Course information

Entry requirements

UCAS code

LV61

Entry requirements

A-level: BBB
BTEC: DDM
IB: 33 points overall with Three HL subjects at 655

Length

3 years full-time or 4-6 years part-time

Department

History
Anthropology

Course overview

BA History with Anthropology offers an exciting and complementary combination of two humanities disciplines which promote the understanding of human life, culture, and society in the past and present.

BA History with Anthropology is jointly delivered by the Departments of History and Anthropology. The programme is interdisciplinary and stimulating, and enables explorations and analyses of contemporary social, cultural and anthropological issues with a view to historically contextualising those issues.  We focus on the relevance and importance of historical understanding for comprehending and analysing the complex present-day world that surrounds us, contributing towards equality, diversity and social justice.

Why study BA History with Anthropology

  • The study, analysis, and understanding of the past is as important today as it has ever been.
  • History continues to make vital contributions to how we comprehend and interact with the world around us.
  • This degree is a relevant, dynamic, fascinating and important field of study which, at Goldsmiths, is approached in creative, innovative and exciting ways.
  • Exploring contemporary societal and cultural issues continues to make valuable insights into the complex and global world we live in.
  • You’ll learn about topics from basic anthropological concepts, such as kinship, ritual, world systems, and development, to investigating anthropology in relation to history, politics, religion, philosophy and psychology.
  • You'll learn from leading academic experts. That's why we've been rated top 10 in the UK for anthropology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Erica Wald.

What you'll study

Note about optional modules (if available): The below is indicative of the typical modules offered, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. The module content and availability is subject to change.

Year 1

In your first year, you'll take the following compulsory modules.

Of these modules, you will need to select either Global Connections or Historical Controversies. If you choose to study Global Connections you will be able to choose one 15-credit optional module from across the Department. If you choose to study Historical Controversies, then you will be able to choose two 15-credit optional modules from across the Department.

Examples of optional modules can be seen on this list approved annually by the Department of History.

Module title Credits
Reading and Writing History 15 Credits
Global Connections: the violence and exchanges that shaped the modern world 30 credits
or
Historical Controversies 15 credits
Anthropological Ideas 15 credits
Anthropological Methods 15 credits
Identity, Agency & Environment 1 15 credits
Identity, Agency & Environment 2 15 credits

Year 2

In your second year, you'll have more freedom to expand your intellectual horizons, with your choice of optional modules to the value of 90 credits. 30 credits of this will be taken in the Department of Anthropology, and up to 30 credits can be a University of London intercollegiate Group II module, and the rest will be taken from the Department of History.

Examples of optional modules can be found on the list of year 2 modules approved annually by the Department of History.

Compulsory modules

Module title Credits
The Goldsmiths Elective 15 credits
Goldsmiths’ Social Change Module 15 credits

Department of Anthropology optional modules

Module title Credits
Working with Images 15 credits
Anthropology of Religion 15 credits
Anthropology and Public Policy 15 credits
Critical Ecologies: black, indigenous and transnational feminist approaches 15 credits
Indigenous Cosmopolitics, Anthropology and Global Justice 15 credits

Year 3

In your final year, you will develop your specialist interests and knowledge.

You have the option to take more History-orientated, or more Anthropology-orientated approaches This depends on whether you choose a History Special Subject (with dissertation) or a linked History-Anthropology dissertation.

Your final year study options will be:

Either

  • 30 credits of optional modules from a list published annually by the Department of Anthropology
  • 30 credits of History Special Subject modules
  • 30 credit dissertation linked to a Special Subject
  • 30 credits of optional modules from a list published annually by the Department of History, of which 15 credits you can choose to study in the Department of Anthropology

OR

  • 30 credits of optional modules from a list published annually by the Department of Anthropology
  • 30-credit linking dissertation supervised jointly across both departments
  • 60 credits of History modules, of which 15 credits can be taken from a list published annually by the Department of Anthropology

Any Special Subject History module you choose may be from a wide range of subjects offered not only at Goldsmiths but also by history departments throughout the University of London.

Teaching style

The programme is cumulative and progressive, with knowledge and skills building on previous years and growing year on year. Basic skills and competencies are delivered in the first year which sets the broad agenda for the programme as a whole. In the second year, the modules contain increasingly challenging and demanding material which provides the foundations for the significant independent scholarly work required and undertaken in the final year.

Teaching may be delivered in the form of lectures and seminars or other forms of contact time such as extended seminars, workshops, field trips, and film screenings. Lectures introduce subject specific skills and understandings and provide the basis for discussions, activities, group work, and debates. Seminars linked to lectures provide a space for further exploration of the lecture topics and materials and they reinforce the knowledge gained from the lectures and from independent reading and studying. Seminars also involve field-trips and site visits to relevant places including museums, galleries, archives, and sites of historical interest.

Throughout the programme students are taught to critically engage with the inter-relationship between history and anthropology. In the final year, this interdisciplinary knowledge, understanding, skill, and experience is tested through the compulsory interdisciplinary linking dissertation project. The variety of theoretical and empirical material throughout the programme, covering a wide range of topics, periods and regions, provides students with the opportunity to pursue their own interests while examining and interrogating the linkages between the two disciplines. Under close co-supervision from both departments, students develop a substantial and sustained individual project in which they form and present their own critical arguments in an extended format. In the context of this joint degree, students are required to produce a genuinely interdisciplinary piece of work that reflect their abilities to analyse and assess historical evidence, their awareness of anthropological methods and concepts, and a knowledge of relevant empirical work and debates in each discipline.

Lecturers also make themselves available for tutorials either during their Consultation and Feedback hours or by appointment. These provide opportunities to ask questions about modules and their content, to receive support and guidance on independent work, and to receive feedback on submitted work.

The following information gives an indication of the typical proportions of learning and teaching for each year of this programme*:

  • Year 1 - 16% scheduled learning, 84% independent learning
  • Year 2 - 13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning
  • Year 3 - 14% scheduled learning, 86% independent learning

How you’ll be assessed

A wide and innovative variety of different methods are used to assess learning, these include essays, reviews, source analyses, blogs, videos, walks, presentations, exams, and dissertations. Some modules are assessed by portfolios of coursework, or by a combination of coursework and an examination. Others are assessed by long essays or dissertations on topics approved with the tutor. Assessments vary in length according to the type of assessment and/or level of module.

Assessment supports student progression across the programme, as assessments in the first year aim to measure a set of baseline skills and competencies which are enhanced, deepened and broadened in subsequent years. Lecturers return assessments and provide useful and constructive feedback in a timely manner so as to ensure that students learn from the feedback and have the opportunity to improve subsequent work.

The following information gives an indication of how you can typically expect to be assessed on each year of this programme*:

  • Year 1 - 44% coursework, 56% written exam
  • Year 2 - 88% coursework, 13% written exam
  • Year 3 - 100% coursework

*Please note that these are averages are based on enrolments for 2020/21. Each student’s time in teaching, learning and assessment activities will differ based on individual module choices. Find out more about .

You will also take 30 credits of modules offered by the Department of Anthropology. The following is an indicative list.

Module title Credits
Anthropological Approaches to History 15 credits
Anthropology of Health 1 15 credits
Anthropology and Gender Theory 15 credits
Anthropology and the Visual 2
Material Cultures
Anthropology in Public Practice 30 credits
Borders and Migration 15 credits
Learning from Social Movements 15 credits
Psychological Perspectives in Anthropology 15 credits
Anthropology of Art 15 credits
Anthropology of Rights 15 credits
Anthropology and the Visual: Production Module 15 credits
Digital Anthropology 15 credits
Anthropology of Violence 15 credits
Anthropology of Development 15 credits
Gender Theory in Practice 15 credits
Staff/Student Research Project 15 credits

Teaching style

The programme is cumulative and progressive, with knowledge and skills building on previous years and growing year on year. Basic skills and competencies are delivered in the first year which sets the broad agenda for the programme as a whole. In the second year, the modules contain increasingly challenging and demanding material which provides the foundations for the significant independent scholarly work required and undertaken in the final year.

Teaching may be delivered in the form of lectures and seminars or other forms of contact time such as extended seminars, workshops, field trips, and film screenings. Lectures introduce subject specific skills and understandings and provide the basis for discussions, activities, group work, and debates. Seminars linked to lectures provide a space for further exploration of the lecture topics and materials and they reinforce the knowledge gained from the lectures and from independent reading and studying. Seminars also involve field-trips and site visits to relevant places including museums, galleries, archives, and sites of historical interest.

Throughout the programme students are taught to critically engage with the inter-relationship between history and anthropology. In the final year, this interdisciplinary knowledge, understanding, skill, and experience is tested through the compulsory interdisciplinary linking dissertation project. The variety of theoretical and empirical material throughout the programme, covering a wide range of topics, periods and regions, provides students with the opportunity to pursue their own interests while examining and interrogating the linkages between the two disciplines. Under close co-supervision from both departments, students develop a substantial and sustained individual project in which they form and present their own critical arguments in an extended format. In the context of this joint degree, students are required to produce a genuinely interdisciplinary piece of work that reflect their abilities to analyse and assess historical evidence, their awareness of anthropological methods and concepts, and a knowledge of relevant empirical work and debates in each discipline.

Lecturers also make themselves available for tutorials either during their Consultation and Feedback hours or by appointment. These provide opportunities to ask questions about modules and their content, to receive support and guidance on independent work, and to receive feedback on submitted work.

The following information gives an indication of the typical proportions of learning and teaching for each year of this programme*:

  • Year 1 - 16% scheduled learning, 84% independent learning
  • Year 2 - 13% scheduled learning, 87% independent learning
  • Year 3 - 14% scheduled learning, 86% independent learning

How you’ll be assessed

A wide and innovative variety of different methods are used to assess learning, these include essays, reviews, source analyses, blogs, videos, walks, presentations, exams, and dissertations. Some modules are assessed by portfolios of coursework, or by a combination of coursework and an examination. Others are assessed by long essays or dissertations on topics approved with the tutor. Assessments vary in length according to the type of assessment and/or level of module.

