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History

BA (Hons)

UCAS code: V101

Start dates: September 2026

Full time: 3 years

Part time: up to 6 years

Location: Headington

School(s): School of Education, Humanities and Languages

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Overview

Why do democracies fail? How do empires shape identity? How does information transform who holds power? These are just some of the urgent questions waiting for you at Oxford Brookes.

You'll study British, European and American history through the lens of our core areas of research strength: war and politics, crime, empire, culture and belief, and ideas and ideology.  You'll be interrogating evidence, challenging narratives and building your own arguments - through essays, debates, public history projects and assessments that reflect how history actually reaches people.

History at Oxford Brookes connects historical thinking to real-world problems, building the skills that careers in law, politics, media, teaching, heritage and public service depend on.

You'll do this supported by academics who are challenging narratives in their own work. And you’ll do so in Oxford - a living and vibrant archive of a thousand years of power, progress and change.

Together, we'll push you to challenge, question and think for yourself. That's where the best ideas come from. 

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BA (Hons) History students discussing while walking downstairs the impact of colonialism

Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Challenge built in

    You’ll study three modules across your degree that apply historical thinking to real problems, developing the analytical and professional skills that set you apart.

  • Apply your skills

    Build your experience and your network through work placements, public history projects and real world opportunities.

  • Friendly and supportive

    We know everyone by name in our small department and always offer regular one-to-one tutorials to support your studies.

  • Get involved

    We have an active student community, with the History Society running regular events like day trips, socials, and guest lectures.

  • Study in Oxford

    A city steeped in history, where you’ll have access to the famous Bodleian Library and Ashmolean Museum, and countless heritage sites.

  • Additional language modules

    Our university-wide language programme is available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

  • Study abroad

    You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Oxford Brookes. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.

Course details

Course structure

Your first year focuses on building and presenting arguments, interrogating evidence, forming your own view. You'll explore the major themes running through the course:

  • Modern Britain
  • Modern America
  • Politics, war and empire
  • Crime and violence
  • Idea and ideologies
  • Culture and belief.

Alongside this, the challenge module Why History Matters asks you to consider history's role in the real world from day one.

In year 2, you'll choose modules that deepen your historical knowledge, specialising in one theme or following a mix. The challenge module Oxford Stories takes you beyond the classroom, applying your historical thinking to a real-world cross-subject project rooted in the city around you. You can also opt to complete a work placement.

In your third year, you'll specialise further, with topics taught by research experts. The challenge module Applied History brings your experience together, building a practical portfolio that demonstrates your skills and supports your next steps.

BA (Hons) History students in London

Learning and teaching

You'll be part of a department where you are known by name. That matters when you're dismantling a difficult narrative or pushing your thinking into new territory.

Your tutors are active researchers and published experts. Dr Alys Beverton introduces you to the methods and theories that define how history is practised today, before applying them to the contested history of America's racial and imperial past. Professor Glen O'Hara writes in national media and advises government on policy, bringing that dimension directly into the classroom. That expertise shapes every seminar, discussion and piece of feedback you receive.

We combine lectures with small seminars where you'll build confidence expressing ideas, debating evidence and developing your own arguments. By the third year, you'll be working closely with specialists in the areas you've chosen to pursue.

Three challenge modules run through your degree, connecting historical study to real-world problems and professional life.

Assessment

Your assessments reflect how history reaches people and how historians work. You won’t have any exams. Instead, you’ll build your skills across a range of formats:

  • research essays
  • source analyses
  • creative life-writing exercises
  • book reviews
  • group projects and presentations
  • module diaries and portfolios.

You might also curate a time capsule, develop your own podcast, write a policy brief or produce a leaflet for a public audience. You’ll also complete reflective exercises and assignments that help to build a portfolio of your academic, applied and professional experiences throughout your time studying.

You’ll complete your dissertation in the module ‘Major History Research Project’. You can choose a traditional dissertation format, or an applied or alternative research format - like a museum guide or piece of public policy research.
 

Study modules

History is shaped by the people who ask the hard questions. The modules you'll study are taught by academics actively doing that. 

Professor Marius Turda examines the history of power and prejudice through the rise of eugenics. Professor Johannes Dillinger analyses the history of witchcraft, magic and the occult. Dr Thomas Robb offers expertise on Cold War geopolitics through to today’s fracturing world order. Professor Cassie Watson examines the bloody history of crime, violence and forensic medicine.

