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History at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

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2026 - 2027
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Course summary

Our Graduate Certificate in History is a fascinating one-year course that will introduce you to the theories, tools, techniques and research skills of historical analysis. Why choose this course?

  • This course is ideal if you are keen to explore history further but have gained an undergraduate degree in a different subject. Or you may wish to explore advanced postgraduate historical study without yet committing to an MA.
  • It will give you the skills you need to pursue your passion for the past and study history at a higher level.
  • It offers you two routes through the course: one focusing on research, the other pursuing a topic of your choice in history, classics or archaeology.
What you will learn Throughout this course you will explore and analyse different types of evidence, discuss the theories that inform historical writing and look at the great debates that shape our perception of the past. You will also learn about how the concept of history has changed over time, and how different cultures perceive the past. By introducing you to the practical skills of the historian and the various schools of thought that inform historical research and writing, this graduate certificate enables you to reskill and change direction to pursue postgraduate study in the field. How you will learn This course is taught via a combination of seminars, workshops and lectures, and follows an evening timetable. You will take a foundation module in your first term and then choose either a taught route consisting of one option module offered by the School of Historical Studies, or a research-focused route where you will complete a dissertation on a historical subject of your choice. Throughout the course, you will also engage in hands-on analysis of sources, debating and discussing the wider implications of evidence to historical analysis. Highlights
  • Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
  • Our research is unique in its range across geographical and chronological boundaries. We are the only university in London to include historians, classicists and archaeologists in the same academic team investigating every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century. We see the study of the past as crucial for our understanding of present-day society, culture and politics.
  • We are at the heart of academic London with access to unparalleled research resources, including the Institute of Classical Studies, with its library, training facilities and seminars; the British Museum, with its extensive collection of classical antiquities; and the British Library, the largest national library in the world.
  • We are home to a number of affiliated research centres that actively run seminars, conferences and other events where some of the world's best scholars present their latest research. These include the Birkbeck Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the Raphael Samuel History Centre and the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Careers and employability On successfully graduating with this Graduate Certificate in History, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:
  • basic knowledge of historical composition, use and analysis of evidence, scholarship
  • critical reading of sources, forensic analysis of data
  • critical thinking
  • collaborative thinking and working.
Graduates can pursue career paths in research and archiving, education, the heritage industry, publishing, journalism and the media, and the charity sector. Possible professions include:
  • historian
  • higher education lecturer
  • archivist
  • journalist
  • heritage manager
  • politician’s assistant
  • academic librarian
  • museum/gallery curator.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

The assessed components include a literature review and a detailed dissertation proposal.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

To be confirmed
History at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS