What do you come out with? BA in England and Wales; MA in Scotland.

Why do it? Because you are fascinated by the past and want to understand the society in which you live. And because you want an intellectually demanding course that has credibility in the job market.

What's it about? Generally the study of range of periods and themes in history, combined with a look at the study of history itself. Most institutions offer a number of compulsory core courses, such as ?Approaches to History', whilst some request that students take a paper each from medieval, early modern and modern periods. Most courses, however, have room for a lot of choice, particularly in the second and third years. At Durham, for example, courses available range widely from the birth of Western Society 300-1050, to Slavery in Africa: From the Slave Trade to Colonial Rule, to British Medieval Castles, meaning that everyone's tastes are bound to be satisfied. The opportunity to do a final year dissertation involving in-depth research is offered at most universities, and is compulsory at some institutions such as York, Durham and Oxford. It is becoming increasingly popular to combine the degree with other subjects, particularly politics, economics, modern languages or sociology. Universities often offer students the chance to take papers from other faculties, leading to a combined honours degree, or to History ?with' another subject. Ancient History can often be studied as a separate degree, whilst the Welsh and Scottish universities offer courses in Welsh and Scottish history. You can expect a lot of reading, with a growing emphasis on the use of primary sources as you progress through the course.

How long is a degree? Three years as a rule; four in Scotland, or four if combined with a language, the study of which includes a year abroad.

What are the students like? Bright, committed: everything from the bookwormy to the inveterate party-goer. Students generally have to be independent learners and highly self-motivated.

How is it packaged? At Cardiff, 25 per cent of assessment is based on coursework, with 75 per cent taking the form of a written exam. The History Department at York adopted coursework before most other History departments, but the balance varies depending on your options. A significant amount of assessment takes place through open examinations, long essays and group project work. At Durham the balance varies from 30:70, coursework to written exam, to 50:50. You can be sure of a chance of some continuous assessment at every university.

How cool is it? History continues to enjoy immense popularity as a university course, especially in combination with other subjects. Students like it because it teaches them to think for themselves.

What A-levels do you need? Most universities don't require history A-level, though most students have it. Otherwise anything goes.

What grades? BBB at Cardiff, with a B at History A-level; York asks for AAB and Durham for AAA.

Will you be interviewed? Not at Cardiff, York or Duham, unless you're a mature student or non-traditional entrant. UCL, Oxford and Cambridge still choose to interview.

Will it keep you off the dole? Should do. While you're unlikely to find vacancies at the Jobcentre for historians, you will find employers want to hire you because a history degree teaches you to analyse and organise information and make judgements on the basis of insufficient evidence. Just what you need in any management job. Graduates go into the financial sector (investment banks and accountancy firms), law, publishing, media, Civil Service, teaching and further study.

What do students say? Rebecca Turner, 20, has just finished her second year at York. "One of the reasons I chose it was because the course has got some aspects that are quite different. Whilst we do study specific periods, there are also modules about the study of history and also comparative special courses (such as poverty and charity), where you chose a particular theme and look at it throughout history. The low level of contact time means there is a lot to do on your own, which I liked as you can follow up what you're really interested in. The teaching tends to take place more in seminars than in lectures, which are generally student-led and thus focus on what we've found interesting."

Where's best for teaching? Excellent scores were awarded to Canterbury Christchurch University College, King's College London, London School of Economics, Royal Holloway, Queen's Belfast, UCL, Birmingham, Cambridge, Durham, Hull, Lancaster, Leicester, Liverpool, Oxford, Sheffield, Warwick and York.

Where's best for research? Birkbeck, Cambridge, Durham, LSE (for international history), East Anglia, King's College London, SOAS and Oxford Brookes received a tip-top 5*. Birmingham, Essex, Exeter, Hertfordshire, Huddersfield, Hull, Imperial College, Keele, Leeds, Leicester (for straight history), Liverpool, LSE (for economic history), Manchester, Oxford, Queen Mary and Westfield, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam, Southampton, Surrey Roehampton, Teesside, UCL, Warwick, York, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrew's, Stirling, Cardiff and Queen's Belfast got 5. Bristol, Central Lancashire, De Mountfort, Goldsmiths, Kent at Canterbury, King Alfred's College Winchester, Kingston, Lancaster, Leicester (economic and social history), Liverpool John Moores, Luton, Newcastle, University College Northampton, Nottingham, Open University, Portsmouth, Reading, Sunderland, Sussex. Trinity and All Saints, UWE, Wolverhampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow Caledonian, Strathclyde, Bangor, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Ulster were awarded a 4.

Where's the cutting edge? At Cardiff it's the social history of medicine, gender history, the crusades, and Chinese history. York focuses on social and cultural history, and political, intellectual and religious history. At Durham it's financial history, the history of technology and industrial relations, and more specifically, the social history of alcohol in East Africa.

Who are the stars? Professor Pat Hudson for economic history and Professor Gregor Benton for modern China, both at Cardiff; at York, Professor Peter Biller is particularly well known for his work on heresy, whilst Professor Jim Sharpe writes on crime and law enforcement in early modern England. Professor Alan Forrest is a world expert on the French Revolution, Professor Richard Bessel focuses on 20th century German history.Professor Ranald Michie at Durham is renowned as a financial historian, focussing particularly on stock exchanges, whilst Professor Philip Williamson is an historian of 20th-century British government, politics and public life and is currently preparing the 1918-1951 volume of the New Oxford History of England. Elsewhere, well-known historians include Professor Roger Griffin, for fascism, at Oxford Brookes, Professor Catherine Hall, for the relation between Britain and its empire, at UCL, and Professor Quentin Skinner, for intellectual history and the history of political thought, at Cambridge.

Added value: If the research interests of tutors at the university coincide with your options, you can expect to be taught by some of the experts in that field.

At Cardiff and Durham, it is possible for a small number of students to do their second year in the United States, at the Universities of West Virginia and California respectively.