History with a Placement Year

History is the discipline through which we make sense of the human past, and in doing so, develop tools for understanding the present. It involves decoding primary sources, weighing evidence, constructing arguments, and grappling with the messy complexity of how societies change. Far from being a simple record of events, history is an ongoing critical conversation about why things happened, whose experiences mattered, and what endures.

At the University of East Anglia, the BA History with a Placement Year spans four years and includes dedicated time in a professional environment, giving you the chance to apply historical skills in a workplace context. The degree invites you to explore an impressive range of periods and themes, from the Roman Empire to the recent past, examining political, social, economic, and cultural forces that have shaped the world. You might find yourself analysing medieval visual culture, tracing the social history of music, or investigating the political upheavals of twentieth-century Britain.

This breadth is matched by the depth that specialisation allows as you progress through the degree.

You will develop close reading skills, the ability to evaluate competing interpretations, and the confidence to construct sustained, evidence-based arguments in writing. You will also engage with historiography, understanding that historical knowledge is produced by specific scholars in specific contexts, and learning to bring critical awareness to the sources and arguments you encounter. The placement year extends these skills into professional settings, which might include archives, museums, heritage organisations, policy bodies, or media companies.

History graduates are sought after by employers in an unusually wide range of sectors, precisely because the discipline cultivates thinking and communication skills that are hard to replace. Careers in law, journalism, politics, the civil service, teaching, archiving, museum curation, publishing, and international organisations are all well-represented among history alumni. The placement year gives you a head start in understanding how your degree applies in practice.

Postgraduate study in history, heritage, law, or public policy is a natural next step for those who wish to specialise.