History with Spanish (BA)

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

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, will be interviewed by telephone.

• Enjoy the vibrant and friendly atmosphere of the History Department – a department with a global reputation for the quality of its teaching and research.
• You will have the opportunity to explore a coherent and compelling historical framework that brings history alive under the guidance of internationally-renowned specialists.
• Combine the pursuit of historical knowledge with the acquisition of key transferable career skills.
• The School of Modern Languages offers excellent quality equipment and dedicated language learning facilities.
• Our approach to the study of the culture of the Hispanic world combines interactive seminar with elements of the more traditional university lecture.

The History course units blend analysis, narrative and argument. After taking introductory courses in the first year, you will choose from a wide range of elective units covering subjects such as Tudor Britain and the Victorians and countries such as the USA, Spain and China.

The Spanish course comprises core course units in spoken and written language. You will use film resources and computer programmes designed by the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures; with language laboratories, satellite television and internet available all day for personal study.

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
• learn to converse and write confidently and fluently in Spanish.

The websites of the Department of History| and School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures| give detailed lists of the course units taken for each different subject.

Each year you will take three course units in History and one in Spanish.

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 and Spanish 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. Choosing a language degree at Royal Holloway will equip you with not only a broad range of transferable skills – self-reliance, independent thinking, time-management – but the ability to communicate fluently in a foreign language is a rare skill that is highly valued by employers. 

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 History Department’s website| and the Modern Languages website|.