2021 start
History BA
Overview
You’ll have the flexibility to explore a wide range of new historical topics and to develop your own areas of specialism and expertise. You can explore a range of issues and themes, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the 21st century, spanning across the globe.
Core modules will give you a firm foundation to understand historical change and gain valuable research skills. You can also choose from a wide selection of optional modules to explore periods and societies that really interest you. Whether it’s medieval medicine or modern Africa, there’s plenty to discover.
At the School of History, our tutors are experts in a broad range of areas – and this research will inform what and how you learn. We also have top-class facilities, including one of the biggest university libraries in England.
Leeds has excellent resources for historians. The world-class Brotherton Library holds a wide variety of manuscript, archive and early printed material in its Special Collections, including several National Collections, and the University Library offers comprehensive training programmes to help you make the most of the facilities we have.
Take a look around our libraries:
Course content
Year 1 is about your transition to degree-level study. We help you to gain a good grounding in historical periods through modules in medieval and modern history. We also help you to develop strong research skills for the whole of your time at University and beyond.
Once you’ve built that base of knowledge and skills, you can choose optional modules across year 2 to help you focus on the social, cultural, political or economic themes that suit your interests. You’ll study at least two modules in the modern period and two from earlier times, but you can really tailor your degree to suit you.
By year 3, you’ll have a clear idea of how to apply what you’ve learnt to a special subject, focusing on a specific topic in-depth with the help of primary sources. You’ll also put your knowledge and skills into practice when you write a longer research dissertation on a topic of your choice.
Course structure
The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.
Modules
Year 1
Compulsory modules
- Historiography and Historical Skills 20 credits
- Medieval and Renaissance Europe 20 credits
- The Modern World 20 credits
- Primary Sources for the Historian: An Introduction to Documentary study 20 credits
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- Empire and Aftermath: The Mediterranean World from the Second to the Eighth Centuries 20 credits
- Faith, Knowledge and Power, 1500-1750 20 credits
Year 2
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- The Crusades and Medieval Christendom 20 credits
- The Tudors: Princes, Politics, and Piety, 1485-1603 20 credits
- Most Christian Kings: France, 1515-1715 20 credits
- Charles the Great to Alfred the Great: Franks, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings in the Ninth Century 20 credits
- Imperial Germany 1871-1918 20 credits
- America and the Sixties 20 credits
- Nationalism, Colonialism and 'Religious Violence' in India, 1857-1947 20 credits
- The History of Africa since 1900 20 credits
- The Popular Caribbean: A History 20 credits
- Black Politics from Emancipation to Obama 20 credits
- Histories of Black Britain 20 credits
- The Rise of Modern Japan: From the Meiji Restoration to the Present Day 20 credits
Year 3
Compulsory modules
- History Dissertation 40 credits
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- Conquest, Convivencia and Conflict: Christian and Muslim Spain, 711-1212 40 credits
- Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 40 credits
- The Harlem Renaissance: Black Culture and Politics 1919-1940 40 credits
- Tradition and Modernity in Colonial Africa: Uganda's Kingdoms 1862-1964 40 credits
- Citizens of the World: British Merchants in the Long Eighteenth Century 40 credits
- Europe in an Age of Total Warfare 40 credits
- The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 40 credits
- The Cultural History of Venice, 1509-1797 40 credits
- The Soviet Sixties: Politics and Society in the USSR, 1953-1968 40 credits
- War, Regicide and Republic: England, 1642-1660 20 credits
- Order and Disorder in Early Modern France: Understanding the French Wars of Religion 20 credits
- The Korean War 40 credits
- The Breaking of Contemporary Britain: Challenges from the Post-War Period 20 credits
- Men and Masculinity in Britain, c.1860-1960: War, Work and Home 20 credits
- Crime and Punishment in Colonial Southern Asia 20 credits
Discovery modules
Throughout your degree you will benefit from the range of opportunities, expanding your intellectual horizons outside or within your subject area.
This course gives you the opportunity to choose from a range of discovery modules. They’re a great way to tailor your study around your interests or career aspirations and help you stand out from the crowd when you graduate. Find out more about discovery modules on our Broadening webpages.
Learning and teaching
We use a variety of teaching and learning styles, including lectures delivered by our expert tutors as well as seminars and group work. Independent study is also an important element of the course, allowing you to develop your research and analytical skills – and we have a wealth of resources from our libraries to computing facilities to help you develop as an independent learner.
On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.
Assessment
Assessment methods may vary, depending on the modules you choose. Exams and essays are the most common, but some modules may also include group work, oral presentations and other methods as part of the mix. We offer plenty of support, including the chance to attend extra classes on issues such as exam technique, public speaking and structuring an essay if you need them.
Entry requirements, fees and applying
Entry requirements
A-level: AAA including A in History if taken.
