History is vital to understanding the world around us. What is gender, race, class, religion, the state, empire, capitalism? What is the USA, China, the United Kingdom, Ireland? What is NATO and the EU? Our historians explain the modern world by reaching back to the Roman empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the great modern revolutions across all of Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. From their first year, we trust our students to make choices and range widely across all these histories to understand where we have come from. From the beginning of your degree, you will be taught in small groups by expert historians. Our range in time and space, our trust in you to explore and make good choices, and our small group teaching from the first year of the degree, mark us out among our peer universities.

History at Queen’s has been placed in the QS World University Rankings top 200 History departments in the world for 2025.

Course highlights

Global Opportunities

The History programme offers students opportunities to travel and study at universities in Europe and North America. Short-term (two weeks) and longer-term (up to one academic year) exchanges are on offer.

Possible examples include:
• George Washington University (Washington DC, USA)
• Aarhus Universitet (Denmark)
• College of Charleston (South Carolina, USA)
• Institut d’Etudes Politques de Bordeaux (France)
• University of Oslo (Norway)
• Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands)
• Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)

Field trips may also be offered in particular years or as part of certain modules.

Industry Links

Several modules include links with local collaborative partners, which provide students with opportunities to network with experts in the field or to gain experience of particular industries prior to graduation.

Internships have also been developed to allow students the opportunity to carry out work experience in history-related fields.

Career Development

Queen’s is ranked 9th in the UK for graduate prospects - outcomes (Complete University Guide 2025).

The Royal Historical Society reports that earnings for history graduates are strong, relative to those of graduates in other
humanities, social sciences and many non-vocational STEM subjects.

World Class Facilities

Top Ranking: History at Queen’s has been placed in the QS World University Rankings top 200 History departments in the world for 2025.

The School also boasts the following:
• The Centre for Public History
• Institute of Cognition and Culture
• The Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice
• Institute of Irish Studies
• Two International Summer Schools (the Irish Studies Summer School; and the Conflict Transformation and Social Justice Summer
School)

Queen’s is one of the top 10 most beautiful universities in the UK (Times Higher Education, 2023).

Student Experience

History is the best way of understanding our world. At Queen’s we have an exceptionally wide-ranging curriculum, that stretches from the Roman Empire to the present day, and attends especially to public history, social history, gender history, and queer history.

Queen's teaches History from the Ancient World to the present day, and across four continents. This depth and breadth is an unusual strength, and we trust our students to find their own way through this very wide range of histories.

From year 1, you will be taught in small groups by real historians. You will not be one of 300 students in a lecture theatre, coming face-to-face only with PhD students.

Studying at Queen’s also means you play an active role in making your own curriculum; we trust you to move through our curriculum and make your own choices.

According to the Guardian University Guide 2025, 90% of Queen’s History graduates find graduate-level jobs or are in further study within 15 months of graduation.

Further Study Opportunities

Many others went on to further study, not only in History MAs, but also MSc Management, MSc Software Development, PGCE History, PCGE Primary, MA Legal Science, MA Legislative Studies and Practice, MSc Dating and Chronology, and MA International Relations.

Further study is also an option; information on Master’s programmes and research topics is available from the School website.

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Stage 1

History modules at Level 1 offer a systematic introduction to the discipline, partly by sampling some of the many different approaches that historians take in studying the past, and partly by an exploration of some of the major questions of theory and method with which they are concerned.

Stage 2

History modules at Level 2 are generally survey modules seeking to convey a sense of the principal events, trends and developments in a particular country or region over a fairly long time span

Stage 3

Students must write a Dissertation (compulsory),

Plus a choice of four modules. These modules are closely related to the research interests of the historians teaching them, and place greater emphasis on primary source analysis than previously

• People Teaching You
  Dr Ian Campbell

  Programme Convenor

  HAPP
  Email: happ@qub.ac.uk School Office: +44(0)28 9097 5028

• Contact Teaching Hours

  Large Group Teaching

  6 (hours maximum)
  In a typical week you may have up to 6 hours of lectures, depending on the level of study.

  Personal Study

  10 (hours maximum)
  Typically 10 hours per module (30 hours per week), revising in your own time

  Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial

  6 (hours maximum)
  In a typical week, you will have 3-6 hours of tutorials (or later, project supervision).

• Teaching Times
  Face-to-face, live teaching generally takes place between the hours of 10am and 4pm on weekdays, but this is subject to change and special teaching events may take place outside these hours.
• Learning and Teaching

  Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:

  E-Learning technologies

  Staff regularly incorporate e-learning technologies into their teaching to aid student learning.
  
  Examples include:
  - Online class discussion forums
  - Interactive in-class electronic surveys (Personal Response System)
  - PeerWise and other technologies to facilitate peer learning

  Group Projects

  Group projects across all levels can be formative or summative.

  Lectures

  Lectures are usually delivered face-to-face, although occasionally lectures will be provided online. Lecture aids might include handouts, audio/visual clips, and slideshows. Film screenings are also a feature of some modules.

