Course summary

History is not a plain narrative of events, it is an attempt to discover how and why our own world emerged. Studying undergraduate History is an exciting chance to investigate global unfamiliar territory and to question some of the myths, preconceptions and prejudices that surround the subject. The size and quality of our History Department enables us to offer you a wide range of options to study across the medieval, early modern and modern periods, and over a vast geographical span. Historians in other University Departments expand the range of modules on offer, notably in the fields of Byzantine and African history, which broaden your learning opportunities even further. Why study this course? 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 whether through modules such as Public History or through placements in the heritage sector. Unparallelled opportunities – Equipping you with skills that employers value is a priority for us. Make use of free language tuition and paid Arts Internships in areas such as publishing, event management or marketing. 92% of our History graduates are in work or further study (Graduate Outcome Survey, Discover Uni stats 2023). 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. Rewarding student experience - At Birmingham we believe that teaching hours should be complemented by a wide-range of academic opportunities and social occasions. Join our history department community and you'll have access to, among many other things, a student experience team who co-ordinate performances, talks, trips, podcasts, quizzes and celebrations and bespoke academic writing advice. 9th for undergraduate History in the Complete University Guide 2023 8th in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework exercise based on Grade Point Average Top 100 for History in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2022