History

Study our expansive history degree that's flexible to your interests, gives you advanced skills to future-proof your career, and supports you in completing original research on histories you're passionate about.

With renowned world-leading experts covering all seven continents and courses spanning over 1500 years, we pride ourselves on offering a broad and inclusive curriculum that celebrates new, interesting and innovative topics as well as introducing you to the major themes in medieval, early modern, modern and contemporary history.

Our commitment to choice in every year of study means that we support you to access this expertise. We'll help you build a programme that blends the latest research on historical debates with new kinds of social, cultural, political, environmental and global histories that Bristol academics are pioneering.

In recent years, first-year optional units have included:

• ‘Fight the Power': Democracy and Protest

• Slavery

• Modern Revolutions

• Gender in the Modern World

• The American Century

• War and Society

Recent second and third-year specialist units include:

• The F Word: Understanding Italian Fascism Then and Now

• Political Culture and Communication in Britain, 1867-1939

• Race and Resistance in South Africa

• Under the Covers: Sex and Modern British Print Culture

• The Norman Conquest

• Red Power and Beyond: American Indian Activism since 1944

• Kingship and Crisis during the Wars of the Roses

• Teenage Kicks: Youth and Subcultures in Britain since 1918

• Iran, 1901-51: Oil, Racial Capitalism, and Decolonisation

Our teaching connects the past with the most pressing issues facing humanity whilst training you to apply the valuable historical skills of interpreting evidence, understanding context, constructing robust analyses, and communicating your ideas with others. Varied assessments help you practice these skills, design projects and develop the persuasive storytelling that means our history graduates can fulfil their potential throughout future careers in government, public organisations, creative industries, education, business, law and beyond.