Understand the past, shape the future.
Understanding the past provides a compass that helps you navigate the present and shape the future. Regardless of geographic area or time period, studying history provides an unrivalled basis for making sense of an increasingly complex and unstable world.
The analytical and communication skills that history teaches are also keys for entry to a wide range of rewarding careers. Many of these – such as research, teaching, journalism, public policy, diplomacy, and the heritage and museum sectors – are also among those least likely to be overtaken by historical change themselves, in the form of automation or artificial intelligence.
Why study History?
Above all, History investigates human societies across time and space – few things are more fascinating. Studying History is about questioning the past imaginatively. Historians take nothing for granted: they search behind the façade of the present to uncover multiple 'truths' about the past.
Yet History is also firmly grounded in the realities of daily life, and studying History helps prepare you for almost any conceivable career. In the rapidly changing world of the 21st century, it is more important than ever to understand human diversity and the complexity of social structures, and to understand why they change. Because of its broad-ranging nature, no discipline is better suited to this task than History.
The historian's skills of research, analysis, synthesis and communication are also essential in the modern job market. History graduates work in a range of exciting fields that are as diverse as history itself.
Are you just starting uni?
Learn about studying History as an undergraduate at Otago.
Choose a study option
Whether you are advancing your career with our specialised graduate qualifications or pursuing in-depth research and expertise through our postgraduate programmes, Otago is here to support your aspirations.
Postgraduate qualifications
Honours, masters’, PhDs, and other advanced degrees for graduates. Just one additional year of study will earn you a valuable postgraduate degree. Or perhaps you want the depth of a full year of research-only time during a master’s or to step up to a PhD.
Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons))
A four-year degree focusing on advanced study and culminating in a research project in the final year
Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts)
A two-semester programme of structured coursework, and in some cases supervised research, extending the knowledge and skills gained from the bachelor’s degree
Master of Arts (Coursework) (MA(Coursework))
A coursework degree with an optional research dissertation component, usually completed in 12 to 18 months of full-time study, or part-time over a longer period
Master of Arts (Thesis) (MA(Thesis))
A one- or two-year degree entailing a major research project, culminating in a thesis
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Engage in original research leading to a doctoral thesis, supported by comprehensive academic and social networks
Graduate qualifications
Our graduate qualifications are crafted to transition students from foundational studies to advanced, specialised knowledge.
Ready to apply?
Take your expertise to the next level with advanced study.
Programme details
Compare programmes for this subject.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) programme in History is the same as the programme for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA(Hons)).
| Dissertation / Studio Project Requirements |
|---|
| HIST 590 Research Dissertation |
| Two 500-level HUMS papers (worth 60 points) |
| 400-level HIST papers worth 60 points |
| Papers-Only Requirements |
| Two 500-level HUMS papers (worth 60 points) |
| 400-level HIST papers worth 90 points |
| One other relevant 400-level paper (which may include MAOR 407) approved by the Head of Programme, History |
| Note: Students are able to take one of HUMS 501-503 not already taken as an optional paper in this pathway. |
| Thesis |
|---|
Note: Students who have not completed a Bachelor of Arts (BA(Hons)) in History or a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Subjects (PGDipArts) in History must complete the required papers for the BA(Hons) in History prior to undertaking the thesis. |
Papers
View a list of all related papers below.
HIST papers
| Paper Code | Year | Title | Points | Teaching period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIST102 | 2026, 2027 | The Global Twentieth Century | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST107 | 2026, 2027 | New Zealand in the World from the 18th Century | 18 points | Semester 2, Semester 1 |
| HIST108 | 2026, 2027 | From Medieval to Modern Europe | 18 points | Semester 1, Semester 2 |
| HIST123 | 2026, 2027 | Revolutions | 18 points | Semester 2 |
| HIST206 | 2026, 2027 | An Introduction to Pacific History | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, expected to be offered in 2028, Not offered in 2027, expected to be offered in 2028 |
| HIST215 | 2026, 2027 | Heretics, Witches, and Inquisitors | 18 points | Semester 2, Not offered in 2027, expected to be offered in 2028 |
| HIST216 | 2026, 2027 | Tyrants and Traitors: Britain and France, 1100-1800 | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Semester 2 |
| HIST218 | 2026, 2027 | Modern Irish History Since 1798 | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST223 | 2026, 2027 | Empires and Globalisations | 18 points | Semester 1, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST225 | 2026, 2027 | Totalitarian Regimes: Europe 1922-1945 | 18 points | Semester 1, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST229 | 2026, 2027 | Darwin versus God? Science and Society, 1789-1914 | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Semester 1 |
| HIST230 | 2026, 2027 | Special Topic | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST231 | 2026, 2027 | Special Topic | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST234 | 2026, 2027 | Crime, Shame and Scandal in New Zealand | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Semester 2 |
| HIST241 | 2026, 2027 | War and the Modern World | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST242 | 2026, 2027 | Histories of Crime and Punishment | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Semester 1 |
| HIST244 | 2026, 2027 | New Zealand Society and Religion | 18 points | Semester 1, Semester 2 |
| HIST245 | 2026, 2027 | Global Migrations: From Slavery to Refugees | 18 points | Semester 2 |
| HIST246 | 2026, 2027 | Indigenous Activist Histories: Contesting Settler Colonialism | 18 points | Semester 2, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST303 | 2026, 2027 | Modern India | 18 points | Semester 2, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST308 | 2026, 2027 | New Zealand Society and Religion | 18 points | Semester 1, Semester 2 |
| HIST318 | 2026, 2027 | Australia since 1788: Boundaries of Belonging | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST325 | 2026, 2027 | Modern Italy | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Semester 2 |
| HIST327 | 2026, 2027 | Interpreting Māori Lives: Rebels, Radicals and Reformers | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST328 | 2026, 2027 | Irish and Scottish Migrations in the 19th and 20th Centuries | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST331 | 2026, 2027 | Special Topic | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST333 | 2026, 2027 | Special Topic | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST341 | 2026, 2027 | Patriotism: From Joan of Arc to Kamikaze | 18 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST346 | 2026, 2027 | Indigenous Activist Histories: Contesting Settler Colonialism | 18 points | Semester 2, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST347 | 2026, 2027 | Empires Strike Back: A Global History of Decolonization | 18 points | Semester 2, Not offered in 2027, expected to be offered in 2029 |
| HIST348 | 2026, 2027 | Origins of Modern Scotland | 18 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST353 | 2026, 2027 | Practising History | 18 points | Semester 2 |
| HIST430 | 2026, 2027 | Special Topic | 30 points | Not offered in 2026, Not offered in 2027 |
| HIST452 | 2026, 2027 | Rethinking History | 30 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST481 | 2026, 2027 | Historiography Project | 30 points | Semester 1 |
| HIST490 | 2026, 2027 | Dissertation | 60 points | Full Year, 1st Non standard period (13 July 2026 - 9 July 2027), 1st Non standard period (12 July 2027 - 9 June 2028) |
| HIST590 | 2026, 2027 | Research Dissertation | 60 points | 1st Non standard period (27 February 2026 - 19 February 2027), 2nd Non standard period (17 July 2026 - 9 July 2027), 1st Non standard period (5 March 2027 - 25 February 2028), 2nd Non standard period (16 July 2027 - 7 July 2028) |
Contacts
History Programme
Email history@otago.ac.nz
Web otago.ac.nz/history
This information must be read subject to the statement on our Copyright & Disclaimer page.
Regulations on this page are taken from the 2026 Calendar and supplementary material.
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