Teaching for this course takes place face to face. You can expect around 7 hours of contact time per week. In addition, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments and academic advising. These hours differ by year of study and can increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

  • A People’s History of Britain

    You’ll uncover Britain’s rich, multicultural history - from the Tudors to today. You’ll explore the lives of families and individuals, investigating life histories, recorded memories and material objects of the time. You’ll explore famous figures throughout the centuries. And you’ll attend seminars where you’ll discuss new perspectives on themes including:

    • fashion and consumption
    • material culture
    • class
    • demography
    • welfare.

  • Europe and the World, 1450-1750

    What was it like to live through the early modern witch trials? How did the Scientific Revolution affect society?

    In this module, you’ll explore a time of religious warfare, environmental change and political revolutions in Europe. You’ll encounter Europe’s history, and relations with the world in the early modern period, through texts, criminal records, art and buildings. And you’ll explore what life was like for people who lived through:

    • Wars between Christian and Muslim powers
    • European colonialism
    • The execution of the King during the British Civil Wars

  • Making History

    In this module, you’ll gain the key skills you need to succeed in your History degree. You’ll investigate the key:

    • theories
    • methods
    • sources

    used by professional historians. And you’ll apply them to your own investigations. We’ll teach you how to express yourself effectively in different forms, unlocking your potential for excellence. You’ll also learn about the key research interests of our dynamic History team.

  • Ideologies of the Modern World, 1750-2000

    In this module, you’ll gain critical knowledge of the ideas and concepts behind the rise of the West, and modern Western society. You’ll get to know the competing ideologies in Western society and power since the mid-seventeenth century. And you’ll explore marginalised groups and the processes of empire-building. You’ll gain the key skills to succeed in your degree, as you learn to:

    • communicate knowledge
    • present arguments
    • solve problems in a scholarly way. 

  • Superpowers: an International History of the Cold War

    Who won the Cold War? In this module, you’ll explore the rivalry between two global superpowers - the United States and Soviet Union. You’ll understand how the Cold War never featured any actual fighting between the two, yet resulted in the defeat of one. You’ll get to grips with International History, and learn about the realms of:

    • diplomacy
    • arms control
    • proxy wars
    • the creation and maintenance of alliances
    • leadership and the role of personality.

    And you’ll explore how people lived through the looming threat of nuclear destruction in the second half of the 20th Century.

  • World at War: A History of the First World War

    Why was the First World War such a pivotal moment in History? In this module, you’ll gain valuable critical skills in the study of Modern History, as you explore the depth and extent of the First World War. You’ll examine:

    • the global reach of the war, particularly in the colonial territories of Asia and Africa
    • the culture of war on the home front and how it affected men, women, and children
    • the refugee crisis across Europe, and the plight of people in zones of conflict.
    • innovations in medical care and humanitarian relief
    • the birth of the idea of “crimes against humanity” and genocide
    • the history of the military conflict from 1914-1918

Optional modules

  • Bloody Histories: Crime and Violence in the West

    You’ll discover crimes in the West from 1400 to 2000, including

    • Piracy
    • Treason
    • Poisoning
    • Rape
    • Blasphemy

    You’ll get to know the key sources of crime historians, and the challenges in using them. You’ll connect law, crime, and punishment with the wider social context in Britain, Europe, and America. And you’ll gain key critical skills as you explore pressing debates around crime.

  • Origins of the Climate Crisis: A Global History of the Environment

    You will engage with the ways in which the environment and the climate have changed over the past six centuries. Looking at:

    • sustainability
    • climate change
    • conservation.

    Which are pressing issues with a rich and compelling history. You will investigate environmental changes and how they were contested and experienced at communal, national and international levels. You'll think about the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of resource management, energy use and food production.  Including a focus on future policy solutions 

    You will engage with a wide variety of historical sources which we can use to understand environmental history, including:

    • demographic sources
    • institutional records
    • visual sources such as maps and plans.

    You will gain digital history skills, through the digital mapping technology you will use on the course.

  • The Faiths of the West

    How have religious groups shaped the West, from the ancient to the modern world? How do different religious groups interact with each other? In this module, you’ll explore:

    • different religions groups and doctrines
    • witchcraft and paganism
    • religion in everyday life

    We’ll mainly focus on Christianity, but also on the role of other faiths, such as Judaism and Islam. We’ll also look at the idea of fascism as a political religion.

