Northumbria University Newcastle - History BA (Hons)

Northumbria University Newcastle

History BA (Hons)

BA (Hons) History at Northumbria combines the study of the past with 21-century themes – you will learn to think about how history provides a deeper perspective on present-day challenges, as well as focusing on how these skills can enhance your future employability.

Throughout, you will gain new understanding of present-day concerns, including environmental change, global connectivity, racial and gender equality, war and conflict, and media and culture. With modules on American, African, British, Middle Eastern, and European history, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary, you will follow your academic passions and shape your own degree.

Entry Requirements

Standard Entry

120 UCAS Tariff points

From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.

Subject Requirements:

There are no specific subject requirements for this course.

GCSE Requirements:

Applicants will need Maths and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or an equivalent.

Additional Requirements:

There are no additional requirements for this course.

English Language Requirements:

International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*). 

Career Prospects

History graduates are especially valued because of their transferable communication skills and the way they evaluate evidence and think critically. You can use your history degree as a platform to launch a career in areas such as finance, law, journalism and the civil service. There are also jobs in museums and archive management, or you can consider becoming a professional researcher by studying further at the postgraduate level.

During the second year of the course, you will have the chance to undertake a work placement in an institution such as a museum, archive, heritage site, or comparable employer. This will give you an awareness of how the skills of historical study can be applied professionally.

You will also have the opportunity to spend a semester in North America or Europe, continuing your historical studies in a new context. You can study a foreign language to assist with this, or travel to broaden your cultural horizons. An international outlook will give you an extra edge in the job market.

Course Details

Your tutors will use a variety of teaching methods including lectures, small-group discussions and individual tutorials. These will be backed up by regular feedback and consultation hours during which you can discuss your progress with a personal tutor and ask further questions. We make sure that extensive feedback from tutors and peers is built into the course.

Our assessment strategy is designed to support student-centred learning, based on our understanding that everyone has different needs, strengths, and enthusiasms. Assessments will develop your communication skills while also testing your grasp of the learning outcomes for each module. Assessment methods will include essays, presentations, portfolios of work and a final-year dissertation.

Year One

The Making of Contemporary Europe (Core,20 Credits)
A Disunited Kingdom? The British and Irish Isles since 1689 (Core,20 Credits)
From Sea to Shining Sea: US History from 1776 to 2008 (Core,20 Credits)
Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe 1200-1720 (Core,20 Credits)
Making History (Core,20 Credits)
Cultures, Empires and Ideas: Global Histories of Power and Ideology (Core,20 Credits)
Academic Language Skills for Humanities and Social Sciences (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)

Year Two

Humanities Study Abroad (60 credit) (Optional,60 Credits)
The American West (Optional,20 Credits)
Affluence and Anxiety: The US from 1920 to 1960 (Optional,20 Credits)
Slavery, Sectionalism and Manifest Destiny (Optional,20 Credits)
Your Graduate Future (Optional,20 Credits)
From Reconstruction to Reunification: Europe, 1945-1991 (Optional,20 Credits)
Ireland before and after the Great Famine, 1798-1916 (Optional,20 Credits)
Into the Dark Valley: Europe, 1919-1939 (Optional,20 Credits)
The Holocaust (Optional,20 Credits)
Enlightenment to Empire: France in an Age of Revolution, 1715-1815 (Optional,20 Credits)
Debating History (Core,20 Credits)
Early Modern Monarchies: Power and Representation, 1500-1750 (Optional,20 Credits)
Rise of the Russian Empire: the Romanovs, 1613-1855 (Optional,20 Credits)
Power and Freedom: West African History, 1850 to 2010 (Optional,20 Credits)
Origins of the Modern Middle East, c. 1770-1970 (Optional,20 Credits)
Migration, Diaspora and the Making of Modern Britain (Optional,20 Credits)
Witches, Knights and Plague: Medieval Europe on Film (Optional,20 Credits)
British Empires: The First Two Hundred Years (Optional,20 Credits)
History/Film: Using Popular Film as Historical Evidence (Optional,20 Credits)
Travel Writing and Tourism in Modern Britain and Ireland (Optional,20 Credits)
Field Notes: Politics and Policy Making in Place (Optional,20 Credits)
Unilang - Languages for all - Level 5 Placeholder (Optional,20 Credits)
Academic Language Skills for Humanities and Social Sciences (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)

Year three

Humanities Work Placement Year (Optional,120 Credits)
Humanities Study Abroad Year (Optional,120 Credits)
Year in International Business (This is made up of modules studied in Newcastle (Semester 1) & Amsterdam (Semester 2) (Optional,120 Credits)
Year in International Multidisciplinary Innovation (4 modules studied in Amsterdam (Semester 1) & Newcastle (Semester 2) (Optional,120 Credits)

Year Four

States of Nature: Environments and Peoples in the Americas (Optional,20 Credits)
Women, Crime and Subversion in Early Modern Europe (Optional,20 Credits)
Northern Ireland: The 'Troubles' and the Search for Peace (Optional,20 Credits)
Sex and the City: Urban Life in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Optional,20 Credits)
History Dissertation (Core,40 Credits)
Mystics, Deviants and Satanists: Unorthodox Thinking in the Age of the Inquisition (Optional,20 Credits)
Law and Order USA: Police, Prisons, and Protest in Modern America (Optional,20 Credits)
The Art of Power: Tudor Court Culture (Optional,20 Credits)
Holocaust Testimony and Cultural Memory (Optional,20 Credits)
Environmental disaster in modern Britain (Optional,20 Credits)
History of Antisemitism (Optional,20 Credits)
The British Women's Suffrage Movement in History and Memory (Optional,20 Credits)
Nicaragua in Revolution, 1979-1990 (Optional,20 Credits)
Russia Between Democracy and Dictatorship: Gorbachev to Putin, 1985-2008 (Optional,20 Credits)
How to Kill a King: Monarchies in Crisis, 1547-1689 (Optional,20 Credits)
Creatures of Empire: an Animal History of British Colonialism (Optional,20 Credits)
Taking the King's Shilling: Ireland and the British Army, 1793-1945 (Optional,20 Credits)
Capitalism and its Others (Optional,20 Credits)
Secret Documents, Oral Traditions: How We Know About African History (Optional,20 Credits)
Academic Language Skills for Humanities and Social Sciences (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)

*The information’s are correct at the time of publishing, however it may change if university makes any changes after we have published the information. While we try our best to provide correct information, It is advisable to call us or visit university website for up to date information.

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