Assessment supports student progression across the programme, as assessments in the first year aim to measure a set of baseline skills and competencies which are enhanced, deepened and broadened in subsequent years. Lecturers return assessments and provide useful and constructive feedback in a timely manner so as to ensure that students learn from the feedback and have the opportunity to improve subsequent work.

The following information gives an indication of how you can typically expect to be assessed on each year of this programme*:

  • Year 1 - 44% coursework, 56% written exam
  • Year 2 - 88% coursework, 13% written exam
  • Year 3 - 100% coursework

*Please note that these are averages are based on enrolments for 2022/23. Each student’s time in teaching, learning and assessment activities will differ based on individual module choices. Find out more about .

Credits and levels of learning

An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. If you are a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 modules in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 modules in your final year. A standard module is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half modules or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as a dissertation or a Major Project.

Download the programme specification.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

Entry requirements

We accept the following qualifications:

A-level: BBB
BTEC: DDM
International Baccalaureate: 33 points overall with Three HL subjects at 655
Access: Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject-specific modules
Scottish qualifications: BBBBC (Higher) or BBC (Advanced Higher)
European Baccalaureate: 75%, preferably including History
Irish Leaving Certificate: H2 H2 H2 H2

Additional requirements

At Goldsmiths we offer innovative and challenging degrees, in a stimulating environment, amongst a diverse and exciting community of students. Many of our students have achieved high A-level grades, and that is reflected in our standard A-level offer.

Above all, though, we are looking for potential students who can demonstrate the range of skills, talents, and interests necessary for this work, either through traditional A-levels or otherwise. We believe that all able students, of whatever age and background, who have the ability, should have the opportunity to study at Goldsmiths. We actively encourage applications from students with a wide range of relevant qualifications, especially the access diploma.

If you're interested in applying to Goldsmiths, whether you're currently studying or have been out of education for some time, we'd be delighted to hear from you. If you'd like further advice or have specific questions, please get in touch with the Admissions Officer listed above.

Given the range of students that the programme is designed to attract, applicants may be asked to attend an interview, where the following criteria are evaluated:

  • reasons for applying to study this particular degree
  • reasons for applying to Goldsmiths
  • background knowledge/expectations of the discipline(s)
  • intellectual potential and analytic skills
  • ability to express ideas verbally and engage in debate
  • motivation to complete the programme

Performance at interview can alter the usual criteria for entry on a case-by-case basis.

Above all, we're looking for potential students who can demonstrate the range of skills, talents and interests necessary for this degree, either through traditional A-levels or otherwise. We actively encourage applications from students with a wide range of relevant qualifications, especially the access diploma.

International qualifications

We also accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.0 with a 6.0 in writing and no element lower than 5.5 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for degree-level study.

Alternative qualifications

See our full list of undergraduate entry qualifications.

Fees & funding

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2024/2025 academic year.

From August 2021 EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for 'Home' fee status. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will be classified as 'International' for fee purposes, more information can be found on our fees page.

  • Home - full-time: £9250
  • Home - part-time: £4625
  • International - full-time: £19640

If your fees are not listed here, please check our undergraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.

It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time under a student visa. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.

If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.

Additional costs

In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.

There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.

Funding opportunities

We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries, and our careers service can also offer advice on finding work during your studies. Find out more about funding your studies with us.

Careers

Equipping you with the flexibility, skills and confidence needed to achieve your ambitions are central components of the BA History at Goldsmiths.  It provides you with the knowledge and skills that employers seek. According to the Institute of Student Employers, 82% of employers do not specify degree subjects when recruiting graduates. The Hay Group found that 91% of recruiters believe that graduates with refined people skills will advance faster in their organisations.

A degree in history can take you to almost any place you want to go. From teaching to the civil service, and business to social work. History graduates have known expertise in understanding and navigating different organisational cultures, and adapting their knowledge, understanding, and skills to different sorts of complex problems. 

History at Goldsmiths offers a range of opportunities for further study. It delivers several internationally renowned and ground-breaking MA programmes, including MA Queer History and MA Black British History. Through these programmes, the department establishes and fosters a range of partnerships with some of the leading historical and cultural organisations in London and beyond, including English Heritage, Historic England, Historic Royal Palaces, the Black Cultural Archives, and the George Padmore Institute.

Careers service

Goldsmiths' Careers Services offer tailored support to your individual needs. They can help you identify your career interests.

Support includes:

  • Giving you practical advice in preparing a CV
  • Teaching you important interview skills
  • Providing networking opportunities with future employers who are particularly interested in the skills of Goldsmiths History graduates 

Work placement

Students on all BA History programmes can also choose to undertake History’s work placement module. Placement opportunities have included: St Paul's Cathedral, the Jewish Museum, the Cinema Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the London Metropolitan Archives, the Bishopsgate Institute, the Museum of London Docklands, and the Wellcome Library and Archive.  The Connected Curriculum module in year 2 also offers you the opportunity to work with other Goldsmiths’ students towards addressing