Skip to content Accessibility statement

Visiting students - History

Modules for visiting students in the Department of History span a swathe of history from the fall of Rome to the present day. They cover the globe, from Britain, Europe and Russia, to the Americas, Iran, Hong Kong, India and Africa.

If you would like to study History with us, you must make an initial application to the Department of History as one of the two main departments on your application form. Due to space and timetabling constraints, you cannot add modules from the Department of History after you have been accepted to other departments.

Start your application

Academic and departmental entry requirements

Undergraduate academic entry requirements

You should have achieved, or be on track to achieve, the equivalent of a UK lower second-class honours degree (2:2).

For country-specific entry requirements and mark equivalencies, please visit the relevant Country-Specific Information webpage and review the postgraduate entry requirements section. All visiting students, whether undergraduate, postgraduate taught, or postgraduate research, should consult this section for details of grade equivalencies.

Additional requirements

You can study History at York as a visiting student for Semester 1, Semester 2 or two semesters.

If you come for a single semester in 2nd Year you will choose two options from the optional modules list, and you will do one core module.

Check you are eligible to apply

Postgraduate taught academic entry requirements

You should have achieved, or be on track to achieve, the equivalent of a UK lower second-class honours degree (2:2).

For country-specific entry requirements and mark equivalencies, please visit the relevant Country-Specific Information webpage and review the postgraduate entry requirements section. All visiting students, whether undergraduate, postgraduate taught, or postgraduate research, should consult this section for details of grade equivalencies.

Check you are eligible to apply

Postgraduate research academic entry requirements

You should have achieved, or be on track to achieve, the equivalent of a UK lower second-class honours degree (2:2).

For country-specific entry requirements and mark equivalencies, please visit the relevant Country-Specific Information webpage and review the postgraduate entry requirements section. All visiting students, whether undergraduate, postgraduate taught, or postgraduate research, should consult this section for details of grade equivalencies.

Before you apply

Visiting postgraduate research student applicants should contact the relevant department before beginning your application to ensure that appropriate supervision for your project can be provided. You will be asked to submit a research plan and to provide the name of your preferred supervisor as part of your application.

Visiting postgraduate research students can apply at any time throughout the year. There are no deadlines, but please apply at least three months ahead of your planned arrival to allow for administrative processes. We encourage you to refer to the tuition fees for visiting postgraduate research students webpage before you apply.

Check you are eligible to apply

English language requirements

Undergraduate English language requirements

All visiting students from non-majority English-speaking countries are required to demonstrate their English language ability, regardless of their length of study or visa type. We accept a range of global English tests such as IELTS and TOEFL iB. Please note English language requirements vary by academic department and level of study.

IELTS requirements for History: 6.5 with 6.0 in each component.

Undergraduate English language requirements

Postgraduate taught English language requirements

All visiting students from non-majority English-speaking countries are required to demonstrate their English language ability, regardless of their length of study or visa type. We accept a range of global English tests such as IELTS and TOEFL iB. Please note English language requirements vary by academic department and level of study.

IELTS requirements for History: 7.0 with 6.5 in each component.

Postgraduate taught English language requirements

Postgraduate research English language requirements

All visiting students from non-majority English-speaking countries are required to demonstrate their English language ability, regardless of their length of study or visa type. We accept a range of global English tests such as IELTS and TOEFL iB. Please note English language requirements vary by academic department and level of study.

You can find the requirements for History on our Postgraduate research English language requirements page

Postgraduate research English language requirements

Choosing your modules

Choosing undergraduate modules

You can view the department’s modules in the module catalogue. To help you get started, we have written a short guide on how to use the module catalogue

We will contact you during August or December (depending on your start date) to finalise your module choices.

Studying with other departments

You may be able to study a combination of modules from History and other departments. Find out more on our Teaching and Module Selection web page.

Choosing postgraduate taught modules

Semester dates

Undergraduate and postgraduate taught visiting students can study in our department for the following periods:

  • Semester 1: 21 September 2026 to 31 January 2027
  • Semester 2: 1 February 2027 to 6 June 2027

Learn more about semesters at York

Examination and assessment

Examination and assessment for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students

Assessment is mainly by assignment submitted via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) or by examination during the Common Assessment Periods in January or June (depending on your study dates). Alternate assessment is not available

You can find full details of assessments for each module via the module catalogue.

Visiting Student Guide
Find key information about studying abroad as a visiting student at York.
International student guide
Find everything you need to know as an international student applying to York.
Welcome to York Guide
Plan for your first few weeks as an international student at the University of York.
Higher Education Providers guide
Find out how we can offer an international experience to your students.

Related links

Department of History

Contact us

Alexander Medcalf

Departmental International Officer

Undergraduate visiting student contact

Postgraduate taught visiting student contact

Postgraduate research visiting student contact