History

History is the sustained inquiry into how human beings have lived, organised themselves, and made sense of the world across time. It is a discipline that teaches you to read with care, to question sources, to situate events and ideas in context, and to construct evidence-based arguments with clarity and rigour. The skills history develops are among the most transferable at degree level, valued by employers who need people who can research, synthesise information, and communicate complex ideas, whether in law, policy, journalism, business, or public service.

At the University of Exeter, this three-year full-time programme offers a wide range of module choices across different historical periods, geographies, and themes, allowing you to pursue the aspects of the subject that matter most to you while developing genuine depth of historical understanding. You will engage with primary sources and scholarly debate, learning to interrogate historical evidence and to place events and developments in their broader political, social, and cultural contexts. Some students take the opportunity to learn a language alongside their history studies, extending their research capabilities and opening additional international perspectives.

The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, giving you professional experience and the chance to study history at a partner institution in another country. These structural features mean that Exeter's history degree develops not only your academic skills but also your professional versatility and international outlook.

You will develop rigorous research skills, strong written communication, and the analytical judgment that sustained historical study builds.

History graduates go on to careers in education, the civil service, heritage, law, journalism, publishing, politics, business, and the third sector. The degree's breadth and the skills it develops make historians genuinely versatile. Postgraduate study in history, archival studies, museum studies, or law is a well-supported continuation.