Global perspective
Career-ready learning
Travel and exchange opportunities




Details
Year 1

Core modules
HIS4001
What is History?
20 credits
What is History? – provides an overview of how the discipline of history operates, and looks at some of the key skills associated with the subject.
50% Coursework
50% Examinations
HIS4002
America from Settlement to Empire
20 credits
This module aims to provide an introduction to major themes in the political, social and cultural evolution of the United States from 1492 to the end of the 19th Century. It aims to emphasise links to Europe and to give students a broad perspective on their historical studies. It will also provide students with an introduction to use of electronic sources in the study of American history and to the development of vital skills in critical thinking and academic writing.
100% Coursework
HIS4003
World History since 1850
20 credits
This module is an introduction to major themes in the political, social and cultural history of the modern world beyond Europe.
100% Coursework
HIS4004
Fractured Isles: Britain and Ireland 1640-1990
20 credits
The module is an introduction to the major themes in political, social and cultural history of Britain and Ireland in the period 1640-1900. This module will include 2, 2 hour talks that introduce our School and programme level employability related opportunities and support, including details of the optional placement year.
50% Coursework
50% Examinations
HIS4006
History and Heritage
20 credits
This module introduces students to the field of heritage studies. It directs attention to how historians do heritage (and history) for an external audience. It aims to explore the materials and methods used and how they apply to how we understand, interpret and shape how we live with the past today. Students will study a specific topic in history and heritage individually and/or in small groups through problem based learning with an assessment geared towards public engagement.
100% Coursework
HIS4007
Hands on History: War and Society
This module will prepare students in the History, Art History, English & Creative Writing, and Politics & International Relations cluster for Level 6 dissertation research. Lectures and workshops will explore key approaches to sources, and practical and theoretical aspects to research. Students will complete an independent research project. Lectures include some choice, and cover a range of topics including, but not limited to, research in archives / local studies/ digital resources, creative practice, and literary analysis.
Year 2
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Core modules
HEP5000
Preparing for Dissertation Research
This module will prepare students in the History, Art History, ECW, and PIR cluster for Level 6 dissertation research. Lectures and workshops will explore key approaches to sources, and practical and theoretical aspects to research. Students will complete an independent research project. Lectures include some choice, and cover a range of topics including, but not limited to, research in archives / local studies/ digital resources, creative practice, and literary analysis.
Optional modules
HIS5001
Heritage and Public History
20 credits
The module content will examine the theory and practice of the presentation of the past to public audiences. In it, students will examine the creation, nature, use and understanding of heritage and public history, nationally and internationally. They will examine these issues in case studies of historical ‘sites’ of different types, to gain a critical awareness and understanding of the theories and controversies surrounding heritage and public history. This is a work facing module, where students will consider the theory and practice of ‘using’ ‘sites’ of heritage and public history from the point of view of a range of stake holders.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS5003
The Longest War; Britain, Ireland and the Troubles 1949-2006
20 credits
This module looks at the complex relationship between Britain and Ireland in the later part of the twentieth century up to present day. It has a special focus on the conflict in Northern Ireland. Students will look the impact of the Troubles on both societies; and study in depth the peace process.
100% Coursework
HIS5009MX
Middle Kingdoms: Themes in Early Modern Asia
20 credits
This module introduces the history of early modern Japan (c.16th-19th centuries). At one level, it explores key questions shaping the histories of the late Sengoku (‘Warring States’) and Tokugawa Japan. Building on these questions, it then situates the Japanese experience in a trans-regional perspective with reference to early modern China, Korea, Ryukyu, as well as Europe.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS5014MX
Dunkirk to D Day: The Second World War in Europe
20 credits
The module examines the Second World War in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean from 1940 to late 1944.
Explore this module100% Coursework
SSC500
Stage 2 Professional Development, Placement Preparation and Identifying Opportunities
0 credits
This module is for students in the School of Society and Culture who are interested in undertaking an optional placement in the third year of their programme. It supports students in their search, application, and preparation for the placement, including developing interview techniques and effective application materials (e.g. CVs , portfolios, and cover letters).
HIS5013
Culture and Society in Britain c. 1760-1914
20 credits
The module content will examine key selected themes in the culture and society of Britain c.1760 – 1901. In it, students will examine primary sources such as pamphlets, books and visual material, to gain a critical awareness and understanding of aspects of British culture and society in this period which may include the duel, capital punishment, mourning cultures, gambling, popular science, culinary cultures, race.
100% Coursework
HIS5015
The American Century: The United States, 1900-2000
This module is an introduction to major themes in the political, social, economic, business and cultural history of the United States since 1900
HIS5002
Royal Navy in the Age of Sail, 1545-1815
20 credits
This module examines the royal navy and the development of British naval power between 1545 and 1815. Beginning with the sinking of the Mary Rose in 1545 this module explores changing role of the navy and sea power in defence to the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815. This module also investigates the logistics, technological changes and social history of the navy in this period.
100% Coursework
Optional placement year

