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Contemporary History

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C-B,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

P:45

Pass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits, to include at least 45 credits at Level 3. Access courses in Humanities, History or Politics are preferred.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26

Must include three subjects at Higher Level.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H4,H4

Or equivalent combination of grades.,

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM-MMM

UCAS Tariff

104-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Social history

This degree focuses on modern history, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, paying particular attention to the themes of historical change and struggle.

Questioning traditional approaches to history, we draw from other disciplines such as politics and cultural studies in our exploration of historical themes. You will focus on not just what happened, but also on the mechanics of history as a discipline, its production, and its social and political uses.

During your Contemporary History degree you will explore ongoing global issues such as how certain states become dominant powers, and why racism has taken different forms around the world. You will also examine why some groups are marginalised in the telling of history, looking at how they can reclaim and tell their own histories, and how we expose the historic problems in the structures and systems that shape contemporary society.

Learning takes place in small seminar groups, where you will develop your ability to make persuasive arguments and participate in debates.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£13,842
per year
International
£13,842
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Brighton

Department:

School of Humanities and Social Science

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

84%
Social history

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History

Teaching and learning

96%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

48%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
71%
Course specific equipment and facilities
72%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
47%
Male students
53%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
23%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
D

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,000
low
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
37%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Other elementary services occupations
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Customer service occupations

History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

History

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£15k

£15k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here