Year 2

Compulsory modules

  • Creating History 1: Historians and Historiography

    You’ll gain the key practical skills you need to succeed in your dissertation. You’ll unlock your academic potential, gaining invaluable research skills and the critical knowledge you need to study History at an advanced level. 

    You’ll dive into the various approaches of historians, and get to grips with different historical methods. You’ll gain fantastic critical skills as you debate pressing historical questions. And you’ll learn to structure and develop an argument through the use of primary sources.

  • Creating History 2: Researching Primary Materials

    You’ll get to know a huge range of primary sources - including cartoons, buildings and diaries.  You’ll gain the skills to analyse primary sources in a skilled and detailed way, ready for your third year. And you’ll consolidate the practical and analytical skills you’ve gained so far in your degree.

  • Twentieth-century Britain: Democracy, Upheaval, Renewal

    In this module, you'll be introduced to key social, political and economic changes that made twentieth-century Britain. You will learn about the relationship between crisis and renewal, and will be encouraged to think critically about the nature of change and how, why and when this came about to forge the Britain we know today. You’ll explore how the politics of change and how key developments in the British state, society and economy, and the country’s place in the world, were contested, represented and resisted by some and championed by others. 

    The module aims to empower you to think independently about Britain’s twentieth-century past and twenty-first-century present and the relationship between the two. It can sometimes seem like Britain is experiencing unprecedented change and crisis; but Britons have lived through similarly challenging times in the past century.

Optional modules

  • Witches: Religion, Power and Magic

    This module offers you the opportunity to study magic and witchcraft as central topics of social and cultural history. Covering more than 2,000 years of the history of magic, it invites you to investigate persecutions of so-called witches in their various political, social and religious contexts from Roman Antiquity to the present. 

    The module discusses witchcraft in the broadest sense of the word: from medieval concepts of heresy and the pact with the devil to the rise of demonology, from the British and European witch hunts of the Reformation age to the Satanic panic of the late twentieth century. 

    We also explore the contexts of spirit beliefs, learned magic and folk magic and discuss how organized religion and the states dealt with magic and (alleged and real) magicians. The module will develop your skills in using primary sources as well as introducing you to the most important debates in the history of witchcraft.

  • Crime and Punishment through the Ages

    What causes people to commit crimes? And how have we punished criminals in the past? In this module, you’ll gain a fascinating insight into crime in the British Isles, as you examine:

    • gendered criminality
    • property crime
    • the history of violence
    • attempts to regulate morality. 

    You’ll explore: 

    • the birth of the prison
    • social crimes and social justice
    • moral and anti-social crimes
    • theories of punishment.

    You’ll also look at the substantial changes in law enforcement that occurred in early modern Britain, giving you the key critical knowledge to study crime history. 

  • Genders, Sexualities and Bodies

    What can sex and gender teach us about history? In this module, you’ll explore the relationship between the body and sexuality, and medicine and culture. We’ll observe how our perspectives on bodies, gender, and sexuality change according to social and historical contexts. And you’ll develop excellent critical skills, as you analyse primary sources, and dive into debates on the body and sexuality. You’ll investigate 

    • contraception practices 
    • treatment of STIs
    • regulation of sexual behaviours
    • transgender debates through time

  • Jack the Ripper and the Victorian Underworld

    How did Jack the Ripper - the mass murderer of vulnerable women - shape Victorian culture? And how did Victorian Britain create the Jack the Ripper phenomenon? In this module, you’ll dive into the criminal underworld of the nineteenth century. You’ll investigate a time where public ideas on crime clashed with those of the authorities. You’ll explore:

    • attitudes towards the morality and immorality 
    • the origins of the concept of the criminal class
    • the introduction of policing
    • the development of punishment.

    And you’ll ask who the real Jack the Ripper was, exploring suspects and theories.

  • Information Revolutions: From Gutenberg to GenAI

    GenAI; the worldwide web; social media: we are living through a time of great change in how we generate and consume information, but we are not the first society to do so.

    Learn how information revolutions that have shaped the creation, consumption and communication of knowledge over the past 500 years. You'll explore how new technologies - from printing presses and cameras to computers and artificial intelligence - have transformed the way humans understand and interact with each other and the wider world, for good and ill.

