The Single Subject Major in History is designed to provide students with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the past, and the research skills with which to pursue that knowledge and understanding. It is aimed at anyone who has an interest in history, and no prior qualification in the discipline is required. What we do expect is that students approach the subject in an inquisitive and critical way, and are prepared to consider the history of Ireland and the world from a variety of perspectives. A particular feature of the Single Subject Major is that students are introduced from an early stage to how professional historians conduct research, and given the opportunity to pursue their own research. 

The syllabus takes in the entire sweep of history, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present, and embraces all aspects of human experience. This includes conflict and political change, the lives of individuals and the fortunes of nations and civilisations. It also includes how people lived, how they thought and how they expressed themselves. The study of history, then, overlaps with the study of such subjects as gender, medicine, the media, religion and literature. Students learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and independent study. Emphasis is placed on students working in small groups with active researchers in the field. 

The objective is not only to learn what happened in the past. It is also about identifying and evaluating historical evidence, and about posing questions and framing answers based their consideration. The Single Subject Major, therefore, allows you to deepen your study of history, while teaching skills that are valuable in any career you choose.

1 - Demonstrate a familiarity with of a broad range of historical periods and situations, Irish and international.
2 - Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of selected fields of historical study.
3 - Appreciate continuities and contrasts between diverse historical periods and situations.
4 - Analyse primary source evidence, place it in context and assess its reliability.
5 - Use primary sources in an ethical and effective way, informed by an understanding of how professional historians conduct research, pose questions and frame answers.
6 - Demonstrate an understanding of diverse academic viewpoints and methodologies.
7 - Deliver oral presentations clearly and confidently, and engage constructively in group discussions.
8 - Submit written work which is coherently argued, backed up by evidence, well-presented, and documented in an academic format appropriate to the discipline.
9 - Research and write a minor dissertation on a specific historical topic in consultation with a supervisor.

History is obviously an enormous subject - which is why some students choose to study it as a single subject. The range of modules takes you from the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of barbarian kingdoms to the impact of US foreign policy in the 20th century.

It is not essential to have studied History to Leaving Certificate. If you read widely and have a good interest in general knowledge, your overall examination performance in English, for example, will offer a fair guide to your aptitude for history. See subject description for History.

In your first year (called Stage 1) you take 12 modules over two semesters. You must study core modules in History and typically two or three other subjects including up to two modules from outside the BA Programme area.

Stage 2 students progress with a major in History. Students also take four elective modules from within or outside their main subject area at Stages 2 and 3 of their degree programme.

In Stage 1 you will be introduced to a range of modules focusing on European and Irish history across a period of almost 2,000 years.

In Stage 2 you will take six core (compulsory) modules and choose from a range of optional modules spanning the Rise of the Asian Tigers, 20th Century Italy, The Age of Mohammed, and a variety of Irish periods including the Vikings, the Normans, Cromwell and the Stuarts, Irish Emigration and the Celtic Literary Revival.

Stage 2 also includes a dissertation in an area of interest to you. You will be shown how to plan a research strategy, how to find primary materials and how to write a major (10,000 word) research dissertation. Completing a substantial piece of primary research is both a challenge and a reward.

You may apply to study abroad for either a semester or a year through the Erasmus programme or on a non-EU exchange. UCD has over 200 Erasmus partners in Europe and an increasing number of non-EU exchange agreements with universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and elsewhere.

Please click here to visit the Erasmus section of the International Office website.

The year abroad takes place when you have accumulated at least 110 credits and satisfied any subject prerequisites, adding a fourth year to the BA programme and turning it into a BA International.

History graduates can find employment in:

 

• Broadcasting and Journalism


• Business


• Civil Service


• Law


• Publishing


• Public Relations


• Politics


• Research


• Teaching


• Marketing


• Policymaking


• Tourism


• Heritage
  
  
  
  Graduates are also eligible to apply for UCD MA programmes in History, which include specialisms in Irish, European, International and Medieval History, Public History and History of Medicine.

Students must register to three Stage 2 core modules and select five Level 2 option modules.

Students must register to four Stage 3 core modules. In addition, students must select two 10-credit Level 3 option modules, one in each trimester, and one 5-credit Level 3 option module.

Students must register to four final stage core modules. In addition, students must select two 10-credit Level 3 option modules, one in each trimester, and one 5-credit Level 3 option module.

