History and Geography

History and geography, studied together, offer an unusually powerful way of making sense of the world. History examines how human societies have changed over time, how power has been organised and contested, and how past decisions have shaped the present. Geography explores how physical environments and human activities interact, how space and place are produced, and how processes operating at global scale play out in particular localities.

Together they train you to think across time and space, developing a breadth of analytical perspective that neither discipline offers on its own.

At the University of Exeter this three-year programme draws on two well-regarded departments to give you genuine depth in both subjects. In history, you will engage with primary sources, historiographical debates and the craft of historical argument, developing the close reading and critical analysis skills that the discipline demands. In geography, you will study both human and physical aspects of the subject, working with a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The programme includes a sandwich year, providing the opportunity to gain professional experience, and a year abroad, allowing you to encounter different historical traditions and geographical environments at first hand. Work placements are built in, giving you further practical exposure before you graduate.

The career destinations of history and geography graduates are genuinely varied. Teaching in secondary schools is a common route, and both subjects are valued by the profession. Environmental consultancy, urban planning, heritage management, archival and museum work, journalism, policy analysis, international development and the civil service are all destinations where the combination of temporal and spatial understanding, research skills and analytical rigour is valued.

Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in history, geography, environmental studies, planning or related disciplines, using the breadth of their undergraduate preparation as a foundation for specialisation.