BA
Ancient, Medieval and Modern History BA (Hons)
Delve into the past with Ancient, Medieval and Modern History. Explore the societies and cultures of the past, and consider how history is recorded and how we engage with and understand history today.
How to apply Apply via UCAS
Course details
Start date
Degree Type
BA
UCAS Code
V101
Course length
3 years full-time
Typical offer
A*AA
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £ per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £ per year
Overview
This joint degree enables you to combine modules from our Ancient History course with modules in medieval and modern History offered by the Department of History. The balance between the two departments is broadly equal, but by the third year you can weight your choice of modules more to one side than the other, depending on your interests. In the Department of History, you will study modules in medieval, early modern and late modern history, with electives available in the study of cultures from around the globe. You will bring all your knowledge and skills together in your dissertation. You will be able to concentrate your studies in an area that fascinates you, and really blossom as an independent learner. Through this you will engage, at an advanced level, with creative research at the forefront of these historical disciplines. You will be encouraged to attend an extensive programme of research-related activities in both departments, including research seminars, public lectures from high-profile guest speakers, and events organised by the student-run History Society and Classics Society.
Course details
Start date
Degree Type
BA
UCAS Code
V101
Course length
3 years full-time
Typical offer
A*AA
Tuition Fees
- Home (Full-time): £ per year
- Overseas (Full-time): £ per year
What you'll study
In your first year we will introduce you to the world of the ancient Greeks and early imperial Rome, seen from a variety of perspectives (not just historical), and to different forms of evidence. This will prepare you for a wide range of more specific historical modules about politics and society in the ancient world in your second and third years. This can also be enriched by the study of ancient literature, language, and philosophy.
Core modules
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Introduction to the Greek World
examines ancient Greek history, society and thought. It will introduce you to the central themes, topics and terminology in the study of Archaic and Classical Greece, and equip you to use the basic intellectual resources available to assist that study.
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Monuments and Memory in the Age of Augustus
gives you an introduction to Roman history and culture and Latin literature. You will investigate a central, transitional epoch in the history of ancient Rome, from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Optional modules
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Optional modules (Ancient History):
In recent years optional modules have included: Lives of Objects – Greek and Roman AntiquityEarly Greek PhilosophyLanguage, Translation, InterpretationEmpire and Religion in the Age of ConstantineBeginners or Intermediate Latin and/or Greek
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Optional modules (Early Modern History):
In recent years optional modules have included: Connected Histories: Early Modern Europe, c. 1450-1750The Atlantic Archipelago, c.1500-c.1750
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Optional modules (History):
In recent years optional modules have included: Modern Times: A Cultural History of Europe, c. 1860-1960Power in AfricaImagining East Asia in the Modern WorldWars and Welfare, c. 1900-1945The Rise and Fall of American Slavery, 1607 – 1865
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Optional modules (Medieval History):
In recent years optional modules have included: Transformations in the Late Antique Mediterranean, c.300-c.700 CEDecline and Crisis? Europe, 1300-1500
Optional modules
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Optional modules (Ancient History):
In recent years optional modules have included: Emperors and DynastiesLiving in the Classical WorldThe City of AthensTheatre and Spectacle in Ancient RomeAlexandriaGreek Art and ArchitectureRoman Buildings and their DecorationClassical Receptions and Contemporary CulturesDialogues with AntiquityBeginners, Intermediate, or Advanced Greek and/or Latin
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Optional modules (History):
In recent years optional modules have included: The Court: Art and Power in Early Modern EuropeRobin HoodPolitical Authority and Community in Medieval Egypt c. 900-c.1500Hard Times: British Society, 1815-1902International Human Rights since 1945Wildlife Conservation in African HistorySocialising the Household in Late Medieval CitiesFood and Culinary History of Southern Africa, the Past and PresentBlack British HistoryNative Americans and Minority Rights in the US, 1914-2000Rive, Race, Religion, and Revolt in Colonial MyanmarEarly Medieval Iberia: From Conquest to Caliphate, 409-1031Gender and Sexuality during Britain’s Long Twentieth Century
Core modules
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Dissertation
The dissertation is a significant piece of work in which you research and analyse an area of Classics or History in depth and write up your findings and conclusions.
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Examples of core Ancient History modules:
Greeks and Persians, c. 560-336 BCThe Later Roman EmpireRoman SyriaThe History of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean.
