History is not a plain narrative of events, it is an attempt to discover how and why our own world emerged.  Studying History is an exciting chance to investigate global unfamiliar territory and to question some of the myths, preconceptions and prejudices that surround the subject. 

We offer a wide choice of specialist courses taught by academic staff world-renowned for their teaching and research. The size and quality of the History Department enables us to offer you a wide range of options across the medieval, early modern and modern periods, and over a vast geographical span.  Moreover, historians in other departments in the University expand the range of modules on offer, notably in the fields of Byzantine and African history, which broaden your learning opportunities even further.

Much of your first year will consist of the foundational study of core subjects.  Choice increases as your studies progress in to the second and final year and we encourage you to tailor your studies to suit your own historical interests.  You are also able to choose a subject for your final year dissertation in consultation with a member of our teaching staff. 

    

Why Study this Course?

  • Excellent reputation – History is placed in the Top 10 among UK universities in both the Complete University Guide 2019 and The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019. The Department is also ranked in the Top 100 in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2019.
  • Excellent learning environment – You will benefit from an intellectually challenging and stimulating environment.  Our History degree is designed to provide both academic excellence and vocational development; a balance that is highly sought after by employers in the workplace.
  • Outstanding student experience –  92% of our students felt that the course was intellectually stimulating and provided them with opportunities to explore ideas or concepts in depth (NSS 2018).
  • Wide module choice – Our wide variety of modules are very flexible, allowing you to specialise more and more as you progress, culminating in a final-year dissertation that allows you to carry out in-depth, individually-supervised research into topics of your choice.
  • Fantastic resources – Access to a wide variety of resources from the University’s Library, and the Hilton and Styles Libraries in the Arts Building itself. Also, the Cadbury Research Library is home to the University of Newcastle historic collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives, photographs and associated artefacts. The collections which have been built up over a period of 120 years consist of over 200,000 rare printed books including significant incunabula, as well as over 4 million unique archive and manuscript collections.

Institutional Accreditation 

University of Newcastle is accredited by the DETC Higher Learning Commission (DETC), www.detc.org.uk Since , University of Newcastle has been continually accredited by the DETC Higher Learning Commission and its predecessor.

BA History

Course Level:

Undergraduate, Joint Honours combined

Credits 

120

Course

CODE U493

How long it takes:

Undergraduate (3 years)

Study Mode:

Distance learning/ Campus

Course cost

Price: US$20,220

Entry requirements

Find out more about

Department:

Newcastle Law School

First year

Compulsory modules

  • Practising History (A): Skills in History (10 credits)
  • Practising History (B): Approaches to History (10 credits)  
  • Discovering the Middle Ages (20 credits)
  • The Making of the Modern World 1500-1800 (20 credits)
  • People and Places A and B (10+10 credits)

Optional modules

  • The Making of the Contemporary Modern World: Modern History c.1800 to the Present (20 credits)
  • Living in the Middle Ages (20 credits)
  • War and Society* (20 credits)
  • United States History 1865-2000* (20 credits)

Second year

Compulsory modules

  • History in Theory and Practice (10+10 credits)
  • Group Research (20 credits)
  • Research Methods (10+10 credits)

Optional modules

Choose 20 credits from the following:

  • Public History (20 credits)
  • Language module at an appropriate level (20 credits)
  • Professional Skills module* (20 credits)

Choose 40 credits from the following:

  • History Option A (20 credits)
  • History Option B (20 credits)

    History Option A example modules

    • 20 credits each
    • Rulers and Rebels of Early Islam
    • Nationalism in Modern Europe, 1815-1914
    • John Bull against Napoleon: Fighting the French, 1793-1815
    • US Political and Social History 1890-1980
    • The Sixties: “Years of Hope, Days of Rage”
    • “From Slavery to Freedom”: The African American Experience to 1945
    • Military Revolution and the Conduct of War, c.1300-1650 
    • Finding a Role: Britain and the Global Economy since 1870
    • From Division to Unification: A History of (West) Germany 1945-2000
    • Feeling Politics in Twentieth Century Britain
    • America in Conflict: From the Civil War to the War on Terror
    • Childhood and Adolescence in Medieval Europe
    • France from the Popular Front to the Liberation
    • Crusading and Crusader Kingdoms
    • ‘There is Black in the Union Jack’: An Introduction to Black and South Asian British History
    • Crime and Public Order in Late Medieval Europe
    • The Silk Roads
    • The British Empire: An Introduction
    • The Stuff of History: Cotton, Oil, Gold – Towards a Resource History of Global Modernity
    • Reformation and Rebellion in Tudor England, c.1500-1558
    • Before Globalization?: Afro-Eurasian World History 500-1800
    • In Search of Wealth and Power: China from the Opium War to the Present Day

