Secondary Teaching Studies

Secondary Teaching Studies with a focus on history is a two-year degree that offers an accelerated and highly focused route towards a career in secondary school teaching. It is designed for those who are already convinced they want to teach history to young people and who want to combine a first degree qualification with specialist subject development that prepares them directly for that goal. The programme is also well suited to career changers who wish to move into teaching and want a focused, efficient pathway into the profession.

At the University of Hull, this two-year full-time programme reflects an innovative approach to initial teacher preparation, pairing the academic study of history at degree level with a clear professional orientation towards secondary teaching. You will deepen your subject knowledge in history across periods and themes relevant to the secondary curriculum, while also developing the pedagogical understanding and classroom readiness that the transition to teacher training requires. The degree is structured to give you both the specialist first degree that initial teacher training requires and the professional grounding to make the most of that training when you pursue it.

You will develop historical thinking, research skills, and the ability to communicate historical ideas clearly and persuasively, alongside an understanding of how historical knowledge is built and how it might best be taught. These are capabilities that serve you both as a scholar and as a teacher.

Graduates who wish to enter the teaching profession typically continue to Initial Teacher Training, either through a PGCE or a School Direct route. The history specialism is in consistent demand in secondary schools, and graduates with this combination of subject depth and professional focus are well prepared for that training. The degree also opens other routes in education, heritage, research, and public history for those whose plans evolve.