History

BA (Single Honours)

You'll need:

112–128 UCAS points (or equivalent)

Foundation Year: 64–80 UCAS points (or equivalent)

International Foundation Pathway:
64 UCAS (or equivalent)
IELTS: 5.5

UCAS Code:

V100

V101 (If choosing Foundation Year)

Start date(s):

September 2026

Our History degree is modern, inclusive and relevant. Its contemporary focus helps you to navigate the pressing cultural, environmental, social and political challenges facing us today.

You’ll discover how people, ideas, and events have shaped societies across time, and investigate themes such as power, identity, conflict, belief, and social change.

Why choose Roehampton?

  • Study a contemporary Globally focused curriculum focusing on the period since 1800
  • Be part of an inclusive community set in parkland campus close to London’s diverse resources
  • Graduate employability embedded at all stages
  • You’ll learn to question the stories we tell about the past and think critically about how history is written and remembered.

At Roehampton, studying History isn’t just about dates and facts – it’s about exploring people, cultures, and ideas, and uncovering the connections between past and present that continue to shape our world.

During your studies, our priority is making sure you get the skills needed for a fulfilling and successful career.

This incorporates;

  • Challenging yourself to think globally and comparatively by engaging with cultural, social, economic, political, and intellectual history
  • Learning how historians operate, with practical opportunities to engage in public history and digital humanities projects
  • Learning beyond the classroom with bespoke site visits and walking tours that utilise the wealth of historical resources in London

History graduates have vital skills that make them attractive to employers, including confidence, adaptability and the capacity to work with people from all walks of life.

Top modern university in London in History

(Complete University Guide 2025)

Ranked 12th best History programme in the UK

Guardian League Table 2024

History ranked 1st in London for Academic Support

National Student Survey 2024

This methods module explores the history of History! We trace the evolution of modern historiographical practice including cutting-edge developments in Black, Queer, disability and environmental histories. Demonstrating that history is never ‘done’, we consider how historians have attempted to research and produce a more inclusive account of the past.  

Module overview:

This module explores how core ideas like power, authority, citizenship, democracy, liberty, and equality have been theorised and debated, examining them through the lens of significant moments in British history. We consider how the meanings behind political concepts have shifted and contested over time.

This module traces the struggle for civil rights and social justice in the United States from the end of the Second World War to the second Donald Trump administration. It demonstrates how an understanding of history equips us to navigate prevailing public discourse around identity, democracy, equality and representation.

This module examines post–World War II political consensus, its challenges during the 1960s and 1970s, and its breakdown under Mrs Thatcher’s government, followed by its rebuilding under Blair and Cameron, later disruption by Brexit. It consider the implications of the possible end of a political consensus in the UK today.

These are the current planned modules on this course and may be subject to change.

This module on public history explores how the past is packaged and communicated to contemporary audiences. We consider the diverse forms that public history takes (exhibitions, podcasts, heritage trails etc), together with site visits, and dialogues with museum and heritage professionals before students create their own public history project.

This module investigates inequality in British cities, as one of the most pressing contemporary issues. It explores how class, gender, and race have shaped divisions between privilege and poverty in public and private spaces. By studying the pathways to inequalities, the module considers how levelling up can be achieved.

This module considers how indigenous peoples, together with European colonists, enslaved Africans, and the famous 'Libertadores', forged new nations. It explores how power was transformed from the upheaval of the 19th century through the revolutions, uprisings and coups of the 20th century, moving nations between different forms of power.

This module examines the origins of contentious political, religious, and ethnic divides in Ireland and the Middle East which continue to shape world affairs. Comparing these regions through the lens of Britain’s changing role, students will also develop an understanding of how conflict overseas impacted British politics and culture domestically. 

These are the current planned modules on this course and may be subject to change.

This course offers all students the option of a one-year paid work placement, to boost your employability even further. If you choose this route, you will take the placement following year two of your course, and then return to complete your degree.

Why take a placement?

A placement year is the perfect opportunity to gain valuable work experience, to build on the career skills we will teach you on this degree. The connections you make on the placement will improve your career prospects further, and equip you with the skills you need to secure graduate-level employment.

