BA History
-
UCAS code
V100 -
Typical offer
BBB -
Year of entry
2023/24 See 2022/23 entry -
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years
-
Year of entry
2023/24 See 2022/23 entry -
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years
COVID-19 update
Develop key study and research skills as you discover diverse societies, cultures and individuals with our BA History degree.
Explore the past and what it means to be human as our academics take you on a journey through Britain, Europe, Africa, America, the Middle East and South Asia, spanning the past thousand years.
Choose history at the University of Reading
- Ranked in the top 25 universities in the UK for History (Complete University Guide, 2022)
- Top 125 in the world for History, Philosophy and Theology (Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2022).
- 89% of students agreed that our BA History course is intellectually stimulating and provides opportunities to explore concepts and ideas in depth (National Student Survey, 2021).
- Ranked 5th in the UK for graduate prospects for History (Complete University Guide, 2022).
Your first year acts as an introduction, helping you to transition from school to university and identify your individual areas of interest. You’ll be presented with new and exciting fields of history you may not have considered before, including people, power and revolution, and culture, art and ideas.
Experts from the Department of History will equip you with the skills you need to study and research history, as you start to shape your degree through your choice of optional modules – from time periods ranging from medieval to modern, and from America to Africa.
Immerse yourself in a wide variety of modules, including The Colonial Experience: Africa, Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch Craze, The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947, Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination, and Women in American History.
Vibrant, collaborative learning environment
From your first day, you are a historian too. Your learning will take place through small, interactive seminar groups, encouraging discussion and debate with academics and peers.
We place a great deal of importance on employability skills, and our modules History Education, Discovering Archives and Collections, and Going Public all offer short work placements and act as an introduction to career exploration.
Placements and employability support
Placements are a prominent feature of our degree courses, offering an opportunity to demonstrate how you can apply your skills and knowledge in real-world settings.
Through our links with the Careers Centre, you can source potential employers and help with CVs and letters of application. We have close links with:
- parliament
- National Trust
- English Heritage
- British Museum
- Berkshire Record Office
- Museum of English Rural Life
- Reading Museum.
Our second-year module, Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future, gives students the opportunity to work with external partners in museums, heritage and media organisations. In your final year, two optional modules also offer placements of 10 working days in local archives and secondary schools.
Study history in context
Field trips in the UK and abroad enable you to access new areas of history within their historical surroundings. Past examples include the National Trust in Winchester and Westminster, and further afield in Paris and Berlin.
Additionally, you can choose to spend a term in your second year at one of our partner universities in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. We encourage all our students to seize this opportunity as it can open your eyes to new areas of history, build your confidence and skills, and set you apart in the job market.
Overview
Develop key study and research skills as you discover diverse societies, cultures and individuals with our BA History degree.
Explore the past and what it means to be human as our academics take you on a journey through Britain, Europe, Africa, America, the Middle East and South Asia, spanning the past thousand years.
Choose history at the University of Reading
- Ranked in the top 25 universities in the UK for History (Complete University Guide, 2022)
- Top 125 in the world for History, Philosophy and Theology (Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2022).
- 89% of students agreed that our BA History course is intellectually stimulating and provides opportunities to explore concepts and ideas in depth (National Student Survey, 2021).
- Ranked 5th in the UK for graduate prospects for History (Complete University Guide, 2022).
Your first year acts as an introduction, helping you to transition from school to university and identify your individual areas of interest. You’ll be presented with new and exciting fields of history you may not have considered before, including people, power and revolution, and culture, art and ideas.
Experts from the Department of History will equip you with the skills you need to study and research history, as you start to shape your degree through your choice of optional modules – from time periods ranging from medieval to modern, and from America to Africa.
Immerse yourself in a wide variety of modules, including The Colonial Experience: Africa, Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch Craze, The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947, Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination, and Women in American History.
Learning
Vibrant, collaborative learning environment
From your first day, you are a historian too. Your learning will take place through small, interactive seminar groups, encouraging discussion and debate with academics and peers.
