Course overview

This three-year joint honours degree focuses on developing your skills and abilities to critically analyse historical and political topics. You'll graduate as a confident independent learner with a specialist knowledge in areas of interest to you.

You'll be able to follow your own path, choosing to study modules which are closely related, or cast your net wide, studying topics that span six continents.

You’ll study in a research-led environment, alongside scholars at the forefront of their fields. You'll also improve your research skills, completing a range of research projects during your degree.

In history, you'll explore themes including revolution, slavery, radicalism, medical history, and religion across a variety of periods, geographies and cultures. In politics, you'll look at global politics, political philosophy and international relations.

Download information about this course as a PDF

Your course during COVID-19
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption.

Given the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commitments outlined are subject to guidelines that may be in place from time to time.

View our COVID-19 Study page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2022-23.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information

Quality and ranking

• Top 150 for Social Sciences  – Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2022
• Top 150 for Politics and International Studies - QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022
• Top 200 for History - QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022
• 1st in the UK and 8th in the world for sustainable development – Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022
• 65% increase in research power since 2014 – Research Excellence Framework 2021
• 42% of our research is classified as 4* world-leading research – Research Excellence Framework 2021

Modules and learning

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

You'll build a foundation to become an independent learner and critical reader/thinker through compulsory modules.

Optional modules give an overview of our range, whether that be the major pathways in Politics (such as political thought and international politics), or the chronological and cultural variety of History.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Evidence and Argument	20
Order and Disorder: The Shaping of the 21st Century	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Slavery	20
Big History: From the Big Bang to Climate change	20
Global Middle Ages	20
Stuff: living in a material world	20
Global Ancient Histories	20
Historical Sources and Methods	20
History Lab I	20
History Lab II	20
Public History	20
What is History For?	20
The Westminster System: Politics of the UK	20
Becoming a Political Analyst	20
Power and Inequality	20
Politics of Happiness	20

You’ll choose six optional modules in total – three each from Politics and History. Through these modules you’ll deepen your subject knowledge and build on your skills from Stage One.

You'll critically engage with the topics you're studying and become a confident participant in our learning community. If you are thinking about undertaking an optional dissertation in Stage Three, you’ll select modules to prepare you for this.

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Prehistoric Europe	20
Archaeologies of the Roman Empire: The Roman World from Augustus to Justinian	20
The Medieval World: AD 400-1500	20
Historical Archaeology of the Modern World (post 1492)	20
Hellenistic Empires from Alexander to Cleopatra	20
The Roman World from Hadrian to Heraclius	20
Greek and Roman Religions	20
Slavery in Greco-Roman antiquity	20
Africa: History of a Continent	20
Oral History and Memory	20
Greece from ancient times to the 21st century: Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the past	20
1968: A Global Moment?	20
Communication in the Medieval World, from Europe to Asia: Prayer, Poetry, Pictures, and Travel	20
Contesting Reproductive Rights in the UK and Ireland	20
Crafting History: The Dissertation Proposal	20
War, Wounds, and Disabilities in the Modern Russian, American and British Worlds	20
Famines in History	20
Germany and Central Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries	20
History and Film: Representing the Past	20
Land and Society in the USA, Ireland and Scotland, c. 1840-1922	20
Violence in the American South: From Enslavement to Civil Rights	20
Researching History	20
The Aftermath of War in Europe and Asia, 1945-56	20
Revolutions of the Mind: European Thought, 1550–1750	20
Reformation and Revolution: Tudors to the Georgians	20
The Supernatural: The Cultural History of Occult Forces	20
Global Environmental History: From the Little Ice Age to Greta Thunberg	20
Diversities of Sexuality and Gender in History	20
Britain since the 60s	20
HaSS Study Abroad Semester 1 60 Credits	60
HaSS Study Abroad Semester 2 60 credits	60
Comparative History of Hispano-America and Brazil: from Independence to the Mexican Revolution (1789/1810-1917)	20
Career Development for second year students	20
International Institutions: Who Governs the Globe?	20
Foreign Policy Analysis: Theories and Approaches	20
Becoming a Political Researcher	20
Government and Politics of the USA	20
The Politics and Policy of the European Union	20
Power and Poverty in the Global Economy	20
British Politics: State and Society	20
Political Violence and the Modern State	20
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Social Issues in Contemporary Political Philosophy	20
Politics Work Placement	20
Security Studies	20
Democracy or Dictatorship? What are the differences and how do we analyse them	20
Sex, Gender and Power	20
The Politics of Race	20

You will continue to study a mixture of Politics and History modules. This can be through an even split of modules, or a weighting towards History or Politics. You may include a research dissertation in either subject.

Through study in the recommended modules you'll critically reflect on History and your own ideas through close study of an influential work. You'll also broaden your horizons by considering the uses and abuses of history in public life.