How we support you

The University's Placement and Work Experience Team are experts at helping you to secure a placement. They will work closely with you from the start, helping you research potential employers, discover placement opportunities, create and pitch your CV, and will coach you to perform well in interviews. We aren't able to guarantee a placement, but our sector-leading advisors will give you the best possible chance of securing one.

Find out more about how we'll support you

We understand that your plans might change once you start your programme. If you decide not to do a placement, you will have the option of completing the three year version of your programme.

Whatever your choice, you will have access to many opportunities for work experience through our Placement and Work Experience Team, and access to face-to-face and 24/7 online careers support.

This module enables you to design, research and write an independent piece of historical research, on a subject of your choosing up to 20 years ago. Alternatively, you can undertake a work placement period in a History, Heritage, Archives or other organization (subject to discussion) directly relating to a future career/interests. 

In this module you will identify crises and conflicts when the Cold War risked boiling over into direct warfare. It offers you a deeper understanding of the nuances of the political climate in the late twentieth-century, as well as an opportunity to consider how legacies of the Cold War linger today. 

In this module you will question how we remember and represent the Holocaust. We will explore the history of the Nazi genocide and its depiction within contemporary culture (including films, video games and art), and consider how the Holocaust continues to provoke emotive debates regarding memorialisation, educational policies and modern-day ‘dark tourism’.

This module considers London's and Paris’ experiences of rapid expansion during the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the largest cities in the western world by World War II. The module investigates their transformation into imperial capitalist metropolises, shaped by revolutionary legacies, urban rebuilding, growing populations and migration.

These are the current planned modules on this course and may be subject to change.

This course offers a foundation year, which takes place at the beginning of your studies. Studying a foundation year will give you academic and practical experience, and a strong introduction to your subject, ensuring you succeed on your undergraduate degree.

Find out more about foundation years

30 credits

You will develop your core academic and integrated English language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. You will become familiar with key academic skills and concepts, such as referencing methods and awareness of academic integrity and tone. You will apply these skills and knowledge to both broad topics and also your chosen subject pathway.

Teaching and learning

You will be required to actively engage in on-campus learning for up to 10 hours a week.

You will be taught through a full range of teaching and learning methods, which include lectures, seminars, workshops, discussion groups, group directed tasks and presentations. This will enable you to learn from your peers and tutors in both structured and information settings.

You will be encouraged to think creatively about your approach to learning and discussions with your peers. You will also have access to recordings, resources, links and signposting through Moodle to enrich your learning.

Assessment

You will be assessed through group and individual presentations, comparative and reflective essays, multiple choice exams, coursework and reports, oral exams, portfolios, case studies and blogs.

30 credits

You will develop your core academic and integrated English language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. You will become familiar with key academic skills and concepts, such as referencing methods and awareness of academic integrity and tone. You will apply these skills and knowledge to both broad topics and also your chosen subject pathway.

Teaching and Learning

You will be required to actively engage in on-campus learning for up to 10 hours a week.

You will be taught through a full range of teaching and learning methods, which include lectures, seminars, workshops, discussion groups, group directed tasks and presentations. This will enable you to learn from your peers and tutors in both structured and information settings.

You will be encouraged to think creatively about your approach to learning and discussions with your peers. You will also have access to recordings, resources, links and signposting through Moodle to enrich your learning.

Assessment

You will be assessed through group and individual presentations, comparative and reflective essays, multiple choice exams, coursework and reports, oral exams, portfolios, case studies and blogs. 

30 credits

You will develop your research, numeracy and information technology skills. You will investigate the difference between primary and secondary research, conduct your own research project and demonstrate your findings through data analysis. You will also develop your awareness of equality, diversion and inclusion in the UK, through a real-world issue; discrimination in the workplace.

Teaching and learning

You will be required to actively engage in on-campus learning for up to 10 hours a week.

You will be taught through a full range of teaching and learning methods, which include lectures, seminars, workshops, discussion groups, group directed tasks and presentations. This will enable you to learn from your peers and tutors in both structured and information settings.

