Education / History

Why study Education with History at Aberystwyth University?

• Both history and education have been taught at Aberystwyth for a century or more.
• You can study your favourite subject, History, while preparing for your future career.
• You will have the opportunity to learn with staff from both professional and academic backgrounds, allowing you to develop both your academic and professional knowledge and skills.
• By studying education, you will have the opportunity to improve your employability by developing transferable skills such as the ability to communicate effectively, think critically and problem solve.
• Teaching in the Department of History and Welsh History is innovative, research-based and designed to develop your transferable skills in areas such as analysis, interpretation and communication. This prepares you for a wide range of careers.
• You will have full use of the National Library of Wales - one of the five copyright libraries of the UK and Wales's leading archive repository.
• As part of your degree, you will have the opportunity to study abroad at a partner university, to undertake work placements and to plan for your future career.

Our Staff

Undergraduate lecturers in the School of Education are either qualified to PhD standard or are experienced practitioners in their field. All teaching staff currently possess, or are working towards, a recognised teaching qualification.

Staff in the Department of History and Welsh History are active researchers and experts in their field of History. Most are qualified to PhD level and hold PGCHE. To find out more about our staff, please visit our departmental staff page.

What career opportunities exist after graduation?

• humanitarian organisations
• teaching and education (including SEN)
• social care
• nursing
• speech therapy
• social work
• child welfare
• library work
• archiving
• heritage management / museum conservation / working as an education officer.

Transferable Skills

Studying for a degree in Education and History will equip you with a range of transferable skills which are highly valued by employers. These include:

• the ability to express ideas and communicate information in a clear and structured manner, in both written and oral form
• effective problem-solving and creative thinking skills
• the ability to work independently
• time-management and organisational skills, including the ability to meet deadlines
• the ability to express ideas and communicate information in a clear and structured manner, in both written and oral form
• self-motivation and self-reliance
• team-working, with the ability to discuss concepts in groups, accommodating different ideas and reaching agreement
• research skills.

The School of Education places a great emphasis on employability.

From Year One developing your employability is our priority and to ensure we offer the right services we have a dedicated academic employability coordinator who liaises with our link careers adviser to tailor a package of careers education, employer exposure and individual departmental based support. This person liaises with the careers service and external organisations to make links and connections, which are fed through to students on a regular basis. These include opportunities for voluntary work and paid employment both during and after your studies. You will also have the opportunity to get involved in our annual student employability conference.

Student Mentoring Scheme

Our student mentoring scheme provides opportunities to both receive peer support but to also develop mentoring and coaching skills while supporting fellow students. This scheme is recognised by the University for its high skills value, and those who engage as mentors receive recognition on their graduate transcript.

International opportunities

Aberystwyth University offers you the opportunity of a lifetime to study, volunteer or work in another country, for an academic year, a single semester or a few weeks during your holidays. Explore other cultures, challenge yourself and gather experiences which will help with your career. Time spent exploring a new culture can sharpen your interpersonal skills, improve your language ability, and broaden your international mindset. Find out where you can go.

Alumni mentoring and graduate talks 

The eMentoring Scheme will enable you to make contact with past

graduates in a range of careers within a safe and supportive environment, offering you the chance to find out how they progressed into their current roles and what insights they can offer you as you think about your next steps.

What work experience opportunities exist while studying? 

Click here to find out about the various opportunities that our Aberystwyth University Careers team offer.

Enhance your employability prospects with GO Wales and YES (Year in Employment Scheme) managed by our Careers department.

I simply love my course because the topics we discuss are interesting and relevant to the world of childhood. The lecturers are very passionate about the subject which is also reflected in the varied ways in which we are assessed - we even had the opportunity to design our own game! Much more hands-on and realistic when working with children than a dry exam! Overall, my confidence in a variety of topics and my abilities have been strengthened, which is always a good thing in any career. I would definitely recommend Aberystwyth University and the course to anyone who is interested in working with children, and I can assure you that you are given great support by staff in any kind of academic situation!

Caroline Korell