We place a great deal of importance on employability skills, and our modules History Education, Discovering Archives and Collections, and Going Public all offer short work placements and act as an introduction to career exploration.
Placements and employability support
Placements are a prominent feature of our degree courses, offering an opportunity to demonstrate how you can apply your skills and knowledge in real-world settings.
Through our links with the Careers Centre, you can source potential employers and help with CVs and letters of application. We have close links with:
- parliament
- National Trust
- English Heritage
- British Museum
- Berkshire Record Office
- Museum of English Rural Life
- Reading Museum.
Our second-year module, Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future, gives students the opportunity to work with external partners in museums, heritage and media organisations. In your final year, two optional modules also offer placements of 10 working days in local archives and secondary schools.
Study history in context
Field trips in the UK and abroad enable you to access new areas of history within their historical surroundings. Past examples include the National Trust in Winchester and Westminster, and further afield in Paris and Berlin.
Additionally, you can choose to spend a term in your second year at one of our partner universities in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. We encourage all our students to seize this opportunity as it can open your eyes to new areas of history, build your confidence and skills, and set you apart in the job market.
Entry requirements A Level BBB
Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.
Typical offer
BBB, including grade B in A level History, Ancient History, or Classical Civilisation.
International Baccalaureate
30 points overall including 5 in History at higher level.
Extended Project Qualification
In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.
BTEC Extended Diploma
DDM (Modules taken must be comparable to subject specific requirement)
English language requirements
IELTS 7.0, with no component below 6.0
For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.
Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students
For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.
International Foundation Programme
If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.
Pre-sessional English language programme
If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.
Structure
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
HS1JH1 | Journeys through History 1:Power and People | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS1JH2 | Journeys through History 2: Culture and Concepts' | PROF Anne Lawrence |
HS1RSO | Research Skills and Opportunities in History | DR Ruth Salter |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
HS1ABR | Arriving in Britain: a History of Immigration, 1685-2004 | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS1ANS | Antisemitism: Medieval Christian-Jewish Relations and the Concept of ‘Antisemitism’ | PROF Rebecca Rist |
HS1DDD | Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination | PROF Patrick Major |
HS1DDW | Demons and Demonologists: Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe | PROF Helen Parish |
HS1FBB | From Berlin to Baghdad: The origins of the War on Terror | DR Mara Oliva |
HS1MEM | 'Broken-Hearted': Medicine, Emotion, and the Body in Early Modern England, 1570-1730 | MS Amie Bolissian McRae |
HS1MER | Merlin the Magician | PROF Anne Lawrence |
HS1OWI | Western Imaginaries of the Middle East | DR Dina Rezk |
HS1RDG | Everyday Life in a Medieval Town: Reading, 1100-1500 | |
HS1TRG | The Rwanda Genocide of 1994 | DR Heike Schmidt |
HS1WAH | Women in American History: From Slavery to 'Second Wave' | PROF Emily West |
HS1WWH | War, White Heat, and the Winds of Change: Britain's Twentieth Century | DR Natalie Thomlinson |
AP1EM1 | Introduction to Marketing | MR Nick Walker |
AR1EMP10 | Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome [10 credits] | PROF Roger Matthews |
AR1SOC | Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology | DR Alanna Cant |
AR1SOC10 | Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology [10 credits] | DR Alanna Cant |
CL1G1 | Ancient Greek 1 | MRS Jackie Baines |
CL1GH | Greek History: war, society, and change in the Archaic Age | DR Emma Aston |
CL1L1 | Latin 1 (C) | MRS Jackie Baines |
CL1TR | Texts, Readers, and Writers | PROF Eleanor Dickey |
FT1ATF | Approaches to Film | DR Adam O'Brien |
FT1ATP | Analysing Theatre and Performance | DR Matt McFrederick |
FT1CSS | Comedy on Stage and Screen | DR Simone Knox |
IL1GICC | Intercultural Competence and Communication | MS Joan McCormack |
LS1ELS | English Language and Society | DR Christiana Themistocleous |
MC1HPE | Museum History, Policy and Ethics | DR Rhi Smith |
ML1IL | Introduction to Linguistics | MR Federico Faloppa |
MM1F10 | Student Enterprise | DR Lebene Soga |
PO1WAR | War and Warfare | |
PP1GJ | Global Justice | MISS Michela Bariselli |
PP1RA | Reason and Argument | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
TY1WTF | What the font? Making and using typefaces | DR Matthew Lickiss |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
HS2GPP | Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future | PROF Kate Williams |
HS2HAD | Historical Approaches and My Dissertation | MISS Liz Barnes |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
HS2INT | Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth Century Italy | PROF Daniela La Penna |
HS2O10 | The Colonial Experience: Africa, 1879 to 1980 | MRS Chessie Baldwin |
HS2O12 | Belief and Unbelief in Europe: Religion, Science and the Supernatural c.1400-1800 | PROF Helen Parish |
HS2O14 | Rebel Girls: The Influence of Radical Women 1792-1919 | DR Jacqui Turner |
HS2O16 | ‘The brightest jewel in the British crown’: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947 | DR Rohan Deb Roy |
HS2O19 | Europe in the Twentieth Century | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS2O21 | Utopia: the Quest for a Perfect World | DR Jeremy Burchardt |
HS2O3 | People, power and revolution: political culture in seventeenth-century England | DR Rachel Foxley |
HS2O53 | The American Civil War | MISS Liz Barnes |
HS2O54 | 'Race’, Ethnicity and Citizenship in America | PROF Emily West |
HS2O55 | American Century: United States history since 1898 | DR Robert Pee |
HS2O56 | Medieval Medicine | MRS Katie Phillips |
HS2O57 | Encountering the Atlantic World, 1450-1850 | |
HS2O58 | Black Britain: Race and Migration in Post-war Britain | |
HS2O7 | Kingship and Crisis in England, c.1154–1330 | DR Elizabeth Matthew |
HS2STA | Society, Thought and Art in Modern Europe | DR Veronica Heath |
HS2UNR | Unity, Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe | DR Athena Leoussi |
AR2F17 | Forensic Archaeology and Crime Scene Analysis | PROF Mary Lewis |
AR2M8 | Medieval Europe: power, religion and death | DR Gabor Thomas |
CL2AE | Ancient Epic | DR Christa Gray |
CL2CGH | Greek History: Persian Wars to Alexander | PROF Timothy Duff |
CL2DR | Ancient Drama | PROF Barbara Goff |
CL2RO | Roman History: From Republic to Empire | PROF Annalisa Marzano |
FT2WD | Wildlife Documentary: Ecology and Representation | DR Adam O'Brien |
IL2GICC | Intercultural Competence and Communication | |
IL2GMB | Modern Britain Society, History and Politics | |
LS2LAT | Introduction to English Language Teaching | MRS Suzanne Portch |
LS2LNM | Language and New Media | PROF Rodney Jones |
ML2GF | Science, perversion, and dream in global fantastic literature | DR Alice Christensen |
ML2STA | Society, Thought, and Art in Modern Europe | DR Veronica Heath |
MM2101 | Founder Dilemmas | DR Norbert Morawetz |
MT2CC | The Science of Climate Change | PROF Nigel Arnell |
PO2AMG | American Government and Politics | DR Mark Shanahan |
PO2GPH | Global Politics and History | DR Kerry Goettlich |
PO2MIR | Modern International Relations | DR Joseph O' Mahoney |
PO2PWS | Politics of the Welfare State | DR Brandon Beomseob Park |
PO2THI | Political Thinking | DR Alice Baderin |
PP2EA1 | Ethical Argument 1: Philosophy and How to Live | DR Luke Elson |
PP2GP1 | Global Philosophy 1 | MISS Michela Bariselli |
PP2HKW1 | Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein 1 | DR Severin Schroeder |
