That means we don’t simply offer an free-for-all cafeteria style menu of courses, but instead have a carefully structured degree programme which builds through the three levels, and in which  each course is designed to make its own specific contribution to your development. The programme weaves together a number of key areas, including modern world history, the development of contemporary Britain, popular uses of history, as well as a strand which concentrates on developing hands-on historical research skills.

It also means that we pay great attention to the delivery of our courses. You’ll not find many large group lectures for Leeds Trinity historians. Nearly all of our courses are delivered to small groups of between 10 and 25 in 2 hour classes which offer plenty of scope for the use of a variety of teaching activities catering to all sorts of learning styles. We use mini-lectures, video materials, primary sources, structured enquiry sheets, small group discussions, full group ‘chalk and talk’ investigations (though with nearly all our teaching rooms equipped with up to date ‘Smartboard’ technology, there’s not a lot of chalk in sight nowadays), break-out and report-back groups. And we also make significant use of field trips (both to museums and heritage centres, and to history sites), role playing, creative writing, hands on artefacts, films and newsreels, and other sorts of online resources.

Staff in the department have pioneered the use of role-playing, reflective-learning logs, and web-based information technology in undergraduate history education, and the department remains committed to being at the forefront of the development of effective learning for our students.

We put a lot into our sessions and we encourage and reward students to do the same. The Department offers annual prizes to students, not just on the basis of their work, but as a recognition of students’ all round contribution to their courses.