BA (Hons) Military History

Program Overview

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Military History

Overview

The Military History program at Bishop Grosseteste University is designed to offer students a course of critical historical study with a significant focus on the scope and chronological development, experience, and impact of conflict from the medieval period through to the present day and across a breadth of geographical situations.

Course Details

• Award: BA (Hons)
• UCAS code: V101
• Duration: 3 years
• Mode of study: Full time
• Start date: September 2025
• Awarding institution: Bishop Grosseteste University
• Institution code: B38

Course Structure

The course is structured into three years, with a range of compulsory and optional modules.

Year 1

• The Historian’s Craft: Doing History at University
• War and Society
• The First World War
• The merrie folk of Late Medieval England: from king to the poorest widow
• Bows, Bayonets & Bullets: The Changing Face of Battle
• The Early Modern British Isles: From Reformation to Revolution
• At War with Itself: the United States from Civil Rights to Vietnam

Year 2

• Compulsory modules:
  • ‘War! What is it Good For?’: The Ethics of Conflict - Historical Perspectives
  • Soldiers, Sailors and Ships: Warfare in the long 19th Century
  • Invented Histories: Understanding Popular Representations of the Past
  • The Civilian in War: The British Home Front during the Second World War
  • Work Placement
• Optional modules:
  • Blitzkrieg: Armoured Warfare during the Second World War
  • Fighting Back: The History of (counter) insurgency
  • The Dark Arts: A History of Magic, Witchcraft and Folklore
  • The Transformation of the West, 300-900 CE
  • The City in Global History: The Rise of Urban Societies in the Modern Age
  • The Long Weekend: Britain between the wars
  • Creative Destruction: The Atlantic World in the 17th and 18th centuries

Year 3

• Compulsory modules:
  • Special Subject
  • ‘The Sun Never Set and the Blood Never Dried’: The British Empire in the 19th Century
  • Military History Dissertation
  • The Global Cold War
• Optional modules:
  • Into the Blue: War in the Air
  • Simulating War: The Military Entertainment Complex

Entry Requirements

• UCAS tariff points: 96-112
• Qualifications: A/AS Levels, BTEC, Access Courses, International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge Pre-U, Extended Project, etc.

Teaching and Assessment

• Teaching methods: Lectures, tutorials, seminars, practical workshops, coursework, and work-based placements
• Assessment methods: Essays, reports, presentations, written tests, and exams

Careers and Further Study

• Possible future careers: Armed Forces Officer, Intelligence Officer, civil service or security and policing, law and public policy, information research and management, journalism and publishing, or education
• Further study: Postgraduate degrees in related fields

Support

• Student Advice team: Available to guide students through all aspects of student finance
• Fees and funding: Information available on the university's website

Related Courses

• PGCE Secondary
• English and History with Foundation Year
• English and History
• Archaeology and History
• History
• Archaeology and History with Foundation Year
• History with Foundation Year
• Military History with Foundation Year
• Education Studies and History
• History and Theology, Philosophy & Ethics
• Education Studies and History with Foundation Year
• History and Theology, Philosophy & Ethics with Foundation Year

Program Outline

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Degree Overview:

It aims to equip you with a range of critical and analytical skills through a wide-ranging study of the incidence, formation, and operation of military institutions and organizational structures in naval, land-based, airborne, and civilian contexts.

• Equip you with independent research skills and the ability to construct and defend thought-provoking arguments.
• Offer a broad survey of the academic character and identity of military history.
• Introduce you to the wide range and origins of historical sources.
• Engage you in real historical research, working alongside academic staff and during your final year when working on your personal research-based dissertation.
• Deepen your understanding of specific approaches to historical study and widen your area of historical knowledge beyond Britain.

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Outline:

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Year 1:

• The Early Modern British Isles: From Reformation to Revolution
• The First World War
• The merrie folk of Late Medieval England: from king to the poorest widow 1000-1485
• War and Society
• Bows, Bayonets & Bullets: The Changing Face of Battle

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Year 2:

• British Army: Continuity & Change
• Invented Histories: Understanding Popular Representations of the Past
• Work Placement
• ‘War!
What is it Good For?’: The Ethics of Conflict - Historical Perspectives
• Soldiers, Sailors and Ships: Warfare in the long 19th Century
• The Civilian in War: The British Home Front during the Second World War

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Year 3:

• Blitzkrieg: Armoured Warfare during the Second World War
• Fighting Back: The history of (counter)insurgency
• Special Subject
• ‘The Sun Never Set and the Blood Never Dried’: The British Empire in the 19th Century
• The Global Cold War, 1945-1991
• Into the Blue: War in the Air
• Simulating War: The Military Entertainment Complex
• Military History Dissertation

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Assessment:

The program uses a mix of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical workshops, and field visits to support you in your learning.

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Teaching:

The program offers small group seminars and workshops to allow students to review issues raised in lectures and provides opportunities for independent study.

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Careers:

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Other:

The program also offers opportunities for students to engage in real-world research through work placements and their final year dissertation.