Undergraduate in History

Information

Documents

B.O.E.

Verification report

Evaluation report

Authorisation of the Government of the Canary Islands

Decision of the Secretariat for Universities of the MECD*

Information about the Faculty and its degree courses in the Registry of Universities, Centres and Degree Courses

Documents

Course flyer

Leaflet “Historiador”

Promotional video on Youtube

Brochure of Degree Courses on Issuu

Justification

The History constitutes an unavoidable academic discipline in every European university system. This has been recognised by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain (ANECA). Due to a review and a renovation of the degree courses in order to adapt them to the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA), the ANECA commissioned those studies which could fulfil three premises to develop White Papers in 2003. The premises were: to be established as a degree course in a significant number of European countries, to have professional profiles aimed to the labour market, and to have a studies structure which meets the requirements of the EHEA. The study of History was one of the chosen ones. Historians from various Spanish universities collaborated in this project.

The History has played a key role in the training and knowledge of European civilisation, from ancient Greece to present. The History has contributed to explain and inform scientifically about processes and events of humanity in a context of continuous globalisation. Historical discourse focuses in the 19th century of Europe, providing the basis of its method (study of all type of documents), causing an increasing institutionalisation of the teaching of History, at the same time that social and scientific institutions (archives and museums, for example), where the documents are kept and studied, appeared.

History has contributed to explain the development of nations, political communities, and it has also created structures that allow us to organise knowledge and collective memory of the past. Knowing this fact and its social commitment, History defends the ability to transmit new ways to read human time and events, by promoting new values and ways to improve societies’ structure. Historical discourse is now improving due to critical and constructive contributions, consolidating the role of teaching History.

The Bachelor’s Degree in History in the structure of the official studies of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria within the category of Arts and Humanities guarantees the training of individuals, who will provide the university community and the society a rational knowledge of the past of humanity, their analysis tools, and, more importantly, a critical awareness that will allow them to relate events and processes from the past to those from the present. This critical awareness will allow them to sensibly develop the citizenship and will provide advantages that the training in History offers to society.

The studies in History have been taught in the Faculty of Geography and History of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since the beginning of the 1980s (although they depended on the University of La Laguna). Since then, the Faculty educational offer has attempted to respond to requests from a society that has undergone significant changes. Thus, this course is taught at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since 1989. During these years, educational offer has also responded to changes of the university legislation. The teaching of studies in History was included in the degree course in Geography and History until 1993, when it was divided into two courses, which are the same degree courses that are currently available.

The Bachelor’s Degree in History guides its graduates to enter into the labour market, allowing them to actively collaborate in the structure of this society. They have to be taught for professional practice in the fields of increased demand, which are mainly: teaching of History, archaeological studies and excavations, historical research, management of historical and cultural heritage, work at archives and libraries, management of historical documentation, collaboration with the media and publishing houses, and cultural advice in all type of institutions.

Consolidated professional profiles are mainly teaching of History, Archaeology (researches, evaluations, prospecting and excavations), and historical research and they are determined from data provided by surveys. Cultural heritage management is also an emerging sector with enormous potential due to its cross-cutting nature. The report also indicates that archives, libraries, and museums correspond to traditional professional profiles of decreasing importance. Other occupations are the collaboration with the media and publishing houses, and advice in public institutions and private companies. Other potential profiles are less significant in terms of quantity and occupations related to international competences and knowledge of historians are included: management of projects of public institutions or private companies, diplomatic career, or work in supranational institutions. Finally, general training is appropriate to human resources management.

Objectives

In general, the Bachelor’s Degree in History of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has the same objectives (chapter 11) and competences (chapter 6-8) as established in the White Paper, as well as those general objectives determined in the Spanish Order on the organisation and planning of official university education (Order 1393/2007 29 October, Annex 1, section 3.2). A breakdown of the general objective included in the section 1.7 of this document is outlined below.

1. The Bachelor’s Degree in History provides students rational and critical knowledge of the past of humanity, so students can understand the present and make it comprehensible to others. Only historians have the ability to relate events and processes from the past to those from the present and discern the way events and processes from the past influence on those from the present.
2. The student of History should acquire a basic knowledge on the main events and processes of change and continuation of humanity over time, since prehistory to modern world. Spatial dimension of this historical knowledge should be as wide as possible, due to its contribution to develop the ability to understand historical and cultural diversity and, therefore, to encourage respect for other people’s value systems and civic awareness.
3. The Bachelor’s Degree in History should provide a basic knowledge on methods, techniques, and resources that historians use for their main analysis. This means historians should have the ability to critically examine any type of sources and historical documents and should also have the ability to use the methods of information searching, identification, selection, and collection, including computing resources, and use them for study and research
4. At the end of the course, graduates in History should have achieved a basic knowledge on the most relevant concepts, categories, theories, and subjects of the branches of historical research, as well as the awareness that historical interests and problems might change over time due to the different political, cultural, and social contexts.
5. Graduates in History should express themselves clearly and coherently both orally and in writing, using the terminology correctly. They should also have knowledge in foreign languages to improve their global view and their ability to analyse, compare, and understand the past and the present.