Optional modules
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Optional modules (Ancient History):
In recent years optional modules have included: Pompeii and Herculaneum: Rediscovery and ReconstructionRoman Law and Latin LiteratureThe Origins of CivilisationWriting AlexanderBeginner, Intermediate, or Advanced Greek and/or Latin
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Single modules in History:
In recent years optional modules have included: Interpreting Conflict in Post-Colonial AfricaRevolution and HistoryLiberty, Equality, Democracy: Progressive Thought in Nineteenth-Century BritainHistory and Its AudiencesEmpires and States in Early Modern Asia: Nomads, Slaves, Scholars, RulersHealth, Wealth and Happiness: Investigating Standards of Living and Wellbeing in the PastBeyond FeudalismFascism/Anti-Fascism
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Triple modules in History:
In recent years optional modules have included: 1688: Monarchy and Revolution in BritainEngineering Armageddon: Visions of Scientific ApocalypseVoice and Silence in South Africa’s Liberation StruggleDeveloping AfricaFrom War to Cold War: US Foreign Policy, c.1944–1948Beyond the Holocaust: Poles, Jews, Turks and Germans from the Nineteenth Century to the PresentThe American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850–1876A World Turned Upside Down: Radicalism and the English RevolutionSexual Revolutions: The Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Britain and Beyond, 1920s–1970s
Learning
You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Lectures introduce broad historical questions and offer context and critical commentary; seminars provide an opportunity for you to develop your critical skills through discussion. You will progress from study skills and general subjects to specialised areas as you gain confidence and experience and develop as an independent, self-motivated learner. Across the years there is an increasing emphasis on developing your critical and analytical skills. Your dissertation gives you the opportunity to exercise these skills, along with your independence, establishing your own research agenda and identifying your own sources and reading lists.Assessment
We use various types of assessment, designed to test the different skills you have gained through your studies: essays, exams, commentaries, translations, presentations, and projects. In your final year, you will write a dissertation on a subject of your choice, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your skills in independent learning and research and your ability to tie together areas of learning from across the entire course.Entry requirements
Fees & Funding
Choose which fees you want to see:
Home / Island students
£ per year
International / EU Students
£ per year
Home / Island students
Part Time - £ per year
International / EU Students
Part Time - £ per year
The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
Find out moreDepartment Information
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When you study at the Department of Classics and Ancient History you will join a large, forward-looking department. We offer an intellectually stimulating learning environment in a welcoming community, and consistently rank highly for teaching, graduate employability and research. We offer a range of flexible and challenging degree courses designed with the twenty-first-century student in mind. Each with a different emphasis, depending on which area you prefer to put at the centre of your studies: ancient languages, ancient history or ancient culture. We also offer joint honours courses with the departments of Archaeology and History. Our degrees offer both academic rigour and an outstanding student experience, taught by a team of academic staff who between them specialise in the languages, literature, history, and culture of the Greco-Roman world, as well as its impact on later centuries up to the present day. The breadth of knowledge in the Department allows us to offer a wide range of study areas including ancient Greek and Latin languages from beginner to advanced level, literature in translation, history of various areas of the ancient Mediterranean, and many more aspects of classical culture, including philosophy, art and science. For more information see our department pages.
Read moreFacilities
We are situated in the beautiful and historic centre of Durham next to the Cathedral and Castle and just two minutes’ walk from the city centre, at the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Extensive collection of ancient texts and reference works
The friendly and welcoming Department is housed in eighteenth-century buildings which include dedicated study space and a library with an extensive collection of ancient texts and reference works.
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Events
The student body is a large, close-knit and highly engaged community. Our student-led Classics Society organises regular social and academic events, often in conjunction with staff from the Department.
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REF 2021
In the latest UK-wide research assessment (REF 2021) we were ranked 4th for overall research quality. Our research informs our undergraduate degrees, so as to keep courses highly relevant and up to date.
Find out more -
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The History programme at Durham is designed to give you a sense of the diversity of human experience – geographically and chronologically. We are a large department, with over fifty full-time academic staff, teaching and researching on a wide variety of periods and regions. As a result, we offer an unusually broad range of options that will take you to very different places and times. You can also explore diverse themes and approaches, such as environmental and scientific history, visual cultures, and gender and sexuality. The course will equip you with critical and presentational skills that are valuable in many careers. Year 1 offers you an induction into advanced historical study, engaging with different periods and approaches to the study of the past. Year 2 raises new questions about the human past, setting these in specific periods and parts of the world. It develops your understanding of historiography - the history of history-writing – and gives you experience of writing an extended historical argument. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four. In Year 3 the focus is on intensive study and independent learning. The special subject guides you through the primary and secondary material on a specific period or phenomenon; the dissertation allows you to choose your own topic, and devise your own question, for an extended piece of writing. The dissertation is an opportunity to focus on a topic that fascinates you – and brings together the skills you have developed through your time at Durham. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to attend an extensive programme of activities, including research seminars and public lectures from high-profile guest speakers. For more information see our department pages.
Read moreFacilities
The Department of History occupies the heart of Durham World Heritage Site. Our city centre location is within easy reach of all University colleges, lecture halls and libraries. The Department of History occupies a group of historic town houses on North Bailey and Palace Green.
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Resources
Our work incorporates everything from manuscripts to photography, printed sources to museum collections. You will work with staff on a rich array of primary sources, which range from medieval manuscripts in the cathedral archive, through the ceramics, prints and textiles held by the Oriental Museum, to the documents of the Sudan Archive, and more. Durham holds historical resources of international significance.
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Expert staff
Academic members of staff have expertise in medieval, early modern and modern history, in the history of Britain and continental Europe, North America, Africa, and East and South Asia, and in many different types of history: visual and material culture, gender history, political culture, science and medicine, economic and social history, transnational history.
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Events
The student-run History Society is one of the most active clubs in the University. It hosts visiting speakers, an annual Conference, as well as social events and trips.
Find out more -
Career Opportunities
Of those UK/EU students who graduated in 2022/23:
82%
81%
£33,183
HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. More at www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk
Employability
More Information
We offer a range of flexible and challenging courses, which offer students the opportunity to explore the breadth of our discipline as well as to develop expertise in specific areas.
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