History
Discover how the past has shaped today’s world and open your eyes to an exciting future for yourself.
Apply through UCAS Apply direct Book an open day Chat to usHistory at USW isn’t just about the past; it’s about understanding how it shaped today’s world and our current perspectives. By exploring who makes history and recognising diverse contributions, you’ll become a global citizen ready to make your mark on the world.
DESIGNED FOR
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 serve you in museums and heritage centres, but also across many industries.
Career Paths
- Teaching
- Heritage
- Museums and archives
- The Civil Service
- Management
Skills taught
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Analysis
- Written, verbal and digital communication
- Self-management
- Teamwork skills
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Explore regional, national, European, American and global perspectives from about 1450 to the present day. You’ll get a thorough grounding in the skills of a historian before branching out further, with choices over the questions you answer and the format you use to present your work.
Year one
Introduction to History
Crime, Vice and ‘Lowlife’ in Nineteenth-Century Britain
Nations and Empires: The Making of Modern Europe
The Atlantic and Making of the Modern World: Old and New Worlds
Science, Magic and Medicine in Early Modern Europe
Germany: Memory, Identity and Public History
Year two
Reflection on Learning in the Workplace
Women in Modern Britain
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
Poor Lives: Poverty, Welfare and History
A Global History of the Nuclear Age
The Tudor World, 1485-1603
Year three
Dissertation
Frontiers: A Global History
The Empire Strikes Back: History, Heritage and Race in Contemporary Britain
Vice, Scandal and Depravity: Cities of Sin in Reformation Europe
Understanding Postwar Britain: Evidence and Debates
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.
Introduction to History
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.
Crime, Vice and ‘Lowlife’ in Nineteenth-Century Britain
Study how views on crime evolved in the 19th century through Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, public executions and changing societal attitudes.
Nations and Empires: The Making of Modern Europe
Examine liberty, nationalism, and democracy and hone your debating skills. Use primary sources to explore key events that shaped Europe from c1750.
The Atlantic and Making of the Modern World: Old and New Worlds
Find out how a new ‘Atlantic system’ caused millions to be enslaved, changed the way we eat and overturned our conceptions of monarchy.
Science, Magic and Medicine in Early Modern Europe
Explore how religion, ‘monsters’, natural wonders and medicine - the visible and invisible worlds - were viewed in the European Renaissance.
Germany: Memory, Identity and Public History
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.
Reflection on Learning in 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.
Women in Modern Britain
Examine the people who have driven and opposed change regarding the roles, status and experience of women in Britain over the last two centuries.
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
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?
Poor Lives: Poverty, Welfare and History
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.
A Global History of the Nuclear Age
Explore how the nuclear age connects the world across space and time, and how that question shapes our understanding of ‘the global’.
The Tudor World, 1485-1603
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.
Dissertation
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.
Frontiers: A Global History
Roam across frontiers like the Great American West and the Australian bush and examine the diversity of historical experiences in these wild places.
The Empire Strikes Back: History, Heritage and Race in Contemporary Britain
Learn to think critically about legacies of the imperial past in the present, as well as how these legacies can be confronted.
Vice, Scandal and Depravity: Cities of Sin in Reformation Europe
Examine the underbellies of society and place popular and state reactions to them into the wider contexts of toleration and persecution.
Understanding Postwar Britain: Evidence and Debates
Interrogate widely held assumptions about this period and how it shaped present-day preoccupations, pursuing topics of your choice.
Course Highlights
How you'll learn
You’ll learn, discuss, and debate through interactive lectures, seminars, and workshops. These are taught in blocks, offering flexibility to balance with other responsibilities. 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. Many modules let you choose how to approach questions and showcase your understanding. In your second year, you’ll also gain practical experience through a placement, enhancing your learning journey.
Teaching staff
Our staff, all holding PhDs in their specialist fields, offer exceptional teaching and deep expertise. This allows you to explore your interests in assessments and dissertations. With a small class size, you’ll build strong relationships with your entire teaching team. They’ll get to know you well and assist in finding placements and job opportunities that align with your strengths and career goals.
Placements
The skills you learn in a history degree are highly sought after by employers. 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. Alternatively, you can join projects with external partners or explore placements in other fields, such as HR or supply chain management.
Facilities
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.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS points: 104 (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.
Additional requirements include:
GCSEs: 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.
English 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 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing 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.
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.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch and we'd to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£785
per 20 credits*Additional Costs
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.
*Obligatory
Costs covered for domestic trips starting from campus (with exception of local transport in some cases). Any international trips vary from £0-£250 depending on subsidies available.
Cost: £0 - £250
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
Students undertake a work placement of their choice for optional modules offered in the second and third 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: £0 - £100
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
Life at USW
Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.