History

History is the discipline that asks why the world is as it is, tracing the decisions, events, structures, and contingencies that have shaped societies over time. At university level, studying history means learning to interrogate primary sources, to evaluate competing interpretations, and to construct original arguments from incomplete and sometimes contradictory evidence. These are skills of exceptional value in any professional context that requires managing complexity and communicating clearly under uncertainty.

At the University of Reading, this three-year full-time programme offers an unusually rich set of structural features. The programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, which together make it one of the most practically oriented history degrees available. The placement and work experience elements give you first-hand exposure to professional settings where historical knowledge and analytical skills are directly relevant, including heritage organisations, archives, museums, education, journalism, and the public sector.

The year abroad gives you the opportunity to study history in a different academic and cultural environment, deepening your comparative perspective on the past and strengthening your independence as a scholar.

Reading has a well-established history department with strengths in medieval, early modern, and modern British and European history. The programme develops skills in primary source analysis, historiographical debate, and academic writing, and the combination of intellectual rigour with practical professional experience prepares you well for a range of careers.

History graduates work in education, heritage, museums and archives, the civil service, journalism, law, publishing, and policy. The analytical and communication skills the degree develops are valued across a wide range of sectors, and the combination of placement experience and a year abroad gives Reading graduates a practical and international dimension that strengthens their employability. Postgraduate study in history, archival studies, or heritage management is a further option.