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Last updated

5 Mar 2025

History

Course overview

UCAS code: V100
Entrance requirements: AAA
Course duration: 3 years (BA)

Subject requirements

Required subjects: Not applicable
Recommended subjects: History
Helpful subjects: Not applicable

Other course requirements

Admissions tests: None in 2025
Written Work: One piece

Admissions statistics*

Interviewed: 73%
Successful: 23%
Intake: 212
^{*3-year average 2022-24}

Contact

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 615000
Email: undergraduate.admissions@history.ox.ac.uk

Unistats information for this course can be found at the bottom of the page

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small.

About the course

Oxford’s History course combines the examination of large regions over extended periods of time with more focused work on smaller social groups, shorter periods and particular themes. It provides a distinctive education by developing an awareness of the differing political, cultural, social and economic structures within past societies and how they interrelate.

The course combines vigorous debate over questions of interpretation with rigorous attention to source material, while the constant enrichment by cross-fertilisation from other disciplines leads to new questions about the past.

Oxford is celebrated for the broad chronological sweep of its courses and the enormous amount of choice offered. Students can study options on any part of British and European history from the declining years of the Roman Empire to the present day.

The geographical range is also broad: there are options on North American, Latin American, Asian and African history (visit the department website for further details).

Students are encouraged to adopt a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to their work, and the faculty is strong on intellectual and cultural history options. The Oxford History Faculty is at the forefront of research.

Oxford also possesses exceptional library provision for History in:

the Bodleian Library
the History Faculty Library
The Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library
The Weston Library’s special collections

'In the past year I’ve studied a wide range of topics on aspects of history I’d never even considered before, spanning from monasticism in the 11th Century to the French Revolution and Napoleon. I also did some papers in sociology and art history, which helped me find new perspectives and ways to approach my work. I love the diversity of my courses, and the fact I have control over every term’s study. The tutors are flexible too, meaning I can choose essays on topics which interest me. The library provision for History is amazing: wherever I work, I feel like I’m inside a historical attraction rather than just reading about them!'

Christy

'The best thing about my course is the freedom. Right from the start I was given the choice of 7 different time periods, and since then have had the opportunity to study a range of topics and periods, finding out what I like most. One term, I was studying Europe and the world in the 19th Century, the next I was doing a source-based module on medieval crime and punishment. It's so great to have the freedom to pursue my own interests, and gives me a real sense of control over my studies. Plus, the tutors are fantastic (not as scary as I'd imagined!) and genuinely consider my thoughts and ideas, despite knowing so much about the topic themselves!'

Chloe

Unistats information

Discover Uni course data provides applicants with Unistats statistics about undergraduate life at Oxford for a particular undergraduate course.

Please select 'see course data' to view the full Unistats data for History.

Please note that there may be no data available if the number of course participants is very small.

Visit the Studying at Oxford section of this page for a more general insight into what studying here is likely to be like.

History

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Structure

A typical week

During the first year, you will be expected to attend around five lectures each week, participate in regular meetings with tutors to discuss work, conduct independent research and write at least one essay a week.

In the second and third years you will have the opportunity to choose from an enormous variety of lectures, and your regular tutorials will be supplemented by faculty classes where you will discuss work with a larger number of students.

The third-year thesis will give you the opportunity to engage in a piece of independent research. Generally students are very much in charge of their own timetable throughout their course.

Tutorials are usually 2-4 students and a tutor. Class sizes may vary depending on the options you choose. There would usually be no more than around 12 students although the more popular classes may include up to 30 students.

Most tutorials, classes, and lectures are delivered by staff who are tutors in their subject. Many are world-leading experts with years of experience in teaching and research. Some teaching may also be delivered by postgraduate students who are usually studying at doctoral level.

To find out more about how our teaching year is structured, visit our Academic Year page.

