reading History and Practising History deepen your understanding of the discipline. You also select from a range of optional modules that focus on the modern world, concentrating either on using original documents, or exploring continuity and change over long periods. Options may include The British Raj, Revolutionary Russia, Nazism and the Holocaust, and The History of Rock and Roll.

In Year 3, you spend a year studying at one of our partner universities in Europe or USA, gaining a valuable experience, broadening your horizons by learning about another culture first-hand, and boosting your CV.

In Year 4, you produce your dissertation and take core modules in Writing History and History and the Public Sphere. Optional modules take the form of Depth Studies and Comparative Studies. An understanding of methodology is developed by Depth Studies, which establish a comprehensive knowledge of a particular period by evaluating the use of primary and secondary sources and any issues associated with them as evidence. While an area of historical concern across more than one country and culture is examined by Comparative Studies.