Course overview
This degree will broaden your intellectual horizons and teach you to think critically about art, the media, and the past. In history, you will explore aspects of the past from 500 AD to the present and from countries around the world. In art history, you will be taught to approach works of art from a critical viewpoint and study media from a variety of historical periods and different geographical areas. The arts tell us much about human societies and cultures, past and present, and by studying history alongside art history, you will gain a much deeper appreciation of just how much.
In the first year, you will reflect on what history is and develop the skills to write and debate it. In year two, these skills will be developed further when you analyse a body of text about a topic of your choice. In art history, you will be taught to approach works of art from a critical viewpoint and study media from a variety of historical periods and different geographical areas.
Year one
The history core is Learning History, a skill- and methodology-based module. The emphasis is on reflecting on the nature of history as a discipline and to develop the skills required for the writing and debating of history. In art history, you must take two modules, Introduction to Art History I and II. These are core modules concerned with analytical skills relevant to the study of works of art, in a variety of media, taken from a variety of historical and geographical backgrounds. You will also take a selection of optional modules in both disciplines.
Year two
The core element in Year Two is provided by the compulsory module, the Contemporary World since 1945. The focus of this course is not just on global developments, political and economic, social and cultural, environmental and demographic, but also on exploring key historical debates concerning the immediate origins of the world in which we now live. This module sits alongside other more specific optional modules in both history and art history, covering a wide chronological and geographical range.
Year three
In history, you will select a Special Subject and one optional module. The Special Subject is a year-long, in-depth and research-based seminar that all history students must take. In art history you will have the option to complete a dissertation providing an opportunity for extended independent study under the supervision of a tutor, and you can take a combination of further optional modules.
More information
Please visit the
Department of History and
Department of Art History websites.
Entry requirements
A levels: ABB, including A in history at A level
English language requirements
IELTS 7.0 (no less than 6.0 in any element)
TOEFL iBT 100 (no less that 21 in listening and writing, 22 in reading and 23 in speaking)
Alternative qualifications
Please see the alternative qualifications page.
Modules
The modules we offer are inspired by the research interests of our staff and as a result, may change from year to year. The following list is therefore subject to change but should give you a flavour of the modules we offer.
Core year-one modules
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Learning History
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Introduction to Art History I and II
Typical year-one options:
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Introduction to the Medieval World, 500-1500
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Roads to Modernity: an introduction to Modern History, 1789-1945
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Italian Art in the Age of Caravaggio
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Modernism and America
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Representing the Metropolis
Core year-two modules:
Typical year-two options:
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The Second World War and Social Change in Britain
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Republics of Desire: Gender in 20th century France
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The Learned and the Lewd: Popular Culture in Late Medieval England
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The Politics of Display
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The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Art 1580-1680
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Women in the Italian Renaissance
Typical year-three modules:
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Students may select from a wide range of special subjects, involving analysis of original source material, as well as optional modules in History and Art History. They may also opt to write a dissertation in Art History.
Typical Special Subject:
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The British Civil Wars, c. 1639-1652
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Samurai Revolution: Reinventing Japan
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The 1960s and the West
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The Norman Conquest: England, 1016-1087
Typical year-three options:
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Late Imperial Culture: The Fin-de-Siècle in Central Europe, 1890-1914
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Kings, Saints and Monsters in England, c.450-850
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Guns, Trade and Justice: the Treaty Port System in China, Japan and Korea
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Spanish Art: the Age of Velazquez
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Centres and Peripheries in British Art
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Photographing America
For a complete list of all the modules offered by the Departments of History and Art History please see the University module catalogue.
Skills and careers
With an excellent track record of graduate employment, a Nottingham History and Art History degree will prepare you for a wide range of professions. Some of the most popular of these are journalism and publishing, marketing and advertising, law, business and finance, national and local government, non-governmental organisations (both national and international), administration, teaching, library and museum work especially curation and research-based careers.
A Nottingham History and Art History degree can cater for such a diverse field of employment because the skills that you will acquire are versatile, wide-ranging, and transferable. You will learn to think critically and imaginatively, to analyse large amounts of data, to construct and sustain logical arguments, to communicate knowledge intelligibly, to work effectively in teams, to manage time and workloads, and to lead discussions and presentations. These skills will develop your capacity to learn and adapt and will therefore equip you with the tools you need to develop your future career.
For more information on the career prospects of Nottingham History graduates, please visit our Careers page.
Average starting salary
The average starting salary for 2009/10 full-time graduates of the Department of History was £19,551.02 and for graduates of the Department of Art History it was £16,297.31.*
*Average starting salary from known destinations of first-degree leavers who studied full-time, 2009/10.