From ancient civilisations and great empires, to terrible battles and the roots of our modern society, history is a vast landscape to explore and understand. The past is part of our everyday lives, shaping our world profoundly. Study history and you won’t just learn about what happened in the past. You’ll develop a better understanding of the how and why of the events that make us who we are today. The successful historian is an original and independent thinker, a talented researcher, a fluent communicator, with a gift for analysing complex and problematic 'real world' evidence. Empathetic and persuasive, today, they are as at home in a digital environment as in an archive. Those who study history at university create the opportunity to shape their own futures in whatever path in life they choose to follow. In every period we study, our courses seek to develop different approaches and methods to understanding the past, embracing political, social, and cultural history. We foster the practice of history as an inclusive discipline, and recognise that powerful ideologies of race, gender and social status have shaped our past and our present. In other words – you won’t just discover the story, you’ll investigate and interpret its sources, impacts and meanings. This degree programme offers a roadmap for exploring the social and political landscape of human history. You’ll look at a huge variety of times and places – immersing yourself in wars, famine and poverty, charting technological leaps and social progress, and unearthing conspiracies, catastrophes and revolutions. And that’s just in your first year. In years two and three, through your option unit choices you'll have the opportunity to specialise and develop your interests further, and graduate if you choose to with a bracketed degree title that reflects this: Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern, or American. Your lecturers are active researchers, constantly searching for new discoveries, fresh perspectives and unknown aspects of our history, bringing the past alive in the classroom. With this degree we give you the skills to understand the world and how this affects societal developments.

Career prospects

The skills of the historian are in high demand in today’s workplaces, where knowledgeable, adaptable, and analytical thinkers, with a sophisticated understanding of what moves and motivates people, are highly valued. During your time with us, you’ll develop an international mindset as well as a rich set of analytical, digital, and communication skills that make you career-ready and strongly equipped to deal with the challenges of professional life.

Our graduates have forged rewarding careers in business, retail and public services, in education, finance, and in the cultural and heritage sectors. Many move straight into careers upon graduation but a high proportion choose to advance their studies at post-graduate level, either in history or a related discipline, such as heritage management, or building further on their skills in management, business studies, law or digital media.

Our staff work with a range of local and national organisations, while our specialist centre – the Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage – ensures that our history is studied and celebrated in the community, through museums, schools and events like the Manchester History Festival. These connections allow us to offer our enterprising and ambitious students the chance to apply their knowledge and skills to 'real world' problems, while they study.