You will be encouraged to think creatively about your approach to learning and discussions with your peers. You will also have access to recordings, resources, links and signposting through Moodle to enrich your learning.

Assessment

You will be assessed through group and individual presentations, comparative and reflective essays, multiple choice exams, coursework and reports, oral exams, portfolios, case studies and blogs. 

30 credits

This module supports a broad exploration of crime and law and its integration within society across various sources, which includes diverse cultural, social, and political representations. By analysing a wide range of topics, you are encouraged to critically engage with how disability, gender and race are represented and viewed in relation to crime and law.

This course integrates sustainability by looking at the sustainability of social interactions and your results and consequences in relation to crime and law. Social responsibility, legal injustice across the globe and inequality are all featured. Social Responsibility is embedded through topics such as social identity, prejudice and exclusion. Social Cognitive Theory and Rational Choice Theory helps you understand challenges and question accountability for individuals and communities.

This course fosters global engagement by examining the inequalities experienced in other cultures, particularly in relation to race, gender and exclusion. Global challenges are addressed at every step equipping you with the skills to navigate a globalised world in a variety of ways. By analysing data and text concerning diverse cultures and contexts, you will develop an understanding of how individuals and cultures operate amongst injustices in a globalised world, preparing you to engage thoughtfully with diverse audiences.

Teaching and learning

Through lectures, workshops, group work, and structured academic writing, you will have the opportunity to practice the core academic skills needed for your future studies. Critical thinking will be developed through tasks such as text analysis, group discussions, and the ability to create well-structured academic assignments, including essays and presentations.

The teaching delivery for each module consists of one, one-three-hour lecture and one, two-hour workshop per week. You will get a diverse learning experience through case studies and active learning workshops and microteaches.

You will also have an additional 30 minutes of online support each week, consisting of activities to develop your presentation skills and to provide you with opportunities to explore wider policy implementation in diverse/comparative transnational examples.

Assessment

This module will be assessed using a video presentation and summative essay.

30% - video presentation, working in groups, you will produce a video on a topic taught on the curriculum and explain its impact on UK society, using a real-world example.

70% - summative essay, you will identify an issue, either historical or contemporary, that has had an impact on UK society and connect it to at least one of the key topics covered in the course.

30 credits

This module supports a broad exploration of social understanding across various sources, which includes diverse cultural, social, and political representations. By analysing a wide range of topics, you are encouraged to critically engage with how disability, gender and race are represented and viewed. This ensures that your projects and research can reflect a variation of perspectives, fostering a more inclusive and holistic learning environment.

This course integrates sustainability by looking at the sustainability of social interactions and your results and consequences. Social responsibility, globalisation and inequality are all featured. Social Responsibility is embedded through topics such as social identity, prejudice and exclusion. Social Cognitive Theory and Rational Choice Theory help you understand challenges and question accountability for individuals and communities.

This course fosters global engagement by examining the inequalities experienced in other cultures, particularly in relation to race, gender and class. Global challenges are addressed at every step, equipping you to navigate a globalised world in a variety of ways. By analysing data and text concerning diverse cultures and contexts, you develop an understanding of how individuals and cultures operate in a globalised world, preparing you to engage thoughtfully with diverse audiences.

Teaching and learning

The teaching delivery for each module consists of one, one-three-hour lecture and one, two-hour seminar per week. Lecturers will cover core indicative content, while seminars will consist of research workshops, as well as forming small groups and learning on relevant case studies.

You will also have an additional 30 minutes of online support each week, consisting of activities to develop your presentation skills and to provide you with opportunities to explore wider policy implementation in diverse/comparative transnational examples.

Assessment

This module will be assessed using an academic poster and a summative essay.

40% - academic poster, you will design a poster that provides key information and sociological analysis of your selected story or issue chosen from key weekly topics.

60% - summative essay, you will conduct a sociological analysis of a story or issue you have encountered in the media.

These are the current planned modules on this course and may be subject to change.

Career

Graduates of BA History are ready for a wide range of careers.

This includes careers in:

  • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
  • Legal professions
  • The charity sector
  • Accountancy
  • Teaching

History graduates have vital skills that make them attractive to employers, including confidence, adaptability and the capacity to work with people from all walks of life.   