Competences

University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

• To express oneself respectfully and properly to different audiences (clients, contributors, promoters, social partners, etc.), by using the most appropriate means of communication (especially the new information and communication technologies) in order to understand interests, needs, and concerns of other people and organisations. To express clearly the sense of their mission and the manner they may contribute with their skills and professional knowledge to meet those interests, needs, and concerns.
• To cooperate with other persons and organisations to conduct roles and tasks of their professional profile, developing a reflective attitude of their own professional skills and knowledge, and developing an understanding attitude towards other’s skills and knowledge.
• To contribute to the continuous improvement of their career and the organisations in which they work by taking part in research, development, and innovation processes.
• To engage in the development of professional practices that respect human rights and ethical standards of their career in order to build trust in the beneficiaries and obtain the legitimacy and the authority recognised by the society.
• To participate in the creation of a democratic society which decide their own future and has values to allow human development, cohabitation, and social justice.

Personal competences

1. General competences

• Knowledge of and capability to implement the scientific method.
• Ability to analyse and summarize.
• Critical thinking.
• Ability to resolve problems and make decisions.
• Creativity and initiative.
• Knowledge of the principles and implications of professional ethics.

2. Specific competences

• Knowledge of the diachronic structure of the past.
• Comparative knowledge of history of different periods and territories.
• Knowledge of one or more specific past periods of the Humanity.
• Knowledge of historical processes and the main demographic, socio-economic, political, and cultural factors that determine them in different periods and territories.
• Knowledge of the different historiographical theories and perspectives, as well as the diversity of the awareness of time and historical memory.
• Knowledge of other human and social sciences, especially Social Anthropology, History of Art, Geography, Economics, and study in the appropriate languages for the understanding of specific historical processes.
• Knowledge of the evolution of thought and its relation to history.
• Knowledge of social inequalities and diversities (class, gender, ethnic group, religion, ideology), and their role in the evolution of history.
• Knowledge of cultural diversity (anthropological perspective), especially of cultural and religious traditions of Humanity and their relations to historical changes.
• Knowledge of historical significance of our daily life, relationships, and family structures.
• Knowledge of relations between social science and evolution.
• Ability to critically interrelate events and processes of the present and of the past.

Systemic competences

1. General competences

• Ability to work in (intra- and interdisciplinary) teams.
• Ability to work in international contexts.
• Leadership skills.
• Ability to adapt to changing situations.
• Motivation for rigour and quality.
• Knowledge of and sensitivity to human rights and inequalities.
• Knowledge of and sensitivity to cultural diversity.
• Environmental awareness.

2. Specific competences

• Knowledge and basic mastery of the methodology for historical research.
• Knowledge and basic mastery of the methodology of the thematic subcategories (gender studies, economic and social history, and history of ideas).
• Knowledge and basic mastery of the methodology and ethnographic techniques (Social Anthropology).
• Basic knowledge of the methodologies of other social and human sciences (especially, History of Art and Geography).

Instrumental competences

1. General competences

• Ability to self-learning.
• Ability to plan and organise projects.
• Ability to use theoretical knowledge.
• Skills in oral and written communication in their native language (with experts and non-experts).
• Knowledge of a foreign language.
• Knowledge of computing.
• Ability to manage information.

2. Specific competences

• Ability to interpret and use all type of documentary and archival information.
• Teaching of history.
• General and instrumental knowledge of associated categories and techniques: archaeology, epigraphy, paleography, archiving, and diplomacy.
• Ability to participate in, direct, and manage archaeological excavations.
• Instrumental knowledge of history of monuments preservation, main criteria of restoration, recovery, and management of cultural and archaeological heritage.
• Ability to demonstrate, disseminate, and generate sensitivity towards historical topics.

Other competences

1. General competences

• Ability to analyse, interpret, and disseminate historical information.

2. Specific competences

• Ability to design and manage projects.

