Integrated Degree in History (including Foundation Year)
This course is designed for students who do not have the required qualifications for Department of History BA programmes, but can demonstrate a clear substantive interest in the subject, and the ability to benefit from undergraduate study.
1 year (Foundation) + 3 years (undergraduate degree).
V100
Please see undergraduate tuition fees.
Contact the Programme Convenor, Sarah Lambert.
Download a booklet [PDF, 964KB]
There are no formal entry qualifications. Most applicants will be invited to an interview, and you may be asked to provide a sample of recent extended writing to assess your suitability for the course. Success in this ‘Year 0’ entitles you to automatic progression onto BA (Hons) in History. You can also at that stage apply internally for a transfer into our joint honours History degree. Students who have taken this route are now graduating successfully, and some are proceeding onto postgraduate study.
Half price fourth year fees for Integrated Degree home and EU students - Jan 2012
Students applying for 2012 entry on History integrated degree programmes, comprising of Foundation Year and then undergraduate degree, will benefit from half price fees in their fourth year.
All successful applicants onto the programme will automatically receive this arrangement.
What you study
During the Foundation Year you take the following courses:
- Techniques and Methodologies of History
- The Search for Truth
- Nationalism, Conflict and the State
- Fractured Societies: Diversity and Social Difference
Assessment
A combination of essays, presentations and exams. Extensive study and writing support is available throughout the course in small group and one to one sessions.
Register your interest
If you register your interest in this programme we will keep you informed about open days and send you relevant further information.
Courses and structure
During your Foundation Year you take the following courses:
Techniques and Methodologies of History
This course will introduce students to the study of history as a discipline. It will introduce the critical study of historiography, skills of research, analysis and evidence based argument. It will encourage students to take an independent approach to reading and analysing history writing in a range of genres and periods, and to use the research tools available to historians to develop their own skills.
Assessment by: a combination of essays, presentations and exams. Extensive study and writing support is available throughout the course in small group and one to one sessions.
The Search for Truth
This course introduces students to the importance of intellectual history as a way of understanding themselves and the world around them. It will provide a general introduction to intellectual history, exploring areas such as religion, philosophy, legal and political ideas and the scientific paradigms of different eras. These topics will be illustrated through case studies, which explore the moments of particular intellectual change or development.
Assessment by: a combination of essays, presentations and exams. Extensive study and writing support is available throughout the course in small group and one to one sessions.
Nationalism, Conflict and the State
This course explores nationalism as a force in political history. It aims to make students familiar with the phenomenon of nationalism and its manifestations in a range of different countries and periods. The course will provide a theoretical overview of issues related to the project of nationalism, such as state building, democracy, education, language and the construction of historical narrative, illustrated by case studies examining the emergence and development of nationalism in different eras.
Assessment by: a combination of essays, presentations and exams. Extensive study and writing support is available throughout the course in small group and one to one sessions.
Fractured Societies: Diversity and Social Difference
This course is a historical exploration of the concept and consequences of social difference. How do societies respond to the challenge of diverse social and economic groupings? To what extent does the state marginalize and entrench social difference? How do the dynamics of interaction across social categories—for example, between minority and majority groups—change over time? We explore some of the boundaries and limitations of social markers such as religion, race, ethnicity, family, gender and class, and the tension and conflicts which such divisions can create.
Assessment by: a combination of essays, presentations and exams. Extensive study and writing support is available throughout the course in small group and one to one sessions.
Skills and careers
If you successfully complete the Foundation Year and progress to degree level, you'll develop your critical and analytical skills, your ability to express ideas clearly and your expertise in gathering insights from a range of subjects. Historical research enables you to gather and select from a range of materials – literary and visual. It teaches you to write with imagination and clarity.
Former students have forged careers in journalism and the media, museums and galleries, the Civil Service, teaching and research, law and the commercial world, but the skills learned are also applicable to many more industries and roles.
According to data collated by Unistats, the definitive UK university guide and part of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Goldsmiths is in the top three higher education institutions for highest-paid jobs for History undergraduates.
Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7919 7171
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