Our undergraduate programmes range from the middle ages to modern and contemporary times, covering Maltese and international history, including a significant component of Mediterranean history that reflects one of the department’s traditional distinguishing marks. Hands-on historical research forms an integral part of students’ preparation, with elements of individual or group-based research. Honours students write a substantial dissertation under one-to-one guided supervision.
We offer two undergraduate degree programmes. One is the traditional History programme, which combines Maltese and international history. The other is European and Global History, which does not feature Maltese history, but contains a stronger element of global history. Most study-units on international history are common to both programmes.
Our Department offers full encouragement to student mobility through exchanges.
The principal objectives of our undergraduate programmes are to:
At graduate level we offer research-based M.A. and Ph.D. programmes.
Thanks to the Department’s ethos and focus, our graduates are well equipped for a wide variety of careers. Traditionally, history graduates sought avenues such as the public service or teaching, and some still do so successfully. However, increasingly students are today moving into different career sectors, such as diplomacy, the media, heritage, tourism, management and a wide variety of others, as employers recognise the rigorous training that the discipline entails and the skills it imparts. The knowledge-backed understanding of the world we live in equip students in particular for examinations leading to jobs connected with the foreign service, the European Union, and international agencies.
The B.A. and B.A.(Hons) courses extend over a period of three years of full-time study. Students opting for the B.A. course, with History as a principal component, are expected to have obtained a minimum of 80 credits in that area by the end of the course, of which at least 26 are taken during the first year, 26 during the second year, and 28 during the third year.
The first year of the B.A.(Hons) course is identical to the first year of the B.A. course. During the second year, students are expected to obtain a minimum of 46 credits in History and during the third year, a minimum of 60 credits. These 60 credits include 24 credits which are offered as follows:
The courses are divided into two types of study-units: core or Compulsory units, and Electives. Between them the two programmes offer a wide choice of electives, covering European, Maltese, and world history, as can be seen in the prospectus. Get to know more.
The main aim of this programme of study is to enable students to gain a deep understanding of the history of Malta, set within its international context. It aims to deliver a structured programme of learning through which a student with little or no knowledge of History will be able to build up their expertise. In order to properly appreciate Maltese history, one needs to do so within a strong contextual framework that takes into consideration historical developments as well as historiographical practices. Key international debates such as encounters or clashes of civilization, imperialism and postcolonialism, and much else will be addressed through the Maltese example by placing them in a context of engagements with other countries and cultures. The first semester of the first year of study will be designed in such a manner as to provide a framework for the rest of the programme, both in terms of content, as well as methodology.
Through this programme of study students will come to understand that History is far more than names, dates, rulers and wars. History is the study of human beings in time, across time and in various places. It seeks meaning in events and developments, and to understand women and men in their settings in order to make sense of their lives and experiences. It is a cultural subject, besides a political and economic one, which, when studied with an open mind, leads to one's enrichment and a better understanding of the present. Get to know more.
We offer courses and supervision for the Master of Arts (research) Degree in European, Mediterranean and Maltese history from early medieval to modern times. The course shall extend over three semesters of full-time studies or the equivalent in part-time.
We offer courses and supervision for the Ph.D. Postgraduate Degree in European, Mediterranean and Maltese history from early medieval to modern times.