PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
BA (Hons) History (Central and East European) and Jewish Studies
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
BA (Hons)
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
VV23
(where applicable)
Cohort(s) to which this programme
specification is applicable:
From 2008
(e.g. from 2015 intake onwards)
Awarding institution/body:
University College London
Teaching institution:
University College London
Faculty:
Arts and Humanities
Social and Historical Sciences (SHS)
Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Parent Department:
(the department responsible for the administration of
the programme)
Departmental web page address:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/
(if applicable)
Method of study:
Full-time/part-time
Full-time/Part-time/Other
Criteria for admission to the
programme:
Students offering GCE qualifications will be expected to achieve 3 A
levels at the minimum grades of AAB to include History, plus a pass
in a further subject at AS level or equivalent.
Students offering the International Baccalaureate will be expected to
achieve the Diploma with 34 points with grades 5,5,5 at higher level,
to include History at higher level.
Length of the programme:
(please note any periods spent away from UCL, such
as study abroad or placements in industry)
Level on Framework for Higher
Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
(see Guidance notes)
Relevant subject benchmark statement
(SBS)
(see Guidance notes)
Four years (full-time) including one year abroad (in the third
year) which may be spent wholly at the Hebrew University,
Jerusalem or in a relevant Central or East European country, or
else be split between the two countries.
Level 6
History; Languages and related studies
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme
and
its
assessment
methods:
(see guidance notes)
Board of Examiners:
See http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospectus/hjs
Course unit balance in each year is 2 course units in Dept. of
Hebrew and Jewish Studies and 2 course units at SSEES.
Students must study a language during the course, either
Central or East European at SSEES (from Year 2 on) or Hebrew
or Yiddish in the Dept. of HJS (from Year 1).
Year 1
If Hebrew or Yiddish is chosen, 2 half-units of Survey of Jewish
History and Culture and 1 unit of language taken in HJS.
If a Central or East European language is chosen, 4 half-units of
Survey of Jewish History and Culture in HJS and
2 courses at SSEES ( Seminars in History 0.5 CU, Historiography
0.5 CU, Eastern Europe since 1856 1.0 CU)
Year 2
Two courses from HJS, two courses from SSEES, to include a
language.
Year 3
Year Abroad
Year 4
Evenly divided between HJS and SSEES and may include a
dissertation.
Assessment is by coursework and final written examinations.
For language subjects, assessment is by coursework, oral and
written examination.
Name of Board of Examiners:
Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):
n/a
Date of next scheduled
accreditation visit:
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME
The programme aims:
1 To introduce students to the study of history as a discipline and to develop transferable skills. To
introduce them to the history of Russia, Central and Eastern Europe including Germany, and to the history
of diverse Jewish communities, in a wide variety of geographical, political, economic and cultural contexts.
2. To train students in a Central, East European or Jewish language.
3. To develop in students a sophisticated historical approach to a wide range of social, political and
religious issues, with a heightened sensitivity to the dynamics of inter-faith, inter-ethnic and inter-cultural
relations.
Award of this degree leads to openings in further study and academic employment as well as to careers in
law, community work, the diplomatic service, the media and executive jobs in public and private sectors.
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES:
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding,
qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
A: Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding of:
1. The discipline of history
through the study of key
methods and concepts.
2. The history and culture of the
countries of central/eastern
Europe, including Germany
and Russia; the broad outlines
of Jewish history, and in-depth
knowledge of particular
historical periods, topics and
regions of Jewish culture to a
high level of specialization.
3. The interaction between
Jewish communities and their
diverse host societies through
the ages.
4. A Central or East European or
Jewish language, to a standard
sufficiently high to permit
analysis of historical
documents in the original.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1. All students in their first year must take
skills courses designed to introduce them to
study of the historical discipline. This is
done through seminars and project work.
2. A range of outline and more specialised
courses are offered, taught through lectures
and seminar classes.
3. A wide selection of courses taught in small,
informal seminar groups. Students are
encouraged to play an active part in class
discussion, and emphasis is placed on
independent reading for which
bibliographical lists are supplied. In some
courses audio/visual materials are frequently
used.
4. Languages are taught at all levels by both
SSEES and the Department of Hebrew and
Jewish Studies. The Year Abroad provides
further opportunities for study of one or
more of the relevant languages.
Assessment:
1. Assessed coursework, portfolios or other set
assignments, tasks undertaken under exam
conditions, prior disclosure papers.
