History
History at USW isn’t just about the past; it’s about understanding how it shaped today’s world. In exploring history from a variety of perspectives and experiences, you’ll learn how to confront modern challenges and become a global citizen ready to make your mark on the world.
How to apply Apply through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to us/filters:format(webp)/prod01/channel_2/media/university-of-south-wales/site-assets/images/08-subjects/history/ba-history.jpg)
UCAS Code
V100
Start Date
September 2027
Location
Cardiff
Campus Code
B
UCAS Points
104
International students: £17,600*
UCAS Code
Start Date
September 2027
Location
Cardiff
Campus Code
B
UCAS Points
104
Course Overview
Discover how the past has shaped today’s world and open your eyes to an exciting future for yourself.
If you want to extend your interest in history, explore the connections between the local area, Europe and the wider world, and open the door to an array of careers, this course is for you. The historical skills you develop are highly valued by employers in a range of industries including museums and archives, teaching, the civil service, public policy, and management.
Why study this course?
What you'll study
Explore how new approaches can illuminate the past and establish crucial historical skills such as research, using primary sources, debate and discussion, and academic writing as you’re introduced to major historical themes such as crime in the 19th century and the rise of the Atlantic world.
Establish key research and writing skills, including reading early modern texts, as you carry out a small research project using a range of digitised sources.
Study how views on crime evolved in the 19th century through Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, public executions and changing societal attitudes.
Examine liberty, nationalism, and democracy and hone your debating skills. Use primary sources to explore key events that shaped Europe from c1750.
Find out how a new ‘Atlantic system’ caused millions to be enslaved, changed the way we eat and overturned our conceptions of monarchy.
Explore how religion, ‘monsters’, natural wonders and medicine - the visible and invisible worlds - were viewed in the European Renaissance.
From the Reformation to the Fall of the Berlin Wall, examine how events have been remembered and understood by Germans, and their impact on German identity.
Begin to direct your skills towards areas that interest you most as you engage in specialist modules taught by our lecturers who are world-leading researchers in their field. You’ll also engage in a work-based placement where you’ll experience how your historical skills apply to the workplace.
Undertake a placement of your choosing or work on one of our history projects. Course staff and the careers team will help you source meaningful work experience.
Examine the people who have driven and opposed change regarding the roles, status and experience of women in Britain over the last two centuries.
Explore the phenomenon of the threat of witchcraft from the 15th century onwards. Why did it emerge as a problem? Why women? Why in some places more than others?
Understand views on poverty and the poor over the last 250 years, the measures put in place to deal with poverty, and how the poor use their limited resources.
Explore how the nuclear age connects the world across space and time, and how that question shapes our understanding of ‘the global’.
Examine power, authority and the nature of government, propaganda and art through the lens of Tudor monarchs and their contemporary European royal houses.
The final year gives you the freedom to pursue your own passions as you explore a question of your choice for your dissertation. Rich and varied topics such as imperialism, frontiers, and postwar Britain allow you to explore how historical legacies influence our thinking today.
We’ll work with you to frame a question, identify sources, and showcase your historical skills as you delve deeper into a subject or question that ignites your curiosity.
Roam across frontiers like the Great American West and the Australian bush and examine the diversity of historical experiences in these wild places.
Learn to think critically about legacies of the imperial past in the present, as well as how these legacies can be confronted.
Examine the underbellies of society and place popular and state reactions to them into the wider contexts of toleration and persecution.
Interrogate widely held assumptions about this period and how it shaped present-day preoccupations, pursuing topics of your choice.
We regularly review our courses to keep pace with changing skills and employer needs. If a review leads to significant changes, we’ll contact you to explain what’s changing for the coming year.
Teaching and Assessment
Explore the past through lively debate, independent research, and creative assessments that bring history to life. Beyond traditional essays, you'll express history in diverse ways, integrating crucial digital skills for modern careers. You'll create podcasts, heritage guides, wiki pages, virtual exhibitions, and digital maps, and learn to express ideas and present compelling arguments in a variety of ways. With expert support, small class sizes, and opportunities to gain real-world experience, you'll develop the skills and confidence to succeed in a wide range of careers.
