Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• To provide students with an intellectually-stimulating environment within which they can develop knowledge, understanding and skills in both History and Geography.
• To encourage a sense of enthusiasm for History and Geography; to foster critical, creative and independent thinking; and to develop a sensitive and disciplined approach.
• To stimulate productive reflection on the similarities and differences between modes of study in both subjects.
• To develop competence and practical skills which are transferable to a wide range of professions and employment as well as life experiences.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

• QAA History Benchmark Statement
• QAA Geography Benchmark Statement

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the idea of academic disciplines as dynamic, plural and contested; developed within the broader framework of the social sciences and humanities;
• the potential applications of concepts within a broader critical framework;
• the main methodologies used in the analysis and interpretation of texts, other sources and data;

and within the History portion of the programme:

• past societies and historical processes over a chronological and geographical range;
• the use of primary evidence in historical argument;
• History as an academic discipline, its schools of interpretations, and the variety of methodological approaches and theoretical foundations;

and within the Geography portion of the programme:

• a range of environments, in the broadest sense, of environmental processes and the impacts of these processes on human activities and vice versa;
• the ways in which representations and interpretations of the world are socially-constructed, and the forms of geographical difference;
• the determinants of temporal and spatial variation in the physical, social, economic and political worlds; and the significance of spatial and temporal scale on physical processes, human processes and on their interactions;
• past patterns of environmental and social changes, and of the processes and conditions that have determined those changes, and the implications for the future.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate a reflexive approach to learning;
2. abstract and synthesise information;
3. assess the merits of contrasting theories, explanations and arguments;
4. critically evaluate and interpret a range of evidence, including texts, other sources and data;
5. undertake problem-solving and decision-making;
6. develop a reasoned argument;
7. solve problems with imagination and creativity;

additionally, within the History portion of the programme:

1. appreciate the complexities and diversity of past events and mentalities;
2. show a critical awareness of the problems inherent in historical sources and in interpreting the past;

and within the Geography portion of the programme:

1.  recognise and critically debate the moral and ethical issues underpinning particular geographical debates or enquiries;
2.  appreciate the importance of geographical scale to understanding physical, natural and social environments.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1. combine and interpret different types of evidence;
2. design and execute a piece of research and produce a report;

additionally, within the History portion of the programme:

3. present cogent and persuasive arguments in oral, written and practical form;
4. critically assess the effectiveness and value of a wide range of oral, written and performed communications;
5. locate and retrieve information using a variety of research methods;

additionally, within the Geography portion of the programme:

6. undertake safe and effective field and laboratory work;
7. employ a range of survey skills for the collection of qualitative and quantitative data and to use appropriate methods for the analysis of these data;
8. prepare effective maps and diagrams using a range of appropriate technologies.

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should have:

1. Verbal and written communication skills.
2. Numeracy and computational skills.
3. Field and laboratory skills.
4. Spatial awareness and observational skills.
5. IT and information handling and retrieval.
6. Independent study and group work.
7. Time management
8. Creativity and intellectual maturity. 

4. Programme structure

(1)       Modules with a total modular weight of 60 must be studied in each academic year (Parts A, B and C) from both History and Geography.

(2)       Candidates must take at least 20 credits in History and 20 credits in Geography in each Semester.

(3)       Candidates must take a total modular weight of 120 in each Part with a minimum module weight of 50 in each semester, taking into account both compulsory and optional modules.

(A)       Part A - Introductory Modules

History Component

Semester 1

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 30)

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES None

Semester 2

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 30)

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES None

Geography Component

Semester 1

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 30)

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES

None

Semester 2

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 30)

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES

None

(B)       Part B - Degree Modules

History Component

Semester 1

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES

None. 

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES (total modular weight 30)

Semester 2

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES

None

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES (total modular weight 30)

Geography Component                                 

Semesters 1 and 2

(i)        COMPULSORY MODULES

None

(ii)        OPTIONAL MODULES

Candidates must choose a combined modular weight of 60 from Geography modules over semesters 1 and 2, of which a minimum of 40 must be from Group 1.  Fieldcourse modules GYB328 and GYB901 in Group 2 are mutually exclusive.

Geography – Group 1 

Semester 1

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES None

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES

Geography – Group 2

Semester 2

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES None 

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES

Geography – Group 2

(C)  Part I

Candidates following the four-year programme follow an approved course of study at a foreign university where teaching is in English leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI. 

Candidates following the four-year thick sandwich programme are required to spend the third academic year (Part I) undertaking an approved placement in the UK or abroad leading to the Diploma in Professional Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation X1. Participation in a placement is subject to Departmental approval and satisfactory academic performance during Parts A and B.

(D) Part C - Degree Modules

Semesters 1 and 2

Candidates must take EITHER the EUC701 Dissertation in History OR GYC400 Geography Dissertation. 

History Component

Semester 1

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES

None

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES

Candidates must choose History modules to the value of 60 credits the following list:

Candidates who have chosen to take EUC701 Dissertation in History (40 credits) must take a further 20 credits of History optional modules. Candidates who have chosen GYC400 Geography Dissertation must choose 60 credits of History optional modules.

Geography Component

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES

None

(ii) OPTIONAL MODULES

Candidates must choose a combined modular weight of 60 from Geography modules over semesters 1 and 2. GYC400 and GYC401 (instances 1 & 2) are mutually exclusive, as are GYC400 and fieldcourse modules GYC308, GYC903 and GYC908.

Semester 1

Semester 2

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 In order to progress from Part A to Part B, from Part B to C, and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must not only satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX but must also achieve a module mark of at least 30% in all modules in each Part.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C. The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40%, Part C 60% to determine the final programme percentage mark.