Optional modules
SSC601
School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Placement Year
Students have the opportunity to gain work experience that will set them apart in the job market when they graduate by undertaking an optional flexible placement year. The placement must be a minimum of 24-weeks (which can be split between a maximum of two different placement providers) and up to a maximum of 48-weeks over the course of the academic year. The placement is flexible and can be undertaken virtually, part or full time and either paid or voluntary. Students will have the option to undertake their placement year abroad. This year allows them to apply and hone the knowledge and skills acquired from the previous years of their programme in the real world.
Final year

Core modules
HIS6001
History Dissertation
40 credits
In this module students prepare the ground and complete a Dissertation of 10-12,000 words on a subject of their own choosing, making extensive use wherever possible of primary historical sources. Lecturing staff provide tutorial support and assistance with research and writing.
100% Coursework
Optional modules
HIS6002MX
Piracy and Privateering, c.1560-1816
20 credits
This module explores piracy and privateering activity in the seas around the British Isles and further afield from the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the end of the second Barbary War in 1816. This course focuses on the social history of piracy and privateering, the organisation of pirate society, and the economic impact of piracy and privateering.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6005
The Irish Revolution 1912-37
20 credits
This module examines the political, social and cultural history of Ireland during the period 1890-1937 with particular focus on causes and effects of partition and the nature what is known as the ‘Irish revolution’.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6006MX
America, the United Nations and International Relations 1945 to the present
20 credits
This module provides a detailed examination of the relationship between the United States of America and the United Nations in the management of international relations from 1945 to the present.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6007
Filth and the Victorians
20 credits
In this module students study the Victorian era from the perspective of environment, public hygiene, cultural values of cleanliness and fear of physical, moral and other forms of contamination. Drawing on urban histories, histories of medicine and science, the module also uses a range of literary and artistic sources.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6008
The Civil Rights Movement
20 credits
Examining the African American struggle for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6012
Modern Japan: Transforming Empire and Identity at the Edge
20 credits
This module is an introduction to the major themes of political, social and economic development in Japan, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
100% Coursework
HIS6014
Heritage and Public History
20 credits
This module will examine the theory and practice of the presentation of the past to a range of audiences, specialist and non-. Students will examine the creation, nature, use and understanding of heritage and public history, nationally and internationally. They will examine these issues in case studies of historical ‘sites’ of different types, to gain a critical awareness and understanding of the theories and controversies surrounding heritage and public history. This is a work facing module, where students will consider the theory and practice of ‘using’ ‘sites’ of heritage and public history from the point of view of a range of stake holders.
100% Coursework
HIS6015
Maritime Explorations and Encounters
20 credits
This module examines the major concepts and themes of maritime exploration from the 15th to the 21st century. It challenges students to rethink their ideas about the use of navies in exploration, leading explorers such as Sir Francis Drake, Captain James Cook and Charles Darwin, the place of Âé¶¹´«Ã½ in maritime exploration and the nature of encounters with native peoples.
100% Coursework
HIS6016
Family, Sex and Society in Britain, 1450-1700
This module examines developments in interpersonal relationships in Britain between 1450 and 1700. Focusing on marriage, the family, and changing patterns of sexual behaviour, it considers the changing nature, experience and meaning of family life and intimate relations during a period of religious and political upheaval.
Modules in focus
-
Tudor and Stuart Britain
(HIS6002MX)
-
The Civil Rights Movement
(HIS6008)
-
Filth and the Victorians
(HIS6007)
-
The Irish Revolution 1912-37
(HIS6005)
-
America, the United Nations and International Relations 1945 to the present
(HIS6006MX)
-
History Tomorrow - Heritage and Public History
(HIS5001)
-
Piracy and Privateering
(HIS6002MX)
-
Global Cold War
(HIS5009MX)
-
Dunkirk to D-Day: The Second World War in Europe
(HIS5014MX)
-
Middle Kingdoms
(HIS5009MX)
History with Anthropology
Modules
ANT5008MX
Brave New Worlds: Ethnography of/on Online and Digital Worlds
20 credits
This module teaches students how to use ethnographic methods to make sense of the internet, which we now increasingly inhabit. Students learn how to navigate and analyse platforms such as Facebook or TikTok. They study how these technologies transform our relationships, identities, and ideas of truth. The module also examines the socio-cultural and ethical aspects of digital worlds (e.g. Second life).
100% Coursework
ANT6008MX
Coastal Cultures: Marine Anthropology in the age of climate change and mass extinction.
20 credits
Using ethnography, we analyse how coastal communities use the sea – not only as a source of livelihood, but as a key ingredient in the construction of their identity and place in world. Drawing on a range of cases from across the world – from Polynesian sorcerers, to Japanese whale mourners, to Cornish surfers – we study how coastal communities are responding to climate change, sea level rise, pollution, and extinction.
100% Coursework
History with Art History
Modules
ARH5002MX
Imagery in Online and Offline Worlds: Film, Television and Video Games
20 credits
This module provides students with a comprehensive understanding of current approaches towards mass media and visual culture. Particular emphasis will be put on medium-specificity, content analysis and audience studies.
100% Coursework
ARH6002MX
Questions in Contemporary Art
20 credits
The module introduces and examines selected questions raised in the last three decades in contemporary art. Case studies drawn from art history, critical and cultural theory, and where appropriate related disciplines, will be examined.
100% Coursework
History with Creative Writing
Modules
ENG5010MX
Writing Creative Nonfiction: Autobiography, Travel Writing, Reportage
20 credits
This module introduces students to the key concepts and issues in contemporary works of creative nonfiction, or 'life writing'. Included in our readings will be works of memoir and autobiography, travel writing, personal essays and reportage. The module is entirely taught in workshops where we experiment with producing our own works of creative nonfiction and learning to refine them, as well as critically evaluate and contextualise them.
