History (BA (Hons))

City's BA History (Hons) explores the events, forces, and ideas that have shaped modern and international history.

Who is it for?

The History BA (Hons) degree will particularly appeal to ambitious students interested in modern and international history. You will develop a strong understanding of major political, cultural, social and economic forces that have shaped the world, and will learn about a wide array of societies and cultures.

You will gain experience in the tools and techniques of historical research, work with digital information, and engage in independent research projects of your own design. You will benefit from our staff's commitment to teaching and mentoring, as well as their research expertise in British, European, Asian, American, Russian, transnational and global history. You will also take advantage of City's strengths in international politics, sociology, English, journalism, psychology and the creative and cultural industries through a range of elective modules.

The course will prepare you for a wide range of postgraduate study and career options in areas such as digital information, publishing, the cultural and creative industries, the museums and heritage sector, consultancy, and public policy. You will develop vital skills such as independent research, teamwork, critical thinking and analytical reasoning, leadership, time-management, and written and oral communication.

Objectives

What are the key themes and transnational forces that have shaped the modern world? How did the contemporary world order emerge? What is the broader context of British and European history on the global stage?

Based in a multicultural institution in the heart of a cosmopolitan city, this degree will take you on a journey through key historical developments in a range of nations, societies and cultures, and explore transnational interactions and globalising influences over time. The course will teach you how to understand, think about and research the past, and will allow you to enrich your studies with a wide range of modules from other disciplines, including International Politics and English.

The course emphasizes digital technology and digital information, and encourages you to think about the role of technology in society, culture, politics and historical preservation. The programme's strength in digital history will enhance your studies and open the door to future careers in the world of digital information.

History graduates work in nearly every field as teachers, lawyers, consultants, creative and business executives, journalists, writers, filmmakers, activists, and public servants. To help you prepare for your future career, this course will provide you with skills and knowledge relevant for a range of professional settings. You will develop expertise in research, critical analysis, public speaking, teamwork, complex problem solving and community engagement that you can apply far beyond your studies.

Requirements and how to apply

Entry requirements

'A' Level

• Grades BBB or 120 UCAS tariff points
• A Level General Studies and 'A' Level Critical Studies are not accepted
• GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade 4 (C) or equivalent are also required.

For help with the new UCAS tariff please visit UCAS tariff

International Baccalaureate (IB)

• 32 points (no specific subjects required).

Other suitable qualifications

Other UK qualifications

• Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects
• Advanced Diploma (plus appropriate A Levels)
• Scottish Advanced Highers
• Welsh Diploma (plus appropriate A Levels)

International

We accept a wide range of international qualifications for direct entry to our programmes.

• Typical offers for international and other qualifications

You can apply for a course here before you sit your final school exams (we would recommend applying in the October/November of the year before you wish to start). Any offer we decide to make to you will be conditional on you achieving the appropriate score in your school leaving qualifications, in conjunction with your English language qualification.

If you do not qualify for direct entry, you may wish to take a foundation programme first. These programmes are designed to prepare students for entry to City's undergraduate courses.

INTO City, University of London

Don't meet the entry requirements? INTO City, University of London offers a range of academic and English language programmes to help prepare you for study at City, University of London. You'll learn from experience teachers in a dedicated international study centre.

These programmes are designed for international students who do not meet the required academic and English language requirements for direct entry. To prepare for this degree course, learn more about the International Foundation in Business and Economics with Society and Culture or the International Foundation in Humanities and Law.

English requirements

If your first language is not English, we will require evidence of English language proficiency. The minimum requirement is

• Cambridge ESOL: CPE grade C or above
• PTE Academic: 58 overall with a minimum of 50 in each component.

English language programmes

Don't meet the English language requirements? INTO City, University of London offers English language programmes to help prepare you for study at university. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to degree courses.

• Academic English
• Pre-sessional English

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area / Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa or entry clearance to come to the UK to study.

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course. There are different rules for:

• Students on courses of more than six months
• Students on courses of less than six months
• Students on a pre-sessional English language course.

If you require a Tier 4 student visa to study in the UK, you cannot undertake any City courses on a part-time basis.

For more information see our main Visa page.

How to apply

Applications for degree courses must be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). You can apply through your school or college using the Apply system, which enables you to submit your application directly to the UCAS website.

www.ucas.com

You can apply to up to five universities or institutions on the form. The UCAS code for City, University of London is C60.

Please take care to enter the correct course code when applying, particularly for subjects with a Foundation year or with BEng (Hons) and MEng (Hons) or BSc (Hons) and MSci (Hons) options.

UCAS has implemented an 'invisibility of choices' policy so that, on the initial application and while you are receiving decisions, each institution can see only their entry and not those of other institutions you have chosen. This ensures that your application for a course at City is considered solely on your academic and personal qualities.

You should submit your completed application form to UCAS with a £23 application fee. If you want to apply to City, University of London only, you can make a single choice application at a reduced rate of £12.

When to apply

Your application for entry in September 2018 should arrive at UCAS between September 2017 and 15th January 2018. Applications that arrive after 15th January 2018 will be considered only at City's discretion.

When your application is acknowledged by UCAS, you will be sent a personal identification number so that you can access your records via Track on the UCAS website.

Enquiries

For general enquiries about the admissions process at City, please contact our Admissions Office:

Email: ugadmissions@city.ac.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7040 8716.

If your enquiry is about admission to a particular course, please use the contact details provided on the course page.

Contacting UCAS

Website: www.ucas.com

Address: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 3LZ

Telephone: from inside the UK 0871 468 0468; from outside the UK +44 (0)871 468 0468

For callers with hearing difficulties: from inside the UK use the Text Relay service on 18001 0871 468 0468; from outside the UK dial +44 151 494 1260 (text phone) and then ask the operator to dial 0871 468 0468.

