History: What Do You Really Study?
Events, ideas and everyday life from the past - to understand how societies change and how the world we live in was created.
What Do You Study in History? Core Subjects, Year by Year
What do the degree courses cover?
Open a course to learn about its main topics and see what the work looks like in practice.
What do you learn in the course?Introduction to history?
The course presents what historians study and how they build an explanation of the past from partial evidence. You learn to distinguish between a primary source and later research, to ask who created each source and in what context, and to identify differences in interpretation.
Main topics
- primary and secondary sources
- Time, change and continuity
- causality and explanation
- Interpretation and historiography
What does it look like in practice?
For example, compare a personal diary, a law and an article from the same period to understand why they tell different stories about the same event.
What do you learn in the course?ancient times?
Learn about societies and countries in the ancient world through texts, inscriptions, coins and material finds. They deal with political structure, religion, economy and everyday life and find out how to study periods when the sources are few and unequal.
Main topics
- Greece and Rome or other ancient civilizations
- State, Citizenship and Empire
- Religion, society and economy
- Texts and archaeological finds
What does it look like in practice?
For example, a political speech is read alongside an address and an urban finding to check who is considered a citizen and who remains outside the community.
What do you learn in the course?the middle ages?
The course examines the world between antiquity and modern times and not just Europe. You learn about government and religion, cities and trade, relations between communities and social changes through chronicles, certificates and legal texts.
Main topics
- Church, religion and government
- Feudalism and social structures
- Cities, trade and immigration
- A meeting between cultures and communities
What does it look like in practice?
For example, a contract, chronicle, and trade map are used to reconstruct how a city grew and who benefited from the change.
What do you learn in the course?Historical reading and writing?
Learn to read historical research critically and write an argument based on sources. Identifying the research question, evaluating evidence, constructing paragraphs, footnotes and bibliography are practiced.
Main topics
- Dismantling a research argument
- Evaluation of source and context
- Building a claim and a paragraph
- Citation, footnotes and editing
What does it look like in practice?
For example, write a short analysis of a source in which each claim interprets a detail from the text and is not content with summarizing its content.
What do you learn in the course?the new era?
The course deals with wide-ranging changes from the Renaissance and revolutions to industrialization, the nation state and the modern world. Examining how politics, economics, science and empire changed everyday life and power relations.
Main topics
- Renaissance, Reformation and Revolutions
- Enlightenment and the modern state
- Industrialization, status and urbanization
- Imperialism and Globalization
What does it look like in practice?
For example, we analyze how a new factory simultaneously changed work, family, the city and the political debate.
Frequently Asked Questions About History
Is a degree in History difficult?
There is no single answer — difficulty depends on your background, the institution, and your chosen study pace. According to this site's estimate, The degree has a relatively small quantitative component, so mathematics is usually not the main obstacle, and a large share of the reading material is in English. A good way to assess fit is to review the course map on this page: if most of the subjects interest you, the effort will usually feel worthwhile.
How long does a degree in History take?
Usually 3 years (Single-major, double-major, or regional/period track). Exact duration varies by institution and depends on course load and the track you choose.
History or Philosophy — which is right for me?
The degrees most closely related to History are Philosophy, Archaeology, and Sociology and Anthropology. Their differences are usually in emphasis rather than the overall subject, so the fastest way to decide is to compare their course maps — what you actually study in each program, year by year. You can also open the degree comparison tool to view the differences side by side.
What do you do with a history degree?
The skills — research, source analysis and writing — are valued in many fields: editing and content, journalism, public policy and diplomacy, archives and museums, teaching, law school, and business research.
Is history worth studying alongside another subject?
That is the common and smart path: combining with law, political science, economics or education gives both intellectual depth and a clear professional direction. History alone mainly suits those aiming at academia or teaching.
What do the studies actually look like?
Lots of reading — primary sources and scholarship — and essay writing. No math. If you love reading and building an argument from evidence, you will enjoy it; if you prefer problem sets and exams, less so.
Where can you study this?
History is taught at every university, usually as part of a two-subject or liberal-arts degree. Strong programs emphasize working with primary sources and serious research writing.