Course structure

Year 1

Courses	Assessment
Four courses are taken: History of the British Isles European and world history Historical methods (choice of Approaches to history; Historiography: Tacitus to Weber; Quantification in History; one of several foreign text papers) Optional subject (choice of around 20 including: Theories of the state; Conquest and Colonization: Spain and America in the 16th Century; The rise and crises of European socialisms, 1881–1921; Haiti and Louisiana: The Problem of Revolution in the Age of Slavery; When Neighbours became Strangers: Violence, Community and Identity in Late Ottoman Syria, c. 1840-1900)	First University examinations: four timed, written papers.

Courses

Assessment

Four courses are taken:

History of the British Isles
European and world history
Historical methods (choice of Approaches to history; Historiography: Tacitus to Weber; Quantification in History; one of several foreign text papers)
Optional subject (choice of around 20 including: Theories of the state; Conquest and Colonization: Spain and America in the 16th Century; The rise and crises of European socialisms, 1881–1921; Haiti and Louisiana: The Problem of Revolution in the Age of Slavery; When Neighbours became Strangers: Violence, Community and Identity in Late Ottoman Syria, c. 1840-1900)

First University examinations: four timed, written papers.

Years 2 and 3

Courses	Assessment
Six courses are taken: History of the British Isles European and world history Further subject (choice of about 35, including: The Crusades, c. 1095-1291; Transformations and Transitions in African History since c.1800; The Middle East in the age of empire, 1830–71; The authority of nature: race, heredity and crime, 1800–1940; Culture, politics and identity in Cold War Europe, 1945–68; America's Hidden Empire: Soft Power and US Influence during the Cold War) Special subject: a paper and an extended essay (choice of about 30, including: On the Road to Baghdad (892–1055); Politics, art and culture in the Italian Renaissance, Venice and Florence, c1475–1525; The Scientific Movement in the 17th Century; The Peasants’ War of 1525; Race, religion and resistance in the US, from Jim Crow to Civil Rights; Revolutions of 1989; The End of Empire: The Collapse of Soviet Order in Eurasia; From Gandhi to the Green Revolution: India, independence and modernity, 1947–73; Nazi Germany, a racial order, 1933–45; The Northern Ireland troubles, 1965–85) Disciplines of history Thesis For the latest information on all course details and options visit the History website.	Final University examinations: five written papers; one extended essay; one thesis; an additional thesis may be offered.

Courses

Assessment

Six courses are taken:

History of the British Isles
European and world history
Further subject (choice of about 35, including: The Crusades, c. 1095-1291; Transformations and Transitions in African History since c.1800; The Middle East in the age of empire, 1830–71; The authority of nature: race, heredity and crime, 1800–1940; Culture, politics and identity in Cold War Europe, 1945–68; America's Hidden Empire: Soft Power and US Influence during the Cold War)
Special subject: a paper and an extended essay (choice of about 30, including: On the Road to Baghdad (892–1055); Politics, art and culture in the Italian Renaissance, Venice and Florence, c1475–1525; The Scientific Movement in the 17th Century; The Peasants’ War of 1525; Race, religion and resistance in the US, from Jim Crow to Civil Rights; Revolutions of 1989; The End of Empire: The Collapse of Soviet Order in Eurasia; From Gandhi to the Green Revolution: India, independence and modernity, 1947–73; Nazi Germany, a racial order, 1933–45; The Northern Ireland troubles, 1965–85)
Disciplines of history
Thesis

For the latest information on all course details and options visit the History website.

Final University examinations: five written papers; one extended essay; one thesis; an additional thesis may be offered.

The content and format of this course may change in some circumstances. Read further information about potential course changes.

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Admissions Requirements Previous
Overview

Academic requirements

Qualification	Requirement
A-levels:	AAA
Advanced Highers:	AA/AAB
International Baccalaureate (IB):	38 (including core points) with 666 at HL
Any other equivalent qualification:	View information on other UK qualifications, and international qualifications.

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they have been achieved.

Read further information on how we use contextual data.

Subject requirements

Recommended:	It is highly recommended for candidates to have History to A-level, Advanced Higher, Higher Level in the IB or another equivalent.

