History

History is the discipline of asking what happened, why it happened, how we know, and what it means. It is about understanding the human past through the evidence that survives, and it trains the habits of mind that are among the most valuable that any university education can develop: the ability to evaluate sources critically, to construct arguments from evidence, to see events in context, and to write with clarity and precision.

At University College London you will study history across a wide range of periods and places, from the medieval world through to the recent past, and from Britain and Europe to the Americas, Africa, Asia, and beyond. UCL's historians are internationally recognised researchers, and you will engage with current scholarly debates as well as foundational texts and primary sources. You will develop the skills of archival research, critical reading, and analytical writing that are central to the discipline, and you will be encouraged to think comparatively across periods and geographies rather than treating history as a series of disconnected national stories.

This three-year full-time programme gives you the time to develop genuine depth in areas that interest you most, alongside breadth in periods and methods. London's extraordinary concentration of libraries, archives, and museums, including the British Library, the National Archives, and numerous specialist collections, makes it an exceptional place to study history.

History graduates are among the most employable in the UK. The analytical and communication skills developed in the degree are valued across law, the civil service, journalism, publishing, finance, management, politics, education, and the arts. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in history, law, journalism, or related fields, and the subject provides excellent preparation for the bar and for academic research careers.