Modern History BA

Perhaps history has always been an interest for you or it’s something you’ve developed an interest in by studying it at school or college. Either way, everyone on the Modern History BA at Brunel starts off on the same level playing field, without the need for a history qualification.

History is about understanding what it means to be human. Studying and analysing it will take you back into the societies of the past to help you understand contemporary issues all the more. It’s also a subject that will help to demonstrate your intellectual acumen and understanding of world affairs, which will be an asset in so many fields of work.

Course details

Your studies at Brunel will focus on the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world in the modern period, looking closely at life as it was lived then, observing differences, similarities, patterns and connections with the present day.
  • Mode of study: 4-5 days a week
  • Intake: September
  • Course length: 3-4 years
  • Course fee: £9250   per year
  • Location: London campus

Brunel University London

Course overview

Along the way, you will build a toolkit of transferable skills gained through evidence gathering, analysis, problem-solving, drafting and communications, which can be applied to a wide range of industries within the public and private sector.

Opt for a placement year and you’ll be adding a year’s experience in a job role and industry sector that will help to show future employers where you might be a good fit for their organisation. Your placement doesn’t have to be related to history and you’ll get plenty of support from staff and resources in the University’s Professional Development Centre to help steer you in the right direction.

Benefits

Entry requirements

  • GCE A-level BBB.
  • BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDM.
  • BTEC Level 3 Diploma DM with an A-level at grade B.
  • BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma D in any subject with A-levels grade BC.
  • International Baccalaureate Diploma 30 points. GCSE English equivalent SL 5 or HL 4 and Mathematics SL 4 or HL 4.
  • Obtain a minimum of 120 UCAS tariff points in the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
  • T levels : Merit overall

Careers

Studying on the History degree programmes will provide you with key transferable employment skills based on a wide range of written and oral communication skills in addition to analytical and critical thinking skills. Our programmes are built with input from business professionals with the specific aim of helping you enter the workplace fully equipped and confident of your abilities.

Graduates from our BA Modern History programme have gone onto careers in a variety of private and public sectors such as working in government, NGO’s, law, teaching, banking and researchers to name just a few areas. Many also undertake further study in order to become specialists in a given field.

Modules

The course content is made up of a variety of subject area strands that can be studied across all three years of the programme. At every level, there are modules relating to each strand. After taking the compulsory modules in the first year, you can choose to study across a range of strands, or specialise in particular strands.

Compulsory

  • PP1608 – Africa and the World
  • PP1605 – Conflict and Diplomacy in the Modern Era
  • PP1604 – Europe in a Global Context
  • PX1605 – Migration and the Settler World, 1600-1914
  • PP1607 – The Problem of the Past
  • PP1610 – Race Britain and Empire

Compulsory

  • PX2603 – Historians and their Craft

Optional

  • PX2605 – Australia and The Modern World
  • PP2621 – Colonialism and Decolonization
  • PX2604 – The First World War
  • PX2609 – History of the Women’s Movement in the West
  • PP2061 – Issues in American Politics
  • PP2613 – National Security Intelligence
  • PX2607 – The State and Revolution
  • PP2030 – US Foreign Policy

Compulsory

  • PX3001 – Dissertation

Optional

  • PP3001 – Arab-Israeli Conflict
  • PX3608 – The British Maritime World, 1660-1815
  • PX3612 – The Creation of the Western Alliance 1945-1955
  • PP3617 – Long Walk to Freedom: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid in South Africa
  • PP3605 – Parliamentary Studies
  • PX3619 – Slavery and Abolition in the Atlantic World
  • PX3411 – The Second World War
  • PX3611 – Violence and Conflict in Eastern Africa