Other course specific tests:When an applicant is taking the EPQ in a relevant subject this might be considered alongside other Level 3 qualifications and may attract an alternative offer in addition to the standard offer. If you are taking A Levels, this would be AAB at A Level including A in History and grade A in the EPQ.
We welcome applications from mature students with Access qualifications, and from students with a wide range of qualifications.-
Access to HE Diploma
Pass diploma with 60 credits overall, including at least 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. 15 credits at level 3 at Distinction must be in History. An interview and a piece of written work are required.
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BTEC
We will consider this qualification in combination with other qualifications. Please contact the Admissions Office for more information.
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Cambridge Pre-U
D3, D3, M1 including D3 in History
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International Baccalaureate
35 points overall with 17 at Higher Level including 6 in History at Higher Level
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Irish Highers (Leaving Certificate)
H2, H2, H2, H2, H2, H2 including H2 in History
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Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers
AA in Advanced Highers including an A in History and AABBB in Highers, or A in Advanced Highers History and AAABB in Highers
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Welsh Baccalaureate
The Welsh Baccalaureate is not typically included in the academic conditions of an offer made to you for this course. If you choose to undertake the Welsh Baccalaureate we would strongly encourage you to draw upon these experiences within your personal statement, as your qualification will then be taken into account both when your application is initially considered by the selection panel and again when reviewed by the admissions tutor at the time your A-level results are passed to us.
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Other Qualifications
European Baccalaureate: 85% with 85% in History.
Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the School’s Undergraduate Admissions Team.
Alternative entry
We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.
Access to Leeds is an alternative admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.
Find out more about Access to Leeds and alternative admissions.
Typical Access to Leeds offer: ABB including A in History if taken at A Level and pass Access to Leeds.
International
We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. Contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.
International Foundation Year
International students who do not meet the academic requirements for undergraduate study may be able to study the University of Leeds International Foundation Year. This gives you the opportunity to study on campus, be taught by University of Leeds academics and progress onto a wide range of Leeds undergraduate courses. Find out more about International Foundation Year programmes.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.
Improve your English
If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our undergraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.
How to apply
Apply to this course through UCAS. The institution code for the University of Leeds is L23. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website.
International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK/EU students. Our network of international representatives can help you with your application. If you’re unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.
Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.
Admissions policy
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures Undergraduate Admissions Policy 2021
Fees
UK: See fees section below
International: £20,250 (per year)
Undergraduate tuition fees for 2020 entry
For UK and non-UK EU full-time students starting in 2020, the fee for 2020/21 will be £9,250.
The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation, and as permitted by law. Fees for UK and non-UK EU undergraduate students are decided by Government and may vary if policy changes.
The UK government has confirmed that non-UK EU students starting in the 2020/21 academic year will have home fee status and be eligible for UK government student loans for the duration of their course.
UK undergraduate tuition fees for 2021 entry
For UK full-time students starting in 2021, the fee for 2021/22 will be £9,250.
The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation, and as permitted by law. Fees for UK undergraduate students are decided by Government and may vary if policy changes.
EU students starting in 2021/22
EU students starting their course in the 2021/22 academic year or later will now be classed as international students and so will need to pay the international student tuition fee.
Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year
If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period. For more information, see Study abroad and work placement tuition fees and loans.
Read more about paying fees and charges.
Brexit
Visit our Brexit page for the latest information on the effect of the UK's exit from the EU on current students and applicants to the University.
There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more about additional costs
Financial support
If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There is help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Find out more in our Undergraduate funding overview.
Career opportunities
A degree in History from Leeds will equip you with plenty of valuable skills for a range of different careers. You’ll be able to think critically and analyse information, asking the right questions and communicating your findings both verbally and in writing. Independence, self-motivation and initiative are also among the skills you will develop, so graduates from this degree are highly regarded by employers.
Recent graduates have gone into careers in marketing, journalism, teaching, publishing, the civil service, fashion, law, finance and heritage to name just a few.
Read more about Graduate destinations.
We do everything we can to help prepare you for your career. Student-run career groups allow you to get together with other students who share your career goals, while you could also become a peer mentor or apply for one of our paid internships. Or you could take one of our career-related modules to develop your employability or explore your options.
Careers support
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
Leeds for Life is our unique approach to helping you make the most of University by supporting your academic and personal development. Find out more at the Leeds for Life website.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
Study abroad and work placements
Study abroad
On this course you have the opportunity to apply to spend time abroad, usually as an extra academic year. We have over 300 University partners worldwide and popular destinations for our students include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Latin America.
Find out more at the Study Abroad website.
Work placements
Practical work experience can help you decide on your career and improve your employability. On this course you have the option to apply to take a placement year module with organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK, or overseas.
Find out more about work experience on the Careers website.