History

Understanding History helps us comprehend the complexities and conflicts of the world today and how our past shapes the present. The History program at Notre Dame offers an engaging and coordinated curriculum of real use to students in their professional lives. Students can apply skills learned in this course to gain employment in education, government, private industry or the public sector. The History program also provides an excellent pathway to postgraduate research opportunities, including a Diploma of Education (DipEd), Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Students of Notre Dame's History program have an opportunity to engage in exciting and unique opportunities which extend their learning experience and equip them with additional professional and life skills. A key component of the History program is an Internship in an area relevant to the student's interests. The internship may see a student placed in a parliamentary office, museum or library, or see conduct a research project for other professional organisations.		Back to Arts and Sciences Fremantle | Sydney
		Units eligible
		Special Interest Units
		Degree Planners
		Internships
		Study Abroad
		Experience the World
		Honours
		Double Degrees available
		Postgraduate Study

HISTORY PROJECTS

Our History Major has been designed with a careful eye to Australian standards and international best practice in teaching and learning. Students of our program are given opportunities to acquire highly relevant professional skills in communication, research and analytical thinking. These will be marketable skills for graduates to take into the modern economy. Our History Major offers many innovative experiences, including overseas study programs. Students can also expect to undertake modern and meaningful project work, including the production of podcasts, blogs and exhibitions, all of which can be added to a student's professional portfolio. For examples of student project work in the Notre Dame History Major, click here.

HISTORY UNITS

History units are run on a two-year rotation cycle and are streamed into the key areas of:

• Foundations of the ‘western tradition’
• Australian history and its theory and practice
• International histories of the modern age.

Eight approved units are required for a Major in History; six approved units are required for a Minor.

	First Year
	Students of the History Major and Minor must complete two foundation units in first year:
	HY1000	A History of Western Civilisation; and
	HY1001	Making Australian History
	Upper Years
	Students will then complete enough upper year units to complete a Major or Minor.  Popular units include the following:
	AY301	Maritime Archaeology: Ships and Harbours
	HY3001	Western Perspectives of a Nation
	HY3003	Modern America: From slave nation to superpower
	HY3004	British social & political history
	HY3005	Age of Empire and Revolution in Europe, 1789-1989
	HY3012	The History & Politics of Genocide
	HY3017	Screening History: The Politics of Moving Pictures
	HY3018	Australians and the Two World Wars
	HY3021	The History and Politics of South East Asia
	HY3022	The Modern Middle East
	HY3023	Making History and the Politics of the Past
	HY3024	The Tudors

To see the full list of available History units, and the requirements of your History Major or Minor, please see the 'Majors and Minors' document published on the School of Arts and Sciences homepage.

To check which units are available for current or future enrolments, please see our 'Units on Offer' booklet on the School of Arts and Sciences homepage.

SPECIAL INTEREST UNITS

The History Major and Minor offer unique opportunities for students to engage in work integrated learning and learning abroad.  Such units available to students in the History program include the following:

HY3008 History Internship
AL301 Experience the World overseas study tours

INTERNSHIPS

Students of a range of Arts Majors, including Politics, History, Communications, Legal Studies and Theatre Studies, may be eligible to conduct an Internship as part of their degree.  Offered in Semester Two each year, the Internship takes the place of one unit and places the student on location with government or private industry. Students can hope to acquire helpful professional skills as part of the Internship, apply the learning they have so far gained in their discipline area at University, and develop personal and professional networks which may assist them in future employment.

Contact the School of Arts and Sciences for further information.

STUDY ABROAD

The Study Abroad program allows Notre Dame’s History students to spend one semester of their degree at an overseas university in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe or Asia while gaining full credit in their degree at home.  Some students may be eligible for a Student Exchange Scholarship to help reduce the cost of airfares, accommodation and other expenses.

History and Politics students may be particularly interested in Boston College, considered to be one of the United States’ forty best universities; or the Catholic University of America in Washington.  Both Universities offer world class programs in History.

For more information please contact Notre Dame’s Study Abroad office.

EXPERIENCE THE WORLD

A variety of opportunities for extended scholarly and service learning exist for those students conducting a degree in Notre Dame’s School of Arts and Sciences.  Participation in these programs will provide students with additional professional and life skills that will not only enrich their learning experience at University, but will make their degree more marketable and attractive on completion.

History and Politics overseas study tours

Students of History and Politics can take advantage of Notre Dame’s overseas study tours and count the unit directly towards their degree Major or Minor. 

Notre Dame’s own lecturers take students to such overseas locations as New York, Spain and Washington for up to four weeks where an intensive study program is conducted regarding the History and Politics of the city or country being visited.  This program is often done in partnership with overseas universities and provides an amazing opportunity to combine study and travel.

Caritas Australia development program

We believe that university education should be about more than training for a profession.  Rather, we want Notre Dame students to be ready to change the world.

Students of Arts and Sciences at Notre Dame are eligible to participate in an overseas program we conduct each year in partnership with the aid organisation, Caritas Australia.  Teams of Notre Dame staff and students visit an overseas location such as Cambodia, Uganda or India. In an immersion experience of up to four weeks, the team explores the development work conducted by Caritas and studies, among other things, the intersection of poverty, development, politics and globalisation.

The Caritas program may be available as an elective within a degree program and may, on approval of the Dean, be counted towards a Major or Minor.

DEGREE PLANNERS

To review the content of a Bachelor of Arts, Behavioural Science, Communications, Counselling or Science, or to download the official course planner for your degree, please click here.

HONOURS

Students who have completed an Arts, Behavioural Science, Communications or Science degree, with at least a distinction average in their major, may be eligible to undertake a fourth year in the School’s Honours program.

Honours in History provides a professional finish to your undergraduate degree and should make your educational qualifications more competitive in the industry in which you hope to building your career.  Honours in History is also the normal pathway for higher degree research, including a Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Because of the unique nature of Notre Dame’s School of Arts and Sciences, students completing an Honours degree in History have the opportunity to develop an inter-disciplinary research project which may combine their work in History with such other disciplines as Politics, Archaeology, Social Justice and English Literature.

Students completing an Honours program in History will undertake a major research project under supervision, complete coursework in History or related units, participate in a regular interdisciplinary seminar series and contribute to a conference program regarding their research activities.

For further information on Honours please speak with any academic member of staff or contact the Honours coordinators in your School.

DOUBLE DEGREES

History combines well with the study of other degrees at Notre Dame.  A Bachelor of Arts, Arts (Politics and Journalism), Behavioural Science or Communications is often studied in combination with such professional degrees as Law, Education or Business.

Adding a History major, or other Arts and Sciences discipline areas, to your professional degree can add to your graduate employment opportunities, increase your learning experience at university and provide you with enhanced writing and research skills.

POSTGRADUATE DEGREES

Politics and International Relations, History, English Literature and a range of other discipline areas can be pursued in a Master of Arts (MA) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at Notre Dame.  For more information please contact your School or the University's Research Office.

Last updated: November 2011