100% Coursework
ENG6008MX
Features Journalism Workshop
20 credits
This module offers students an in-depth experience of professional writing. We will explore technique in features and literary journalism; music reviews, opinion columns and longer immersion features as well as other contemporary works of non-fiction feature writing, both short- and long-form, from sub-genres including profiles and interviews, autobiography and columns, travel writing, and reportage. We will learn to research and produce our own works of professional nonfiction and critically evaluate them.
100% Coursework
History with English
Modules
ENG5002MX
Gothic Fictions: Villains, Virgins and Vampires
20 credits
This module looks at eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novels to trace the variety and scope of literary contributions to the Gothic. It begins by discussing the origins of the Gothic novel, then moves to the heyday of the genre in the revolutionary 1790s, on to authors writing in the early and mid-nineteenth century, through to the decadence of the 1890s.
100% Coursework
ENG6005MX
American Crime Writing
20 credits
This module considers the development of twentieth-century American crime fiction from hard-boiled detectives, to myths of the mafia, and postmodern reinventions of the genre. This module will explore the cultural contexts of American crime writing, prevailing conventions of the genre, as well as challenges to those conventions.
100% Coursework
History with Criminology
Modules
CRM5009MX
Crime, Harm and Culture
20 credits
The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.
100% Coursework
CRM6016MX
Green Criminology: Climate Justice and the Planetary Crisis
This module will address theoretical perspectives, methodological issues, and empirical research related to the field of green criminology, including applied concerns, such as policy and social/political praxis, through a range of concepts, topics, and themes that are central to green criminology.
History with International Relations
Opportunities
Modules
PIR6009MX
Mao to Now: the Politics of Modern China
This module introduces students to politics in China. It provides them with the analytical skills and historical understanding to examine the structure of the contemporary Chinese state, looking in particular at Maoist legacies, nationalism and ideology, the relationships between party, law, state and market, and China’s involvement in international affairs.
PIR6007MX
Global Environmental Politics
20 credits
This module examines the problem of environmental degradation and its implications for our global political economy. It discusses the major debates in political thought around the primary causes of environmental degradation. The module outlines the major attempts to build international regimes for global environmental governance, and the difficulties and obstacles that such attempts have encountered. A range of ideas, critiques, policy proposals, innovations in governance, and templates for political activism within the environmental movement are critically evaluated.
100% Coursework
PIR5009MX
Refugee Studies
20 credits
This module focuses on the political, economic and social context of forced migration and considers the complex and varied nature of global refugee populations. It analyses responses at international, national and regional level and engages with a range of challenging questions around international co-operation, the framework of international protection, humanitarianism and the causes of displacement.
100% Coursework
History with Politics
Opportunities
Modules
PIR6009MX
Mao to Now: the Politics of Modern China
This module introduces students to politics in China. It provides them with the analytical skills and historical understanding to examine the structure of the contemporary Chinese state, looking in particular at Maoist legacies, nationalism and ideology, the relationships between party, law, state and market, and China’s involvement in international affairs.
PIR5013MX
Politics Beyond Parliaments
20 credits
This module analyses the role of civil society and the public sphere in democratic governance and in democratization from a variety of theoretical perspectives.
100% Coursework
History with Sociology
Modules
SOC5005MX
Globalisation and Social Justice
20 credits
This module investigates the key debates of globalisation and critically evaluates, in terms of its economic, political, socio-cultural and legal dimensions, the causes and consequences of a globalising world. It furthermore explores a range of international social justice issues to examine the relationships (causative and ameliorative) between policies and (in)justice
60% Coursework
40% Practicals
SOC6004MX
Health, Medical Power and Social Justice
20 credits
This module considers a range of issues concerning health, illness and medical power in contemporary society. The module seeks to develop an understanding of the impact of ‘medicalisation’ on everyday life, as well as the importance of social divisions, such as age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status. There will be a focus on a range of sociological perspectives on health with an opportunity to focus upon areas of particular interest.
100% Coursework
History with Law
Modules
LAW5009MX
Environmental Law
20 credits
The module provides an examination of key themes in environmental law, with a focus on the generation, application and enforcement of this law within a critical and applied context.
100% Coursework
LAW5011MX
Intellectual Property Law
This module focuses on the law and concepts of intellectual property, examining in addition related legal themes of information access, dissemination and control.
LAW6012MX
Public International Law
20 credits
A module that focuses on the primary legal principles of the public international legal order, before exploring a range of substantive areas, such as, for example, the use of force, the law regulating the conduct of war, International Human Rights, International Criminal Law and International Environmental Law.
100% Coursework
History with Policing and Security Management
Modules
CRM6011MX
Security Management
20 credits
This module provides students with a critical insight into the professional domain of security management. It provides an overview of the theories, policies, procedures and practices that underpin the work of the security manager, and focuses upon a career-relevant knowledge and understanding of this significant area of expertise.
70% Coursework
30% Tests
CRM5003MX
Harm in the 21st Century
20 credits
This module explores the global challenges of harmful behaviours and activities in contemporary society by considering specific areas of concern for criminologists. By drawing on real-world examples in everyday life, the module examines how social problems and issues have arisen due to processes of globalisation that have changed the social, political and economic landscape of the 21st century.
100% Coursework
CRM5009MX
Crime, Harm and Culture
20 credits
The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.
100% Coursework
Experience
Equipped for discovery

