We run an Instagram account which might help you connect with current and former students. There is also a student run History Society! During Welcome Week, there will be a number of activities for you to get to know the academic team and your fellow students. You will be told about your timetable and the groups for your classes, and you will start to gain access to our materials on Blackboard. This is the 'virtual learning environment’ for your modules where you will find all the information you need about individual modules. You will also be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor who will be on hand throughout all your time with us to offer advice and guidance. We schedule a Library induction for you, and you can "drop in" to meet tutors and support staff on the Friday of Welcome week, with refreshments served!

Study Support

You’ll also have access to the Learning Hub, an online platform packed with resources to help you develop key academic skills. The hub has been developed by Learning Developers and Learning & Research Librarians with your needs in mind. Here you will find a range of modules with tips to help you develop your study, academic and research skills.

The modules you study in your first year with us are:

Making your mark

Civilisations of the ancient world 

Europe in the age of the Vikings 

Renaissance, reformation and revolution in the early modern world 

The making of the modern world 

The cold war and the making of the contemporary world

You can see an overview of your second and third year modules by visiting the BA History Course Page here.

We look forward to meeting you all.

There are no pre-arrival tasks for you to complete – but there are things that you can do to prepare. Watch some historical programmes or read some history books, on any topic, and think about how the argument is being made. We suggest some reading below connected to modules you will take in year 1, maybe try that out. What evidence are the authors using? Are they citing primary sources from a range of perspectives, or just one? How do they engage with existing work on the topic? Can you see any problems with the approach? Whose voices are included, whose are not? All of these questions point at valuable critical skills that studying History will develop. You could also read some historical fiction as a way of thinking about the past in different ways – one of my favourites of recent years is "Circe", a retelling of a series of powerful Greek myths from the perspective of the enchantress. It comments in fascinating ways on concepts of honor and gender in ancient Greek society too.

Your welcome and induction week will be w/c 15 September 2025 - we look forward to meeting you then.

You will take three History modules per semester. In your first semester, those will be 'Making Your Mark', 'The Cold War and the Making of the Contemporary World', and 'Civilisations of the Ancient World'. You will therefore be covering a lot of ground and you might want to get started before you get here.

• For Cold War, we recommend Stephen E. Ambrose and Douglas G. Brinkley, Rise To Globalism.
• For Making Your Mark, we recommend John Arnold, History: A Very Short Introduction.
• For Civilisations of the Ancient World, Mary Beard, SPQR is a good place to start and introduces the Roman Empire to you.

The following modules are in the second semester, so will begin after Christmas. If you’re really keen, though, here’s some recommended reading:

• For Renaissance, Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789 is the core textbook.
• For Making of the Modern World, Trevor Getz, The Long Nineteenth Century gives a good overview of the material to be covered.
• For Europe in the Age of the Vikings, E. Rosedahl, The Vikings is a good introduction to the topic.

It is useful to note that the University Bookshop offers 10% discount on most titles in print and have some price-beating book bundles. They also price match Amazon on core texts recommended in the module handbooks you will receive when you start in September.