History

Studying History at the University of Exeter will take you on a journey through the human race in historic times: its activities, ideas, creations, institutions and impact. What you encounter will enhance your understanding of other subject areas and kinds of knowledge and improve your awareness of other cultures, providing mental resources that will be of use throughout your life.

You’ll learn to collect evidence through the use of libraries, archives, the internet, interviews, languages, palaeography and environmental field work. You’ll learn how to analyse evidence through authentication, numeracy skills, dating, understanding and interpretation, critical study and reflection, and accurate description. And you’ll learn to present evidence and interpret it in a responsible, well-informed and convincing way, placed in context to show how and why it was produced, its relative importance and value, and what impact it has had. These are key skills transferable to a wide range of professions and occupations.

Our History programmes are high in quality, modern and innovative. They offer you a wide range of choice, introducing a range of countries, periods and themes in ways that are stimulating and intellectually challenging. The content of our undergraduate programmes is influenced by the research of our staff who are amongst the leading figures in their fields. We have an interdisciplinary perspective and close links to related fields including Classics and Ancient History, Archaeology, Philosophy, Politics and Sociology.

History: Streatham Campus (E)

At the Streatham Campus in Exeter we have some of the leading historians in their fields. We’re firmly committed to research and publication of the highest quality and this has a direct impact on the quality of our undergraduate teaching.

We have strengths in Early Modern British and Modern European history, and particular specialisms in the histories of power (including security and conflict), identity (including faith, gender and nation), knowledge (including medicine) and resources (including consumption and sustainable development). Our Centre for Maritime Historical Studies was the first of its kind to be opened in a British university and our other research centres are also a focus for interdisciplinary research activity across the institution.

History is a diverse and interdisciplinary subject area and you’ll have the opportunity to choose from a flexible range of history and related options as part of your degree. These range in time from the collapse of the Roman Empire to post-Communist Europe, in place from America to Asia and Africa, and in content from modern political movements and parties to women’s history and material culture. This will give you considerable scope to shape your degree to suit your current and emerging interests.

We aim to stimulate technical and critical approaches to the study of the past and to ensure you are familiar with the wide-ranging disciplines involved. You may decide to extend your knowledge of foreign languages and you’ll be expected to develop a range of key and personal skills including the use of information technology.

Numbers

Exeter

Entrants: 165
Applicants: 1543

History: Cornwall Campus (C)

The History department at the Cornwall Campus has some of the leading historians in their field. All our members of staff are research-active and publish their research at the highest international level. Our expertise is concentrated in the modern period, from approximately 1600 to the present, incorporating international, economic, social and cultural history and many geographical areas, including the Americas, the Far East, the Middle East, Europe and Britain. Whether you study Single Honours History or combine it with another subject, you will be introduced to a stimulating range of periods, areas and approaches to history.

There are two very distinctive elements to our Cornwall Campus programme. First, we are pioneering the development of environmental history, with modules on this theme available in the first, second and third years. Secondly, our unique Public History pathway enables first year students to develop employability skills in the context of project work for museums, archives and ‘people’s history’ projects. Projects involve activities such as researching and preparing materials for a museum exhibition; documenting and researching collections of photographs, maps, costumes, minerals, or military memorabilia; researching and writing up short magazine articles; or recording oral histories for a community heritage project.

As a student of History at the Cornwall Campus you will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge, understanding and interest in the environment and sustainability. Several modules in the History syllabus explore aspects of the history of mankind’s interaction with the natural world. In addition, optional modules from a range of disciplines, particularly in your second and third years, will give you the chance to explore how History engages with issues of sustainability.

Numbers

Cornwall

Entrants: 73
Applicants: 449