    You will learn about how information has been:

    •  generated, stored and circulated
    •  created new forms of public discussion, identity and community
    •  used and abused by state and non-state actors 

    We'll think critically about the political, social and cultural impact of new information technologies and how they relate to the exercise of power and freedom, highlighting how they have profoundly shaped what we understand by knowledge, truth and facts.

  • Stigma and Dehumanisation: A Modern History

    This module aims to deepen your understanding of how certain individuals and groups of people have been targeted, stereotyped and stigmatised because of their different ethnic origin, sexual orientation or disability. The emphasis is on the role played by the medical and social sciences (e.g. anthropology, psychiatry, and psychology) in shaping the emergence of a dehumanising language about people considered to be ‘different’. 

    Certain groups of people such as Black people, Jews, women, the lower classes and individuals with learning disabilities have been repeatedly and traumatically targeted throughout modern history.  You'll evaluate how the meaning of stigma has changed during the last three centuries, and look at how commonalities can be detected across countries.

  • The Crisis of the West: Mass Culture and Mass Politics, 1900-1939

    In this module, you'll  study the period of crisis that characterized Western European society from the close of the nineteenth century to the outbreak of World War II. 

    We'll consider a wide range of topics dealing with social, political and cultural developments in transnational and comparative perspective, which contributed to the prevailing sense of crisis that befell Western society during this time. 

  • The Making of the American Giant, 1861-1945

    How did the United States become the global superpower it is today? In this module, you’ll trace the transformation of America from a British colony at war with itself, to the most wealthy and powerful nation on the planet. You’ll examine the political history behind the rise of the United States, and America’s growing actions and ambitions on the world stage, from the American Civil War through to World War Two.

  • Putting History to Work

    In this module, you’ll have the chance to do some work experience closely linked to your History course. You’ll have help to find a placement that will support your goals. Past placements have included:

    • The Ashmolean Museum
    • The Oxford Preservation Trust
    • The Royal Air Force Museum.

    The time spent in the placement will be about ten working days. After your placement, you’ll reflect on what you’ve learned. You’ll produce a review of achievements and deliver a poster presentation. You’ll also gain practical experience - from crafting a CV to the specific responsibilities involved in your working role - that will help kickstart your career after Oxford Brookes.

  • Investigation and Discovery 1

    This module gives you the chance to research a topic that fascinates you. With support from a supervisor, you’ll choose, plan and carry out your independent research, gaining in-depth knowledge of your subject. You’ll also build great project management and research skills, which will help you in your future career.

  • Investigation and Discovery 2

    This module gives you the chance to research a topic that fascinates you. With support from a supervisor, you’ll choose, plan and carry out your independent research, gaining in-depth knowledge of your subject. You’ll also build great project management and research skills, which will help you in your future career.

Optional Year Abroad

Optional modules

  • Year Abroad

    This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

    You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

    Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

    This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.
     

Final Year

Compulsory modules

  • History Dissertation/ Project

    This module gives you the chance to do original research on a topic that fascinates you. As a History student in your final year, you’ll carry out a piece of independent research, allowing you to use the skills and expertise you’ve developed through your History degree. You’ll receive individual support from our expert tutors, in areas related to their research expertise. Whether you’re exploring wife beating and the press in Victorian England, or cycling, fashion and women’s bodies in the nineteenth century, you’ll develop key insights into primary source materials, and history itself.

Optional modules

  • Investigation and Discovery Module 3

    This module gives you the chance to research an advanced historical topic that fascinates you and is not covered by the History course. You'll have support from a supervisor. You'll also further develop your independent working skills to an advanced level. You’ll choose, plan and carry out your independent research. Gaining a deep knowledge of your subject while improving your history research skills. 

  • Political History: the Soviet Revolution, 1905-1941

    Why was Russia ripe for revolution in 1917? And how did a small group of revolutionaries manage to overthrow the Tsar and his regime?
     
    The Russian Revolution was one of the biggest upheavals of the 20th century. But the story of the revolution is much more than the story of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. In this module you’ll learn about the causes of Russia’s revolution. 

    You’ll explore:

    • the impact of the First World War on the Russian monarchy
    • the ‘Red Terror’ and the civil war that consumed Russia after 1917
    • what happened to national and ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union
    • how the revolution changed popular culture and family life
    • the rise of Stalin in the 1930s.

