BA History | Preliminary Examination - Course Handbook

2025-26

Welcome!

 

This handbook applies to students starting the Preliminary Examination in History in Michaelmas Term 2025.

Welcome to Oxford, and to the study of History here.

You have ahead of you three years of immersion into not only a vast range of past societies but also many different aspects of human activity. Yet such study is always conducted in dialogue with the present, with the world as it is and its problems and opportunities. You will therefore develop both technical skills which will equip you for any number of different careers, and a curiosity about the world in all its riches – past, present and future – which will be lifelong.

While much of your working life is governed by your colleges, the University through its History Faculty provides you with various additional resources, such as lectures, classes, libraries and language tuition; this is the body which designs the syllabus, and which formally examines you for the Preliminary Examination at the end of the first year (‘Prelims’), and for the Final Honour School (‘Finals’).

This booklet is the Faculty’s formal Handbook to guide you through the first year: it includes official regulations about courses and examinations; guidance to help you choose amongst the various options; advice on studying; and information on a range of other resources and matters which may become relevant in the course of your first year. You will of course also receive plenty of information and guidance from your colleges too, and ideally Faculty and colleges will complement each other.

You probably won’t want to read this Handbook all at once in detail, but do take an initial look through it so that you have a general sense of what it covers. The most important part to read now is the section on study (2 | Teaching and Learning). It would also be sensible to take note of the chapters about those facilities, such as libraries, which will be especially relevant to you.

Reading History at Oxford is a great opportunity, and we hope that you will make the most of it and will thoroughly enjoy doing so.

Dr. Catherine Holmes and Prof. Giuseppe Marcocci (Directors of Undergraduate Studies)

The information in this handbook may be different for students starting in other years. This is version 1.0 of the Preliminary Examination in History Handbook, published online in October 2025.

If there is a conflict between information in this handbook and the Examination Regulations then you should follow the Examination Regulations.

If you have any concerns please contact the History Faculty Undergraduate Office: undergraduate.office@history.ox.ac.uk.

The information in this handbook is accurate as at date of publication, however it may be necessary for changes to be made in certain circumstances, as explained at http://www.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges and http://www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges.

If such changes are made the department will publish a new version of this handbook together with a list of the changes. All students affected by the changes will be informed.

1| Course Content and Structure

The Preliminary Examination in History is a single nine-month course run by the Faculty of History. It does not count towards your final honours degree, but you are required to pass in order to progress into the Final Honour School.

The course consists of four papers. The formal Examination Regulations may be found in Appendix 1. The next sections briefly describe the four units, and full descriptions of each paper are available on Canvas at the links below.

The knowledge and skills you will acquire over the whole course are outlined in Section 2 | Teaching and Learning, which also focuses on the basic skills you need to develop in the first year.

1.1.1 | Study Timetable

Here is an approximate guide to which papers you will be studying in which term throughout your first year:

Michaelmas Term

History of the British Isles, Paper IV

Hilary Term

European and World History, Paper IV

Trinity Term

Optional Subject

There are two important Faculty rules concerning the choice of papers across the Preliminary Examination and Final Honour School Examination of your degree: the period requirement and the geographic requirement.

These are sometimes known as 'badging' requirements, as each paper is given one or more period and/or geographical 'badge' (i.e. Early/Middle/Late and British/European/World). A list of papers and their badges may be found in the General Appendices below.

The Faculty’s regulations require that in the course of studying for the degree of History the student must choose at least one paper of the History of the British Isles (BIP) or European and World History (EWP) from each of three broad periods, Early, Middle and Late:

Period Dates
Early Up to 1409
Middle 1330 - 1715
Late 1685 onwards

 

The period requirement can only be fulfilled by your outline papers.

During Prelims, you will study papers in two of these three periods. You will therefore need to pick the remaining period in Finals, leaving you with a free choice for your fourth paper.

The Period Outline papers fall into the three groups as follows:

1. Early

Prelims: BIP 1, 300-1100; BIP 2, 1000-1300; EWP 1, 370-900; EWP 2, 1000-1300;

 

2. Middle

Prelims: BIP 3, 1330-1550; BIP 4, 1500-1700; EWP 3, 1400-1650;

 

3. Late

Prelims: BIP 5, 1688-1848; BIP 6, 1830-1951; EWP 4, 1815-1914;

Please note that History of the British Isles 1330-1550 counts as a MIDDLE paper and not an EARLY one.

 

The BIP and EWP papers taken in the first year must be chosen from different periods.

All outline and specialist papers in the Preliminary Examination and Final Honour School are categorised as covering one or more of: British History, European History, or World History.

Candidates who take both Prelims and Finals must offer at least two papers in European History and at least one paper in World History over the course of the three-year degree, chosen from the following subjects:

  • The European and World History papers (EWP/EWF).
  • The Optional Subjects (Prelims).
  • The Further Subjects (FHS).
  • The Special Subjects (FHS).

