History
University of Portsmouth
UCAS Code: V100 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
We also accept other combinations equivalent to 104-112 Tariff points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, to include History or another relevant subject.
106-112 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma (History based).
Cambridge Pre-U score of 44-48, to include a Principal Subject in History or another relevant subject.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects, to include History or another relevant subject.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H4,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H4
To include Higher Level History or another relevant subject.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with a History qualification or another relevant subject.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with a History qualification or another relevant subject.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. To include a History qualification or another relevant subject.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with a History qualification or another relevant subject.
104-112 Tariff points, to include History or another relevant subject.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**Overview**
If you’re fascinated by history, there’s no better place to study it than Portsmouth, a city that's played a key role in the past of Britain.
On this BA (Hons) History degree course, you’ll explore the past and bring it to life, through practical study. You’ll pick the periods of time that interest you most, both in British and global history, and develop your skills in research and analysis.
After the course, you'll have sought-after qualities you can transfer easily to the workplace in roles that involve analysis, research, communication and teamwork.
95% Graduates in work or further study (Unistats data on DLHE 2017); 96% Overall student satisfaction (NSS, 2018)
**What you'll experience**
On this History degree course you’ll:
- Tailor your studies to your interests and the periods of history that excite you most
- Have access to primary and secondary historical sources through local organisations and archive subscriptions
- Learn from staff who are members of the Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR), the UK's largest research centre of its kind
- Enhance your studies by taking advantage of our close links with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth Records Service and the D-Day Museum
- Explore current debates about the past and how it's interpreted, with expert scholars in the field
- Study in a city that has played a major role in the history of Britain
**Optional pathways**
You can follow optional sociology or politics pathways through this degree, or include it as a pathway in our English Literature, American Studies or International Relations courses. It'll lead to one of these awards at the end of the course:
- BA (Hons) History with American Studies
- BA (Hons) History with Politics
- BA (Hons) History with Sociology
"The history degree at Portsmouth has been very enjoyable and the city itself boasts a wealth of material that has been beneficial to my learning." – Connor Jones, BA Hons History student
**Careers and opportunities**
Employers from every area of industry value history graduates. When you complete the course, you'll have the ability to analyse and manage large amounts of information, communicate effectively, research in groups or independently, and write in a concise and informative way.
What can you do with a History degree?
Previous graduates have gone on to pursue roles in areas such as:
- journalism
- law
- teaching
- administration
- the heritage sector
- publishing
- research for media production companies
What jobs can you do with a History degree?
Roles they've taken on include:
- archivist
- recruitment consultant
- museum curator
- public relations officer
- information analyst
You could also continue your studies at Master's or PhD level.
When you finish the course, our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the industry. After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years as you advance in your career.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- Culture & Conflict in Europe, 1450-2000
- Debating the Past: Historical Perspectives
- Fragments of the Past: Understanding Sources and Bias
- Going Global: Encounters & Exchanges, 1450-2000
- History: Academic Enrichment Programme
- Thinking Like An Historian
There are no optional modules in this year.
Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- History: Academic Enrichment Programme
- Introduction to Historical Research
- Masses and Modernity, 1750-1914
Optional modules on this year include:
- British Political Leadership
- Danger! Censorship, Power and the People
- Family, Career and Generation
- Fear and Fun: Popular Culture and Elite Anxieties
- From Revolution to Dictatorship - Russia & the Soviet Union 1917-1941
- Gender and Sexuality
- Ideology and Politics
- Imagined Communities: Ethnicity and National Identity
- Introduction to Teaching
- Learning from Experience
- Modern Foreign Language
- Race and Racism
- Russian & Eurasian Politics
- Slavery and Antislavery in the Atlantic World
- Social Power, Elites and Dissent
- Study Abroad
- The Extraordinary and the Everyday: People, Places and Possessions
- Underworlds: Crime, Deviance & Punishment in Britain, 1500-1900
Placement year (optional)
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
Year 3
Core modules on this year include:
- Dissertation / Major Project (History)
- History: Academic Enrichment Programme
Optional modules in this year include:
- Autocracy and Democracy
- Challenging Global Inequality
- Equality or Liberation? Theorising Social Justice
- Learning from Experience
- Looking for Utopia, Finding Dystopia? Ideas and Ideologies in the New Millennium
- Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
- NGOs and Social Movements
- Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates
- Security Challenges in the Twenty-First Century
- Special Subject: Group Project 1
- Special Subject: Group Project 2
- Special Subject: Individual Research 1
- Special Subject: Individual Research 2
- Violence, War and Society
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
essays
close textual analysis
group and individual presentations
a dissertation
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
Year 1 students: 8% by written exams, 10% by practical exams and 82% by coursework
Year 2 students: 22% by practical exams and 78% by coursework
Year 3 students: 24% by practical exams and 76% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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 and archaeology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£23k
£28k
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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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?
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