Course overview
History is being made right now. It is a living, breathing subject that is constantly renewing, evolving and revealing new information that teaches us about the past, anchors us to the present and informs our future. Historians are passionate, focused, curious, intellectual and open to new experiences and information. If this sounds like you, then read on.
History at NTU offers exciting opportunities to discover and understand the past through a range of skills and approaches. Our expert staff have strong links to the modern heritage industry and historical research groups, giving you opportunities to work on real-life projects and take work placements with some of the most prestigious heritage sites in the country. You'll also have the opportunity to study abroad at one of our international exchange partner universities.
How you're taught
How will I learn?
As well as traditional lectures and seminars, your learning is designed to help you hone your skills of research, critical analysis and intellectual discussion. You will be involved in group work, live projects, tutorials, presentations, visits and workshops that will help you to develop your teamwork and communication skills, as well as your ability to present complex arguments.
You will also carry out independent project work where you'll have the support of NOW, our virtual learning environment.
How will I be assessed?
All modules make extensive use of coursework and throughout your course you will produce portfolios of practical work, notebooks and commentaries, reports, reviews and biographies. We will also assess essays and presentations, both oral and written.
Some modules are entirely assessed through coursework while others include a seen or unseen examination. All examinations are assessed anonymously as is the majority of coursework.
International Exchange
Our flexible curriculum has been designed to create some amazing opportunities for you. Your second year of study is divided into two semesters, giving you the opportunity to take part in international exchange. Our international exchange partners include universities in Australia, Europe, USA, Canada and Thailand.
Learn a new language
Alongside your study you also have the opportunity to learn a new language. The University Language Programme (ULP) is available to all students and gives you the option of learning a totally new language or improving the skills you already have. Learning a new language can:
- enhance your communication skills
- enrich your experience when travelling abroad
- boost your career prospects.
Find out more about the ULP.
Assessment methods
- Year 1 coursework (75%) and written (25%)
- Year 2 coursework (83%) and written (17%)
- Year 3 coursework (82%) and written (18%)
Contact hours
A full-time student on average can expect to spend 1200 hours a year learning which will typically be broken down as follows:
- Year 1 lectures/seminars/workshops (23%), independent study (77%)
- Year 2 lectures/seminars/workshops (22%), independent study (76%) and placements (2%)
- Year 3 lectures/seminars/workshops (22%), independent study (78%)
Careers and employability
Your career development
Knowledge and understanding of the past is of incalculable value both to the individual and to society, and as one of our History students you will gain a wide range of academic and transferable skills to achieve this.
…at university
As well as through study, the combination of skills gained from work experience and extracurricular activities can help boost your job prospects and develop a well-rounded CV. Undertaking volunteering or work experience with organisations and businesses that you are interested in working for will help you develop some skills that are relevant to your career interests. For example, experience working with museum collections if you want to pursue a career in curatorship.
During your second year of study, you'll be supported by your course leader to secure relevant sector work experience through a placement as part of the Humanities in the Workplace module. The placement includes report-writing around your experience and clear work-based learning objectives. It will give you the hands-on work experience that employers are looking for.
… on graduation
History graduates find employers respect and desire the skills they acquire. Popular career routes include:
- research or teaching
- politics
- law
- business
- social care
- arts and museum curatorship
- journalism
- librarianship and archiving.
Some graduates choose to progress to further study, either to continue their research within History, or to gain more direct vocational qualifications such as museum and heritage management, teaching, or tourism.
Our History course also has established links with its former students, through which we receive employment opportunities for graduating students. Our graduates have gone on to forge successful careers both within large, well-known organisations and the small to medium-sized companies that constitute much of the UK economy.
“My history degree has allowed me to build and develop an ever-growing skills base which is certainly helping me on my Law conversion course. As well as learning how to work under pressure and manage large workloads, the study of the past has taught me how to be analytical, how to research and debate, and is helping me to memorise legal cases more easily. All of these skills are essential for law which is why history is a great course to do if you want to pursue this career path. After completing the Graduate Diploma in Law course, I'll be applying to study the Bar."
Mark Perez, BA (Hons) History, Graduate Diploma in Law, Nottingham Law School
Career and Placement Centre – enhancing your employability
Our friendly and experienced careers consultants will work closely with you at every stage of your career planning, providing personal support and advice you won't find in a book or on the Internet. Find out more about our Careers Service.
Facilities
Books and library resources
In our library you'll have access to an extensive and diverse range of books including those on your reading list. The library also stocks periodicals that focus on history and heritage forums.
The Clifton campus has its own Blackwell's Bookshop which stocks relevant academic texts plus a wide range of bestselling novels.
IT Resources
Our IT resource rooms and PC clusters are distributed across the Clifton Campus, with PCs providing access to:
- Microsoft Office
- email
- web browsing
- networked file storage
- high-speed online printing services (with a free printing allowance for each student).
Resource rooms are available 24 hours a day.
Societies
Current students from the School of Arts and Humanities run societies including the History society and Debating society. Find out more about student societies at the Student Union website.
