Military History

Military History - BA (Hons)

Undergraduate Open Day

Join us at our Canterbury campus on Saturday 22 April from 10:00 - 14:00 (BST). Hear from staff and students about our courses, find out about our accommodation and see our stunning campus for yourself.

Discover how conflict has shaped states, societies and economies across history. Explore what drives people to go to war, understand how technology and propaganda has changed warfare, and discover Kent’s role as ‘Britain’s frontline’.

Overview

Study war and its effects in the inspiring location of historic Canterbury, with Roman forts and Cold War nuclear bunkers on your doorstep, as well as the battlefields of the First and Second World Wars.

Explore hundreds of years of history, or focus on particular themes that fascinate you. Military History is so much more than just battle tactics; you'll take a journey through time from the fifth century to present day, and develop an understanding of the wider social, ethical and political contexts of warfare.

Why study Military History at Kent?

  • History at Kent is ranked 1st for research intensity in The Complete University Guide 2023.
  • Study in historic Canterbury: our campus overlooks the medieval city, home to UNESCO heritage sites of Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martins Church
  • Tailor your degree to your own interests: few core modules means you’re free to choose from our wide range of options across world history, or explore your passion and specialise
  • Access rare items at Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives: our own Special Collections archive contains over 150 items, as well as Canterbury Cathedral’s dedicated Library and Archives with materials dating to the 8th century
  • Get career-ready with a course that opens doors to a wide range of opportunities. Meet our graduates and find out more

What our students say

“It’s quite a small group compared to some other courses – there are only about 50 of us – which is one of the reasons I chose it; I love history and knew classes would be smaller doing this subject so you’d get more one-to-one teaching.”

Jenny Kent, BA Military History

What you'll study

A wide range of choice and only a few compulsory modules means you'll tailor your degree to your interests.

In your first year, you’ll be introduced to historiography, equipping you with the skills you need to study the subject at a higher level. You’ll also explore the British army since its formation.

A range of modules allows you to explore worldwide history from the fifth century to present day, from American civil war to the Wars of the Roses, and the Cold War to the Norman Conquest. In your second and third years you can delve into more specialist areas such from Communism to how the British media reports on war. You might also study abroad; a great opportunity to discover a new culture, showing future employers that can adapt to a new environment. Or you might do a placement year in industry.

In your final year, you complete a dissertation or extended essay in a subject of your choice, supported by a supervisor.

See the modules you'll study

It’s a great place to be, so if you’re thinking of coming, do it! 

Jenny Kent - Military History BA

Entry requirements

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.

  • medal-empty

    A level

    BBB

  • medal-empty Access to HE Diploma

    The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.

  • medal-empty BTEC Nationals

    The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further advice on your individual circumstances. A typical offer would be to achieve DMM in a humanities based subject.

  • medal-empty International Baccalaureate

    30 points overall or 15 points at HL.

  • medal-empty International Foundation Programme

    Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average including 60% in the History module.

  • medal-empty T level

    The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.

International students

If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.

Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.

Form

Register for email updates

Course structure

Duration: 3 years full-time (4 with a year abroad/placement year), 6 years part-time (7 with a year abroad/placement year)

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.  

On most programmes, you study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also be able to take ‘elective’ modules from other programmes so you can customise your programme and explore other subjects that interest you.

Fees

The 2023/24 annual tuition fees for this course are:

  • Home full-time £9,250
  • EU full-time £13,500
  • International full-time £18,000
  • Home part-time £4,625
  • EU part-time £6,750
  • International part-time £9,000

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Fees for year in industry

Fees for undergraduate students are £1,385.

Fees for year abroad

Fees for undergraduate students are £1,385.

Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.

Additional costs

Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.

Funding

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Search scholarships

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details. 

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. 

The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching is through a combination of lectures and seminars. Lectures are often used to provide the broad overview, while seminars focus on particular issues and are led by student presentations. Lectures and seminars use a variety of materials, including original documents, films and documentaries, illuminated manuscripts, and slide and PowerPoint demonstrations. Lectures usually last one hour and seminars are one or two hours, depending on the module.

The School of History uses a mixture of assessment patterns. The standard formats are 100% coursework or 60% examination and 40% coursework.

