Ancient History and History BA (Hons)

Cardiff University

By combining Ancient History and History, you will gain a wealth of transferable skills and knowledge, opening the doors to a variety of career paths. The time spent on each subject is equally shared, allowing you to study the entire range of the human past – ancient, medieval, and modern – through material, written and visual evidence.

The modules offered on the programme develop your knowledge and critical understanding of the political, social, economic, and cultural structures of past societies. There is a balance between modules exploring specific historical periods and thematic modules that give you the opportunity to focus on themes such as political, social, cultural or gender history or explore areas that might be new to you. Through these modules, you are able to cultivate intellectual skills such as the ability to assess evidence critically, to evaluate different interpretations of the evidence, to construct arguments on the basis of evidence, and to express opinions cogently in speech and in writing.

We pride ourselves on nurturing a friendly, personalised and supportive environment, placing a strong emphasis on individual one-to-one meetings at key points throughout the degree. Bringing a wealth of expertise across themes, periods and geographies, your lecturers will share latest thinking in the classroom, including their own cutting-edge research.

Distinctive Features of the Programme

Tailored to you

Develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the regions, periods and themes which interest you, whilst placing this knowledge into the bigger picture.

Wide chronological range and cultural diversity

We study a broad time period and diversity of peoples and evidence from the past from the ancient to the modern world

Global Relevance

Take modules with a wide global coverage and chronological depth which speak to world issues from social inequality and community belonging to the environment and inclusion

Period-focused and thematic-centred modules

Modules cover specific historical periods and broad social and cultural topics (from warfare, gender, and art, to medicine).

Placement opportunities

Gain skills, confidence and connections by taking modules with a variety of placements or take advantage of opportunities beyond your formal studies to engage with local schools, communities and other partners.

Study abroad

There is the opportunity to extend to a four-year programme, in which Year Three is spent studying abroad at a partner institution.