BA in History

History is the best way of understanding the world around us. What is gender, race, class, religion, the state, empire, and capitalism? What are the USA, China, the United Kingdom, and Ireland? What are NATO and the EU? Our historians explain the modern world by reaching back to the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the great modern revolutions across all of Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. From their first year, we trust our students to make choices and range widely across all these histories to understand where we have come from. From the beginning of your degree, you will be taught in small groups by expert historians. Our range in time and space, our trust in you to explore and make good choices, and our small group teaching from the first year of the degree mark us out among our peer universities.

History highlights

Student Experience

History is the best way of understanding our world. At Queen’s, we have an exceptionally wide-ranging curriculum, that stretches from the Roman Empire to the present day and attends especially to public history, social history, gender history, and queer history.

Queen's teaches History from the Ancient World to the present day and across four continents. This depth and breadth is an unusual strength, and we trust our students to find their own way through this very wide range of histories.

Global Opportunities

The History program offers students opportunities to travel and study at universities in Europe and North America. Short-term (two weeks) and longer-term (up to one academic year) exchanges are on offer.

Possible examples include:

• George Washington University (Washington DC, USA)
• Aarhus Universitet (Denmark)
• College of Charleston (South Carolina, USA)
• Institut d’Etudes Politques de Bordeaux (France)
• University of Oslo (Norway)
• Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands)
• Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)

Field trips may also be offered in particular years or as part of certain modules.

Industry Links

Several modules include links with local collaborative partners, which provide students with opportunities to network with experts in the field or to gain experience in particular industries prior to graduation.

Internships have also been developed to allow students the opportunity to carry out work experience in history-related fields.

Further Study Opportunities

Many others went on to further study, not only in History MAs, but also in MSc Management, MSc Software Development, PGCE History, PGCE Primary, MA Legal Science, MA Legislative Studies and Practice, MSc Dating and Chronology, and MA International Relations.

Further study is also an option; information on Master’s programmes and research topics is available from the School website.

Career Development

Queen’s is ranked 13th in the UK for graduate prospects - outcomes (Complete University Guide 2024).

Student Experience

From year 1, you will be taught in small groups by real historians. You will not be one of 300 students in a lecture theatre, coming face-to-face only with PhD students.

Student Experience

Studying at Queen’s also means you play an active role in making your own curriculum; we trust you to move through our curriculum and make your own choices.