The Open University
330 Regional Study Centres

See below for

Special features of The Open University

Applications

Degree courses and options

Contacts

The Open University

The Open University is Britain’s largest university, with more than 200,000 people studying its courses. Since its establishment by Royal Charter in 1969, it has opened the door to higher education for more than 2 million people. Undergraduate courses are open to all regardless of educational qualifications. It is possible to achieve a degree with the OU in three years, studying full time, but most undergraduates combine part-time study with work or family responsibilities. Around 70 percent of undergraduate students remain in full-time employment throughout their period of study.

Open University courses are designed for students studying in their homes or workplaces, in their own time, anywhere in the UK, Ireland, throughout Europe and often further afield. Courses use a range of teaching media – specially-produced textbooks, TV and radio programmes, audio and video tapes, computer software and home experiment kits. Personal contact and support comes through specialist tutors, a network of 330 regional study centres in the UK and overseas and annual residential schools.

The Open University web site is located at: http://www.open.ac.uk

The History Department web site is located at: http://www.open.ac.uk/arts/history

Applications

Entry requirements: The Open University has no entry requirements for our undergraduate courses. Nearly all OU students study on a part-time basis and about 70% are also employed. The Open University welcomes and recognises the diversity of backgrounds, skills and interests that students have. Therefore it has a flexible approach, allowing you to choose areas that are relevant to your interests and the type of qualification you want.

For details of funding and applications, follow this link http://www3.open.ac.uk/learners-guide/index.htm

The Open University History Department web site is located at: http://www.open.ac.uk/arts/history

The details: History degree courses and options

BA (Honours) History

Open University Courses are offered at three levels. These levels relate to both the difficulty of the course, and the level of tutorial support offered. The Level 1 course An Introduction to the Humanities (A103) is strongly recommended as the starting point for the BA (Honours) History. Here new students receive a high degree of individual teaching and counselling support as they develop the kinds of study skills and analytical approach essential for successful learning in arts subjects. Following this, students can build towards a degree by completing a diverse course of study.

History courses currently offered are:

Level 2

  • State, Economy and Nation in Nineteenth-century Europe (A220)
  • Princes and Peoples: France and the British Isles 1620-1714 (A221)

Level 3

  • Understanding Comparative History: Britain and America from 1760 (AA303)
  • Total War and Social Change: Europe 1914-1955 (AA312)

Also at Level 3 students have a choice of history project courses, currently including:

  • Cinema and Society: Britain in the 1950s and 1960s (A420)
  • Evangelicals, women and community in nineteenth-century Britain (A425)
  • Charles Booth and social investigation in Britain 1850-1914 (A427)

In addition, students can choose from a range of Complementary Courses (courses run by departments other than History, but which can nonetheless count towards a History degree - a small selection of which is detailed below), bearing in mind the overall requirements for an honours degree.

  • Art and its histories (A216)
  • Fifth-century Athens: democracy and city state (A209)
  • The Enlightenment (A206)
  • The rise of scientific Europe 1500-1800 (AS208)
  • The United States in the twentieth century (D214)
  • Politics, Culture and Society in France and Italy 1943-1973 (AA304)
  • The Roman Family (A428)

Further details on the BA (Honours) History, and also on the BA (Honours) Humanities with History (which allows for a more wide ranging selection of complementary courses) can be found at http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses

Contacts

The following dedicated box number and postcode should be used for all general enquiries (especially regarding courses and applications):

Central Enquiry Service

The Open University, PO Box 200, Milton Keynes, MK7 6YZ

E-mail: ces-gen@open.ac.uk

Telephone: 01908-653231

Fax: 01908 654806

 

To find out more about the departments research specialisms, please request a copy of the Open University’s Media Guide, which is available from the Media Relations office. Telephone: 01908-653343.

 

For specific department-related questions, please contact the departmental secretary;

 

History Department

The Open University

Walton Hall

Milton Keynes

MK7 6AA

 

Telephone: 01908-652477

The History Department web site is located at: http://www.open.ac.uk/arts/history