Historical Studies

You can study a range of periods and subjects from the 5th century to the contemporary world and from English local history to globalisation.

Course Title	UCAS Code	Duration	Typical Offer
BA History	V100	Three years full-time, or four years with a year abroad	AAB
BA Contemporary History	V140	Three years full-time, or four years with a year abroad	ABB
BA History and Politics	VL12	Three years full-time, or four years with a year abroad	ABB
BA History and American Studies	VT17	Three years full-time, or four years with a year abroad	ABB
BA Ancient History and History	V110	Three years full-time	ABB
BA History and Archaeology	VV14	Three years full-time	ABB
BA International Relations and History	LV21	Three years full-time	ABB
BA English and History	VQ13	Three years full-time	ABB

Full entry requirements

Historical Studies at Leicester

The School of Historical Studies has an outstanding reputation for teaching and research across a wide geographical and chronological range. As one of the largest history departments in the UK, we offer a choice of periods and subjects from the 5th century to the contemporary world; from English local history to globalisation. Whatever aspect of history interests you, you will be able to construct a programme of study to match your intellectual interests and capture your imagination.

In the First and Second Years you will have the opportunity to explore a wider range of periods, themes, and approaches to the study of history than you are likely to have encountered in your studies so far. In your Second and Third Years you can pursue the aspects of history that interest you most. At Leicester we believe we offer a special experience for our students. Our school combines a reputation for the quality of its work with a genuinely friendly environment.

Why Choose History at Leicester?

National Student Survey Ranking: 94% of students satisfied with their course.
Teaching score: ‘Excellent’
Research rating: 90%
Places: 202
Applications: 1666

We have an outstanding reputation for teaching and research: we have been rated ‘excellent’ by the independent Quality Assurance Agency, and 94% of our students are satisfied with their course.

The wide-ranging expertise of the staff and the high proportion of course options within the degree mean that you have real choice. You can choose to specialise in particular periods or themes of history (e.g. the Medieval World, or Ethnicity and Gender) or you can pursue a number of new and challenging approaches to the past.

The newly refurbished and expanded David Wilson Library has an extensive collection of resources for History students, while our internationally recognised research centres in English Local History, Holocaust Studies and Urban History offer unique expertise.

Contemporary History

A special Contemporary History degree is available for those students whose main interests lie in modern history and the contemporary world. The degree in Contemporary History is run with the Department of Politics and International Relations. Core modules in Modern History and Politics deepen your knowledge and broaden your approaches to the study of the recent past; options and a Final Year dissertation allow you to focus still further and to pursue your specialist interests.

Joint Honours with History

Many students divide their studies between History and another related discipline. We have Joint Honours degree programmes that link History with English, Politics and International Relations, American Studies, Ancient History and Archaeology. Students usually choose these degrees either because they want to specialise in a particular period or approach, or because they wish to pursue more than one discipline. The unity of Joint Honours programmes comes from the links across and within your chosen disciplines. We make no assumptions, however, about your historical interests and the same range of options is open to Joint Degree as to Single Subject History students.

History and Politics

The History and Politics degree explores global developments through the complementary disciplines of History and Politics; most students choose to focus on the modern era, though options on early modern history and political thought and medieval history are available. Core courses introduce and deepen understanding of key themes and issues, and are complemented by a wide range of options in both departments.

International Relations and History

The International Relations and History degree programme allows students to combine International Relations courses from the Department of Politics and International Relations with the broad range of History options that have an international focus. Apart from the core modules, you can also select courses on a broad variety of topics from systems of government to Medieval history.

Ancient History and History

Linking Ancient History with History enables students to study the Classical world alongside the Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern. The coherence of the Ancient History and History degree comes through themes that transcend the ages (e.g. democracy, slavery, imperialism, ethnicity), and from the forensic skills acquired to interpret evidence that is both sparse and complex.

History and Archaeology

History and Archaeology offer two distinct disciplines for understanding human societies in the past. The differences and complementarity of these two disciplines make the History and Archaeology degree challenging and exciting. Students can study the Palaeolithic through to the Modern World, or they can choose to specialise in a particular period (e.g. post medieval History and Archaeology).

History and American Studies

The History and American Studies degree brings together two of the most popular and exciting arts subjects. You have the opportunity to study American history from the eighteenth century to the present as well as studying aspects of British, European and global history. This degree allows you to study American politics and culture in ways that will complement and extend your understanding of both American and world history. As part of the degree, you may apply to study for a year abroad at a partner institution in the USA or Europe.

