(BA) Bachelor of Arts
Modern History
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
History
BA V140
05/07/2013
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A-levels: ABB-BBB
IB: 32-30 points
Entry requirements for students studying BTEC qualifications are dependent on units studied. Advice can be provided on an individual basis. The standard required is generally at Distinction level.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall. (Different requirements apply for second year entry.)
If you are an international student requiring a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels required. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Dr Stefan Goebel
Senior Lecturer
The University of Kent
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
Enable students to study a range of historical topics, providing both an outline of the principal developments and a focused study on a range of specific themes.
Enable students to examine historical events and changes in cross-national, thematic, and comparative perspective, with an understanding of social, cultural, political and economic contexts.
Develop students' understandings of the relationship between the past and the present.
Familiarise students with models of historical analysis and varieties of primary sources.
Enable students to design and conduct an independent study on a specialist topic of their choice in the field of modern history.
Develop skills of research, analysis and argument that are valuable for a wide range of future careers, further study, and lifetime learning.
The outcomes listed below represent the minimum that might be expected of a graduate of the Department of History of the University of Essex; it is the intention of the Department that the vast majority of graduates will achieve significantly more.
These aims have been framed with due reference to the Quality Assurance Agency's benchmark for history.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the making of the modern world, 1789-1989
A2: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of thematic historical topics
A3: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of specialised modern historical topics in greater depth
A4: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental principles of historical analysis, such as concepts of continuity, change, and comparative analysis
A5: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of sources available for modern historical research
Learning methods
The structure of the degree is based on progression from outline topics in the first year (A1) to more specialised courses (A2 and A3) in the second and third year.
Knowledge of A1-A5 are acquired through lectures, seminars, independent reading and coursework.
A4 is developed in particular in the second-year course 'Making Histories': concepts, themes and sources.
A5 is the focus of the third-year special subject and the third-year independent dissertation.
Assessment methods
Knowledge and understanding of A1-5 is continuously assessed through coursework and examination.
Essays are the principal form of coursework assessment, supplemented by a range of other assessments which may include document analyses, reviews, and other shorter assignments; assessed presentations and oral contributions; and in-class tests.
The independent dissertation tests knowledge of A5 in particular through a dissertation of up to 12,000 words.
The ability to produce, under set time conditions and without access to notes, cogent arguments demonstrating the interconnectedness of themes, concepts and issues covered in the course components is assessed by the first-year examination of the pre-requisite module for the course.
Examinations are principally unseen, essay based, of two or three hour duration.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Assemble, analyse and synthesise primary and secondary data
B2: Formulate and answer historical questions
B3: Evaluate and compare historical interpretations
B4: Explain historical events, contexts and change with reference to social, political, economic and cultural forces and factors
B5: Reconstruct the mentalities of past societies
B6: Formulate and present ideas and arguments, using historical evidence
Learning methods
All skills are introduced and developed through in-class discussions, essays, and other written and oral assignments.
The teaching environment of seminars, which emphasises student-focused discussion, enables students to develop all six skills through discussion and practice, and to receive feedback from peers and tutors.
Assessment methods
All skills are assessed through the usual means of coursework and examination: a variety of types of coursework across the curriculum assess skills specifically.
The ability to understand questions and produce answers under set time conditions and without access to notes is assessed by the first-year examination of the pre-requisite courses for the scheme.
C: Practical skills
C1: Critically read and evaluate primary sources
C2: Critically read and evaluate secondary sources
Learning methods
Written work, oral presentations and participation in seminar discussion focusing on prepared readings or set questions develop skills C1 and C2, with the final-year Special Subject focusing particularly on C1.
The final-year dissertation enables students to take skill C2 and in some cases skill C1 to a higher level.
Students are strongly encouraged to discuss theirdissertations with members of academic staff but are required to conduct their own bibliographic research and formulate their own lines of investigation.
Assessment methods
All skills are assessed through the usual means of coursework and examination.
In particular, C1 is assessed by document analysis, C2 by essays.
The practical skill of working under pressure and without notes to produce cogent arguments in written work is assessed by the first-year examination in the History pre-requisite course for the scheme.
D: Key skills
D1: Communicate ideas effectively using a range of written forms
D2: Make appropriate use of information technology to research and present materials
D4: Analyse and explain data, understand and produce answers to essay questions, and manage work timetables
D6: Use feedback from tutors to improve written and oral work and reflect on progress
Learning methods
Information technology is taught through independent learning supported by the university's online key skills package and the Computing Service.
Use of email and the internet is part of effective course participation and students are required to check their university email account at least once a week during term-time.
Students are strongly encouraged to produce coursework in word-processed form and it is a formal requirement that the final-year independent research dissertation is typed or word-processed.
The use of electronic library catalogues and other relevant electronic bibliographic resources and the use and interpretation of relevant material via the internet is introduced in the first year.
Students build on these skills in subsequent years.
Where relevant, students are encouraged to use, present or evaluate information provided in numerical or statistical form.
Problem-solving, communication, working with others and improving own learning and performance are implicit throughout the degree.
Assessment methods
Key skills are assessed through the usual methods of coursework and also for D1, D4 by examination.
Management of work timetables is assessed by the requirement that students meet coursework deadlines and deadlines in the preparation and submission of their final-year dissertation.
The coursework journal for HR211 requires students to reflect on their progress.