Program Overview

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Why do some people want to pull down statues, while others call this vandalism? What’s the difference between finding new ways to look at the past, and rewriting history? Is it possible to tread a line between these opposing views on history and heritage? On our BA History and Heritage, you will learn about the social and political forces that shape encounters with history in everyday life and the history behind the heritage. This innovative programme, incorporating history, art history, and museum studies, approaches the past from many different angles. You can choose to study the history of different times and places, from Tudor England to Nazi Germany, from Mao’s China to today’s multicultural Britain. Alongside history modules, you will learn about ethical and legal debates on heritage, how heritage is preserved, communicated, and displayed, and what heritage means to different communities. In your final year, you will have the opportunity to produce a form of history designed to communicate with wider publics – a great addition to your CV if you want to work in the heritage sector. With this BA in History and Heritage, you will look at the world through fresh eyes – and find out how to show that new world to other people. You have the flexibility to choose from a wide range of optional modules about subjects close to home and further afield, including:

• Global histories
• Mass immigration to Britain throughout history
• Curatorial studies
• Art and media in the digital age
• History and education

You are taught by award-winning academics from all over the world: our corridors are truly cosmopolitan. We also provide you with opportunities to explore local history and have close ties with the Essex Record Office, one of the best county record offices in the UK. Our students love us too – 92% of our History students expressed overall satisfaction with their course (NSS 2020). Why we're great.

• Our History team specialises in public history and we have links with numerous local archives. Innovation of historical representation and engagement with communities will be at the forefront of your studies.
• Our Colchester Campus is home to ESCALA, a collection of over 750 pieces of art from Latin America, while Art Exchange is an on-site gallery which has hosted many prestigious touring exhibitions and events.
• We offer financial assistance for voluntary work at local museums, archives and heritage sites.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

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Placement year

When you arrive at Essex, you can decide whether you would like to combine your course with a placement year. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre. If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

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Our expert staff

Our history staff are among world leaders in their field, and our enthusiasm for our subject is infectious. Our flexible course is combined with a supportive structure which helps you to pursue the modules best-suited to your interests. We take the time to get to know you as an individual, welcome you into our scholarly community, and value your views. Our teaching and research concentrates on the period from 1500 to the present and covers a wide geographical area that includes British and European history, as well as Latin America, the USA, China, Russia and Africa. Our Art History staff consists of a dynamic group of art historians, curators, and heritage specialists. While our research interests span a range of cultures and media, from the early modern to the present, core specialties include exhibition design, modern and contemporary art, digital heritage, public engagement and activism.

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Specialist facilities

At Essex, you have the best of both worlds: on the one hand, you are part of a tight-knit, campus community with close ties to several small but excellent museums and heritage sites in the nearby town of Colchester (‘Britain’s First City’); on the other hand, you can travel from campus to London in an hour, which puts the world’s best museums, galleries, and heritage sites at your fingertips; Our facilities enable you to gain curatorial experience, engage in object-based learning, and learn digital skills, a cornerstone of our approach to heritage and museums. We have close links with many of cultural sites and institutions in Colchester, including the iconic Firstsite gallery, which support hands-on activities and your practical learning. Our Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA) is the most comprehensive Latin American art research resource in the UK and has a state-of-the-art teaching and research space. Many of our students gain work and research experience through our collection. Our onsite gallery Art Exchange runs an ongoing programme of contemporary art exhibitions and talks by curators and artists, as well as exhibitions organised by our postgraduate curatorial students. Colchester’s iconic Firstsite gallery features an exciting programme of contemporary art exhibitions, film screenings and talks, and exhibitions organised by our curatorial students. Our Centre for Curatorial Studies is home to staff who specialise in the history of exhibition design and curate high profile exhibitions.

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Your future

In addition to the opportunity to learn about the past and come to a better understanding of the present, a course in history also provides you with important skills that will be of value after leaving university. You learn to absorb, analyse and assess a wide variety of information and viewpoints, to express your arguments in oral and written form, and to think and work both independently and in co-operation with others. You therefore graduate prepared for a wide range of careers. Our graduates have gone on to have careers in a wide variety of fields including:

teaching

librarianship

museum and archive services

the Civil Service

local government

law enforcement

charity administration

Others have proceeded to work in banking, industrial and retail management, media research, electronic publishing, marketing, IT, health service administration, counselling and social work, while others still have chosen to enhance their career opportunities by studying for MA or PhD degrees. Some of our recent graduates have found employment as:

a warden for the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle

a planning support officer for a local council

a senior underwriting assistant at CNA Insurance Company Limited

a researcher at the House of Commons

a graduate trainee for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew

a library assistant for the University of Cambridge

We also work with the university's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.