If a practical component forms part of any of your science A‐levels used to meet your offer, we expect you to pass it.

If English is not your first language you may also need to meet our English language requirements.

Astrophoria Foundation Year

If you’re interested in studying History but your personal or educational circumstances have meant you are unlikely to achieve the grades typically required for Oxford courses, then applying for the course with a Foundation Year might be right for you.

Visit our Foundation Year course pages for more details.

Applying

All candidates must follow the application procedure as shown on our Applying to Oxford pages.

The following information gives specific details for students applying for this course.

Admissions test

You do not need to take a written test as part of an application for this course in 2025.

Written work

Description:	All candidates for History courses are required to send in an argument-driven essay on a historical topic, written as part of their normal school or college work. Please do not send work that requires the assessor to read any source material; avoid source analyses or commentaries. The essay should be a maximum of 2000 words. Extracts from longer essays or pieces of project work are permissible, but should be selected so that they can stand alone and show the candidate's ability to make an argument. Please do remember to include the question which the essay is seeking to answer. If these requirements cause any problems, please contact the Tutor for Admissions at your college of preference. Note that in selecting work for submission you should choose a piece which has enthused you and on which you are willing to talk. Do not worry if you have changed your mind on the topic since writing it. Tutors are impressed by candidates who remain intellectually engaged with their work. Written work must be accompanied by a signed certificate (confirmed by the school or college) stating the circumstances under which the work was written.
Deadline:	10 November 2025

Description:

All candidates for History courses are required to send in an argument-driven essay on a historical topic, written as part of their normal school or college work. Please do not send work that requires the assessor to read any source material; avoid source analyses or commentaries.

The essay should be a maximum of 2000 words. Extracts from longer essays or pieces of project work are permissible, but should be selected so that they can stand alone and show the candidate's ability to make an argument. Please do remember to include the question which the essay is seeking to answer.

If these requirements cause any problems, please contact the Tutor for Admissions at your college of preference.

Note that in selecting work for submission you should choose a piece which has enthused you and on which you are willing to talk. Do not worry if you have changed your mind on the topic since writing it. Tutors are impressed by candidates who remain intellectually engaged with their work.

Written work must be accompanied by a signed certificate (confirmed by the school or college) stating the circumstances under which the work was written.

Deadline:

10 November 2025

Visit our further guidance on the submission of written work for more information, and to download a cover sheet.

What are tutors looking for?

Tutors are looking for intellectual curiosity as well as a flexible approach to engaging with unfamiliar concepts or arguments and an enthusiasm for history.

If you are shortlisted, you may be asked to discuss your submitted written work and personal statement during interview. Candidates may also be asked to read and talk about a short passage as part of the interview.

Visit the History website for more detail on the selection criteria for this course.

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Careers Previous
Structure

Note: These annual fees are for full-time students who begin this undergraduate course here in 2025. Course fee information for courses starting in 2026 will be updated in September.

We don't want anyone who has the academic ability to get a place to study here to be held back by their financial circumstances. To meet that aim, Oxford offers one of the most generous financial support packages available for UK students and this may be supplemented by support from your college.

Fees

Fee status	Annual Course fees
Home	£9,535
Overseas	£41,130

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

For more information please refer to our course fees page. Fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on likely increases to fees and charges.

Living costs

Living costs at Oxford might be less than you’d expect, as our world-class resources and college provision can help keep costs down.

Living costs for the academic year starting in 2025 are estimated to be between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month you are in Oxford. Our academic year is made up of three eight-week terms, so you would not usually need to be in Oxford for much more than six months of the year but may wish to budget over a nine-month period to ensure you also have sufficient funds during the holidays to meet essential costs. For further details please visit our living costs webpage.

Financial support

Home

A tuition fee loan is available from the UK government to cover course fees in full for Home (UK, Irish nationals and other eligible students with UK citizens' rights - see below*) students undertaking their first undergraduate degree**, so you don’t need to pay your course fees up front.

