History Degrees

Classics & Ancient History

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Overview

Overview

Part of the arts and humanities group of subjects, history is the study of human experience in the past – providing insights into present-day situations and future possibilities.

The possible scope of regions, cultures and historical periods you could choose to focus on is vast.

Maybe you want to focus on representations of women in 19th century art, the evolution of advertising in the West, or analyse the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Whatever your field of interest, there’s bound to be a history department somewhere in the world with the resources and expertise to match.

However, the core skills you gain should be the same. These include an ability to analyse various types of cultural artefact, challenge presumptions, identify causal links and trends, and present your ideas in well-ordered and supported arguments.

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Specializations

With so many possible historical periods and locations to choose from, each history degree course is likely to offer a different set of specializations.

You may choose to specialize in the history of a certain region or country. For example, you could specialize in Australian history at the University of Melbourne’s dedicated Australian Centre, or Mesoamerican history at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Within your chosen region, you’ll then need to choose a particular period to focus on, and a certain aspect of that period. This could mean focusing on the experience of a particular group of people, the growth of a certain set of ideas, or the causes leading up to a major political event.

Depending on your interests, you may find yourself crossing over to other sections of the library – drawing on subjects such as politics, international relations, gender studies or sociology.

Career Options

Like most humanities and social sciences subjects, history offers graduates a wide range of possible career paths.

Strong analytical and communications skills could lead to roles in marketing, advertising, public relations or journalism.

Those who are keen to continue making use of their subject-specialist knowledge may go into educational, research or heritage roles – for example in museums, public archives or galleries.

Other sectors where you’ll find history graduates include law, politics, business and finance, and academic research.

Key Skills

Among the transferable skills you should gain from a degree in history are:

• Professional communication, spoken and written

• General IT skills

• General research skills

• Self-management, including planning and meeting deadlines

• Analytical thinking and critical evaluation

• Sensitivity to different cultural and historical contexts

Related courses:

History Degrees

Subject Guide Tabs Group

Overview

Specializations

Career Options

Key Skills

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