The School also has excellent student support arrangements. Alongside our Student Support Officer, each student is assigned an academic tutor. All module convenors keep regular office hours, and the School has a policy of returning at least one essay on each module in a one-to-one personal meeting, allowing for additional verbal feedback and discussion.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

  • place the study of war, in its historical and political contexts, at the centre of student learning and analysis
  • ensure that students understand modes of theory and analysis used in history and politics/IR and are aware of the differing and contested aspects of these disciplines
  • develop students' capacities to think critically about war in all its forms and interpretations
  • encourage students to relate the academic study of war to questions of public debate and concern
  • provide a curriculum supported by scholarship and research that promotes the breadth and depth of intellectual enquiry and debate
  • assist students to develop cognitive and transferable skills relevant to their vocational and personal development.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

  • how people have reacted to and conceived of war in differing contexts, past and present
  • the origins and development of warfare in human societies, the justifications for war and its outcomes
  • the structure, nature and operation of institutions and states in differing contexts, through the medium of warfare
  • the contestable nature of many interpretations of war, both from original sources and from contemporary academics and commentators
  • questions of genre, content, perspective and purpose within a range of historical and contemporary texts and materials
  • the problems inherent in the historical and contemporary record; awareness of a range of viewpoints, the limitations of knowledge, and the dangers of simplistic explanations
  • war from different perspectives within the disciplines of history and politics/IR
  • the social, political, cultural and military aspects of warfare
  • the power structures and impulses to use war as a form of human interaction.

Intellectual skills

You gain intellectual skills in the following areas:

  • how to gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of primary and secondary sources
  • the ability to identify, investigate and analyse primary and secondary information
  • how to develop reasoned arguments based on reflection, study and critical judgement
  • how to differentiate between arguments
  • the ability to reflect on and manage your own learning and make use of constructive feedback from peers and staff to enhance your own performance.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in the following:

  • the understanding of the nature of war and its significance as a global and historical human activity
  • the application of methods, concepts and theories used in the studies of history and politics/IR
  • the evaluation of different interpretations and sources
  • the ability to marshal an argument, and to summarise and defend a particular interpretation or analysis of events.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills in the following:

  • communication – the ability to organise information clearly; respond to written sources; present information orally; adapt style for different audiences; use images as a communications tool
  • numeracy – the ability to read graphs and tables; integrate numerical and non-numerical information; understand the limits and potentialities of arguments based on quantitative information
  • information technology – the ability to produce written documents; undertake online research; process information using databases and spreadsheets (where necessary)
  • independence of mind and initiative
  • self-discipline and self-motivation
  • the ability to work with others and have respect for others' reasoned views.

Independent rankings

History at Kent was ranked 1st for research intensity in The Complete University Guide 2023.

Of final-year History students who completed the National Student Survey 2022, 90% were satisfied with the quality of teaching on their course. 

Careers

Graduate destinations

Graduates have a wide range of career options, including:

  • journalism and the media
  • management and administration
  • the civil service and local government
  • museum and heritage management
  • law, commerce and banking
  • teaching and research
  • the armed services and defence analysis.

Many of our graduates choose to go on to further study at Master’s and PhD level.

Help finding a job

The School of History runs employability sessions to help you hone your job-hunting skills, and these include input from highly successful alumni.

The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:

  • apply for jobs
  • write a good CV
  • perform well in interviews.

Career-enhancing skills

You graduate with an excellent grounding in historical knowledge and become adept at:

  • research
  • analysing large quantities of information from often conflicting sources
  • assessing complex arguments.

To help you appeal to employers, you learn key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates. These include the ability to:

  • think critically
  • communicate your ideas and opinions
  • manage your time effectively
  • work independently or as part of a team.

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.

Apply for Military History - BA (Hons)

If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.

Find out more about how to apply

All applicants

International applicants

Apply now for part-time study

Military History - BA (Hons) - part-time at Canterbury

Contact us

bubble-text

United Kingdom/EU enquiries

Enquire online for full-time study

Enquire online for part-time study

T: +44 (0)1227 768896

earth

International student enquiries

Enquire online

T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk

network

School website

School of History

Discover Uni information

Full-time
Part-time

Discover Uni is designed to support prospective students in deciding whether, where and what to study. The site replaces Unistats from September 2019.

Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.

It includes:

  • Information and guidance about higher education
  • Information about courses
  • Information about providers

Find out more about the Unistats dataset on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website.