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History, BA (Hons)

Study History and Explore a Range of Periods and Gain Valued Skills

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Course Overview

This BA in History at Swansea University enables you to build the skills that are valued by employers, across a range of sectors and professions, while exploring more than 1500 years of history, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present day.

The programme, anchored in compulsory modules and enhanced by optional modules, gives you a guided, structured and schematic path through history that enables you to acquire the skills and competencies of historical enquiry, as it is practiced in the twenty-first century.

Through the optional modules offered, you will have the opportunity to specialise in particular periods of history, as well as the ability to focus your studies on themes that transcend historical eras, by exploring issues including Sex and Gender, Empire and Nationhood, Revolution, Medicine and Disability, and the Environment across different places and times.

Delivered by leading academics who practice research-led teaching, and who are passionate about sharing their knowledge with students and the wider world, this degree enables you to engage with the latest historical research, as it is being conducted.

Every student is encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, to work independently as well as with others, to act professionally, and to gain and refine new skills. Members of the subject area will offer one-to-one support and feedback for assessment, working with you to help you reach your potential and to understand and meet the challenges of studying history at university level.

Why History at Swansea?

Based at our coastal Singleton Park Campus, you will be located in beautiful parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula.

Our History courses at Swansea University are highly regarded by students and employers:

  • 94% of History graduates are in employment and/or study, or doing other activities such as travelling 15 months after leaving Swansea University (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2025)

Your History Experience

The degree is underpinned by three central threads, which progress together across each level of study:

  1. The degree emphasises how relevant the past is today. Modules lead you to ask questions about the relationship between the past on one hand, and the present and the future on the other.
  2. The programme leads you to acquire, develop and refine the transferable skills of historical research. These include the ability to plan, conduct and evaluate information, communicate ideas and arguments in a variety of ways, to think creatively using evidence-based arguments, and to work both independently and collaboratively.
  3. The curriculum is taught in a way that enhances and broadens your employability, helping you to acquire graduate attributes, which can be applied in careers across a wide range of professions. Through innovative assessments, which go beyond traditional essays, and offering a high degree of choice in assessment, the curriculum leads you to gain these real-world skills by completing work which suits your strengths.

This programme also includes the opportunity to undertake a Semester or a Year Abroad, spent in locations such as the USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong, or Singapore, enhancing your learning and offering invaluable life experience.

Alternatively, you could spend a Year in Industry, in the UK or overseas, enabling you to gain valuable workplace experience. The University advocates for paid-only placements, which on average have a salary of over £20,000. Unpaid placements are considered on a case-by-case basis. You can also undertake a work placement module, that will further develop your skills by spending time at a partner body.

If required, an additional Foundation Year can be included in this programme, which gives you an exciting introduction to higher education, setting you up with the skills, confidence, and knowledge that you’ll need to be successful in your undergraduate degree. It’s ideal if you need a little more support after further education or are returning to education after a gap. Following successful completion of the Foundation Year, you can progress onto Year 1 of your BA.

History Employment Opportunities

Graduates with a BA in History will possess a range of transferable skills including independent critical thinking, analytical skills, the ability to process and synthesise vast amounts of information, and to engage in a historiographical debate.

They also possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, alongside the ability to think laterally; to analyse events in the past and use this analysis to inform their understanding of current affairs and society. These skills are transferable across several industries that focus on current societies, especially in business, politics and academia. 

By better understanding how businesses and the creative sectors engage with history for wealth-creation, and commodify it in commercial environments, our students enter the workplace with a sound understanding of the ethics and implications of instrumentalising the past.

The BA in History can equip you to move into a range of graduate-level positions, including:

  • The Civil Service, education, and history and heritage organisations, including museums
  • Policy roles in the broad area of culture and leisure
  • Education (via a PGCE)
  • Media and public relations
  • A wide variety of roles drawing on advanced critical thinking skills plus practical workplace experience, e.g. events management.
  • Further academic study in history and related disciplines and careers in academia

Modules

We're currently reviewing our curriculum to enhance your learning experience and embed skills that will benefit your future career. This means that some modules may be subject to change.

Entry Requirements

We consider all applicants on their own merits and welcome applications from students with a wide range of qualifications.

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History, BA (Hons)

History with a Year Abroad, BA (Hons)

History with a Year in Industry, BA (Hons)