In 2025 Oxford is offering one of the most generous bursary packages of any UK university to Home students with a family income of around £50,000 or less, with additional opportunities available to UK students from households with incomes of £32,500 or less. The UK government also provides living costs support to Home students from the UK and those with settled status who meet the residence requirements.

*For courses starting on or after 1 August 2021, the UK government has confirmed that EU, other EEA, and Swiss Nationals will be eligible for student finance from the UK government if they have UK citizens’ rights (i.e. if they have pre-settled or settled status, or if they are an Irish citizen covered by the Common Travel Area arrangement). The support you can access from the government will depend on your residency status.

See further details.

Islands
(Channel Islands and Isle of Man)

Islands students are entitled to different support to that of students from the rest of the UK.

Please refer the links below for information on the support to you available from your funding agency:

States of Jersey
States of Guernsey
Isle of Man

Overseas

Please refer to the "Other Scholarships" section of our Oxford Bursaries and Scholarships page.

**If you have studied at undergraduate level before and completed your course, you will be classed as an Equivalent or Lower Qualification student (ELQ) and won’t be eligible to receive government or Oxford funding

Fees, Funding and Scholarship search

Additional Fees and Charges Information for History

There are no compulsory costs for this course beyond the fees shown above and your living costs.

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Studying at Oxford Previous
Careers

Contextual information

Unistats course data from Discover Uni provides applicants with statistics about a particular undergraduate course at Oxford. For a more holistic insight into what studying here is likely to be like, please view the information below and explore our website more widely.

The Oxford tutorial

College tutorials are central to teaching at Oxford. Typically, they take place in your college and are led by your academic tutor(s) who teach as well as do their own research. Students will also receive teaching in a variety of other ways, depending on the course. This will include lectures and classes, and may include laboratory work and fieldwork. However, tutorials offer a level of personalised attention from academic experts unavailable at most universities.

During tutorials (normally lasting an hour), college subject tutors will give you and one or two tutorial partners feedback on prepared work and cover a topic in depth. The other student(s) in your tutorials will typically be doing the same course as you and covering the same topic. Such regular and rigorous academic discussion develops and facilitates learning in a way that isn’t possible through lectures alone. Tutorials also allow for close progress monitoring so tutors can quickly provide additional support if necessary.

College life

Our colleges are at the heart of Oxford’s reputation as one of the best universities in the world.

At Oxford, everyone is a member of a college as well as their subject department(s) and the University. Students therefore have both the benefits of belonging to a large, renowned institution and to a small and friendly academic community. Each college or hall is made up of academic and support staff, and students. Colleges provide a safe, supportive environment leaving you free to focus on your studies, enjoy time with friends and make the most of the huge variety of opportunities.
Each college has a unique character, but generally their facilities are similar. Each one, large or small, will have the following essential facilities:
- Porters’ lodge (a staffed entrance and reception)
- Dining hall
- Lending library (often open 24/7 in term time)
- Student accommodation
- Tutors’ teaching rooms
- Chapel and/or music rooms
- Laundry
- Green spaces
- Common room (known as the JCR).
All first-year students are offered college accommodation either on the main site of their college or in a nearby college annexe. This means that your neighbours will also be ‘freshers’ and new to life at Oxford. This accommodation is guaranteed, so you don’t need to worry about finding somewhere to live after accepting a place here, all of this is organised for you before you arrive.
All colleges offer at least one further year of accommodation and some offer it for the entire duration of your degree. You may choose to take up the option to live in your college for the whole of your time at Oxford, or you might decide to arrange your own accommodation after your first year – perhaps because you want to live with friends from other colleges.
While college academic tutors primarily support your academic development, you can also ask their advice on other things. Lots of other college staff including welfare officers help students settle in and are available to offer guidance on practical or health matters. Current students also actively support students in earlier years, sometimes as part of a college ‘family’ or as peer supporters trained by the University’s Counselling Service.

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