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DMU Clearing

Key facts

Entry requirements

112 or DMM

Full entry requirements

UCAS code

V100

Institution code

D26

Duration

3 yrs full-time

3 years full-time, 4 years with placement, 6 years part-time.

Fees

2025/26 UK tuition fees:
£9,535*

2025/26 international tuition fees:
£16,250

Additional costs

Entry requirements

UCAS code

V100

Duration

3 years full-time, 4 years with placement, 6 years part-time.

We offer more than a degree — every course is designed with employability and real-world experience at its core.

Enhance your studies and broaden your horizons, and develop new skills with our international experience programme, DMU Global.

DMU is one of the few universities where you’ll benefit from a unique block teaching approach.

91% of students say teaching staff have supported their learning well (National Student Survey, 2024).

Explore the rich complexity of modern and contemporary history from global perspectives, uncovering the forces that have shaped societies across Europe, Africa, South Asia, and the Americas.

From colonialism and decolonisation to gender, ethnicity, conflict, and migration, you’ll examine key historical moments that continue to influence today’s world.

Develop critical thinking and communication skills through dynamic teaching and assessments, with opportunities to specialise in areas such as the history of photography, sport, war and conflict, migration, ethnicity, and racism.

Gain transferable skills by learning to research and communicate complex ideas effectively, and apply historical perspectives to contemporary and future issues.

  • You can tailor your studies by selecting routes in your first and second year – focussing on your areas of interest.
  • Tailor your degree with a specialist route choosing two subjects such to focus on such as 19th-Century Photography & Medicine, Yugoslavia's Disintegration, S. Empire & WWI and many others to choose from, broadening your expertise and career options.

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Block teaching designed around you

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments – rather than lots of exams at the end of the year – and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging. Read more about block teaching.

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What you will study

Block 1: Modern Britain since 1800

This module introduces students to the social, cultural, economic, and political history of Britain from the mid-eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. Through close reading of primary source material and the assessment of historiographical debates and trends, students will develop key analytical skills and become confident in identifying change and continuity across the time period. Topics covered may include industrialisation and decline, poverty and the rise of the welfare state, political and electoral change, culture and leisure, social class and social change, and multi-ethnic Britain.

Assessment: Primary Source Analysis (30%) and Portfolio (70%)

Block 2: Journeys and Places

This module, with its focus on journeys and places, offers an opportunity for you to explore some of the key concepts underpinning your History, Politics and International Relations studies. You will take a post-disciplinary approach to your subject area, using techniques from diverse areas to address key questions related to journeys and places.

You will attend interactive lectures with students from across the School of Humanities and Performing Arts. You will have opportunities to apply the concepts addressed in these lectures to History within subject specific workshops, and through History writing assessments.

The themes covered during the module may include journeys, spaces and the concept of welcome; (im)mobilities and journeys through time and space; representation and imaginative geographies; gender and placemaking; belonging and place attachment; journeys, places and identities; as well as themes related to sustainability and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Assessment: Subject-specific Coursework: 1 (30%) and 2 (70%).

Block 3: Nationalism and Revolutions in the 19th Century

This module will introduce you to the rise of nationalism, the significance of the nation-state as a unit of political organisation, the development and expansion of empires (both European and non-European), and the impact of revolutions throughout the nineteenth century from a global perspective. Through thematic lectures, seminars, workshops, and independent reading, you will explore a range of case studies and develop an understanding of these fundamental building blocks of modern history. Students will additionally learn to identify different historiographical approaches that historians have utilised to study these important historical themes.

Assessment: Secondary Source Analysis (35%) and Essay (65%)

Block 4: Ideology, War and Society in the 20th century

This module introduces you to the way the world has evolved throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. It does so by focusing upon specific events such as the First and Second World Wars, the collapse of European empires, and revolutions in Europe. The module will also explore key ideologies and themes related to rise of extremism and terrorism, socialism, capitalism, genocide, and the development of new world order through the spread and clash of civilisations and globalisation. You will also be introduced to the key historiographical approaches which have shaped historical writing over the past two centuries, such as empiricism, Marxism, postmodernism, and history from below.

Assessment: e.g., Essay (40%) and Exam (60%).

Block 1: Global Cold War

This module introduces you to the history of the Cold War in a global context. It explores the roots of the Cold War and how it played out in specific theatres such as Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. The course deals with a variety of historical topics, which aside from global geopolitics might include sport and diplomacy, the nuclear arms race, the space race, and culture and society in the Cold War era. It also explores the ideological underpinnings of the Cold War, the role of propaganda as a weapon of the conflict and how these ideologies functioned in practice in different societies.

The module will also address historiography and the competing interpretations of the Cold War by scholars and practitioners and assess the global legacy of the conflict. You will study a broad range of themes, issues and controversies related to the Cold War and its legacies and gain an understanding of the parameters of it.

