University of Sheffield
UCAS Code: V100 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Award of Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 36 at Distinction, and 9 at Merit
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
+ A at A Level
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
in a relevant subject; DDM in a relevant subejct + A at A Level
Scottish Advanced Higher
+ AAABB in Scottish Highers
Scottish Higher
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024)
+ AA at A Level
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
History is an imaginative process; it requires us to appreciate things from points of view that are often very different. Covering topics ranging from the ancient world to the present and encompassing Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, you’ll analyse the processes and ideas that have shaped our world.
**Follow the endlessly fascinating threads of human history from 1000 BCE right up to the twenty-first century, as you learn to master the skills for historical research and a successful future.**
Through the study of history, we learn to analyse the complexity of human society and culture from many different perspectives. Historians are skilled in a critical appreciation of how cultures and ideas are constructed and negotiated; an understanding of power, especially who has power, how they got it, and how they use it; and what this means for people's sense of identity.
Knowing about the events of the past also provides an essential basis for understanding the modern world, which is highly relevant about the challenges that face us today and in the future.
With experts in every area of the globe and whose interests cover more than two millennia, history at Sheffield thus offers you the necessary global context to understand the most complex problems.
Studying history is also a personal journey, as you learn independent judgement, how to critique accepted opinions, and hone the skill of making your own effective arguments.
Equipping you with analytical and practical skills, you’ll be able to conduct your own research project and determine the direction of your degree based on the wide variety of modules that make up our vibrant, research-led curriculum.
**Why study this course?**
- History Special Subject: Sheffield’s research-led special subject, which you take in your third year, enables you to become an expert in your chosen area over a full year of teaching. You'll explore a specialised area of history with a subject expert, work with original sources and engage with cutting edge historical analysis.
- Quality teaching time in smaller seminars: We are committed to small group teaching, in which you will benefit from exchanging ideas, discussing problems and completing tasks with other students, guided by your tutor.
- Choose a year abroad or work placement: We have strong links with local and national organisations and institutions in Europe and the wider world, and you can easily add a year to your degree to explore history while studying in another country, or gain valuable work experience through a year-long placement.
- Build transferable skills: Over the course of the degree you'll become highly skilled in research, managing information, critical thinking, analysis, and presenting convincing arguments in a variety of formats. In a context of contested and misleading information, we ensure that our graduate historians are equipped with skills to evaluate competing claims critically.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Sheffield
School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities (History)
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score 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
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£26k
£30k
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 is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
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Course location and department:
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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?
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