Location: The main Hull (Cottingham Road) campus is less than three miles to the north of the city centre and surrounded by the majority of our student residences on adjacent streets. It covers some 114 acres (46 hectares) and is spacious enough to accommodate not only all the main teaching buildings, Library, Computer Centre and Language Institute, but also the main Students’ Union building, Theatre, Sports and Fitness Centre and most of our playing fields.

Philip Larkin, a major 20th-century poet and also our University Librarian for three decades, described the Humber estuary as a place ‘where sky and Lincolnshire and water meet’. Water is essential to both the identity and the history of the place. Kingston upon Hull (to use the city’s ancient title) received its royal charter from Edward I in 1299, by which time it was already Britain’s premier east-coast port. And, while whaling and distant-water fishing have come and gone (though both are impressively recalled in the Maritime Museum’s displays), the port of Hull continues to thrive. P&O North Sea Ferries, for example, sail daily for Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, contributing to a huge volume of continental passenger and freight traffic.

Hull has a distinctively spacious and easy-paced feel, and somehow manages to maintain the civilities of a country town (it is a notoriously friendly place) while offering all the facilities and amenities that you would expect from England’s 10th-largest city. There are pedestrianised precincts, cafes, restaurants, pubs, theatres, concert halls, clubs, pubs, galleries, museums, cinemas and more pubs. There are also various spectator sports – soccer, rugby union, rugby league, ice hockey and speedway, for instance – as well as a range of sports and leisure facilities for those who prefer to do rather than watch.

Hull still has an attractive and largely intact Old Town, with many places of interest for the historian and the pub connoisseur; and, from the riverside, the tower of Holy Trinity Church is as prominent today as it was six centuries ago when it first guided ships into the Old Harbour. In the city centre, thanks to some unusually thoughtful urban renewal, the small shops and arcades have not all disappeared before the national chain stores (though you will find those as well); in the residential areas, elegant Georgian and Victorian avenues have not all been bulldozed in the name of progress.

In these and many other respects, Hull comes as a pleasant surprise to those who have never visited it before.

Hull is one of only a handful of universities in Britain to have gained the highest rating of ‘excellent’ for its history teaching and grade 5 (on a scale of 1–5) for its research in recent official assessments by the Higher Education Funding Council. The Times in its 1999 ‘Best University Guide’ ranked us the 15th-best history department in Britain (10th outside London and Oxbridge). The Guardian ranked us 14th out of 77 universities.

The Department is a highly popular one, with a reputation for being friendly and helpful to students. We are committed to small-group teaching and the value of personal contact between staff and students. It is our aim that our students should enjoy a rich and happy experience while studying with us. The student-run History Society organises a lively programme of social events and visits, both at home and abroad.

Our teaching is based on a record of excellent research and publication. We benefit from an exceptionally well-stocked library with extensive archive materials. We also enjoy excellent information technology and audio-visual provision.

We provide a very wide range of options (for a full list click here. Our programmes are structured to allow you to follow your interests in particular areas of history such as British, European, medieval, modern, economic and social, American, Asian, art history, maritime history, history and computing and an expanding range of modules in archaeology.

Single Honours History students interested in any of these last four can choose to have their degree formally described as ‘History with Asian Studies’, ‘History with History of Art’, ‘History with Maritime History’ or ‘History with Historical Computation’.

Single Honours History students take all or most of their modules in History, while Joint History students combine it with another discipline, taking one half of their programme in each department.

First-year Single Honours students take three modules of equal weight in each of the two semesters. The choice of modules covers medieval Europe, early modern Europe, the modern world, art history, history and computing, maritime history, ‘virtual’ history, or a module outside History.

Second-year Single Honours students similarly take three modules in each semester: core modules on early and later modern British history in Semesters 1 and 2, respectively, and two other subjects chosen from an extensive list of options taught within or outside the Department. The third-year ‘Special Subject’ is a year-long module, and provides direct experience of working from primary sources. You also write a dissertation on a topic of your choice, associated with the Special Subject, and choose one, more specialised, optional module in each semester.

Joint-Honours students have a similar range of choice except that they take only three History modules in the year (but not the Special Subject or dissertation). All our students thus gain a firm grounding in historical techniques and understanding, while the wide choice of options in the second and third years allows them to pursue particular interests.

Art History is fully integrated into the Department. Teaching involves conducted visits to local and national art collections as well as to historical buildings and sites. An Italian Art Travel Fund helps students to visit Italy for study in connection with their programmes. The distinguished University Art Collection  and an annual series of History of Art Public Lectures (with eminent visiting speakers) also provide additional stimulus.

Hull is a world leader in the provision of maritime history at undergraduate and postgraduate level. For more information visit the Maritime Historical Studies Centre page.

See departmental publicity for alternative entry qualifications and additional information. The programmes outlined here are more fully described in our departmental/subject pamphlet, freely available on request.

BA (Hons) History [V100]

BA (Hons) American Studies & History [QV41]

BA (Hons) English & History [QV31]

BA (Hons) French & History [RV11]

BA (Hons) Geography & History* [LV71]

BA (Hons) History & Italian [RV31]

BA (Hons) History & Politics [MV11]

BA (Hons) History & Scandinavian Studies [RV71]

* Subject to approval

Admissions Enquiries: Mrs Sheila Longbone, Faculty of Arts Admissions Secretary, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX. Tel. 01482 466191. E-mail: arts-admissions@hull.ac.uk

History Department: http://www.hull.ac.uk/history/homepage.html