Assessment: Essay (50%) and Digital Presentation (50%)

Block 2: Exploring Work and Society

This module is designed to prepare and support you towards the pursuit of post-degree pathways. It will focus on the specific skills, capabilities and knowledge needed to adapt and flourish in professional environments and contexts. There will be an emphasis on enhancement of core attributes, competencies and transferable skills as well as developing familiarity with the world and politics of work. The module will prepare you for diverse and dynamic working environments beyond university by introducing reflective practices to support your long-term professional development.

You will be introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and invited to engage critically around themes including race, gender, identity, and geopolitical issues, to conceptualize a more equitable society, and environmentally sustainable world, as relevant to your career aspirations.

You will engage with History workshops to gain greater understanding of worlds of work connected to History and related fields. You will take part in lectures, seminars, group discussion, independent learning, tutorial support and engagement with your peers.

Supported independent learning activities may include responding to real-world briefs, placements/shadowing, engagement with community projects or initiatives, creating proposals for projects or initiatives in a professional setting. These activities will be tailored to your History, Politics and International Relations course.

Assessment: Written Portfolio or Recorded Presentation (100%)

Block 3: Migration, Multiculturalism and Racism

This module will examine the centrality of migration, multiculturalism and racism in the development of the modern world. Focusing mainly on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the module will tackle themes that might include theories and criticisms of the concept of multiculturalism, histories and experiences of migration, theories of diaspora, the social and economic status of minorities, the ways in which ethnic, racial, migrant, religious or other types of minorities interact with the dominant society and culture, and the representation of these experiences in sports and visual culture. Case studies that might be examined in this module include the Jewish community in Britain, the global African diaspora, the origins of multicultural Britain, among others.

Assessment: Primary Source Analysis (40%) and Essay (60%)

Block 4: Investigating the Past: Theory and Method

The module will introduce you to a range of historical sources and research methods used in project work. The module will examine core themes in history and the sources/methods associated with them. The methodologies studied will then be adapted to a personal research project, which will lead to the Level 6 dissertation. Study of sources may include maps; economic data; census; national and local government records; diplomatic and military records; press and media; records of education, health, poverty/charity and criminality; church and religious history; oral history; visual sources. There will be visits to archives and relevant research depositories.

Assessment: Primary Source Analysis (40%) and Project Portfolio (60%)

As part of this course, you will have the option to complete a paid placement year which offers invaluable professional experience.

Our award-winning Careers Team can help you secure a placement through activities such as mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and you will be assigned a personal tutor to support you throughout your placement.

Block 1: Special subject

This module will introduce you to cutting-edge research drawn from the expertise available in the History team. Two subjects will be drawn from the following: Photography and Medicine in the Nineteenth Century; the Disintegration of Yugoslavia; the Olympic Games; the United States Empire; the United States and the First World War; the Zimbabwean Diaspora in the UK; the Partition of India/Pakistan; History and Memory in Post-colonial Africa; The Ottoman Empire in Europe: Disintegration and Legacies; Sport in Britain, 1850-1945.

The module will be led by members of the teaching team on a rotating basis and will provide you with the opportunity to discuss specialised research topics with leading experts on those topics. You will acquire in-depth knowledge of those topics, as well as first-hand experience on the research process, including the identification of suitable archives, the interpretation of the archival evidence and the current historiographical debates and controversies related to the subject. You will study two topics and will specialise on one of them through to the final assignment.

Assessment: Portfolio (50%) and Essay (50%).

Block 2: Empire and its Aftermath

This module introduces you to the history of anti-imperialist independence movements and the creation of new nation-states through case studies drawn from South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and South America. It will explore different case studies in the decolonization processes across time and space. The module also explores the relationships between ideologies and resistance against imperial rule, as well as post-colonial conflicts in nation-building and the social and economic legacies of imperial rule in the post-colonial world. You will study these processes in a broad and theoretical way in lectures, seminars, and workshops, as they deepen their understanding of specific case studies. You will develop an understanding of the key factors instrumental in developing post-independence relations of neo-colonialism in post-colonial nation-states as a historical unit of analysis in the context of global politics The module will further introduce you to relevant historiographical approaches such as post-colonialism and Subaltern Studies.

Assessment: Essay (40%) and Portfolio (60%)

Block 3: The War at Home: 1939-1945

This module explores the economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of the home front during the Second World War focusing upon case studies such as Britain and Germany. The module will examine primary sources on the individual case studies and also offer students the opportunity to engage with different historiographical traditions and interpretations during this time frame. The case studies covered will also be placed into wider international context.

Assessment: Primary Source Analysis (50%) and Podcast/Video (50%)

Block 4: Dissertation

The dissertation provides an opportunity for sustained work of an independent nature in an area of personal interest, allowing the exploration a particular issue, topic or problem in considerable depth. You will define and analyse a question or problem, or test a hypothesis, arising from their historical interest. The dissertation provides an opportunity to look beyond the textbooks and other secondary sources and to get to grips with primary evidence including textual, material or visual sources. The dissertation will draw out research, critical and writing skills in several ways.

