History

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

Explore the past to understand the now. Dive into moments of challenge, change and everyday life across six centuries and four continents.

Uncover the ways in which diverse groups of people were shaped by, and themselves shaped, the world they lived in. In doing so, you can reflect on your own values and better understand how history is about the present, and the future.

The city of Portsmouth has its own rich stories to tell, connecting to local, national and global history. Past and present meet on every corner - from its Tudor Castle to the millennial Spinnaker Tower. It's the ideal place to create your own immersive and relevant BA (Hons) History degree.

Course highlights

• Study in a city that’s always been a gateway to the wider world, with options to explore the past of Britain, Europe, Africa, Asia and North America

• Get closer to history thanks to close links with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, and the Portsmouth Museum and Records Service

• Tailor your studies to times and themes you find most fascinating - from the British Civil Wars to the Opium War, from Victorian cities to modern Germany

• Learn in a place where historians collaborate with linguists, sociologists and political scientists to answer deep and complex questions

• Develop demonstrable skills in research, analysis and argument that are highly valued by all kinds of employers

• Apply your new expertise in a CV-boosting work placement at a museum, heritage site, charity or other organisation of interest

Optional pathways
You can follow optional Sociology or American Studies pathways through this degree, or include History as a pathway in our English Literature or International Relations courses. It'll lead to one of these awards at the end of the course:

• BA (Hons) History with American Studies

• BA (Hons) History with Sociology

Careers and opportunities
Studying history will give you transferable skills in critical thinking, collaboration, research, analysis and argument, all of which are highly valued by many kinds of employers.

As a qualified historian, you can move forward to further study and research or put your degree to work in areas such as:

• archives and information management

• corporate governance

• creative industries

• heritage

• law

• primary and secondary schools

• higher education providers

• publishing and media

• trade unions

Graduate roles and destinations

Roles our graduates have taken on include:

• administrator for social enterprise

• barrister

• case worker for MP

• development editor in publishing

• exhibitions project manager

• founder of a digital solutions company

• researcher and writer for TV

• teacher

• workplace financial education consultant

Portsmouth alumni have worked with organisations including:

• central and local government

• higher education providers

• National Trust

• National Maritime Museum

• NHS

• the probation service

• Royal Navy

Work experience and career planning

Our Careers and Employability service can help you find relevant work experience during your course. We can help you identify placements, internships and voluntary roles that will complement your studies and build your portfolio.

We'll also be available to help, advise and support you for up to 5 years as you advance in your career.

This course allows you to take the Learning From Experience (LiFE) option. This means you can earn credits towards your degree for work, volunteer and research placements that you do alongside your study.

Course Modules

The University of Portsmouth is passionate about creating career-focused modules that do more than support your studies, they empower your academic journey and prepare you for what comes next.

We design modules that have:

• Clear themes and skills development as you progress through each year
• Assessments that feel meaningful, often based on real-world tasks rather than isolated exams
• Career-enhancing opportunities such as placements, live projects, enterprise and volunteering

For a full list of the modules you will study on this course, please visit the link to the course page.

https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-history#modules