History Degrees Online

This scheme of studies aims to extend and deepen historical knowledge and skills, with a view to preparing students for more advanced studies or to improve their vocational prospects.
Structure

Students write a short dissertation arising out of the core module, which can be any one of the Department’s many third year undergraduate Special Subjects. Options available cover many aspects of British, European and extra-European history from the Romans to the later twentieth-century and they all involve close use of primary historical sources. Students also choose two broader thematic courses, from the list of undergraduate A and B options. Assessment is by coursework, examination and dissertation.

Successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma at a good standard enables students to proceed to an MA programme, if they so wish.

History lends perspective to the educated mind, allowing students to understand the social, economic, political, intellectual, and religious structures that have shaped the modern world. The field encourages students to think critically and creatively, to take evidence about how people once lived and use it to create valid historical arguments and interpretations. These skills and attitudes prepare our graduates to be inspiring teachers and insightful historians, and can also lead them towards such fields as law, government service, ministry, and the business world.

Students who major in History will be able to:
understand the central events, cultures, themes, and personalities of world and regional histories from a global perspective;
formulate and engage historical questions and answer those questions through the appropriate use of primary, secondary, and tertiary historical sources;
appreciate the varieties of historical interpretation and develop a working knowledge of historiography and the methods of historical scholarship; and
communicate historical arguments and narratives clearly and effectively in both written and oral form and in a variety of contexts.