A list of all papers and their geographical badges can be found in General Appendix A.

Please note: Where a paper has two or three geographical badges, you may choose which one to apply for the sake of fulfilling the geographical requirement: you may only apply one badge per paper. 

In making your choices of period or subject in the four Outline papers in the first and second years, you should also be aware that:

  • for pedagogical or administrative reasons (such as the wish to teach first-year students within college), some Colleges may restrict the choice of their undergraduates in first-year papers;
  • the range of European and World History papers offered in the first year for Prelims differs from that available in the second and third year, examined in Finals;
  • similarly, at the modern end, the British Isles History papers offered in Finals differ from those offered at Prelims.

Here is a list of illegal combinations of outline papers between Prelims and Finals

British Isles

BIP1 The British Isles, 300-1100 with BIF1 The Early Medieval British Isles, 300-1100
BIP2 The British Isles, 1000-1330 with BIF2 The British Isles in the Central Middle Ages, 1000-1330
BIP3 The British Isles, 1330-1550 with BIF3 The Late Medieval British Isles, 1330-1550
BIP4 The British Isles, 1500-1700 with BIF4 Reformations and Revolutions, 1500-1700
BIP5 The British Isles, 1688-1848 with BIF5 Liberty, Commerce and Power, 1685-1830
BIP6 The British Isles, 1830-1951 with BIF6 Power, Politics and the People, 1815-1924

 

European and World

EWP1 The Transformation of the Ancient World, 370-900

with EWF1 The World of Late Antiquity, 250-650

or EWF2 The Early Medieval World, 600-1000
EWP2 Communities, Connections and Confrontations, 1000-1300 with EWF3 The Central Middle Ages, 900-1300
EWP3 Renaissance, Recovery, and Reform, 1400-1650

with EWF5 The Late Medieval World, 1300-1525

or EWF6 Early Modern Europe, 1500-1700
EWP4 Society, Nation, and Empire, 1815-1914 and EWF10 The European Century, 1820-1925

In order to ensure that there is adequate teaching provision, the majority of Optional Subjects have a pre-determined cap on the number of places available for students each year. As places for these subjects may be competitive, students will be asked to indicate four papers that they would be keen to study, in order of preference. 

Where the number of prospective takes exceeds the number of spaces available, students will be allocated to one of their chosen subjects via a random ballot. The balloting process takes place in Hilary Term.

Students will be contacted by email in advance of the ballot, and should consider their options carefully. While it is likely that you will get your first - or second - choice subject, you should be prepared to study any of your four choices. It may be helpful to discuss your choices with your college tutors; please ensure that you leave enough time to do so.

If you wish to make a special case for being accepted on to a particular paper, please consult your college tutors in the first instance.

 

 

 

In the outline papers, you may draw upon material you have studied in your British or European and World paper, as well as material from your Optional Subject and Paper IV option. However, you should be aware that the focus and scope of questions in the outline papers is broader than in the Optional Subject and Paper IV, so you should not focus too narrowly on material from other papers. 

More broadly, you should not actually re-use the same information or arguments across multiple papers.

See the Prelims Examination Conventions under 3 | Examinations and Assessment, for further details. 

 

Please be aware of these limits on your choices from the outset. It is your responsibility, and not your tutors', to ensure that your choices fall within the regulations. 

The programme aims to enable its students to:

  • acquire a knowledge and understanding of humanity in past societies and of historical processes, characterised by both range and depth, and increasing conceptual sophistication;
  • approach the past through the work of a wide variety of historians, using a range of intellectual tools; and thus appreciate how History as a subject itself has developed in different societies;
  • learn the technical skills of historical investigation and exposition, above all how primary evidence is employed in historical argument;
  • enhance a range of intellectual skills, such as independent critical thinking, forensic analysis, imagination and creativity;
  • perhaps learn or develop languages, or numerical tools;
  • analyse and argue persuasively in writing, and engage in interactive oral discussion to deepen understanding;
  • develop the ability to work independently, and to plan and organize time effectively.

Studied in one of six periods, this paper requires students to consider the history of the societies which have made up the British Isles over an extended period of time. It aims to encourage appreciation of the underlying continuities as well as the discontinuities within each period, and to explore the relation between political, gender, economic, social and cultural developments in determining the paths followed by the societies of Britain, severally and together.

Course information for each of the period options available can be found at: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/bip-paper-options?module_ite...

Teaching

16 lectures in Michaelmas Term; 7 tutorials, normally over one term, for each of which an essay is prepared.

Assessment

A 3-hour written examination takes place at the end of the Trinity Term. This accounts for 25% of your  overall mark.

 

Studied in one of four periods, this is a paper in non-British Isles History, which combines the study of an extended period with geographical range. It is approached more thematically than British Isles History, with an emphasis on the conceptual categories – of gender, economy, culture, state and religion – which enable us to understand both what past societies have had in common and where they have differed.

