History

History is the discipline that reconstructs and interprets the human past, drawing on a vast range of sources, from written documents and visual images to archaeological remains and oral testimony. It develops in students the capacity to think critically about evidence, to understand how interpretations are constructed and contested, and to write clearly and persuasively about complex questions. History trains you to understand not just what happened but why it mattered, and how the choices and circumstances of the past continue to shape the present.

At the University of Chester, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year that provides a supportive and structured introduction to historical study before you progress into the degree proper. The foundation year is well suited to students who are coming from different educational backgrounds, returning to study, or who want additional time to develop their academic confidence and skills. As you move through the degree you will explore a thousand years of local, national, and international history, with themes ranging from identity, race, and ethnicity to politics and justice, leisure and the landscape, war, conflict, and social change.

Chester's location in a city with deep historical significance gives the programme a particular sense of place, and the curriculum encompasses a wide variety of periods and approaches. The programme includes a year abroad, broadening your historical education through study at a partner institution overseas.

History graduates are consistently employable across a wide range of fields, including law, the civil service, education, journalism, heritage, policy, and business. The capacity to analyse evidence critically, construct arguments, and write with precision is valued wherever careful thinking matters, and the degree provides an excellent foundation for postgraduate study in history or related disciplines.