    You'll also learn about power struggles, and the paranoia and brutal purges of Stalin’s early years as the Soviet leader.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • Political History: Britain and the Sea

    What does it mean to be an 'island nation'? And how does the sea affect areas like travel, immigration, economy and socialising? In this module, you'll examine Britain as an island nation. And you'll consider how this impacts Britons' lives - from gender and sexual identity, to trade and consumerism. You'll question topics like:

    • piracy and smuggling
    • the Royal Navy
    • trade and the British Empire
    • the seaside holiday.

    This module is subject to availability in any given year.

  • Political History: The Unravelling of Russia

    What led to the downfall of the Russian monarchy in 1917? How did reforms by the Tsar bring about decades of turmoil and change? This module charts the path to the Russian Revolution. You'll explore exciting themes like:

    • the troubled emancipation of the Russian serfs
    • the industrialisation and modernisation of the Russian economy 
    • the revolutionary underground and the birth of modern terrorism
    • the flourishing of Russian culture and cultural politics
    • the rise of Russian nationalism and imperialism.

    This module is subject to availability in any given year.

  • Social, Cultural and Medical History: Life in Renaissance Italy

    What was life like for ordinary people in Renaissance Florence, Venice and Rome? Millions of tourists flock to these cities every year. But in this module, you'll explore beyond the piazzas and palaces. You'll  discover what life in 15th and 16th century Italy was really like. You'll examine:

    • how age, gender and ethnicity affected urban life
    • the impact of warfare, disease, natural disasters and climate change
    • the stories of people on the margins - like sex workers and the homeless.

    You'll emerge understanding the rich and complex history of this fascinating period.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • Social, Cultural and Medical History: Religion and Magic in Everyday Life

    How does belief in magic affect our everyday lives? And how can religious beliefs shape our ideas and opinions? In this module, you'll explore beliefs - beyond the boundaries of religious institutions. You'll delve into the rituals, superstitions - and even cults - that have shaped our world view from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century. You'll examine:

    • the cult of saints and relics
    • angels and demons
    • ghosts and fairies
    • vampires
    • folk magic and divination
    • witchcraft and witch hunts.

    This module is subject to availability in any given year.

  • The History of Crime: Forensic Medicine in Western Society

    How have doctors contributed to crime history? And what's the relationship between medicine, society and the law? In this module, you'll examine the history of forensic medicine. You'll explore how medical knowledge can influence attitudes toward crime. And you'll consider how medicine has affected criminal investigations. You'll look at examples from the Medieval period through to the 20th century. And you'll delve into:

    • death investigations
    • 'expertise' and the role of witnesses
    • forensic science
    • mental health and crime
    • crimes of sex and sexuality.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • The History of Crime: Witchcraft, Magic and Belief in Early Modern Europe

    How did the population of early modern Europe come to believe that there were evil witches in their midst? And what's the relationship between popular belief about evil, society, and the law? In this module, you'll examine the history of witchcraft in early modern Europe until its relative demise in the middle of the 18th century. You'll explore who was accused of witchcraft and why, as well as what happened to them. You'll consider how contemporaries thought about and dealt with witches in England, Scotland, Europe and North America. You'll delve into:

    • Witchcraft beliefs
    • Trials of witches and individual witch hunts
    • The theories offered by historians as to why this happened
    • The rise and fall of witchcraft in the early modern world
    • The enduring place of the witch in popular culture

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • The History of Crime: In Cold Blood: Violence in the Modern Era

    Why does violence intrigue us? And why are we captivated by stories of crime and criminals? In the twentieth century, crime came under the spotlight in Britain and America. In this module, you'll examine murder and mayhem in modern British and American life. You'll explore:

    • The rise of serial murder and its perpetrators
    • The cult of the gangster and those who became Public Enemy #1
    • The ways in which crime came to be fought in the modern era
    • The debate over the death penalty.

    And you'll come to understand how violence influences our beliefs on crime and criminals today.
     
    This module is subject to availability in any given year.

  • History of America: Land of the Free: Slavery and Servitude in American History

    Many of us are familiar with the history of American slavery, a history which conjures up images of cotton fields, runaways, and civil war. But forced labour took many forms throughout United States history. This module explores the experiences of those who were ensnared in various coercive labour systems in the United States from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, including not only enslaved black people but also European indentured servants, Chinese coolies, and Mexican peons. Through this, students on this module will gain a new understanding of the complexity of what slavery was, and its legacies today. 