English and History

For the English and History degree, we have put modules together in clusters that support and enrich each other. For instance, in the First Year, students study Shakespeare, and History of the English Language (in English) and the Early Modern core course (in History). In the Third Year, students could combine a module on Modern Literature (English) with a module on George Orwell (History), or a module on Contemporary Writing (English) with a module on Civil Rights in America (History).

Examples of Optional Modules in Historical Studies

Medieval History

Medieval Foundations
Crusading in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 14th Century
Perceptions of the Body in Western Europe, 1000-1500
Popular Revolts in Late Medieval England
The Black Prince and his Age
Richard Plantagenet in History and Legend
The Age of Bede and Alcuin
Medieval Society and The Natural World

Early Modern History:

France in the Reign of Louis XV, 1715-1774
Madness, Monarchy and Politics in Georgian Britain
Political Satire, 1681-1792
Global Migrations, 1500-2000
Anglo-American Puritanism, 1565-1700
European Cities from Renaissance to Enlightenment
Culture and Society in the English Town, 1680-1820
Church and State in England, 1688-1833
What is Enlightenment?
Consumption and cultural change in the 18th century
Martin Luther and the German Nation
Oliver Cromwell’s World
South Asia in the ‘Long Eighteenth Century’
The Historical World of Jane Austen
The English Revolution, 1640-1660: Politics, Religion and Ideas
The French Revolution.

Modern History

The Nazis and Cinema
British Society from Churchill to Major
Race and Slavery in the Americas
The USA and the Vietnam War
Thinking with the Victorians
War, Depression and British Society, 1900-1939
The Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968
Ireland Under the Union, 1800-1922
From News to History: Contemporary History and the Media
The Making of Modern British Politics, 1865-1979
The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
The Women’s Movement in Britain, 1860s-1970s
Economic Transformation of Eastern Europe
Britain and the Developing World, 1815-1914
The Making of Modern India, c.1917-1947
US Foreign Policy, 1898-1945
British National Identities, 1707-1999
Modern Germany: From Racial Genocide to Re-Civilisation
The American Civil War and Reconstruction
Imperialism and Decolonisation
Facing Modernity: Jews in Central Europe
Ideals of Womanhood
The Weimar Republic: Revolution, Democracy and the Triumph of Hitler
The Life and Times of George Orwell, 1903-1950
Israel and Palestine
The Russian Revolution, 1881-1924
The Cause: The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain c.1897-1918
The Holocaust: Genocide in Europe
The Presidency of Franklin Roosevelt

Recent Dissertation Topics

The Image of Elizabeth I
Franco’s Spain
The Siege of Leningrad
Anglo-Saxon East Anglia
Medieval Queenship
The Women’s Land Army during World War II
Race Relations in Birmingham during the 1960s
Prize Fighting in the 19th Century
Nietzsche and the Nazis
The Role of Musicians in the Civil Rights Movement
International Consequences of the Suez Crisis
The Effect of the Viking Invasion on the Mercian Church
Offa and his Coinage (757-796)
Settlers and Natives in 17th-Century New England
Simon Bolivar and Post-Colonial Colombia
The Influence of Classical Antiquity on Machiavelli
Mary Queen of Scots and the Babington Plot

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

We teach through a variety of methods, ranging from large lectures to seminars to individual tutorials. Assessment is through examinations and coursework comprising long and short essays, source analyses, projects and presentations.

Course Opportunities

Once at Leicester, you may choose to transfer to a four-year degree programme and spend your Third Year at one of our partner universities which include Rheims and Strasbourg (France), Berlin Humbolt and Regensburg (Germany), Salamanca (Spain), Pisa (Italy) and Malta, as part of the Erasmus scheme. You will receive an Erasmus grant (approximately €365 per month in 2009/10) and language training.

Skills Gained

We have all chosen History because we know that the past forms our world. But a History degree also cultivates a range of personal and technical skills that are widely applicable and highly valued by employers – notably self-reliance, enterprise, communication skills, critical judgement and the ability to evaluate and interpret complex, diverse and sometimes contradictory data.

History graduates learn to work individually and as part of a group. They are also IT literate. Additionally, the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies has a Resource Room which is run by student volunteers.

Graduate/Career Opportunities

History graduates are highly skilled and readily employable. Most of our graduates enter employment straight away, and a history degree provides everyone with high-level skills necessary for success in whichever sector of employment they join. Recent history graduates have gone into fields as diverse as law, accountancy, journalism, the civil service, the police, teaching, academia, banking and retail. Many of our students take postgraduate degrees in History and in related subjects such as Museum Studies, Archives and Information Management, Heritage Management, or Teacher Training.