History BA at Royal Holloway, University of London

The study of History ensures that the past remains alive, dynamic, controversial, and ever relevant. It is the study of justice and injustice, innovation and continuity, freedom and oppression, race and religion, ideas and ideologies, exploration and discovery, health and illness, sex and death, architecture and art, literature and music. History shows us how our own world came into being, but it also brings to life worlds that have long since disappeared and so stretches our imaginations about possibilities in the present and in the future.

Department: History  |  Duration: 3 years full time  |  Study mode: full-time  |  Location: Egham, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Core modules: Year 1: History in the Making; Year 2: Concepts in History; Year 3: History Dissertation. Optional modules: Year 1: Gods, Men and Power: An Introduction to the Ancient World, from Homer to Mohammed, Rome to Renaissance: An Introduction to the Middle Ages, From Renaissance to Revolutions: Europe and the World, 1500-1800, Conflict and Identity in Modern Europe, c. 1770 to 2000, From Mao to Bin Laden: Twentieth-Century Leaders in the Non-Western World and others; Year 2: The Holy Man: Sanctity and the Sacred in Historical Research, The Ottomans: The Muslim Empire in the Early Modern World, 1453-1789, The British and the World: 1763-1900, Awakening China: From the Opium Wars to the Present Day, Refugees in the 20th Century: A Global History; The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic, Rome and its Empire from Augustus to Commodus, Natural History: Science from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages, Medieval Worlds: Power, Belief and Culture, c.1000-1300, She-Wolves: Female Royal Power across the Medieval World, c.1000-1400 and others; Year 2 two term modules: Histories of Humanitarianism, From the 1880s to the Present, Genocide: A Global History, Justice, Power and Religion in the Muslim World, 'Dragon Ladies'? Society, Politics and Gender in Modern China, The Vietnam War and the Cold War in Southeast Asia and others; Year 3: ‘With Intent to Destroy’: Genocide in the Modern World, The Curse of Aid: International Development 1940-2000, A Clash of Powers: The United States, China and the Cold War, The Age of Terror: Terrorism from 1945 - Present, China and the World: Migrations and Frontiers, 1800-1960 and others.

Career pathways

A History degree gained at Royal Holloway provides valuable training for many professions as well as a basis for further study. It is highly regarded by employers because of the skills and qualities students develop.

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