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • History of America: The Vietnam War

    What was behind the Vietnam war? What transformed America from a disinterested observer to an active combatant, with over 500,000 soldiers in deadly conflict? In this module you’ll examine America’s role in Vietnam. You’ll consider the decisions of multiple presidents - and how these steadily escalated America’s involvement in Vietnam. You’ll examine the military side of the conflict - and unpick key debates on military strategy. You’ll also explore the consequences of the war, and how the conflict impacted America at home.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

     

  • History of America: American Grand Strategy in the Era of Civil War and Reconstruction

    Why is the American Civil War so controversial? Both when it was fought in the 1860s, and now, over 150 years later? In this module you’ll explore the origins of the conflict. You’ll uncover the aims of both the Union and the Confederacy. You’ll investigate the strategies and tactics they employed. And you’ll consider the international impacts of the conflict.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • The History of Ideas: Evil in European Thought and Culture 1750-1950

    What meaning does the concept of “evil” have in an age when religion is in decline and science is on the rise? In this module you will study case studies labelled by contemporaries as “evil” - from natural disasters to political repression to mass murder - and explore how intellectuals from a variety of backgrounds struggled to understand and come to terms these events and phenomena in the modern world of reason, rationality and science.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

  • The History of Ideas: On Race and Racism

    What is race? The concept of race, of course, has a history, and in this module you’ll trace the development of the concept across three centuries, right up to the present day. The module will take a global perspective, introducing you to alternative understandings of race and the development of racism. We will examine the treatment and influence of race in

    • science
    • the study of history
    • the rise of imperialism
    • in former colonial territories.

    This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Careers

History at Oxford Brookes prepares you for a world that needs people who can interrogate evidence, challenge assumptions and communicate complex ideas with clarity. Skills that are vital in many sectors and an ever-developing society.

Our challenge modules and work placement opportunities mean you'll graduate with more than a degree. You'll have a portfolio of applied experience and the confidence to use it.

A history degree at Oxford Brookes leads you to careers beyond heritage and history. Our graduates are working across:

  • law
  • the civil service
  • politics and public affairs
  • media and journalism
  • education and academia
  • charity and third sector
  • heritage and public history.

Past students have gone on to roles at Blenheim Palace, the National Army Museum, the Battle of Britain Bunker, GCHQ and National Geographic. Others are working in teaching, policy, law, broadcasting, local government and the civil service, and beyond.

You'll leave Oxford Brookes knowing what you think and how to make people listen.

Student profiles

Eva Whyte

"I didn't want to pick one and not the other to study at university, so a joint honours course was perfect for me. I really like the flexibility in joint honours that Oxford Brookes offers, being able to take more modules in one subject than the other is a great option."

Read more about Eva
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Joint honours options

You can also study this course as part of a joint honours degree. This course can be joined with:

Related courses

Related course
Criminology
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History of Art
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Philosophy
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Entry requirements

Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.

Standard offer

UCAS Tariff Points: 112 - 120

A Level: BBC, ACD, or ACC

IB Points: 28-32

BTEC: DMM or DDM

Contextual offer

What is a contextual offer?

UCAS Tariff Points: 88 - 96

A Level: CCD, CCC, or ACE

IB Points: 27-28

BTEC: MMM

Further offer details

For joint honours, normally the offer will lie between the offers quoted for each subject.

Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications, international qualifications or recognised foundation courses. For advice on eligibility please contact Admissions: admissions@brookes.ac.uk

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process


Full time Home (UK) applicants
Apply through UCAS


Part time Home (UK) applicants
Apply direct to the University


International applicants
Apply direct to the University

Full time international applicants can also apply through UCAS

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£9,535
Home (UK) part time
£1,190 per single module
International full time
£16,750
Home (UK) full time
£9,790
Home (UK) part time
£1,220 per single module
International full time
£17,250

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£9,535
Home (UK) part time
£1,190 per single module
International full time
£16,750
2026 / 27
Home (UK) full time
£9,790
Home (UK) part time
£1,220 per single module
International full time
£17,250

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.

For further information please see our tuition fees FAQs.

Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

Oxford Brookes Bursary for Continuing Students Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students Oxford Brookes Bursary for New Students 20% Alumni Discount Scheme 2026/27

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Information from Discover Uni

Full-time study

Part-time study

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.