Assessment: Presentation (10%) and Dissertation (90%)

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Overview

Our teaching is interactive and enjoyable, encouraging you to develop your own thoughts, ideas, and viewpoints. You will build essential skills for both historical study and the modern workplace.

Our modules are designed to enhance your skills as a historian - from analysis and research to reasoning and evaluation - while developing attributes that improve your employability across various careers.

Taught by nationally and internationally renowned experts, you'll benefit from varied assessments, including group work, presentations, portfolios, podcasts, essays, exams, and a dissertation. These assessments are designed to build on each other, helping you strengthen your creativity, project management, teamwork, communication, and technical skills.

You will also benefit from access to DMU’s historical collections, including the Stephen Lawrence Papers, the Ski Club of GB archive, and the Kodak collection at the Kimberlin Library.

Contact hours

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, group work, and self-directed study. You will normally attend around 9 hours of timetabled taught sessions each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 28 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

Routes

You can select to study a route in Block 3 during your first year. When selecting a module for Block 3 in your second year you can opt to remain on your chosen route or return to History. If you choose to remain with the route, it must be continued in your third year.

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Our facilities

Library and learning zones

The main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.
As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including LearningZone, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

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Our expertise

Profile picture for Alex Bryne

Alex Bryne

Lecturer in History

Alex is a historian of the United States of America. He specialises in the early twentieth century and the nation’s foreign relations. He has written on topics including the Monroe Doctrine, Pan-Americanism, and aviation.

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Beatriz Pichel

Associate Professor

Beatriz is an interdisciplinary historian, researching and teaching across the history of photography, the history of medicine and the history of war, among others. She currently leads a project that is rethinking how museums and archives present medical photographs in an ethical way.

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Christopher Roy-Zembe

Senior Lecturer and History BA Programme Leader

Chris’ expertise is in the African Diaspora in Britain, and Colonial and Post-Colonial Histories of Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also co-editor of Taylor and Francis “Black Histories: Dialogues” journal.

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David Dee

Associate Professor/Reader in Modern History

Dave is an expert on British migration and ethnic history (particularly as regards the British Jewish community) and the history of British sport and leisure. He is currently the Sports History and Culture MA Programme Leader.

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Matthew Taylor

Professor of History

Matthew is a member of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture. His research expertise lies in the history of sport and leisure in Britain and beyond from the mid-nineteenth century. He also writes and teaches on global and transnational history, imperial history and labour history.

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Panikos Panayi

Professor of European History

Panikos has published widely and his research fits into the following areas: the history of immigration and interethnic relations; the history of food; the First World War; German history; the history of London; and the history of the Cypriot people.

Profile picture for Pippa Virdee

Pippa Virdee

Professor of Modern South Asian History

Pippa has written extensively on the Partition of Punjab and has research interests in colonial and postcolonial India/Pakistan, the South Asian Diaspora in the UK, women’s history and more recently the relationship between new technologies, memory, and history.

Where we could take you

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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice.

Our Careers Team can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

Students Kayleigh Cardy and Cory Hancock secured year-long placements as English language teaching assistants in Spain though DMU’s Erasmus+ programme. Kayleigh said: “It’s been so much more than a placement. I’ve travelled, I’ve learnt about a whole new culture, and I’ve grown as a person.”

graduate-careers

Graduate careers

Employability skills are embedded in the curriculum to prepare you for a range of careers both related to History and in wider industries.

Our graduates are highly employable due to their advanced cultural competency, strong communication and reasoning skills, and their ability to work both independently and collaboratively. They have gone on to forge successful careers in various professions, such as teaching, the law, marketing and the heritage and museum sector.

Course specifications

Course title

History

Award

BA (Hons)

UCAS code

V100

Institution code

D26

Study level

Undergraduate

Study mode

Full-time

Part-time

Start date

September

Duration

3 years full-time, 4 years with placement, 6 years part-time.

Fees

2025/26 UK tuition fees:
£9,535*

2025/26 international tuition:
£16,250

*subject to the government, as is expected, passing legislation to formalise the increase.

Additional costs

Entry requirements

Typical entry requirements

  • 112 points from at least 2 A levels or
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM or
  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points or
  • T Levels Merit

Plus five GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students to have had a break from education from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Interview and portfolio

Interview required: No

Portfolio required: No

Contextual offer

To make sure you get fair and equal access to higher education, when looking at your application, we consider more than just your grades. So if you are eligible, you may receive a contextual offer. Find out more about contextual offers.

Additional costs

Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library, DMU Special Collections (Archives) and Resource List of e-books. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs, which for this programme could include the following:

  • Reading materials: £20-50
  • Research, Study Trips and Field visits: £10 per year in your first two years of study, rising to £50-100 if you choose to visit National or Local Archives, and/or British Library in your final year dissertation research.