  Self-directed study

  The History programme requires self-directed study, through reading secondary sources and identifying, locating and analysing primary sources. Self-directed study is important across all levels and guidance is provided by staff.

  Seminars/tutorials

  The seminar/tutorial has an important place in the History programme. These small-group classes are generally student-focused, with emphasis on discussion of historical problems through analysis of primary and secondary sources, peer engagement, and active participation.

• Assessment

  Details of assessments associated with this course are outlined below:

  • A variety of assessment methods is used, including written examination, coursework essays submitted during or at the end of the semester, group projects, oral presentations by individual students or collaborative groups, oral exams, video-logs, discussion forums, tutorial activities, and dissertations.

A level requirements

ABB

A maximum of one BTEC/OCR Single Award or AQA Extended Certificate will be accepted as part of an applicant's portfolio of qualifications with a Distinction* being equated to grade A at A-Level and a Distinction being equated to a grade B at A-level.

Irish leaving certificate requirements

H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3

Access Course

Successful completion of Access Course with an average of 70%.

International Baccalaureate Diploma

33 points overall, including 6,5,5 at Higher Level

BTEC Level 3 Extended/National Extended Diploma

QCF BTEC Extended Diploma (180 credits at Level 3) with overall grades D*DD

RQF BTEC National Extended Diploma (1080 GLH at Level 3) with overall grades D*DD

Graduate

A minimum of a 2:2 Honours Degree

Note

All applicants must have GCSE English Language grade C/4 or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.

There are no specific Level 3 subject requirements to study History.

• How we choose our students

  Applications are dealt with centrally by the Admissions and Access Service rather than by individual University Schools. Once your on-line form has been processed by UCAS and forwarded to Queen's, an acknowledgement is normally sent within two weeks of its receipt at the University.
  
  Selection is on the basis of the information provided on your UCAS form. Decisions are made on an ongoing basis and will be notified to you via UCAS.
  
  For entry last year, applicants for this degree offering A-Level/ BTEC Level 3 qualifications or equivalent must have had, or been able to achieve, a minimum of 5 GCSE passes at grade C/4 or better (to include English Language). The Selector will check that any specific entry requirements in terms of GCSE and/or A-level subjects can be fulfilled.
  
  Offers are normally made on the basis of 3 A-levels. Two subjects at A-level plus two at AS would also be considered. The offer for repeat applicants is set in terms of 3 A-levels and may be one grade higher than that asked from first time applicants. Grades may be held from the previous year.
  
  Applicants offering two A-levels and one BTEC Subsidiary Diploma/National Extended Certificate (or equivalent qualification), or one A-level and a BTEC Diploma/National Diploma (or equivalent qualification) will also be considered. Offers will be made in terms of the overall BTEC grade(s) awarded. Please note that a maximum of one BTEC Subsidiary Diploma/National Extended Certificate (or equivalent) will be counted as part of an applicant’s portfolio of qualifications. The normal GCSE profile will be expected.
  
  For applicants offering Irish Leaving Certificate, please note that performance at Irish Junior Certificate is taken into account. Applicants must have a minimum of 5 IJC grades C/ Merit. The Selector also checks that any specific entry requirements in terms of Leaving Certificate subjects can be satisfied.
  
  For applicants offering a HNC, the current requirements are successful completion of the HNC with 2 Distinctions and remainder Merits. For those offering a Higher National Diploma, some flexibility may be allowed in terms of GCSE profile but, to be eligible for an offer, the grades obtained in the first year of the HND must allow the overall offer to be achievable. The current entrance requirements are successful completion of the HND with 2 Distinctions, 10 Merits and 4 Passes overall. Any consideration would be for Stage 1 entry only.
  
  The information provided in the personal statement section and the academic reference together with predicted grades are noted but, in the case of BA degrees, these are not the final deciding factors in whether or not a conditional offer can be made. However, they may be reconsidered in a tie break situation in August.
  
  A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Thinking would not normally be considered as part of a three A-level offer and, although they may be excluded where an applicant is taking 4 A-level subjects, the grade achieved could be taken into account if necessary in August/September.
  
  Applicants are not normally asked to attend for interview, though there are some exceptions and specific information is provided with the relevant subject areas.
  
  If you are made an offer then you may be invited to a Faculty/School Open Day, which is usually held in the second semester. This will allow you the opportunity to visit the University and to find out more about the degree programme of your choice and the facilities on offer. It also gives you a flavour of the academic and social life at Queen's.
  
  If you cannot find the information you need here, please contact the University Admissions Service (admissions@qub.ac.uk), giving full details of your qualifications and educational background.

• International Students

  Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.

  Please Select Your Country/Region Please Select Your Country/Region

  International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

  For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

  If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, Queen's University Belfast International Study Centre offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

  • Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
  • Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.

  • Foundation
    The progression course suited to this programme is
    https://qubisc.com/en/courses/international-foundation-in-business-humanities-and-social-sciences.