Teaching and learning

The course is delivered in a supportive, energised department by experienced academic staff who are committed to teaching and mentoring.

Our teaching and learning methods are designed to develop your knowledge and enthusiasm for history while stimulating your engagement and participation in the learning process. You will learn through a combination of thought-provoking lectures, interactive sessions, practical workshops, and small group seminars. Your learning will be supported by a personal tutorial system.

You will be encouraged to undertake extensive reading and independent study in order to deepen and broaden your knowledge of course content, and learn how to use digital resources in your research and presentation. Your self-directed learning will be supported in a variety of ways, including online resources and interactive sessions where you will be invited to ask questions and participate in in-depth discussions with other students and teaching staff.

As an interdisciplinary degree, this course will also provide you with the opportunity to expand your learning through a wide range of elective modules from the School of Arts and Social Sciences.

Assessment methods

The assessment weighting for year one is 10%, year two is 30% and year three is 60%.

You will be assessed through a variety of methods, which may include coursework, essays, reading reflections, unseen exams, oral presentations, group assignments, and a history dissertation. Assessment will emphasise both intellectual rigor and skills that will be crucial in your subsequent professional life.

Percentage of the course assessed by coursework

The balance of assessment by examination, practical examination and assessment by coursework will to some extent depend on the optional modules you choose. The approximate percentage of the course assessment is as follows:

Year 1

6% written, 19% practical, 75% coursework

Year 2

19% written, 0% practical, 81% coursework

Year 3

8% written, 0% practical, 92% coursework.

Assessment weightings by year

Type%Year 110Year 230Year 360Year 3

• Year 1: 10%
• Year 2: 30%
• Year 3: 60%

Modules

Year 1

In the first year you will take core modules that introduce you to major themes and developments in world history from the ancient world to the modern era, and gain an understanding of historical methodology and digital history. You will combine elective modules in History with a selection of interdisciplinary modules from International Politics, Psychology and Sociology.

Core modules

• The Development of the Modern World (30 credits)
• Conquest, Conflict and Cultural Encounters in World History (15 credits)
• The Bigger Picture: History in Contemporary Politics and Culture(15 credits)
• History in the Age of Digital Information (15 credits)

Programme electives (choose at least 1 from)

• From Rule, Britannia! to Brexit Britain: Britain and the World in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (15 credits)
• From Empires to Union: Europe in the Twentieth Century (15 credits)
• Myth and Mysteries of World Politics (15 credits)
• The Making of the Modern World Economy (15 credits)
• History and Theory of Psychology (15 credits)
• Media History and Politics (15 credits)
• Exploring London (15 credits)

Year 2

In the second year of the programme you will examine the ideas and ideologies that have shaped the modern world, and broaden your historical knowledge with a range of national, regional, and topical histories. You will also apply your historical research skills beyond the classroom, and begin to focus on professional skill development.

Core modules

• Ideas in History: from the Enlightenment to Post-Colonialism (30 credits)
• Living History and Group Project (15 credits)

Electives

• Web Creation and Digital Storytelling (15 credits)
• Cultural Politics in Contemporary Societies (15 credits)
• Fifty Shades of Red: Russia in the Twentieth Century (15 credits)
• Ordering the World: International Thought in the Twentieth Century (15 credits)
• Modern Germany: from Bismarck to Merkel (15 credits)
• The American Century: The United States in the Twentieth Century (15 credits)
• History of East Asia (15 credits)
• The Rise and the Fall of the Ottoman Empire (15 credits)
• Cultures of Benevolence: Philanthropy and Civil Society from 1601 to the present
• Religion and Politics in the Age of Global Change (15 credits)
• Transnational Social Movements (15 credits)
• Journalism in Fiction and Film (15 credits)
• Work Placement (15 credits)

Year 3

In the third year you will conduct a major piece of independent research on a subject of your choice in consultation with an academic expert. You will deepen your historical knowledge with a range of academically rigorous seminars, and you will continue to develop your professional skills by choosing from a broad selection of optional modules reflecting diverse scholarly and applied disciplines.

Core modules

• History Dissertation (30 credits total)
• History Dissertation Research and Writing Seminar (15 credits)

Electives

• Information Literacy in the Digital Society (15 credits)
• Publishing in the Digital Age (15 credits)
• The International Marketing of Culture (15 credits)
• Radicals and Reformers: Left-Wing Politics and Activism in Britain and the World since 1945 (15 credits)
• Revolution: Rebels and Riots in the Long Nineteenth Century (15 credits)
• Comparative Empires (15 credits)
• The Holocaust in History and Memory (15 credits)
• The History of Things: Material and Cultural History in the Twentieth Century (15 credits)
• Witchcraft and Ritual in the Early Modern Era (15 credits)
• Disruptive Divas. Riot Grrrls and Bad Sistas: A History of Women in Popular Music (15 credits)
• Theory of History (15 credits)
• Political Change in Europe (15 credits)
• American Foreign Policy (15 credits)
• The Global Political Economy of Development (15 credits)
• International Politics of the Middle East (15 credits)
• Politics of Forced Displacement (15 credits)
• Global Money and Finance (15 credits)
• Violence and Global Politics (15 credits)
• The Theory and Practice of Conflict and Peace (15 credits).

Download the relevant programme specification

Overall workload

Most contact hours will take the form of lectures, interactive sessions, practical workshops and small group classes, supported by a personal tutorial system. The number will decrease as you progress and you become more able to direct your own learning. Approximate study time is as follows:

Year 1

13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning, 0% placement

Year 2

13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning, 0% placement

Year 3

10% scheduled learning, 90% independent learning, 0% placement.

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