History (with Placement Year)

Explore past movements and people and how they have shaped the present with our expert-led History degree

Immerse yourself in the histories of people, power, and cultures with our innovative BA History degree. You'll study:

• Global, national and local histories

• Course units from the 16th to the 21st centuries

• How history and heritage shape today’s societies

• Related subjects from across the Humanities and Liberal Arts

A history course led by experts and research
You'll be taught by experienced tutors who are experts in their field, and you'll have unique opportunities to develop your subject skills and knowledge in professional contexts. You'll also learn how to make an impact and unleash your creativity, sharing your knowledge of the subject through public facing and creative projects.​

BA History works alongside our other Arts and Humanities programmes to equip students to understand the contemporary world, engage creatively with communities and public audiences, and address the challenges of the future - particularly the growth of AI. Together with disciplines such as English, Politics and Filmmaking, our degree emphasises the importance of public engagement, digital storytelling, and partnerships with leading cultural organisations. All these help students to develop the knowledge, judgement and creativity that they need to make a meaningful impact in society.

Our approach works. We continue to be one of the best performing History courses in the country for teaching and student support. And 96% of students are in employment, vocation, or further study within 15 months of graduating (HESA, 2024).

Small class sizes and one-to-one support
Our class sizes are small, so you'll get valuable time with your lecturers, as well as one-to-one support. We genuinely care about our students and will encourage you to think critically, so it's no wonder we're 1st in London for ‘Academic Support’ (National Student Survey (NSS), 2024).

Hands-on learning in London
Studying at St Mary’s, you can explore history at London’s many museums, archives and historic houses. You’ll have easy access to great libraries, archives, galleries and other sites where you can do your own historical research and build your expertise. We have also formed good partnerships with institutions like Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham Film Studios and Hogarth’s House. These connections are important for developing employability skills, understanding what professionalism means in the workplace, and thinking about the public importance of the arts and humanities.

Hear from our students
Steph, History student – “St Mary’s has given me invaluable insights and learning experiences”.
Meg, History graduate – “I loved my St Mary’s experience! My lecturers knew my name and had an open-door policy, they were all super approachable and always available when I needed them.”

About the Placement Year
A placement year enables you to undertake a year of experience in an organisation between your second and final year. It will enable you to:

• apply the knowledge and skills you gain from your course in a work setting

• build your commercial awareness and insights into organisations and industries you might want to work in

• develop your professional skills through company training, networking skills and confidence in the workplace

• get some great experience for future job applications or even land a graduate job.

Support from St Mary’s every step of the way
Securing a placement can really help you develop your job search skills and the Employability Service placement and Careers Teams can support you to find and apply for available opportunities.

Please note: in the event that you cannot secure a placement you will be able to transfer onto the three year version of your degree programme.

Level 4 is an introductory year during which you are introduced to new ideas, new periods of history, and new ways of making connections across themes, topics and geographical areas. With support from your tutors, you will begin to develop the skills you need to study history in greater depth. The Level 5 modules are designed around broad themes, and are all taught through lectures and seminars, using a wide range of primary and secondary sources. Single Honours students typically take the core module and choose five optional modules across the academic year. You study subjects in much greater depth, using original source material as evidence. Single Honours students (and students majoring in History) must complete a dissertation in history, and choose four more modules from the list of options. The dissertation is a piece of independent research: it is a significant piece of supervised academic writing that takes a full academic year to complete.