Course information for each of the period options available can be found at: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/ewp-paper-options?module_item_id=209521

Teaching:

16 lectures in Hilary Term; 7 tutorials or 7 college classes (or a mixture), normally in Hilary Term, with submitted essays or essay plans for discussion.

Assessment:

A 3-hour written examination takes place at the end of the Trinity Term. This accounts for 25% of your overall mark.

 

The Optional Subject challenges you to examine a closely-defined period or theme in greater depth than the outline papers. 

This paper is based on the study of selected primary texts and documents, and provides the opportunity to engage with a range of more specialist approaches to understanding the past.

The teaching of Optional Subjects is partly based on the usual essay-plus-tutorial format, but this is balanced by Faculty classes for eight-to-twelve students, in which you will develop your ability to work effectively in a group. All students will be encouraged to participate in the discussion which constitutes the main form of teaching in these classes, and students are also asked to set the agenda for the classes or to give presentations on the material. Most Optional Subjects focus the classes around the set texts and use the tutorials for study of the substantive topics; but patterns of teaching vary from subject to subject.

Ballot:

The ballot for Optional Subjects is held at the beginning of Hilary Term.

See 1.2.4 | Balloting for Optional Subjects for further details on the ballot process. 

Teaching:

Faculty lectures or classes in first half of Trinity Term; 6 tutorials in Trinity Term, for which essays are normally prepared.

Assessment:

A 3-hour written examination takes place at the end of the Trinity Term. This accounts for 25% of your overall mark. You are required to answer three questions, to illustrate your answers as appropriate by reference to the prescribed texts.

 

Course information for each of the options available can be found at: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/optional-subject-paper- options?module_item_id=209524

One of:

  1. Approaches to History: Anthropology and History; Archaeology and History; Art and History; Economics and History; Gender and Women’s History; Sociology and History; Histories of Race; Environmental Histories
  2. Historiography: Tacitus to Weber: Tacitus, Augustine, Machiavelli, Gibbon, Ranke, Macaulay, Weber.
  3. Texts in a Foreign Language: Herodotus; Einhard and Asser; Tocqueville; Meinecke and Kehr; Machiavelli; Vicens Vives; Trotsky.
  4. Quantification in History

Through this choice of papers students are encouraged to reflect on the variety of approaches used by modern historians, or on the ways in which history has been written in the past, to read historical classics written in a range of ancient and modern languages, or to acquire the numerical skills needed for certain types of historical investigation.

Teaching:

Faculty lectures or classes, normally in Michaelmas Term; 7 college classes or tutorials, held over one or two terms (normally Michaelmas and Hilary).

Assessment:

A 3-hour written examination takes place at the end of the Trinity Term. This accounts for 25% of the overall mark.

 

Course information for each of the options available can be found at: https://canvas.ox.ac.uk/courses/22234/pages/paper-iv-paper- options?module_item_id=209527

1.5 | The Final Honour School

After passing the Preliminary Examination you will proceed in the second and third years to the Final Honour School. The Final Honour School is a separate examination, and will be examined through seven papers:

  • History of the British Isles
  • European and World History
  • Further Subject
  • Special Subject (Gobbets and Extended Essay)
  • Disciplines of History
  • Thesis from Original Research

Please note that the Special Subject counts for two papers in Finals.

A separate handbook providing details of courses, examination methods and other matters related to the Final Honour School is available on the Oxford Historians Hub, and is updated annually. 

Paper Term Dept/Faculty College Comments
Lectures Classes Tutorials Classes
1. History of the British Isles (1-6) MT 16   7    
HT        
TT        
2. European and World History (1-4) MT          
HT 16   7  
TT        
3. Optional Subject (1-22) MT         Teaching is mainly in weeks 1-6 of Trinity Term, except for Augustan Rome, which is taught in Hilary Term.
HT        
TT 6-12 6  
4. Paper IV: Approaches to History MT 24   7  
HT    
TT        
5. Paper IV: Historiography, Tacitus to Weber MT 7   7  
HT  
TT        
6. Paper IV: Texts in a Foreign Language (Seven Options) MT c. 4 7 Most lectures or classes are in MT.
HT
TT        
7. Paper IV: Quantification in History MT   7      
HT        
TT        

Contacts

If you require a PDF copy of this page, please select "File > Print > Save as PDF".

 

The main office contact for all undergraduate matters is: undergraduate.office@history.ox.ac.uk

Directors of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Catherine Holmes and Prof. Giuseppe Marcocci

Undergraduate Officer: Dr. Callum Kelly

Undergraduate Assistant:  Mrs. Eesha Salman

Examinations Officer: Ms. Isabelle Moriceau

Academic Office Assistant: Mr. Rowan Ritchie

Admissions Officer: Ms. Liz Owen

Useful Links

History Faculty Website

Lecture List

History Faculty Canvas

History Faculty Library

Examination Regulations

Oxford Students Website

Student Self Service

Guidance for using Self Service