The Student Futures team is here to support you throughout your time at Roehampton and beyond.

They offer services tailored to your needs, helping you take confident steps towards your future.

You’ll have access to a wide range of career workshops and events, where you can engage with employers and develop the skills you need to succeed in the workplace.

These opportunities will help you build your CV, prepare for interviews, and connect with successful Roehampton graduates who are thriving in their careers. You’ll also be able to engage with our partners across London and beyond.

Wherever you want to go in the future, you'll be preparing for the world of work from your very first day.

Find out more

Exciting Highlights from the BA History Programme

Here’s just a glimpse of the incredible opportunities waiting for you:

First year students: Our first-year History students took their studies beyond the classroom with a visit to the Wiener Holocaust Library in central London, the world’s oldest archive dedicated to the Holocaust.

After a guided tour of the collections and an introduction to the Refugee Map digital resource, they curated their own temporary exhibition, The Fragility of Freedom.

The display explored the disrupted lives of Jewish communities in 1930s Europe and was showcased in Roehampton’s University Library to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Second year students: Second-year students have been actively engaging with professionals. This term, they connected with leaders from:

  • Frontline, England’s largest social work charity and top graduate employer

  • Curators and outreach experts from the Museums Association and National Portrait Gallery

  • Author and creative coach Rachel Knightley

  • Former Roehampton student Avraham Goodman, now a Senior Policy Officer for the UK Government

Greenwich and Billingsgate Trip
Greenwich and Billingsgate Trip
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Third year students: Third-year students visited the powerful Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum London with Dr Caroline Sharples. They examined how history is communicated through exhibition design, storytelling, and artefacts. To take this experience further, students are looking forward to a special Q&A with Dr James Bulgin, Head of Public History at the IWM, to learn how this landmark exhibition was brought to life.

Holocaust Memorial Day: This year, we were honoured to welcome Holocaust survivor Anne Wolfe-Skinner to campus. She shared her deeply moving life story with students and staff - a profoundly human and emotional reminder of why the study of history matters.

Learning and assessment

At Roehampton, you’ll be part of a vibrant academic community where your ideas matter and your development as a historian is supported every step of the way.

From inspiring lectures and hands-on seminars to thought-provoking field trips and collaborative projects, your learning will be active, engaging, and tailored to prepare you for the real world. With no exams and 100% coursework, you’ll be assessed in creative and practical ways, developing skills that employers value and that you can take into a wide range of careers.

Hear from our students
Dedicated computer and study rooms in our library Housing a print collection of over 280,000 Books
Library across the lake
Holocaust Memorial Day at Roehampton Watch this video
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How you’ll learn

At Roehampton, your learning experience is designed to be interactive, supportive, and deeply rewarding. You won’t just sit and listen — you’ll get involved, debate, collaborate, and grow as a historian.

You’ll learn through:

  • Inspiring lectures led by world-class academics passionate about their subjects

  • Lively seminar discussions where you’ll explore ideas in depth

  • Small group work that lets you connect, challenge each other, and learn from fellow students

  • Personalised support from tutors who’ll get to know you and help guide your academic journey

Your feedback matters. That’s why we use both tutor and peer feedback to help you improve, reflect, and become more confident in your work.

Dr Andrew Wareham

Dr Andrew Wareham is Reader in Economic and Social History, specialising in the medieval period and the late 17th century. He is interested in comparative approaches to History, and is currently researching the relationship between taxation, hierarchy, and community in England. He teaches modules in medieval and early modern history, with a focus on Europe and Asia.

Dr Caroline Sharples

Dr Caroline Sharples is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History. She is especially interested in history and memory, and her research specialism concerns the postwar legacy of National Socialism. She is currently writing a cultural history of the death of Adolf Hitler. Caroline teaches modules on historiography, dictatorship and representations of the Holocaust.

Dr Jack Hodgson

Dr Jack Hodgson is a historian of childhood and youth activism in the 19th and 20th century USA. He researches radical and extreme children's movements including the Young Pioneers of America and the Junior Ku Klux Klan. He is interested in the changing relationship between children, citizenship, Civil Rights, politics, and the environment. In addition to American history publications, he has also published research on children's artwork from the Spanish Civil War.