Module ID	Module Title	Trimester	Credits
Stage 2 Core Modules
HIS21140	History Today	Autumn	5
HIS32750	Themes in Contemp British Hist	Autumn	10
HIS21300	Marathon	Spring	10
Stage 2 Core Modules
Stage 2 Options - A)MIN5OF: Stage 2 Option Modules:
HIS20460	Islam and Christianity in the Middle Ages	Autumn	5
HIS20950	European Statecraft, Strategy & Culture, c. 1470-c.1770: Personalities & Power	Autumn	5
HIS21180	Migration and Environment in Ireland, 1500 - 1800	Autumn	5
HIS21220	Modern China Since 1600	Autumn	5
HIS21270	France Since the Revolution	Autumn	5
HIS20820	Nazi Germany	Spring	5
HIS20960	Living Loving & Dying in 19th Century Ireland	Spring	5
HIS21170	The Making of the Middle East	Spring	5
HIS21240	Celts, Romans and Vikings: The Formation of Early Ireland	Spring	5
HIS21260	From the Goldmines to Trump: A global history of nativism and anti-immigration since the mid-19th c.	Spring	5
Stage 2 Options - A)MIN5OF: Stage 2 Option Modules:
Stage 2 Options - B)MIN0OF: This a College of Arts and Humanities module, It is the equivalent of an elective. You take it instead of taking one of your Stage 2 electives. Please make sure that you have selected the correct number of programme options from the list above. This is not one of your required options.
HUM20010	Career Readiness for Arts	Autumn	5
Stage 2 Options - B)MIN0OF: This a College of Arts and Humanities module, It is the equivalent of an elective. You take it instead of taking one of your Stage 2 electives. Please make sure that you have selected the correct number of programme options from the list above. This is not one of your required options.
Stage 3 Core Modules
HIS30550	Research Skills Seminar	Autumn	5
HIS32510	The Anthropocene: Exploring global environmental history	Autumn	5
HIS30990	BA Dissertation	Autumn and Spring (separate)	10
HIS31040	Conference	Spring	5
Stage 3 Core Modules
Stage 3 Options - A)2OF: Students must select two level 3 option modules, one in each trimester.
HIS31280	Rise, Fall, Rise of Modern Japan	Autumn	10
HIS31320	The Irish Revolution, 1910-1923	Autumn	10
HIS31460	Medicine, Culture and Society	Autumn	10
HIS31500	Past, Present and Future in Medieval England	Autumn	10
HIS31510	Religion & Society in Independent Ireland, 1922-1968	Autumn	10
HIS31720	Irish Emigration and the Diaspora, 1800-2012	Autumn	10
HIS31860	Slavery and the New World	Autumn	10
HIS31900	Roads to Heaven & Hell	Autumn	10
HIS32430	Florence 1200 - 1400	Autumn	10
HIS32550	Gender, War and Memory: Women in Late Qing and Republican China	Autumn	10
HIS32650	Migration Nation: The Irish Migration Experience since 1945	Autumn	10
HIS32690	Revolution and War in Twentieth-Century Vietnam	Autumn	10
HIS32710	Manufacturing Truth in the Modern World	Autumn	10
HIS32730	The Digital Humanities	Autumn	10
HIS32660	Conservative Political Activism in the United States, 1960-1980	Autumn and Spring (separate)	10
HIS32720	Frontiers of Empire	Autumn and Spring (separate)	10
HIS31250	Dynastic Politics, Culture & Diplomacy in Post-Westphalian Germany	Spring	10
HIS31290	Gender, Sexuality and Family in Ireland, 1870s-1970s	Spring	10
HIS31310	Madness and Civilisation	Spring	10
HIS31400	British Atlantic History, 1607-1776	Spring	10
HIS31760	Irish Foreign Policy, 1919-73: A Place Among the Nations	Spring	10
HIS31840	The First World War: cultures and consequences	Spring	10
HIS32230	Biography and History	Spring	10
HIS32300	Weaponizing the Word: Media and Conflict in Pre-Industrial Europe	Spring	10
HIS32330	Venice in the modern European imagination	Spring	10
HIS32360	Environment & Power in Modern Russia	Spring	10
HIS32480	Anticolonial Thought in the Twentieth Century	Spring	10
HIS32620	US Pivots To Asia, 1890s-1950s	Spring	10
HIS32670	Empires, Nations and War	Spring	10
HIS32680	Medieval Myth and History	Spring	10
HIS32740	Pagans, Priests and Martyrs: Conversion to Christianity in Medieval Ireland	Spring	10
HIS32760	The Great Famine in Global Perspective	Spring	10
