Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - History

Study with a top history department and be taught from the cutting edge of historical research.

Hertfordshire is ranked first among all History departments in the country for the social and cultural impact of their research and fifth for the overall quality of their research. Hertfordshire's world leading experts have published widely, won prizes for their work, and contribute to national and international television and radio. Their publications include a contribution to Harry Potter: A History of Magic, the companion book to the recent exhibition of the same name at the British Library.

Through a diverse and inclusive curriculum students will learn about an array of cultures and identities. Topics range from magic and witchcraft, to propaganda and popular protest, to health and family life.

What links Hertfordshire's work is their focus on people’s history and everyday lives. This is represented strongly in the first year programme, which will give students an insight into the making of the modern world through exploration of faith, magic and medicine, campaigns for freedom and equality, Africa and the world, and America from Hamilton to Trump.

The modules students take in their second and third year allow them to concentrate on areas they find especially interesting; they might focus on a region, such as Europe, or a particular period, such as the twentieth century. Whichever path they choose, students will find challenging and stimulating courses.

In their final year, students demonstrate their research skills by producing a dissertation on a topic of their choosing. Previous students have been inspired by their year of study abroad, while others have worked on the history of jiu jitsu, women code breakers at Bletchley Park, the Notting Hill riots, and vice and sexuality in 17th-century London. One of the recent presidents of the University’s Students’ Union wrote her dissertation during her final year of study with us on changing perceptions of the devil, while one of the final year students won the British Commission for Maritime History Prize in 2016 for his dissertation on the East India Company.