You’ll learn, discuss, and debate through stimulating lectures, seminars, and workshops, delivered in blocks to help you balance your studies with other commitments. With small class sizes and staff who are internationally recognised experts in their specialist fields, you'll benefit from a supportive learning environment where your ideas and interests can flourish. Our modules are supported with a range of exciting digital resources designed to support your learning. As you progress through the course, you'll have the opportunity to pursue topics that inspire you, while building strong relationships with your teaching team, who can support your academic development and future career ambitions.
Beyond traditional essays, you'll express history in diverse ways, integrating crucial digital skills for modern careers. You'll create podcasts, heritage guides, wiki pages, posters, virtual exhibitions, and digital maps. Many modules let you choose how to approach questions and showcase your understanding which allows you to tailor your individual learning experience.
The skills you learn in a history degree are highly sought after by employers in a wide variety of industries. In your second year, you’ll undertake a work placement that helps translate your historical skills into real-world experience and prepares you for a graduate career. Our course staff and the USW careers team will assist you in finding placements in traditional history settings like museums, archives, and schools or on live research projects. Alternatively, you can join projects with external partners or explore placements in other fields, such as HR or supply chain management.
Your lectures, seminars, and workshops are held in modern classrooms, with extensive facilities for independent study. You'll become familiar with the library, where a dedicated faculty librarian is available to help you find relevant sources. Digital skills are integrated throughout the course, so you'll have access to essential digital facilities. You can use podcasting suites and IT labs, with dedicated support teams ready to assist with any technical needs.
Course Leader
Rachel Lock-Lewis
Meet Rachel, the course leader for BA History. Rachel teaches modern social and political history in local, national and global contexts, with a particular interest in activism. She enjoys supervising an array of final-year projects; recent topics include the implications of the 1922 Report of the War Office Committee for the Enquiry into ‘Shell-Shock’ for soldiers’ pensions, an analysis of propaganda and morale on the home front, the extent of sexual revolution in 1960s Britain, and Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp. Like Rachel, each member of the History team is a research-active historian with specific specialisms, so you’ll be treated to their latest research findings in your modules. Do get in touch if you would like further information about the course.
"This course has helped me look at things with a more critical eye. History at university isn't just remembering dates - it's being more of a detective, like a historical sherlock!"
Ben Price, History student
Entry Requirements
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
How to applyContextual admissions policyAsk us a question104 UCAS points or above
Typical qualification requirements:
A Level:
BCC
Welsh BACC:
Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/B in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CC at A Level
BTEC:
BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit
Access to HE:
Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 104 UCAS tariff points
T Level:
Pass (C and above)
Additional requirements include:
The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
International studentsPre-Sessional EnglishEnglish language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Fees and Funding
Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.
Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy. We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Field Trips
Costs covered for domestic trips starting from campus (with exception of local transport in some cases). Any international trips are optional and may need a student contribution up to £250 depending on subsidies available.
Cost: Up to £250
DBS
Students may require a DBS check if they choose to undertake a work placement with young / vulnerable people. In this case, they are responsible for covering the cost. The fee covers the cost of the enhanced check, online admin fees and the post office checks.
Cost: £55.42
Work placement expenses
Students undertake a work placement of their choice in the second year. In this case, they will be responsible for travel costs and may need to budget for suitable workplace attire depending on their chosen placement. These figures assume at most two hours' local travel for a two-week (70 hour placement) and purchase of one work outfit.
Cost: Up to £100
per year
Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.
Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy. We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Field Trips
Costs covered for domestic trips starting from campus (with exception of local transport in some cases). Any international trips are optional and may need a student contribution up to £250 depending on subsidies available.
Cost: Up to £250
DBS
Students may require a DBS check if they choose to undertake a work placement with young / vulnerable people. In this case, they are responsible for covering the cost. The fee covers the cost of the enhanced check, online admin fees and the post office checks.
Cost: £55.42
Work placement expenses
Students undertake a work placement of their choice in the second year. In this case, they will be responsible for travel costs and may need to budget for suitable workplace attire depending on their chosen placement. These figures assume at most two hours' local travel for a two-week (70 hour placement) and purchase of one work outfit.
Cost: Up to £100
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How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS
You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).
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Apply direct
History
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Full-time, 3 years
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September
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Cardiff
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Apply direct
History
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Part-time, 6 years
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September
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Cardiff
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If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
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