PP2IDR1 | Ignorance, Doubt, and Relativism 1 | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP2MM1 | Meaning and the Mind 1 | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP2OID1 | Oppression, Inequality, and the Enemies of Democracy 1 | DR Charlotte Newey |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
HS3HLD | Dissertation in History | DR Heike Schmidt |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
HS3CCO | Crisis, Change, Opportunity: Italy from 1968 to the Present | PROF Daniela La Penna |
HS3DAC | Discovering Archives and Collections | DR Jacqui Turner |
HS3HED | History Education | DR Elizabeth Matthew |
HS3SAU | Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84 | PROF Matthew Worley |
HS3SCW | Cold War Berlin: Politics and Culture in a Divided City, 1945-89 | PROF Patrick Major |
HS3SEU | Eugenics from 1865 to the Present Day | |
HS3SHP | Heretics and Popes: Heresy and Persecution in the Medieval World | PROF Rebecca Rist |
HS3T100 | Sexual Politics: Gender, Sex, and Feminism in Britain after 1918 | |
HS3T101 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750 | |
HS3T102 | Melancholy Medicine: Healing the Body and Mind in Early Modern England, 1570-1730 | |
HS3T25 | Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze | PROF Anne Lawrence |
HS3T88 | The Romantic Revolution: Culture, Environment and Society in England, c.1790-c.1900 | DR Jeremy Burchardt |
HS3T89 | Africa from European Settlement to Nelson Mandela | DR Heike Schmidt |
HS3T90 | Poor Law to Hostile Environment: Repatriation, Deportation and Exclusion from Britain 1800-2016 | DR Daniel Renshaw |
HS3T91 | Politics and Popular Culture: Post-Arab Spring Egypt | DR Dina Rezk |
HS3T92 | Policing the United States | MISS Liz Barnes |
AR3HCP | The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property | DR Alanna Cant |
AR3M7 | The Archaeology of Crusading | DR Aleks Pluskowski |
FB3LNPA | Lifestyle, Nutrigenetics and Personalised Nutrition | DR Vimal Karani |
GV3CC | Climate Change | PROF Maria Shahgedanova |
GV3ESM | Ecosystems Modelling | DR Shovonlal Roy |
GV3TRC | Tropical Rainforests, Climate & Lost Civilisations | PROF Frank Mayle |
LS3IC | Intercultural Communications | DR Erhan Aslan |
LW3CRY | Criminology | PROFESSOR Jo Phoenix |
ML3IC | Identity and Conflict in Modern Europe | DR Athena Leoussi |
ML3LP | Language and Power | MR Federico Faloppa |
MM302 | Entrepreneurial Project | MR Keith Heron |
PO3FPT | Feminism and Political Theory | DR Maxime Lepoutre |
PO3GAP | Gender and Politics | DR Rose De Geus |
PO3IPE | International Political Economy | DR Jonathan Golub |
PO3USF | US Foreign and Defence Policy since 1950 | DR Graham O'Dwyer |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Fees
New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250*
New international students: £20,300
*UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes
UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.
EU student fees
With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.
Additional costs
Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.
Financial support for your studies
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.
Flexible courses (price per 10 credit module)
UK/Republic of Ireland students: £750
International students: £1275
Careers
91% of graduates from the Department of History are in work or further study 15 months after the end of their course (Graduate Outcomes Survey, 2018/19; First Degree responders from History).
Throughout your degree you will complete career and skills-related modules, encouraging you to think about future career options and the skills you will need to succeed.
Our students develop a broad range of transferable skills, including: the ability to think clearly and critically; to communicate with confidence; and to work effectively, both individually and as part of a team.
Recent employers have included:
- Museum of London
- British Army
- BBC News
- KPMG
- Department for Education
- Deloitte
- The National Trust
- civil service (including Fast Track).
Hear from some of our recent graduates, who have found rewarding roles within archives and heritage, government, and teaching.