Communications and History

Communications and history is a combination that equips you to understand both how ideas and information move through society and the deeper historical forces that have shaped the world you are communicating about. Communications as a discipline covers the theory and practice of media, public relations, journalism, digital content, and organisational communication, exploring how messages are constructed, circulated, and received across different platforms and audiences. History trains you to think carefully about causation, evidence, and change over time, to question received narratives, and to situate contemporary events within longer trajectories of social, political, and cultural development.

Together, they develop a powerful combination of critical thinking and practical communication skill.

At Nottingham Trent University, this part-time programme includes a sandwich year with a work placement, giving you direct professional experience alongside your academic study. The communications component covers media theory, digital and traditional journalism, public relations and corporate communication, and the ethical questions that run through all professional communication practice. The history element takes you through the methods and debates of historical scholarship, with opportunities to specialise in periods and themes that interest you, developing your skills in archival research, source analysis, and historical writing.

The work placement, embedded in the sandwich year, provides the opportunity to apply what you are learning in a real professional environment and to build the industry connections that are important for careers in communications.

Graduates from this combination are well placed across a range of careers in communications, media, and related fields. Roles in journalism, public relations, content creation, social media management, and corporate communications are direct applications of the skills developed in the programme. Charities, campaign organisations, and political bodies value graduates with the combination of communication skills and historical context that this degree provides.

Heritage work, museums, archives, and educational organisations are natural destinations for those whose interests lean more towards the historical dimension. Postgraduate study in journalism, communications, public history, or media studies is an option for those who want to develop their expertise further.