HIS32770	Life on the Edge: Drugs, Institutions, and Stigma in Ireland since 1960	Spring	10
Stage 3 Options - A)2OF: Students must select two level 3 option modules, one in each trimester.
Stage 3 Options - B)MIN1OF: Level 3 5 credit options
HIS32460	Conquering Ireland, 1579-1691	Autumn	5
HIS32700	Digital Revolutions	Autumn	5
HIS32310	Revolutionary Russia, 1905-1921	Spring	5
HIS32380	Genocide & Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century	Spring	5
Stage 3 Options - B)MIN1OF: Level 3 5 credit options
Stage 4 Core Modules
HIS30550	Research Skills Seminar	Autumn	5
HIS32510	The Anthropocene: Exploring global environmental history	Autumn	5
HIS30990	BA Dissertation	Autumn and Spring (separate)	10
HIS31040	Conference	Spring	5
Stage 4 Core Modules
Stage 4 Options - A)2OF: Students must select two level 3 option modules, one in each trimester.
HIS31280	Rise, Fall, Rise of Modern Japan	Autumn	10
HIS31320	The Irish Revolution, 1910-1923	Autumn	10
HIS31460	Medicine, Culture and Society	Autumn	10
HIS31500	Past, Present and Future in Medieval England	Autumn	10
HIS31510	Religion & Society in Independent Ireland, 1922-1968	Autumn	10
HIS31720	Irish Emigration and the Diaspora, 1800-2012	Autumn	10
HIS31860	Slavery and the New World	Autumn	10
HIS31900	Roads to Heaven & Hell	Autumn	10
HIS32430	Florence 1200 - 1400	Autumn	10
HIS32550	Gender, War and Memory: Women in Late Qing and Republican China	Autumn	10
HIS32650	Migration Nation: The Irish Migration Experience since 1945	Autumn	10
HIS32690	Revolution and War in Twentieth-Century Vietnam	Autumn	10
HIS32710	Manufacturing Truth in the Modern World	Autumn	10
HIS32730	The Digital Humanities	Autumn	10
HIS32660	Conservative Political Activism in the United States, 1960-1980	Autumn and Spring (separate)	10
HIS32720	Frontiers of Empire	Autumn and Spring (separate)	10
HIS31250	Dynastic Politics, Culture & Diplomacy in Post-Westphalian Germany	Spring	10
HIS31290	Gender, Sexuality and Family in Ireland, 1870s-1970s	Spring	10
HIS31310	Madness and Civilisation	Spring	10
HIS31400	British Atlantic History, 1607-1776	Spring	10
HIS31760	Irish Foreign Policy, 1919-73: A Place Among the Nations	Spring	10
HIS31840	The First World War: cultures and consequences	Spring	10
HIS32230	Biography and History	Spring	10
HIS32300	Weaponizing the Word: Media and Conflict in Pre-Industrial Europe	Spring	10
HIS32330	Venice in the modern European imagination	Spring	10
HIS32360	Environment & Power in Modern Russia	Spring	10
HIS32480	Anticolonial Thought in the Twentieth Century	Spring	10
HIS32620	US Pivots To Asia, 1890s-1950s	Spring	10
HIS32670	Empires, Nations and War	Spring	10
HIS32680	Medieval Myth and History	Spring	10
HIS32740	Pagans, Priests and Martyrs: Conversion to Christianity in Medieval Ireland	Spring	10
HIS32760	The Great Famine in Global Perspective	Spring	10
HIS32770	Life on the Edge: Drugs, Institutions, and Stigma in Ireland since 1960	Spring	10
Stage 4 Options - A)2OF: Students must select two level 3 option modules, one in each trimester.
Stage 4 Options - B)MIN1OF: Level 3 5 credit options
HIS32460	Conquering Ireland, 1579-1691	Autumn	5
HIS32700	Digital Revolutions	Autumn	5
HIS32310	Revolutionary Russia, 1905-1921	Spring	5
HIS32380	Genocide & Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century	Spring	5
Stage 4 Options - B)MIN1OF: Level 3 5 credit options

		Award		GPA
Programme	Module Weightings	Rule Description	Description
BHACS001	Stage 3 - 50.00% Stage 2 - 50.00%	Standard Honours Award	First Class Honours	3.68	4.20
			Second Class Honours, Grade 1	3.08	3.67
			Second Class Honours, Grade 2	2.48	3.07
			Pass	2.00	2.47
BHACS011	Stage 4 - 50.00% Stage 2 - 50.00%	Standard Honours Award	First Class Honours	3.68	4.20
			Second Class Honours, Grade 1	3.08	3.67
			Second Class Honours, Grade 2	2.48	3.07
			Pass	2.00	2.47
BHACS023	Stage 3 - 70.00% Stage 2 - 30.00%	Standard Honours Award	First Class Honours	3.68	4.20
			Second Class Honours, Grade 1	3.08	3.67
			Second Class Honours, Grade 2	2.48	3.07
			Pass	2.00	2.47