History with Foundation Year

History is one of the most fundamental of the humanities, examining how individuals, communities, societies and states have been shaped by the past and how the present has been constructed from decisions, accidents and forces that stretch back through time. It teaches you to question received wisdom, to evaluate sources critically, to weigh competing interpretations and to construct well-grounded arguments from evidence. These habits of mind are valuable far beyond the discipline itself, and historians are found in virtually every profession where analytical thinking and communication are valued.

At the University of Derby, this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year, a year abroad and a work placement, offering an unusually rich combination of academic and real-world experience. The foundation year prepares you for degree-level historical study, building the critical thinking, research skills and academic writing ability that the subject demands. Through the main programme, you will engage with a wide range of historical periods and geographies, developing your ability to work with primary and secondary sources, to understand historiographical debates and to construct sustained arguments in writing.

The sandwich year, year abroad and placement give you professional experience and international exposure that employers increasingly value alongside academic achievement.

History graduates go on to careers in teaching, the civil service, journalism, law, publishing, museum and heritage work, archival and library roles, politics, communications, finance and business. The transferable skills developed through historical study, including research, critical analysis, argument construction and clear writing, are genuinely applicable across sectors. Many students continue to postgraduate study in history, international relations, law or education, and some pursue academic careers as historians.