BA History
At the University of Essex we're about social conscience, wondering why, and understanding the bigger picture. We teach you to find your own critical voice and view history through the eyes of different people, telling hidden histories that might otherwise be forgotten.
Our BA History allows you to explore challenging questions about the impact of political, social and cultural change on individuals, social groups and regions. From African-American slavery to Stalin's Russia—from households in Essex to witchcraft in Germany—from the history of disease to revolutions in China, we urge you to explore the past in order to better understand the present.
You have the flexibility to choose from a wide range of optional modules about subjects close to home and further afield.
You are taught by award-winning academics from all over the world: our corridors are truly cosmopolitan. We also provide you with opportunities to explore local history and have close ties with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK.
Assessed coursework generally consists of essays, concept studies, critical commentaries, research proposals, and a 15,000-word dissertation. Students usually attend a two-hour seminar for each module each week. Seminar groups/workshops which would usually have about 15 students.
- You can choose from a unique and diverse range of topics, periods and countries.
- Work alongside active industry professionals.
- We offer financial assistance for voluntary work at local museums, archives and heritage sites.
Study abroad
Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.
Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.
If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university
Placement year
When you arrive at Essex, you can decide whether you would like to combine your course with a placement year. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and the placements team.
If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.
Our expert staff
Our staff are among world leaders in their field, and our enthusiasm for our subject is infectious. Our flexible course is combined with a supportive structure which helps you to pursue the modules best-suited to your interests. We take the time to get to know you as an individual, welcome you into our scholarly community, and value your views.
Specialist facilities
- We have several Special Collections in history, including the Essex Society for Archaeology and History Library, the Harsnett Collection, the Hervey Benham Oral History Sound Archive, the Bensusan Collection, and the Colchester Medical Society Library
- Access the UK Data Archive, a national service provider digital resources for historians, which is particularly strong in nineteenth and twentieth-century economic and social history
- Attend an exciting programme of events
- Access a variety of textbooks and journals in our Albert Sloman Library which houses materials on Latin America, Russia and the US that are of national significance
Your future
In addition to the opportunity to learn about the past and come to a better understanding of the present, a course in history also provides you with important skills that will be of value after leaving university. You learn to absorb, analyse and assess a wide variety of information and viewpoints, to express your arguments in oral and written form, and to think and work both independently and in co-operation with others.
You therefore graduate prepared for a wide range of careers. Our graduates have gone on to have careers in a wide variety of fields including:
- teaching
- librarianship
- museum and archive services
- the Civil Service
- local government
- law enforcement
- charity administration
Others have proceeded to work in banking, industrial and retail management, media research, electronic publishing, marketing, IT, health service administration, counselling and social work, while others still have chosen to enhance their career opportunities by studying at postgraduate level.
Some of our recent graduates have found employment as:
- a warden for the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle
- a planning support officer for a local council
- a senior underwriting assistant at CNA Insurance Company Limited
- a researcher at the House of Commons
- a graduate trainee for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
- a library assistant for the University of Cambridge
We also work with the university's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.
At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.
The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications. The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.
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