History (2024)

The History programme teaches papers in global, oral, intellectual, religious, cultural, social, war, comparative, environmental, health, indigenous and science histories in local, national and international contexts. We also explore, methodological, intellectual, and historiographical issues at both undergraduate and graduate levels. History teaches advanced skills in high-level critical thinking, research, communication, and the gathering and assessing of complex evidence, skills in great demand from among prospective employers.

History is available as a first major for the Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Climate Change (BCC) and the Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSocSc). History may also be taken as a second major or minor in other undergraduate degrees, subject to approval of the Division in which the student is enrolled.

To complete History as a single major for the BA, BCC or BSocSc, students must gain 135 points from papers listed for History, including 105 points above 100 level, and a further 60 points above 200 level.

To complete History as part of a double major for the BA, BCC, BSocSc or other undergraduate degree, students must gain 120 points from papers listed for History, including 90 points above 100 level, and a further 45 points above 200 level.

To complete a minor in History, students must complete 60 points from the papers listed for the History major, including at least 30 points above 100 level.

Note: Students are encouraged to contact the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences Office for programme advice.


On this page


  • Prescriptions for the GradCert(Hist) and GradDip(Hist)

    A Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma are available to graduates who have not included History at an advanced level in their first degree.

    For further details, contact the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences Office.

  • Prescriptions for the PGCert(Hist), PGDip(Hist), BA(Hons), BSocSc(Hons), MA and MSocSc

    To complete a BA(Hons) or BSocSc(Hons) in History, students must gain 120 points from approved 500 level papers, including at least 30 points in research (normally HISTY591).

    To be eligible to be considered for enrolment in the MA or MSocSc in History, a student must have completed either:

    a) a BA or BSocSc with a major in History (or equivalent) and have gained at least a B average across the 300 level papers, or for a qualification considered by the Academic Board to be equivalent, or

    b) a BA(Hons) or BSocSc(Hons) in History (or equivalent) with at least second class honours (second division), or a PGDip in History (or equivalent) with at least a B average, or for a qualification considered by the Academic Board to be equivalent and

    c) have satisfied the prerequisites for graduate study in the subject(s) being presented for the Degree, at levels considered appropriate by the Academic Board.

    Completion requirements for the MA or MSocSc in History vary according to admission criteria:

    Students admitted under a) above must complete 180 points from approved 500 level papers, including ALPSS500 and at least 45 points from the papers listed for the subject in List A: Advanced Study of the regulations for the MA or MSocSc.

    Students admitted under b) above must complete 120 points from approved 500-level papers, including at least 45 points from the papers listed for the subject in List A: Advanced Study of the regulations for the MA or MSocSc.

  • Prescriptions for the MPhil

    The Master of Philosophy is a one year research-based degree in which students undertake a programme of approved and supervised research that leads to a thesis which critically investigates an approved topic of substance and significance, demonstrates expertise in the methods of research and scholarship, displays intellectual independence and makes a substantial original contribution to the subject area concerned, and is of publishable quality.

  • Prescriptions for the PhD

    The Doctor of Philosophy is a three year research-based degree in which students undertake a programme of approved and supervised research that leads to a thesis which critically investigates an approved topic of substance and significance, demonstrates expertise in the methods of research and scholarship, displays intellectual independence and makes a substantial original contribution to the subject area concerned, and is of publishable quality.

  • 100 Level

    Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
    HISTY107Aotearoa Histories: Past and Future15.024B (Hamilton)
    This introductory paper provides students with an overview of Aotearoa New Zealand's histories through hundreds of years of Maori and Iwi history and British Colonial invasions, to the present. Students explore popular overarching myths and narratives of Aotearoa NZ history, key events, peoples and leading scholarship in the field....
    HISTY117Global Indigenous History15.024A (Hamilton)
    Indigenous historians ask critical questions about how we understand the modern world. With a focus on Indigenous peoples' scholarship, activism, and art this paper introduces central concerns in global Indigenous history over the past century. Students will explore histories of sovereignty, land and water protection, decolonial ac...
  • 200 Level

    Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
    ANTHY208Protest Movements in the Asia-Pacific15.024B (Hamilton)
    This paper is about how people across the Asia-Pacific region act collectively to challenge the status quo of powerful political, social, economic, and cultural systems.
    HISTY200Pacific History15.024B (Hamilton)
    This course introduces students to the history of the Pacific from first settlement through to World War II, focusing on how indigenous peoples and diverse newcomers have engaged with each other and the Pacific's oceanic environment.
    HISTY201Histories of Everyday Life in Aotearoa15.0No occurrences
    This paper examines histories of social and cultural life in Aotearoa since 1900. We investigate leisure and popular culture; food; urban and suburban life; protests and sovereignty movements; migration; education and work; and family life and sexuality.
    HISTY206What Historians Do: Methods and Sources15.024A (Hamilton)
    The paper focuses on the fundamental and accepted practices in academic historical scholarship and surveys a variety of significant historical and theoretical approaches to the discipline.
    HISTY211Modern United States15.024A (Hamilton)
    This paper introduces students to histories of the modern United States, with a focus on the twentieth century. We will cover histories of race, gender, empire, civil rights, protest, and everyday life. We will also consider the relevance of United States history here in the Pacific and Aotearoa.
  • 300 Level

    Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
    HISTY300Gender in History15.024A (Hamilton)
    Gender in History examines the role of gender in society, culture, and the lives of individuals by introducing students to a range of historical case studies and methodologies.
    HISTY301Sugar and Spice: Colonialism, Capitalism and the Environment15.024A (Hamilton)
    An examination of key commodities that have reshaped diets, economies and societies across the globe since the early modern period.
    HISTY302Blood, Land, DNA: Contemporary Indigenous Histories and Archives15.024B (Hamilton)
    This paper explores critical questions about power, sovereignty, and belonging in contemporary Indigenous history, focusing on Aotearoa, the Pacific, and North America. Students will work with diverse archival sources to develop independent research questions.
    HISTY380Special Topic: Reproductive Histories15.024B (Hamilton)
    This paper introduces students to a specific field of historical enquiry while encouraging the development of professional-level skills in research and presentation.
    INTLC317French Culture from Versailles to the Revolution15.024B (Hamilton)
    A study of France's literary, social, and historical movements from the Golden Age of Versailles through to the Enlightenment and the Revolution it inspired.
  • 500 Level

    Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
    ALPSS500Academic & Professional Research & Writing30.024A (Online), 24B (Online) & 24C (Online)
    In this course, students will gain the skills and confidence to seamlessly transition from study to work. This course works to enhance the 'skills for the future' identified by the World Economic Forum (2020), in order to produce resilient, creative students with strong analytic and critical thinking skills.
    ALPSS590Directed Study30.024X (Hamilton)
    This paper allows students from the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences to undertake research on a specific topic related to their major under the guidance of academic staff.
    ALPSS591Research Project30.024X (Hamilton) & 24X (Tauranga)
    A research report on the findings of a theoretical or empirical or practice-led investigation (up to 12,500 words maximum).
    ALPSS592Dissertation60.024X (Hamilton) & 24X (Tauranga)
    A research report on the findings of a theoretical or empirical or practice-led investigation (up to 25,000 words maximum).
    HISTY512Environmental History30.024A (Hamilton)
    Environmental History explores the ways in which human societies, cultures, and economies have imagined and shaped, as well as been shaped by, the natural world across time and place from the development of agriculture to 20th century environmental movements.
    HISTY516History and Theory30.024B (Hamilton)
    This paper prepares students for professional historical practice and higher study through an investigation of relevant historiographical theories and methodologies.
    HISTY593History Thesis90.024X (Hamilton)
    An externally examined piece of written work that reports on the findings of supervised research.
    HISTY594History Thesis120.024X (Hamilton)
    An externally examined piece of written work that reports on the findings of supervised research.
    INTLC517French Culture from Versailles to the Revolution30.024B (Hamilton)
    A study of France's literary, social, and historical movements from the Golden Age of Versailles through to the Enlightenment and the Revolution it inspired.
  • 800 Level

    Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
    HISTY800History MPhil Thesis120.024X (Hamilton)
    No description available.
  • 900 Level

    Code Paper Title Points Occurrence / Location
    HISTY900History PhD Thesis120.024I (Hamilton), 24J (Hamilton), 24K (Hamilton) & 24X (Hamilton)
    No description available.

2024 Catalogue of Papers information current as of : 12 March 2024 7:59pm

This page has been reformatted for printing.