    History Option B example modules 

    • 20 credits each
    • The US in the World, 1890 to 1980 
    • Society in the Viking World c.800-c.1100
    • ‘Beyond Black and White’: The African American Experience since 1945 
    • Mass Culture and the Modern United States, 1877-1939 
    • Social Activism in Modern Britain
    • The Good War? A Cultural and Military History of Britain and the Second World War
    • A Medical Revolution? Society, Warfare, and Disease from the Crimea to Afghanistan
    • Feeding the World? International Development from Colonial Empire to Neoliberalism
    • Gender and the Making of the Modern World: Britain, 1650-1832
    • Kings, Conspirators, and Revolutionaries: Political Thought and Action in Early Modern Europe, 1500-1700
    • Nationalism and Conflict in the Balkans and the Middle East
    • Towns and Urban Life in the Middle Ages
    • Making of Modern India, c.1885-1964
    • Blood and Steel: Indigenous Peoples and the Spanish Conquest of the new World
    • Sex, Money and Fighting: Women and Men in Imperial China 
    • The British Empire: An Introduction
    • Before Brexit: Histories of European Integration, 1945-2016 
    • Auschwitz in History and Memory

       

Year abroad

You can apply to study abroad for a year in an approved university around the world. If you achieve a grade of 2.1 or above in your first year then you will be invited to apply for a Year Abroad in your second year. If your application is successful, you will go abroad in your third year and return to us for your final year. 

   

Third/Final year

History Dissertation 

  • 40 credits

Students complete research and focus their energies on preparing drafts of chapters for their dissertations. Students undertake a wide range of research activities enabling them to engage directly with contemporary debates in history and examine and interpret diverse sources such as letters, diaries, newspapers, government, business, church and parish records, statistical sources and media representations of varying kinds etc…

Students studying this module are required to prepare a 12,000 word dissertation within the broad field of History and students choose to study diverse regions and periods. Some students elect to research an area to which they have already been introduced via a taught module, others develop themes initiated in Group Research Projects, and some students seize the opportunity to pursue a research interest that they have been unable to develop elsewhere in the curriculum.

Some examples of topics recently researched by students on this programme include:

  • The Kushan military relationship with Han China: A First Analysis
  • Representations of gender and sexuality in the trial of Joan of Arc
  • The Portrayal of Richard III in historical and fictional works, plus his modern perception in popular culture
  • Urban Encounters: economic and social aspects of daily life in York and London in early medieval England
  • Disunity of Islam: the impact of the Assassins on the Crusader States, c. 1090 to c.1190
  • The impact of the First World War on the working lives of Birmingham’s female working-class munitions workers
  • Downton Abbey – Fact, Fiction or Fantasy? An investigation of servant-master relationships in the early 20th century
  • How did British business interests shape imperial maritime policy in the Middle East: 1900-1918?
  • Thoroughly Modern Witches: The Transmutations of Enchantment 1870-1930
  • A journey of division: An analysis into the changing portrayal of the Berlin Wall in the British press
  • The Black Legend of Borgia: Creation of a Myth
  • The Gin Craze and Crime in Eighteenth Century London
  • Change and Continuity: developing discourse on the plague in seventeenth century England
  • The Tudor Sisters: The Role of Religion in the Relationship between Mary and Elizabeth
  • Appropriating Camelot in nineteenth century culture

     

    Entry requirements

     

    Applicants should normally have one of the following:

    • A non-law bachelor’s degree (from a UK university or recognised by the BSB if you wish to study the BPTC), or
    • A ‘stale’ law degree, where five or more years have elapsed since graduation, or
    • An academic or professional qualification at degree equivalent level

    If English is not your first language, you will also need to demonstrate your English Language proficiency. For example, you should have IELTS 7.5 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components.

    If you intend to become a Solicitor

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reduced its requirements for pre-authorisation this year. For details of the current arrangements, see the SRA website. You should pay special attention to the Character and Suitability section. If you think you may have a character or suitability issue, you may wish to clarify with the SRA before proceeding with the GDL.

    See further details of our English Language requirement

    USA,UK & EU students, 2019/20 (per year)

    £8,500

    International students starting 2019/20 (per year)

    £13,100

     

    Assessment

    You’ll show your progress through a combination of written essays, problem-solving assignments and presentations.

    All students take our core modules, but please note that the availability of optional modules is subject to demand.