History (with integrated foundation year)

Following the foundation year, the syllabus of this course is identical to its sister course [History, V100].

Why study History at Aberystwyth University?

• History has been taught in Aberystwyth since 1872, making our department the most established in Wales and one of the foremost in Britain.
• Our teaching is innovative, research-based and designed to develop your transferable skills in areas such as analysis, interpretation and communication, which will prepare you for a wide range of careers.
• Our subject specialisms enable you to follow your historical interests from the medieval period to the present day, ranging across four continents, and embracing political, social, economic and cultural history.
• As an Aber History student, 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 Heritage sector work placements and to plan for your future career.

Our Staff

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 visit, please visit our departmental staff page.

What career prospects exist with a History degree?

Our graduates have been successful in securing professions in many different fields, including:

• education
• academic scholarship and research
• archive curation and management
• law
• publishing
• national, regional and local politics
• the Civil Service
• the police
• the military
• media and the creative industries
• business and entrepreneurship.

Our former students include:

• Glanmor Williams, Historian
• Alun Lewis, Second World War poet
• Tim Brain, former Chief Constable of Gloucestershire
• Guto Bebb, Member of Parliament
• Joanne Cayford, BBC
• Berwyn Davies, Head of the Welsh Higher Education Office, Brussels
• Iwan Griffiths, Sports reporter for S4C.

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 . History & Welsh History also collaborates with the Careers Service with the aim of arranging talks from alumni at different stages of their careers, such as the successful ‘From university to a career in cultural heritage: first steps’, presented by a recent graduate who secured a place on a prestigious Tate Gallery traineeship.

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. 

What will I learn?

The breakdown below will provide you with an illustration of what you may study during the four-year degree scheme.

During your four years of study, you will develop your historical interests by choosing option modules from the full range of subject areas taught by our department and your overseas host institution. You will also be learning and applying research approaches and methods that will ready you for your final year dissertation.

In the first foundation year, you will be introduced to core components of History.

In your second year, you will be introduced to: 

• new historical skills and concepts, and a comprehensive introduction to university-level study skills, through our core module Introduction to History;
• new historical periods, themes and subject areas, through our wide choice of optional modules.

In your third year you will explore:

• the ways in which the meaning, methods and writing of history have changed over time, through our core module Making History;
• insights into the historian’s craft, through practice-based seminar classes;
• different topics and periods from our extensive list of optional modules;
• You may also spend one or two semesters studying abroad at a partner university of your choice.

In your final year back in Aber you will study:

• two option modules of your choice;
• a Special Subject, in which you undertake in-depth research, using original sources and engaging with cutting edge scholarship;
• your History Dissertation, independently researched by you on a subject of your choice, supervised by an expert historian in the department.

How will I be taught and assessed?

Our wide variety of different learning, teaching and assessment modes will enable you to develop skills in formal writing, small-group presentation, constructing informed arguments under time pressure, independent research, and working as part of a team, using the most up-to-date resources and digital platforms. The Department of History & Welsh History also maintains individual essay tutorials for all students - rare outside Oxbridge - and has a supportive system of personal tutors, providing unrivalled one-to-one contact throughout your degree.