Subject guide to History

History at Manchester

With one of the largest concentrations of historians in Britain, there is significant scope to tailor this degree to your interests.  

Students can choose from course units covering African, British, European, Asian, and American histories. Our chronological span is wide, with topics ranging from the Egyptians, Ancient Greeks and Romans through to contemporary society. History is an interdisciplinary subject, and students can lean into this by choosing course units that bring subject disciplines together such as economic and social history, political history, histories of conflict, medical history, the history of science and technology, environmental history, and studying world religions.

There are also opportunities to include course units in enterprise and entrepreneurship as part of your studies. These course units are taught in the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre in the Alliance Manchester Business School.

Students at Manchester don’t just read about history, they can access museums and archives with unique collections. On campus, this includes the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre, the John Rylands Library, and the Manchester Museum. In the city centre and nearby, there is IWM North (Imperial War Museum North), the People’s History Museum, and Manchester Jewish Museum.

I loved both History and German too much to sacrifice one and the flexibility and transferrable skills from the dual honours allows me to keep my options open going forward. I am planning to apply for jobs in the German-speaking world or a scholarship to do a Master’s Degree at a German University.

Barney Meller / BA History and German, 2026.

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Courses - 2027 entry

BA History and Modern Languages is a 4-year degree course, with an integrated Residence Abroad year. Students can study French, German, Russian or Spanish, and the degree title will state the language studied. For example, BA History and Modern Languages (Russian). 

For information about entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships and bursaries, please visit the online prospectus.

There are also 3-year course options for History, which can be taken as a single honours subject or combined with American Studies, Ancient History, Art History, Economics, English Literature, Film Studies or Politics.

Course structure

BA History and Modern Languages provides students with a range of choices. When considering the choices you’d like to make, please note:

  • Each year, all students study 120 credits of course units. Each course unit is 20 credits unless indicated.
  • The course unit titles for each year of study have been listed.
  • Joint honours. The number of credits taken from History varies each year. Year 1 is 60 credits. Year 2 is 40 or 60 credits. Year 4 is 40, 60 or 80 credits. The remaining credits are taken from your chosen language – French, German, Russian or Spanish.
  • Essential course information for students studying a 4-year degree.

Course content

Our courses

See our History courses for 2027 entry.

Course listings

History

Find out more about the Department, teaching staff and our research.

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