Modules

• Writing History
• Reading History
• History and Society
• Early Medieval Britain
• The Archaeology of Byzantium and its Neighbours
• Frontier Communities of Roman Britain
• Historical Archaeology of Britain 1500-Present
• Origins and Transformations: Early Prehistoric Europe
• Sex, bodies and identities in Classical Greece
• The Life and Afterlife of Alexander the Great
• Geographical Knowledge in the Ancient World
• Celluloid History II
• Elizabeth I: the Politics of Religion
• China in Revolution
• The Great Patriotic War and its Aftermath
• The Nazi New Order in Europe
• The American Civil War, 1861-1865
• Madness, Nerves and Narratives in Georgian Britain, c. 1714-1830
• The English Revolution, 1640-1660
• The Irish Revolution, 1879-1923
• Reconstruction and the New South, 1865-1914
• Living together: Christians, Muslims and Jews in Medieval Iberia
• British Foreign Policy since Suez
• Birth Control in the 19th & 20th Centuries
• Jarrow Crusade
• The Spanish Second Republic and Civil War, 1931-1939
• Civil Rights and Armalites: Northern Ireland since 1969
• Genocide and Justice in the 20th Century: From the Armenian Genocide to the International Criminal Court
• Civil Rights in America, 1948-1975
• The Mexican Revolution
• Post-Revolutionary Mexico: From Zapata to the Zapatistas
• Royal Portraits: Christian Kings and Kingship, c. 870-c. 930
• Viking-Age Scandinavia
• Women in Colonial South Asia: Tradition, Reform and Modernity
• Imagined Futures
• Islamism and its Origins
• God's Terrible Voice: the experience and impact of Plague in England, 1500-1722
• Talking Cures and Troubles: An Oral History of Health and Medicine in Britain, c. 1948-2000
• Punishing the Criminal Dead: Crime, Culture, and Corpses in Modern Britain
• Russian Cities and Culture from Peter the Great to the Revolution
• Lunatic to Citizen Madness and Society since 1900
• The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1961-1990
• Inter-American Relations from the Spanish-American War (1898) to the end of the Cold War (1989/1991)
• Democracy and the Constitution
• The Government and Politics of Italy
• Political Parties and Elections in the UK
• The Fall and Rise of China
• Democracy in Deeply Divided Societies
• The Politics of the Far Right in Europe
• Gender, Campaigns and Media
• International Organisation and Diplomacy
• UK Parliamentary Studies
• Animal and Environmental Ethics
• The Ethics of War
• Politics of Immigration
• Environmental Governance and Policy
• Politics of Happiness
• Mexican Politics: Authoritarianism & Democracy
• Dissertation in Politics
• Project in Politics: Semester 1
• Project in Politics: Semester 2
• Community-based Research in Politics
• Career Development for Final Year Students
• Applied Entrepreneurship

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They combine data on the planned delivery and assessments of our courses in 2021-22 with data on the modules chosen by our students in 2020-21.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

Most of your modules will be delivered through lectures and seminars. Seminars become more important in Stage 2 and 3, reflecting your development into a confident and skilled independent learner and part of the School's wider learning community. 

In Politics, you'll also focus on public speaking, with in-class debates used to test, defend and refine your ideas.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Group work

• 

  Presentations

• 

  Projects

Skills and experience

Practical skills

You'll benefit from a range of field trips to places such as:

• local museums
• castles
• broadcasters

You'll also have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience carrying out community-based politics research. You'll support a local institution or non-governmental organisation and apply some of your learned skills in the workplace.

Research skills

You'll be able to choose to complete an independent research project in Stage 3. You can either complete a dissertation, or the more practical option of hands-on research within the community.

You'll learn to plan, develop and implement a project, while contributing to academic knowledge, or having an impact on the community.

You can also apply for a vacation scholarship, where you can work alongside researchers. You'll gain first-hand experience of working on a project and develop key skills, such as:

• researching new material
• collecting, analysing and interpreting social data
• carrying out research in challenging environments

Opportunities

Study abroad

Experience life in another country by choosing to study abroad as part of your degree. You’ll be encouraged to embrace fun and challenging experiences, make connections with new communities and graduate as a globally aware professional, ready for your future.

You can choose to spend up to a year studying at a partner institution overseas.

If you choose to study abroad, it will extend your degree by a year. 

Find out more about study abroad

Work placement

Get career ready with a work placement and leave as a confident professional in your field. You can apply to spend 9 to 12 months working in any organisation in the world, and receive University support from our dedicated team to secure your dream placement. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice and developing your professional expertise.

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year, and your degree title will show you have achieved the placement year. A work placement is not available if you're spending a year studying abroad. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements

Facilities and environment

Facilities

You'll be based at our city-centre campus between the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, in the historic Armstrong Building and the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, in the recently refurbished Henry Daysh Building.

You'll have access to a range of on-campus facilities, including:

• the Great North Museum: Hancock, with its Antiquarian Library and range of artefacts
• the Special Collections in the Robinson Library

Support

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a personal tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues.

Peer mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer any questions you have when starting university.

Your future

Join our network of successful graduates

On graduation from our degree courses, you will have the proven ability to think critically, assess complex material and data, carry out research, construct a well-informed argument and articulate it on paper and in person.

Some of our graduates have used this powerful combination of skills to progress directly into careers in politics, economics and international relations – for employers such as the Houses of Parliament, HM Treasury, local government, the Civil Service, inter-governmental organisations and public affairs consultancies.

Others have applied their skills with equal success in the media, law, finance, management consultancy, education, human resources, marketing, business and academia.

Our Politics graduates include MPs in Westminster, fast-track civil servants in the Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions, parliamentary researchers, and Brussels-based public affairs consultants.

Our staff also maintain strong links with governmental bodies such as the UK and Scottish Parliaments, NATO and the EU.

Make a difference

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Careers support

You'll benefit from targeted careers support throughout your degree. In your induction week, you'll explore potential career paths.

In Stage 2, you can apply for a work placement with a local political party or charity.In Stage 3 you can boost your prospects by conducting policy research on behalf of a local community organisation.

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2022 entry (per year)

Home Fee Students

£9250

International Fee Students

£20400

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for home fee-paying students is set by the UK government.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.

Read more about fees and funding

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our undergraduate scholarship page for more information.

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Find out more about:

• different tuition fees
• additional costs

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS

Apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages