
- UCAS course code
- VL12
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course description

I knew I wanted to study History and Politics, but Manchester was such a fantastic place when I came to visit. It felt homely and kind with so much to offer both academically and through extracurricular activities.
During my degree, I had the opportunity to study such a huge range of history and politics. My study of colonial history was amazing and eye-opening.
Muneera Lula / Policy Advisor, Civil Service & 2017 Graduate
BA Politics and Modern History is one of the longest established programmes of its kind in the country, combining an investigation of the historical development of the modern world with a study of its political machinery and an examination of its political thought in a historical setting.
Broad course units in history, government institutions and political thought constitute the core of the degree in the first two years, with more specialist options in Year 3, including a 12,000-word thesis.
Studying politics and modern history together aims to give you a unique insight into how societies work in both past and present.
The course combines two complementary ways of looking at the world and will give you the tools to understand the workings and history of political systems, international relations, conflict and cooperation in Britain, Europe and beyond.
The degree will take you through various stages, at each step developing both your background knowledge in politics and history and, crucially, the skills of critical analysis and logical argument.
Throughout, you will engage with a broad range of themes in both subjects, ranging from globalisation in historical perspective to the politics of modern China.
Aims
- Give students a unique insight into how societies work in both past and present by combining two complementary ways of looking at the world.
- Give you the tools to understand the workings and history of political systems, international relations, conflict and cooperation in Britain, Europe and beyond.
- Help you develop good habits of self-management, independence and collaborative work.
Special features
Placement year option
Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks.
Study abroad
You may apply to spend one semester studying abroad during the second year of your degree. Exchange partners are offered in Europe, through the Erasmus Exchange scheme, or via the Worldwide Exchange scheme, in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong or Singapore.
Connect with like-minded students
Join the dedicated Politics and Modern History Society, which organises social events and invites a range of speakers to campus, or the History Society, which plays a key role in building a community among History students at Manchester by organising trips (in the UK and on the continent), hosting social events, and coordinating the student magazine, The Manchester Historian .
Teaching and learning
You will learn through:
- lectures;
- seminars;
- web-based seminars;
- small group tutorials.
You will spend approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions. For every hour spent at University, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of independent study. You will also need to study during the holiday periods.
We will encourage you to undertake supervised, independent study and original research at every level of the course.
The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, or revising for examinations.
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed in various ways, including:
- written and oral examinations;
- coursework essays;
- research reports;
- practical tests;
- learning logs;
- web contributions.
Many course units are assessed through a mixture of techniques.
In your final year, you will write a dissertation which provides 22% of the final mark.
Course content for year 1
Designed to assist students with the intellectual transition to university study, level 1 modules focus on introducing students to key conceptual and theoretical issues in relation to Politics and History. All students take History in Practice, in which students learn important skills in research and writing to equip them for historical study at university level, and compulsory modules in Politics that provide foundational understandings of key theoretical issues.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
History in Practice | HIST10101 | 20 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Comparative Politics | POLI10202 | 20 | Mandatory |
Introduction to International Politics | POLI10601 | 20 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Political Theory | POLI10702 | 20 | Mandatory |
From Reconstruction to Reagan: American History, 1877-1988 | AMER10002 | 20 | Optional |
Constructing Archaic Greek History | CAHE10011 | 20 | Optional |
From Republic to Empire: Introduction to Roman History, Society & Culture 218-31BC | CAHE10022 | 20 | Optional |
The Odyssey | CAHE10101 | 20 | Optional |
The Making of the Mediterranean | CAHE10132 | 20 | Optional |
Discoveries and Discoverers: Sights and Sites | CAHE10282 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 2
Modules become increasingly specialist and the programme offers significant choice and flexibility. Students get to choose between a History or a Politics Long Essay, which is an extended piece of coursework supervised on a one-to-one basis on a topic of the student's choice.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Work and Play in the USA, 1880-2010 | AMER20112 | 20 | Optional |
From Jamestown to James Brown: African-American History and Culture | AMER20141 | 20 | Optional |
American Civil War | AMER21001 | 20 | Optional |
The World of Late Antiquity: Europe and the Med from the Severan Dynasty to the Rise of Islam | CAHE20022 | 20 | Optional |
The Conquering Hero: The Life, Times and Legacy of Alexander The Great | CAHE20041 | 20 | Optional |
The Roman Empire 31BC - AD235: Rome's Golden Age | CAHE20051 | 20 | Optional |
Politics and Society in Classical Greece | CAHE20062 | 20 | Optional |
Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds (6th c. BCE - 3 c. CE) | CAHE20441 | 20 | Optional |
Roman Women in 22 Objects | CAHE20532 | 20 | Optional |
Introduction to the History and Culture of Pharaonic Egypt | CAHE21441 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
Students may specialise in the periods and subjects that they have found most interesting. Students get to choose between a History or a Politics Dissertation, which is an extended piece of coursework based on independent research and supervised on a one-to-one basis on a topic of the student's choice, which our students generally find to be the most enjoyable and fulfilling part of their studies.
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
The Visual Culture of US Empire | AMER30522 | 20 | Optional |
American Hauntings | AMER30811 | 20 | Optional |
Athens and Attica | CAHE30052 | 20 | Optional |
Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds (6th c. BCE - 3 c. CE) | CAHE30441 | 20 | Optional |
The Roman Army and the North-West Frontiers | CAHE30882 | 20 | Optional |
Egypt in the Graeco-Roman Worl | CAHE31401 | 20 | Optional |
Slavery in the Ancient Greek World | CAHE34501 | 20 | Optional |
Screening the Holocaust | GERM30481 | 20 | Optional |
Culture and Society in Germany 1871-1918 | GERM30722 | 20 | Optional |
London and Modernity 1880-1960 | HIST30102 | 20 | Optional |
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What our students say
Politics and History are subjects that fit together so well and overlap so often. The course at Manchester allows me to take modules in both disciplines and stretch myself in both subjects which I really enjoy. I love my degree and usually it's hard to get me to stop talking about some of the modules I study. The history department is a really comforting place where everyone can feel at home and I always feel really well taken care of. Muneera Lula, Politics with Modern History
Facilities
As a student in this historically rich city, you'll have the opportunity to draw on the abundant library, archive and museum holdings of the local area, including Chetham's Library, The Museum of Science and Industry, The People's History Museum and the Working Class Movement Library.
You'll also have access to one of only five National Research Libraries, including the special collections of The John Rylands Library, as well as the exclusive holdings of Manchester Museum.
The University of Manchester owns the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum and Tabley House, giving you unique access to outstanding cultural and historical resources.
For more information, see Facilities .