BA in History

History is the best way of understanding the world around us. What is gender, race, class, religion, the state, empire, and capitalism? What is the USA, China, the United Kingdom, and Ireland? What is NATO and the EU? Our historians explain the modern world by reaching back to the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the great modern revolutions across all of Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. From their first year, we trust our students to make choices and range widely across all these histories to understand where we have come from. And from the beginning of your degree, you will be taught in small groups by expert historians. Our range in time and space, our trust in you to explore and make good choices, and our small group teaching from the first year of the degree, mark us out among our peer universities.

History Degree Highlights

History at Queen’s has been placed in the QS World University Rankings' top 200 History departments in the world for 2019.

Global Opportunities

The History programme offers students opportunities to travel and study at universities in Europe and North America. Short-term (two weeks) and longer-term (up to one academic year) exchanges are on offer.

Possible examples include:

• George Washington University (Washington DC, USA)
• Aarhus Universitet (Denmark)
• College of Charleston (South Carolina, USA)
• Institut d’Etudes Politques de Bordeaux (France)
• University of Oslo (Norway)
• Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands)
• Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)

Field trips may also be offered in particular years or as part of certain modules.

Industry Links

• Several modules include links with local collaborative partners, which provide students with opportunities to network with experts in the field or to gain experience in particular industries prior to graduation. Internships have also been developed to allow students the opportunity to carry out work experience in history-related fields.

Career Development

• The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) confirmed that History at Queen’s is producing world-leading or internationally excellent research, placing Queen’s 21st out of 83 among the top UK history departments overall. The School hosts many research seminars, conferences and lectures, including the annual highlight of the Wiles lecture series.

World Class Facilities

Top Ranking: History at Queen’s has been placed in the QS World University Rankings' top 200 History departments in the world for 2019.

The School also boasts the following:

• The Centre for Public History
• The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice
• Institute of Cognition and Culture
• Institute of Irish Studies
• Two International Summer Schools (the Irish Studies Summer School; and the Conflict Transformation and Social Justice Summer School)

Student Experience

History is the best way of understanding our world.

At Queen’s, we have a wide-ranging curriculum, that attends to problems like racism traditionally neglected by British and Irish universities.

• From year 1, you will be taught in small groups by real historians. You will not be one of 300 students in a lecture theatre, coming face-to-face only with PhD students. Studying at Queen’s also means you play an active role in making your own curriculum; we trust you to move through our curriculum and make your own choices.
• Queen's teaches History from the Ancient World to the present day and across four continents. This depth and breadth an unusual strength, and we trust our students to find their own way through this very wide range of histories. The National Student Survey demonstrates that our students find both the History programme and university experience excellent. In 2019, History had an overall student satisfaction score of 91% in the 2019 National Student Survey.
• Year after year, our history students tell the National Student Survey that they are more than 90% satisfied with their teaching.

Queen's University Belfast is one of the leading universities in the UK and Ireland with a distinguished heritage and history.

Founded in 1845 as Queen's College Belfast, we became an independent university in 1908. The University is a member of the Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities, combining excellence in research and education with a student-centred ethos.

Queen’s campus is at the heart of Belfast in Northern Ireland which has the lowest cost of living in the UK (Mercer Cost of Living City Ranking 2021) making it a more affordable option for students.

A World-Class Education and Student Experience

Queen’s offers a world-class education that prepares our students for leadership and citizenship in a global society.

Our inspiring alumni comprises outstanding scholars, Nobel Prize winners - such as Seamus Heaney and David Trimble - and influential leaders who are making an impact in Northern Ireland and across the globe.

Programmes are focused on preparing students for future employment. Students not only learn the core academic material from the staff at the forefront of their discipline but also learn how to put it into practice through practical workshops and hands-on sessions, ensuring that upon graduation, students are ready to step up as the next generation of industry leaders.

A Global and Inclusive University Community

Queen’s is attracting global talent to Belfast.

We currently have staff and students from over 80 countries, helping to create a multicultural and vibrant campus. They are joining a university that is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing the best global talent within an environment that enables them to realise their full potential.

An innovative, welcoming, and inclusive place to work and study, Queen’s is a leader in gender equality and diversity and currently holds a prestigious Athena Swan Silver Award. The University also holds 14 School Awards comprising 3 Gold, 6 Silver and 5 Bronze.

Research That Shapes Worlds

Queen’s University Belfast is globally connected and networked with leading universities across the world.

We continue to drive forward research to shape worlds, focusing on five key areas. Ensuring a healthy living for all through developing solutions and treatments for diseases; helping to deliver a transformative and sustainable economy for future generations; leading to securely connected intelligence and AI and the data revolution. We are at the forefront of delivering future-focused human-environment relations; and will continue our strong history of expertise in conflict resolution and building inclusive and cohesive communities.

Ranked 24 in the UK for Research Power

We are forward thinkers and will continue to direct and shape research to help support a workable environment and society.

88% of our research has been assessed as world-leading and internationally excellent, 99% of our research environment was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent and we are ranked 24th in the UK for Research Power (REF 2021/ Times Higher Education).

Northern Ireland's Legendary Beauty

Queen’s University is situated in Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland.

In a city with innovation at its heart, technological advances infiltrate every sector helping to build our competitiveness on the global stage. Belfast is in the world’s top 10 Digital Economies of the Future - the only UK city outside London to be listed (Financial Times’ fDi Intelligence, 2018) and was voted one of the top 15 friendliest cities in Europe (Condé Nast Traveller, Readers' Choice Awards 2021).

It is one of Europe's most hip, vibrant and affordable cities, lauded for its energy, and rich in culture and history. Queen's stunning campus is within Belfast's Queen's Quarter, with cafés, bars, restaurants, superb shopping, and entertainment venues (Complete University Guide 2022).