History (BA)

Applicants come from a diverse range of backgrounds and we accept a broad range of qualifications. Special consideration will be given to mature applicants, and we are happy to consider applicants with other qualifications, including QAA-approved Access to HE courses.

Students from overseas should visit the International| pages for further information on the entry requirements from their country and English language requirements.  Royal Holloway International offers an International Foundation Programme and English language pre-sessional courses, allowing students the opportunity to develop their study skills and English language before starting their undergraduate degree.

We make decisions based on achieved or predicted grades, personal statements and references. More information on how your application will be assessed, and tips for your personal statement can be found on our Applying| pages.

We occasionally invite candidates to interview, usually in cases where we would like more information on which to base a decision. Applicants who are unable to attend, such as overseas students, are interviewed by telephone.

• Study a rich set of periods, events and places, each fascinating in its own right, and each yielding unique insights.
• Explore under the guidance of internationally-renowned specialists a coherent and compelling historical framework that brings history alive and addresses key debates.
• Choose from a wide range of elective course units to build the study content that matches your interests.
• Combine the pursuit of historical knowledge with the acquisition of key transferable career skills.
• Enjoy the vibrant and friendly atmosphere of the History Department – a department with a global reputation for the quality of its teaching and research.

History is a unique blend of analysis, narrative and argument. Mastery of its content and techniques is not only valuable and rewarding in itself, but also forms an excellent foundation for careers that call for a critical approach to information and an ability to make reasoned cases.

Throughout the course, you will:

• understand and critique primary and secondary historical sources
• develop insights, narratives and themes that account for historical events
• compare different approaches to history and find and account for links between periods, events and movements
• share growing understanding of history and communicate you ideas in small tutor groups 
• be encouraged to engage with historical materials and the work of other historians so as to arrive at your own views and conclusions.

All undergraduate degree courses at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. This system provides an effective and flexible approach to study, while ensuring that our degrees have a coherent and developmental structure.

The Department’s website| gives detailed lists of the course units taken for each different degree.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, large and small seminar groups and occasionally in one-to-one tutorials. Outside classes you will undertake group projects and wide-ranging but guided independent study. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle, which provides a wide range of supporting materials. A Personal Tutor will guide and support throughout your degree and you will be supervised by a member of staff when preparing your second-year independent research essay and your final-year dissertation.

Some course units are assessed solely by coursework, others by a combination of examinations, coursework, online quizzes and presentations. In your second year, you will write a 5,000-word independent research essay, and in your final year you will research and write a 10,000-word dissertation based on primary sources.

You will take a study skills course during your first year, designed to equip you with and enhance the writing skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This course does not count towards your final degree award but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.

Choosing History at Royal Holloway will equip you with exactly the skills and qualities that employers are looking for. Studying an intellectually demanding discipline will demonstrate to employers that you enjoy being challenged and are able to understand complex issues. As a historian, you will be well-informed, culturally-informed and alert, with strong skills in problem-solving, organisation and planning, research, critical and analytical skills and the ability to craft an argument. 

Our recent graduates have very successfully entered a wide range of careers including working as curators (Imperial War Museum, Museum of London), in information management (British Museum), teaching, finance, law (a barrister in the Lord Chancellor's office), broadcasting (Director of the BBC), marketing/PR ,national defence (Royal Navy), or the performing arts. The Department works closely with the University’s careers service, which offers a range of tailor-made careers events, one-to-one careers advice sessions and skills workshops specifically for history students. For more information on what our students are doing now, please see the department’s website|.