Program Overview

On our four-year BA Modern History (including foundation year), we work with you to develop your subject-specific knowledge, and to improve your academic skills. This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your foundation year, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module, with additional English language for non-English speakers.

You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.

Our BA Modern History allows you to study the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world from the 18th century to the present day. This exciting period has marked an age of discovery and globalisation—a time of rapid change, brutal wars, and belief in the possibility of societal and scientific progress.

From the history of slavery in the Atlantic world to the spread of communist-inspired revolutions in China, Russia, and Latin America—from the impacts and legacies of imperialism in India and Africa to the origins and consequences of the Cold War—you investigate the intersection of ideas, cultures and economics of different people over the last 250 years in order to better understand how the contemporary world was made.

You have the flexibility to choose from a wide range of optional modules about subjects close to home and further afield, on such topics and themes as colonialism, inequality, culture, identity, citizenship, multiculuralism and human rights.

You are taught by award-winning academics from all over the world: our corridors are truly cosmopolitan. We also provide you with opportunities to explore local history and have close ties with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK.