Year 1
Compulsory modules
In your first year, you'll take the following compulsory modules:
| Module title |
Credits |
Reading and Writing History
Reading and Writing History
15 Credits
This module provides guidance on how to develop and perfect the skills that you need to write an undergraduate-level history essay. We'll emphasise the centrality of problem-solving and critical thinking, demonstrating how essays should be used to explore academic debates.
You'll learn skills specific to the discipline of history, such as identifying primary and secondary sources, evaluating their suitability and analysing them to answer historical questions. You'll also gain the necessary skills for academic work in other disciplines and for employment, including relevant referencing techniques, planning to meet deadlines, analyzing data, making a clear argument, using relevant technologies in research and presentation of data, working in groups and making oral presentations.
For deep learning to take place, you'll practice the skills you've learnt by completing a series of structured tasks that contribute to a summative essay engaging with a specific historical problem. You'll receive feedback on each stage of the process, enabling you to develop and improve your skills.
The module is taught with a narrow focus on the lived experience of a defined group of people during a specified historical period (for example the working life of South and East Londoners in the mid-Nineteenth Century) depending on the expertise of the member of staff running the module. Some sessions concentrate on the knowledge required, others on how to apply this knowledge to solve a given historical question. The module also provides specific guidance on the preparation for history examinations.
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15 Credits |
Historical Controversies
Historical Controversies
15 credits
This module introduces you to a range of historical controversies in order to engage you in a critical manner with competing perspectives on a range of different issues and events. The module will contain six, three-week blocks on various sub-disciplines within history, including, social, cultural and political history, across different periods and geographic areas.
Throughout, it will focus on work on historiography, considering issues such as the influence of issues contemporary to authors on their writing; the impact of authors’ politics and/or wider values system on their work; the evolution of controversies over time; and theoretical explanations of controversies.
In addition, it will take a comparative approach to controversies, with assessment including an option to compare two historical controversies or to analyse one controversy in more depth. Lectures and seminars at the beginning and end of the module, and at the point of handover from one block to another, will discuss comparative themes. The History Department will publish a list of six blocks each year, from at least the following:
- Acts, Identities and the Origins of Homosexuality
- The Greatest Whodunit in History: Who Caused the First World War?
- The Decline of the Liberal Party in the UK and the Rise of Labour
- Guilty Men? British Appeasement Policy and the Causes of the Second World War in Europe.
- Fire in Babylon: The New Cross Fire and the Black People’s Day of Action
- The Unnatural Disaster of Hurricane Katrina
- Revolutionary Ireland, 1912-23
- The English Revolution, 1641–1660
- Nations and Nationalism
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15 credits |
News and Culture
News and Culture
15 credits
Because it provides most of our information about public affairs, news is considered to be a vital element of a democratic society. But as news comes to us through more channels and in more forms than ever before, journalists are under increasing pressure from different forces and institutions that wish to determine what the public reads as ‘news’.
This module will take a broad view of what constitutes news and the debates about news. By taking a sociological perspective, we’ll focus on the working practices of those who manufacture the world’s news, and the broader social context of news production. We’ll consider news stories as the outcome of particular social practices and will examine how news is produced in the press, in broadcasting and other contexts.
Starting with key theoretical issues relating to news content and news production, we’ll consider how the product we call “news” is created, by examining the working practices of journalists, the relationship between journalists and their sources, the professional codes and values of journalism, and the institutional environment in which journalists work. The module examines issues of race, gender, and equality in news journalism, and considers audience reception of the news.
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15 credits |
Introduction to Power, Politics and Public Affairs
Introduction to Power, Politics and Public Affairs
15 credits
This module is designed as a practical introduction for journalism students to central and local government, the major offices of state, the public and private sectors and organisations and institutions such as the police, the NHS, utilities providers and major corporations.
You’ll learn how government bodies and corporations operate, how public relations and press offices work and where journalists can look for information. You’ll discover the core principles of basic journalistic research in these sectors.
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15 credits |
Introduction to Multimedia Journalism
Introduction to Multimedia Journalism
30 credits
This module will introduce you to the basics of online journalism. We’ll focus on key fact-checking, news gathering and writing skills along with building a critical understanding of news.
You’ll learn how to structure news stories, how to source appropriate multimedia content to include in such stories and make them ready for online publishing. You’ll also be introduced to court reporting, subediting, interviewing and writing features.
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30 credits |
Optional modules
You'll also take either two 15-credit optional modules from the Department of History, or the following module - Global Connections.
Take a look at the full list of Year 1 History options.
| Module title |
Credits |
Global Connections: the violence and exchanges that shaped the modern world
Global Connections: the violence and exchanges that shaped the modern world
30 credits
This module explores the multiplicity of contacts which have shaped the last half millennium of global history. Empire and religion, commerce and colonialism, race and space, and disease and healing all drove and moulded the encounters between distant cultures that created our modern world. This module explores some of these global connections, from trade and the exchange of goods and ideas, to practices of violence and resistance. The module will introduce students to core and emerging debates and approaches within the field of global history.
The module will contain five four-week blocks on various topics within modern global history. The History department will publish a list of five blocks each year, from at least the following:
- Germany’s African Road to the Holocaust
- Global Sports and the African Diaspora
- The Ottoman Empire in European History
- (De)Colonising Enlightenment Political Thought
- Mosquitos, Microbes and Empire
- Travellers, Stories, Materials and Knowledges across Eurasia
- Balkan Migrations and Diasporas
- African encounters: European travellers and slavers in Africa, c. 1490 – c. 1775
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30 credits |
Year 2
Compulsory modules
In your second year, you'll take the following compulsory modules:
| Module title |
Credits |
Extended Feature Research and Writing
Extended Feature Research and Writing
15 credits
This module will provide the pedagogic bridge between the MC52019A Feature Writing module taken in the Autumn term of level 5 and the Interdisciplinary Final Project module to be taken in the final year. All three are compulsory modules.
In Feature Writing, students learn the basic skills, conventions and requirements of feature writing for journalistic purposes. In this module, students will learn how to use and enhance those skills for more in-depth research and long-form writing with a historical focus. They will learn how to use a blend of historical sources such as public and private archives and online historical databases as well as more contemporary sources to investigate and analyse subjects, themes and ideas from both the past and present for journalistic purposes. This might include researching recently released PRO files for ideas for journalistic work, which could then be explained, analysed and amplified using both alternative historical as well as contemporary sources. Students would be encouraged to use images and other digital material as primary sources as well as for illustration and added value. The module will be delivered through a series of weekly presentations and workshops that will demonstrate different sources of information and their use in a variety of different journalistic work with a historical theme and published in different formats. Special personal skills for extended research work such as in-depth interviewing of sources and recording and the organisation of research material will also be addressed.
Students will be set assignments to test their knowledge of historical themes, subjects and sources and their ability to use that information to create journalistic work. Feedback will be given in class, in writing and in person. Students will be encouraged to examine and critique each other’s work. Individual tutorial support will be given as required. Assessment will be by a portfolio of work aimed at journalistic platforms, which will include one substantial piece of writing. The techniques, skills and methods that students acquire during this module will prepare them for the Interdisciplinary Final Project, which will focus on a major piece of research and the creation of a journalistic product with a historical theme.
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15 credits |
Media Law and Ethics
Media Law and Ethics
15 credits
The module investigates the nature of media law and ethical regulation for media practitioners primarily in the UK, but with references to the experiences of media communicators in other countries. You’ll be directed towards an analysis of media law as it exists, the ethical debates concerning what the law ought to be, and the historical development of legal and regulatory controls of communication.
You’ll learn about:
- media jurisprudence - the study of the philosophy of media law
- media ethicology - the study of the knowledge of ethics/morality in media communication
- media ethicism - the belief systems in the political context that influence journalistic conduct and content
The module evaluates media law and regulation in terms of its social and cultural context. The module includes discussion of multi-media examples of media communication considered legally and/or morally problematic. Through this module, you’ll be able to understand and show awareness of key legal, ethical and regulatory issues relevant to media, such as reporting abroad, different jurisdictions, the use of social media and online content, coverage of traumatic events, violence and death, and more.
