Course summary

If you want to understand the past to prepare for your future in a changing world, studying History is the way forward. A knowledge of politics helps you to understand what governments do, shedding light on how some of history’s pivotal events were motivated by the political leaders of the day. Whatever your interests - whether cultural, social, military, political, economic or religious history - there is someone in the department teaching your kind of history. Moreover, historians in other departments in the University expand the range of courses on offer, notably in the fields of Byzantine and African history. The Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) has a broad expertise covering all areas of Political Science allowing you to learn from true specialists, with long-established strengths in the fields of political theory, European politics, international relations theory, security studies, diplomatic studies, political sociology, political economy, environmental politics, Pacific Asian politics and British politics. Both fields of study help you to acquire important analytical and research skills in your degree. You will be investigating unfamiliar territory throughout your course questioning some of the prevailing myths, preconceptions and prejudices that surround history from the Middle Ages to the present day as well as learning about campaigns, elections, protest movements, policy issues and political ideas. Why study this course? Strong reputation – Top 100 for History and top 150 for Politics in the QS World Subject Rankings 2022. Present-day application – We believe in history as a practical and engaged endeavour that speaks to questions of social inequality, community belonging and even climate change. As a Birmingham student you have opportunities to learn about the uses of history such as through a placement in the heritage sector on our Professional Skills module. Unparallelled opportunities –Studying at the University of Birmingham will boost your employability prospects - we are ranked 4th most targeted university by the top UK employers (High Fliers Research 2022). Equipping you with skills that employers value is a priority for us. Make use of free language tuition and Arts Internships. Become a specialist – Indulge in a wide range of specialist optional modules from medieval to modern periods, over a vast geographical area, taught by our renowned academic staff. Our unusually large number of teaching staff means that you'll have a wide range of optional modules. Bury yourself in a book – Explore our Cadbury Research Libraries collections consist of over 200,000 rare books dating from 1471 and more than four million manuscript items. 9th for undergraduate History in the Complete University Guide 2023 8th in the Research Excellence Framework exercise 2022 based on Grade Point Average