2. Unseen written examinations, essays.
3. Coursework; final written examinations.
4. Coursework, foral and written examinations.
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1. reason critically;
2. understand and apply concepts
and methods of linguistic, literary
and historical analysis to historical
and other sources;
3. identify and solve problems;
4. analyse, interpret, and synthesize
5. demonstrate and exercise
independence of mind and
thought.
Intellectual skills are developed through the
teaching and learning programme outlined above.
Each course, whatever the format of the teaching,
involves discussion of key issues, practice in
applying concepts both orally and in writing,
analysis and interpretation of material, and
individual feedback sessions for students on work
produced.
Assessment:
The variety of assessment methods employed all
place great emphasis (as shown in their assessment
criteria) on the learner's ability to demonstrate skills
1-5 through the production of coherent written and
oral responses either to problems or tasks set. The
extended essay (optional) provides a particularly
effective vehicle for the demonstration of these
skills; but students who do not choose this option
can still demonstrate skills 1-5 through their
assessment, severally if not collectively.
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills (able to):
1. retrieve, sift and select information
from a variety of sources;
2. plan, undertake and report a
bibliographically-based piece of
research;
3. understand, speak, write, read and
translate to and from Hebrew
and/or other Jewish, or
Central/East European language.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1-2. All students receive initial guidance on how to
identify, locate and use material available in libraries
and elsewhere. Bibliographical reviews and
critiques are frequently included in essays and
coursework assessment. Comprehensive
bibliographies are provided for each course at the
outset, as are guidelines for the production of
coursework essays and extended essays. The
Departmental Style Sheet provides further guidance
as well as detailed technical instructions on the use
and professional presentation of bibliographies and
footnotes.
3. Languages are taught through use of textbooks
and other print and internet resources, audio
materials, conversation practice, translation
exercises and written assignments.
Assessment:
1 is assessed by regular coursework,
participation in class discussion, oral
presentations, written exams,.
2 is assessed by essays, extended essays,
and written exams.
3 Is assessed by regular coursework, midyear and final written and oral exams.
D: Skills and other attributes
Transferable skills (able to):
1. structure and communicate ideas
effectively both orally and in
writing;
2. manage time and work to
deadlines;
3. participate constructively in
groups;
4. work independently and be selfreliant;
5. find information and use
information technology;
6. assess the relevance and
importance of the ideas of others,
and assess them critically
7. analyse and synthesize data
8 use foreign languages with
confidence
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
All courses require regular written work, usually in
the form of essays, and regular feedback on this is
given to the learner to develop not only their
understanding but also their powers of expression
(skill 1). Skill 2 is learnt (rather than taught) through
the management of time to meet the various and
sometimes conflicting deadlines (all notified at the
outset of each course) for submission of
coursework. Skills 3 and 8 are developed in classes,
seminars and tutorials, which rely on discussion
and interaction, as well as presentations given by
individuals or groups of students in collaboration.
Skills 4 and 8 are particularly developed during the
Year Abroad, for which learners are prepared in
advance. IT skills (5) are largely developed through
individual learning.
Assessment:
Effective communication of ideas is an important
criterion in assessing all areas of a learner's work,
and the regular feedback as well as the final mark
reflect this. Skills 4 and 6 are assessed by both the
coursework and extended essays produced, which,
although supervised, are nevertheless the results of
independent thought and work/research by the
learner. Skill 5 is assessed through the assembly of
necessary information for essays, etc., and their
production on PCs. Skills 2 and 3 are not formally
assessed, but time management (2) is indirectly
assessed by degree of compliance with deadlines,
as late submission of work is penalised by graded
mark deductions.
The following reference points were used in designing the programme:
 the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/qualifications-frameworks.pdf);
 the relevant Subject Benchmark Statements:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements);
 the programme specifications for UCL degree programmes in relevant subjects (where applicable);
 UCL teaching and learning policies;
 staff research.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the
learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes
full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided. More detailed information on the learning outcomes,
content and teaching, learning and assessment methods of each course unit/module can be found in the
departmental course handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this document is reviewed annually
by UCL and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Programme Organiser(s)
Helen Beer
Name(s):
Date of Production:
December 2008
Date of Review:
October 2015
Date approved by Chair of
Departmental Teaching
Committee:
Date approved by Faculty
Teaching Committee
October 2015
October 2015