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15 credits |
Feature Writing
Feature Writing
15 credits
This module will equip you to create features in journalism. Teaching will be in the form of presentations and writing workshops. You’ll learn the difference between news and features, the varying forms of features and conventions of features journalism.
You’ll learn to research an audience, develop feature ideas and pitch to editors. Emphasis will also be placed on writing and editing skills.
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15 credits |
Optional modules
You'll have 60 credits worth of optional modules from the Department of History, and may also include 30 credits relevant modules from other departments (known as Connected Curriculum). See the full list of year 2 History option modules.
You'll also take an additional 15 credits of optional modules from the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies from a list approved annually by the department.
Year 3
Compulsory modules
In your final year, you'll take the following compulsory modules:
| Module title |
Credits |
Interdisciplinary Final Project
Interdisciplinary Final Project
60 credits
This module will be the culmination of the joint programme and is designed to showcase and synthesise the practical skills and learning of the previous three years from across both disciplines. Students will be expected to produce an extended piece of journalism on an historical theme or subject using a blend of both traditional historical research techniques and contemporary sources where appropriate. The work should be of a standard for publication on an appropriate journalistic platform and conform to legal and ethical considerations where appropriate. It should contain both extensive written content which could be supported by other visual or digital material where relevant and appropriate.
The Autumn term will consist of a series of workshops delivered by both History and Media staff designed to refresh existing skills in journalistic and historical research, explore the different types of journalistic product for different platforms and introduce some essential digital and online content management skills, all placed in the context of historical themes. In the first half of the term, a parallel series of ideas seminars will also encourage students to draw up proposals for their individual projects. These will be further refined in the second half of term to produce an individual detailed and agreed project plan that will outline the content of the project, including the aims and key sources of the historical research, the approach and angle of the journalistic work and address issues of platform and audience. The deadline for this will be the end of term and this will form part of the overall project assessment.
In the Spring term, students will be able to work on their individual projects in a workshop/lab environment under supervision of staff from both departments with appropriate technical support. Individual tutorials, group and class feedback and refresher sessions will be given as required.
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60 credits |
Asking the Right Questions: Research and Practice
Asking the Right Questions: Research and Practice
15 credits
This module offers an introduction to practical research methodologies and their deployment in various different specialist journalism fields. The module evolves a critical approach to the many different sources journalists use, the compromises involved and constraints within which they work.
Subjects to be covered can change according to outside events and the availability of professional speakers, but are expected include sourcing and using data, the use of the Freedom of Information Act, investigative journalism, economic and political journalism, the problems and pitfalls of reporting conflict, managing human, particularly vulnerable, human sources.
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15 credits |
Optional modules
You'll take 30 credits of optional modules from the Department of History. See the full list of year 3 and Special Subject History modules.
You'll also take an additional 30 credits of optional modules from the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies from an approved list produced annually by the department.
Teaching style
This programme is mainly taught through scheduled learning - a mixture of lectures and seminars. You’ll also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. This includes carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, and producing essays or project work.
The following information gives an indication of the typical proportions of learning and teaching for each year of this programme*:
- Year 1 - 14% scheduled learning, 86% independent learning
- Year 2 - 14% scheduled learning, 86% independent learning
- Year 3 - 14% scheduled learning, 85% independent learning
How you’ll be assessed
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework assignments such as extended essays, reports, presentations, practice-based projects or essays/logs, group projects and reflective essays, as well as seen and unseen written examinations.
The following information gives an indication of how you can typically expect to be assessed on each year of this programme*:
- Year 1 - 56% coursework, 19% written exam, 25% practical
- Year 2 - 91% coursework, 9% practical
- 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. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Between 2020 and 2022 we needed to make some changes to how programmes were delivered due to Covid-19 restrictions. For more information about past programme changes please visit our programme changes information page.
