The historian is a specialist in the passage of time and its relationship with the present. But having a taste for the past in itself does not suffice to make history a study choice. This implies learning how to use information and research methods : collecting documents and evaluating them in a critical way, organising the data and situating them in their historical context and elaborating well-balanced summaries. The bachelor's programme of History enables the student to acquire these methods. It guides his curiosity of the past in such a way that it opens the door to the knowledge that he has set his heart on communicating in written, oral or visual form. If history interests man today, it helps him, first and foremost, to understand the world in which he lives and so to act in it.

First quadrimester :

Common general courses in the Faculty of Arts : Historical Foundations of Western Civilisation (5 credits), Arts and Civilisations (5 credits), Introduction to the Principal Works in European Literature I (5 credits), Practice in French at university level (5 credits), Modern Languages (5 credits) Ancient Languages (5 credits).

Second quadrimester :

General courses : Introduction to Philosophy (4.5 credits), Seminar on Historical Foundations of Western Civilisation :

a. Antiquity; b. The Middle Ages (2.5 credits per period), Critical Analysis of Information (3.5 credits).

Introduction to the discipline : General Heuristics (3 credits), Exercises on History Questions (8 credits), Historiography I (2 credits), Historical Introduction to the Institutions in Belgium. (4 credits).

During the next two years of the bachelor's programme, there are three main axes which constitute the 90 credits of the major:

Axis 1) G eneral courses (21 credits) : Modern Languages, Anthropology and Psychology, Theory of knowledge, Economy, Social Sciences, Religious Sciences.

Axis 2) Getting to Know History (24 credits) : Seminar on the Historical Foundations of Western Civilisation: c. Modern times;

d. Contemporary period, Historiography II, Questions on present-day history, Institutional and Political history, Economic and Social history, Intellectual and Cultural history, Religious History.

Axis 3) Making history, theoretical and practical studies (45 credits) : Applied Data-processing, Special Heuristic Methods, Exercises on History Questions (4 periods), Quantitative Methods, History, Transmitting and Reading Ancient Writings, Seminars (a choice of two periods), Ancient, Medieval or Modern Languages. The student must pass the general course and General Heuristics exams to be able to access the Special Heuristics Methods and the practical exercise sessions per period. Likewise, he can only have access to the Institutional and Political History course, the Economic and Social History course, the Intellectual and Cultural course and the Religious History course, if he has passed the Historical Foundations course and the seminars on Historical Foundations. Lastly, the Historiography course I is a prerequisite for the Historiography course II.

The history student is encouraged to widen his intellectual and professional horizons by choosing an option (= minor) of 30 credits, that he may select either from another discipline from the Faculty of Arts, or from another University faculty, subject to possible prerequisites determined by the bodies responsible for managing the programmes in question.

The written and oral exams aim to evaluate both the knowledge and know-how and the communication skills of the student. Some subjects which focus on research and critical analysis competence, take the form of intermediate evaluations spread over the course of the year.

The conditions and regular admission requirements are specified on the web page "Access to studies". http://www.ucl.ac.be/etudes/libres/en/acces.html

Knowledge of Latin is a must, but this can be acquired during the bachelor's studies and initiated during the summer course.

The bachelor's degree in History entitles direct access to the master's of History.

The bachelor's degree in History entitles access to masters organised by other departments or faculties of UCL, subject to respect of the conditions determined by the bodies responsible for managing the programmes in question.

Anne CASSART (cassart@sflt.ucl.ac.be) - 010 / 47 48 57

President : Paul-Augustin DEPROOST (deproost@egla.ucl.ac.be)

Secretary : Laurence VAN YPERSELE (vanypersele@cont.ucl.ac.be)

• Minor in Theology
  
• Minor in Philosophy
  
• Minor in Law
  
• Minor in Criminology
  
• Minor in Information and Communication (*)
  
• Minor in Political Sciences
  
• Minor in Sociology and Anthropology
  
• Minor in Human and social Sciences
  
• Minor in Economics (opening)
  
• Minor in Business Studies
  
• Minor in German Studies
  
• Minor in Linguistics
  
• Minor in Hispanic Studies (*)
  
• Minor in Italian Studies (*)
  
• Minor in French Studies (*)
  
• Minor in Latin Studies
  
• Minor in Greek Studies
  
• Minor in Oriental Studies
  
• Minor in Literature Studies
  
• Minor in Medieval Studies
  
• Minor in History of Art and Archaeology (*)
  
• Minor in Musicology
  
• Minor in Psychology and Education (*)
  
• Minor in Human Nutrition (*)
  
• Minor in General Biomedical Sciences (*)
  
• Minor in Clinical Biomedical Sciences (*)
  
• Minor in Medication Sciences (*)
  
• Minor in Physical Activity, Health and Culture of Movement (*)
  
• Minor in Geography (*)
  
• Minor in Statistics
  
• Minor in Urban Architecture
  
• Minor in Mathematics and Mathematical Applications
  
• Minor in Scientific Culture
  
• Minor in Gender Studies
  
• Minor in Culture and Creation
  
• Minor in European Studies
  

(*) Minor with access criteria.