History and Politics BA (Hons)

How will I learn during the History & Politics BA (Hons) degree course?

Your tutors will use a variety of teaching methods including lectures, small-group discussions and individual tutorials. These will be supported by regular feedback and consultation hours during which you can discuss your progress with a personal tutor and ask further questions. We make sure that extensive feedback from tutors and peers is built into the course.

Our assessment strategy is designed to support student-centred learning, based on our understanding that everyone has different needs, strengths, and enthusiasms. Assessments will develop your communication skills while also testing your grasp of the learning outcomes for each module. Assessment methods will include debates, oral presentations, essays, portfolios of work and a final-year dissertation.

A wide range of option modules are offered on this course. To ensure the quality of the student learning experience, some modules are subject to minimum and maximum student numbers and will run depending on the level of demand and staff availability.

See modules for this course.

Who teaches the BA (Hons) History & Politics course?

Our students learn from the best inspirational academic staff with a genuine passion for their subject. Our courses are at the forefront of current knowledge and practice and are shaped by world-leading and internationally excellent research.

Our staff are not only teaching their specialist subjects but also write major books and journal articles. In doing so, they add new knowledge and perspectives to our understanding of the past and contemporary politics.

Our pastoral support is designed to ensure that you can conduct your studies to the best of your abilities.  Staff will help you develop the skills required to plan, manage, and review your learning, and will support you should you encounter any issues.

View all staff profiles.

Where will I learn throughout my History & Politics degree?

We are using a variety of electronic resources to support your studies, for instance by posting guidance and lecture materials on the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and by making core readings available online. The academic team is always looking to find new ways to facilitate interaction, and this includes the use of mobile technology and social media.

The 24/7 University Library achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK and has held the Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence since 2010. There are over half a million print books and half a million electronic books available online. Further facilities are available at the Institute for the Humanities, in the University’s Lipman Building. These include a resource room, specialist computing equipment and interview rooms. Students also have access to a designated Humanities Student Hub in the Lipman Building, providing space for self-study, group work or a rest in between teaching sessions.

How is research applied to teaching throughout my degree?

At Northumbria your learning will be directly impacted by the teaching team’s passion for the past, as well as their professionalism and enthusiasm for engaging with primary documents. Their research is fundamental to the University’s distinctive learning experience.

In each year of the course, we will develop your research skills as you critique different interpretations of the past, formulate questions, and develop coherent arguments. In the final year you will research and write a dissertation on a topic that you negotiate with tutors. It is a test of academic maturity that will enable you to demonstrate independent learning, intellectual rigour, and self-directed purpose.

Since 2016, our school hosts an annual History Dissertation Conference – an event at which final-year students present findings from their research projects. The video below gives you a flavour of one of these conferences.

How will my BA (Hons) History & Politics degree provide me with the skills needed for my career?

History and Politics graduates are especially valued because of their transferable communication skills and the way they evaluate evidence and think critically. You can use your degree as a platform to launch a career in areas such as finance, law, journalism and the civil service. There are also jobs in museums and archive management, or you can also consider becoming a professional researcher by studying further at the postgraduate level.

Whatever you decide to do, you will have strong employability as a result of having acquired the characteristics of a Northumbria graduate. These include critical reflection and self-learning, collaboration and curiosity, and the ability to apply your knowledge to solve problems in ways that are sustainable and ethical.