A passion for history
“History is so much more than just the textbooks – it's the study of past, present and future. Studying history has completely changed my perspective and my interests.â€
Providing rewarding experiences



Learn from expert historians

Dr Harry Bennett
Honorary Associate Professor

Professor James Daybell
Associate Dean (Research)

Dr Simon Topping
Associate Professor
Âé¶¹´«Ã½â€™s history is the history of the world
"Looking at Âé¶¹´«Ã½'s local history is fascinating, but when we look at the city's history more widely, we see how it intersects with so many different places around the world. Âé¶¹´«Ã½ doesn’t just sit here in a tight little ball, it intersects with the history of Japan and China. The Pacific. Antarctica..."

Life in Âé¶¹´«Ã½
The overall vibe of the city is perfect. You are by the sea so it is still laid back, but you have all the conveniences of living in a city.
Current student


Careers
The history course was really interesting and the lecturers were brilliant and generous with their time, helping with my dissertation and module work. You have the freedom to explore subjects and your own avenues of research which is incredibly fulfilling.
BA (Hons) History graduate

I had the most amazing experience studying at Âé¶¹´«Ã½: I met some wonderful people from all over the UK and beyond, developed as an individual, and nurtured my passion for history… not to mention absorbing plenty of clean sea air!
BA (Hons) History graduate


Preparing you for your future
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
£9,535 per year
£795 per 10 credits
Tuition fee price changes
£17,600 per year
£18,150 per year
Tuition fee price changes
Additional costs
Fund your studies
Supporting students with the cost of living

Apply
Entry requirements
104 UCAS points
You may be eligible for a contextual offer
GCSE
A levels
18 Unit BTEC National Diploma/QCF Extended Diploma
All Access courses
T level
International Baccalaureate
Extended entry requirements
Ready to apply?
V100
P60
3 years
(+ optional placement)
Full-time
Âé¶¹´«Ã½
Other routes into this course
The following courses are available as routes into this programme.

Start your foundation year at Âé¶¹´«Ã½, blending history, literature and writing. You'll gain key academic skills, enjoy field trips and cultural events, and progress to global history studies with expert staff and career-focused opportunities.
Entry requirements
104 UCAS points
BSearch entry requirements for your country
English language requirements
Ready to apply?
Need support with your application?
- Personal statement guidance
- student visa support
- travel and arrival information
- and more.
V100
P60
3 years
(+ optional placement)
Full-time
Âé¶¹´«Ã½