Candace Scarborough

Candace Scarborough is a historian and movement artist. She is interested in the histories of marginalised groups in the late medieval and early Tudor period, specialising in African presence in England and women's careers at the Tudor court. Her research explores collaborations between history, performance, and heritage.

Prof. Fiona McHardy

Professor Fiona McHardy is an expert in the cultural history of violence in antiquity. She is currently writing a book on Gendered Violence in Ancient Greece, covering such topics as infanticide, sexual assault, and domestic violence. Fiona teaches modules on ancient Greek history and literature.

Dr Helen Esfandiary

Dr Helen Esfandiary is a cultural historian specialising in the body, medicine, disease, gender in the early modern and Georgian periods, with a particular interest in the perspectives of mothers and medical practitioners on children and adolescents.

Dr Katerina Volioti

Dr. Katerina Volioti, Lecturer in History, teaches modules on Art History, museums, and digital humanities. Katerina's research draws from deep social theory and makes connections between ancient and modern periods.

 

Professor Ted Vallance

Professor Ted Vallance works on the political history of seventeenth-century England. He is currently writing a new history of the trial and execution of Charles I. Professor Vallance teaches our third-year module 'Radicalism in the English Revolution.'

Dr Dustin Frazer Wood

His research focuses on the ways European writers and artists have discovered, imagined and remade classical and medieval literature, history and material culture over the past 600 years.

Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson specialises in political thought, parliament and propaganda in mid-Elizabethan England. His other interests are late Medieval and Early Modern Political thought, political culture from 1400-1700, Shakespeare’s England and the History of London.

Bethan Davies

Her research focuses on Renaissance literature, culture and history. She is interested in the connections between colonial commodities and constructions of gender in early modern England, specifically the global and domestic intersections between sugar and femininity in the Renaissance period. 

How you’ll be assessed

No exams here - just 100% coursework that reflects real-world skills. Our assessments are creative, meaningful, and designed to prepare you for your future career.

You’ll complete:

  • Oral presentations

  • Book and film reviews

  • Historical posters

  • Source analyses

  • Public history projects - e.g. designing a pop-up exhibition or creating an educational resource for schools.

Open days

Get a real taste of our campus, community and what it’s like to study at Roehampton

Full-time UK undergraduate students apply through UCAS.

Course subject to curriculum enhancement and revalidation.

 

Entry tariff

112–128 UCAS points (or equivalent)

Foundation Year: 64–80 UCAS points (or equivalent)

Looking to work out your UCAS points or find out about our entry requirements? Find out more.

When we consider applications to study with us, we form a complete view of your achievements to date, and future potential, and can offer flexibility in entry requirements. Find out more about our Contextual Offer scheme.

September 2025 entry tuition fees

UK (home) tuition fees

Year one fees

Undergraduate degree: £9,535
Foundation Year: £5,760

We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries. See our financial support pages for UK students.

We also provide other ways to support the cost of living, including on-campus car parking, hardship support and some of the most affordable student accommodation and catering in London. Find out more about how we can support you.

International undergraduate students apply through our direct application system.

Course subject to curriculum enhancement and revalidation.

Entry tariff

112–128 UCAS points (or equivalent)

International Foundation Pathway:
64 UCAS (or equivalent)
IELTS: 5.5

Looking to work out your UCAS points or find out about our entry requirements? Find out more.

When we consider applications to study with us, we form a complete view of your achievements to date, and future potential, and can offer flexibility in entry requirements. Find out more about our Contextual Offer scheme.

September 2025 entry tuition fees

EU and international tuition fees

Year one fees

Undergraduate degree: £16,950
Foundation Year: £16,950
International Foundation Pathway: £16,950

We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries. See our financial support pages for international students.

We also provide other ways to support the cost of living, including on-campus car parking, hardship support and some of the most affordable student accommodation and catering in London. Find out more about how we can support you.

Need help or advice before applying?

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Integrating the creative dynamism of arts and digital industries with the deep-rooted traditions of humanities and social sciences.

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