History and Economics

Discover a thousand years of history whilst experiencing all the specialist areas on offer at the University of Reading. The Department of History's expertise covers a wide range of regions, from Europe and Africa to America, South Asia and the Middle East. Module choices cover diverse periods and topics, from the Crusades to Cold War Berlin and from Medieval Magic to the Rwanda Crisis. In the latest National Student Survey, 98% of our students said teaching staff are good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2025, 98% of responders from the Department of History). 100% of our research is of international standing (REF 2021, combining 4*, 3* and 2* submissions – History). In your first year, your core modules will explore people, politics, and revolution - finding out how people struggled for power in past societies - and the culture and concepts those societies developed. We will teach you the skills you need to study and research history through an individual project of your choice. This joint degree enables you to address contemporary issues and trace them back to their historical roots. With the Department of Economics, you will study practical issues and explore the relationship between economics and society. This course places less emphasis on mathematical and statistical content, and instead you will focus on the relevance of these techniques to applied problems. You will still learn necessary maths skills in your core modules, but extensive support is available should you need it. Your core modules span a number of topics including business, policy, economic history and even the economics of climate change.