Prospective Students

Students interested in the Bachelor’s Degree in History match two main profiles. On the one hand, those students who just have finished Bachillerato (arts and humanities subjects) and intend to perform a profession related to History and/or the knowledge and skills acquired at university. On the other hand, older people (between 25 and 60 years old) who work or are on indefinite sick leave, and want to improve their knowledge of History, generally by passing the admission examinations for people older than 25 years old.

Students of history should be responsible, have critical awareness of the world around them, work in teams, have scientific curiosity, be concerned about historical and cultural legacy of society and be willing to sacrifice their free time to perform fieldwork. They should also be imaginative and non-conformist people, interested in the world around them, with great curiosity, and they should enjoy “surfing” old documents or spending time finding evidence of past times. The Spanish Order 1467/2007, of 2 November, which establishes the structure of Spanish secondary education and set their minimum training, states various objectives for the different history subjects that coincide with basic profiles that we consider necessary.

Graduate students

There are two good professional opportunities:

• Teaching.
• Cultural management.

These two professional opportunities have different perspectives. Teaching might be a stable opportunity over the coming years, taking into account the flow of non-university students. Moreover, cultural management is a growing opportunity, due to an increased demand for cultural goods. A number of studies performed within the autonomous community confirmed some facts in this regard:

• The number of cultural enterprises has increased considerably in the Canary Islands over the past few years.
• From these cultural enterprises, the main ones were related to libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities, including edition.

These are intensive economic activities with qualified employees. The graduate students of the former Bachelor’s Degree in History have not had great difficulties accessing the labour market. Regarding expectations, the graduate students of the current Bachelor’s Degree in History may contribute to generate responses based on their knowledge of the society of the Canary Islands and the access in the international division of labour. From a strategic point of view, the knowledge of a wide range of social relations that have contributed to the current status of the society of the Canary Islands, from all areas of knowledge, is vital for the future.

The professional opportunities of the Bachelor’s Degree in History are in line with the general objectives of the degree proposed in the White Paper of History and with those proposed by the Spanish Order 1393/2007. In addition, these professional opportunities are similar at the national level. The only differences are those regarding the knowledge of their own history, where each autonomous community has its own opportunities. The majority of the graduate students in History work in different areas, including teaching, archaeological activities, works in Museums and Archives, and Cultural Heritage. See the following teaching and professional opportunities.

Teaching opportunities

1. Knowledge of the general diachronic structure of the past and one or more specific past periods.
2. Knowledge of and ability to use information-gathering tools, such as bibliographic databases, archives, electronic references
3. Knowledge of and ability to use specific techniques to study documents from specific past periods (Palaeography, Epigraphy).
4. Local history.
5. National history.
6. World history.
7. Knowledge of and ability to use methods and techniques of other human sciences.
8. Teaching of history.
9. Ability to read, analyse, and interpret archaeological texts.

Professional opportunities

Teaching, heritage management, archaeology, cultural adviser, documentalist, mass media, research, archives and libraries, public administrations, international management, human resources, etc.

Expected results

Education indicators provide us with relevant data in order to determine the strategies and actions that allow us to improve the quality of education processes.

The proposal of the Bachelor’s Degree in History considers the results of these statistics as a reference to improve and adapt the current and future teaching methods.

• Graduation rate: it is the number of students who graduated within the time published in the curriculum or one more academic year regarding their cohort.
• Dropout rate: it is the percentage between the number of students of an entry-level cohort obtaining their diplomas the previous year and the number of students that did not enrol in that academic year or the previous one.
• Efficiency rate: it is the percentage between the total number of credits in the curriculum graduates of a specific academic year should have enrolled in and the total number of credits they really had to enrol in.

Complete quality indicators

The results are really good in all indicators. However, this Faculty decided to take some actions in order to improve this course:

1. To encourage the role of the departments and their Teaching Committees, together with the Committee on Teaching of History, in teaching coordination.
2. To encourage the mobility of our students and the importance of improving their language skills (particularly in English) in order to ensure an appropriate participation in the European exchange and educational programmes.
3. To support students participation in governing bodies of the Faculty.
4. To encourage students to develop extra-curricular training in workshops, volunteer projects and international cooperation, university cultural activities, etc.

All quality indicators

Course outline

The structure of the Bachelor’s Degree in History of the ULPGC is based on a general framework established by the Faculty of Geography and History. This general framework aims to encourage the cross-cutting nature and improve teaching, according to the criteria of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Government of the Canary Islands. The organisation of the subjects follows the guidance described in the White Paper on History, implementing the agreements reached by all universities in Spain under the auspices of the ANECA.

The organisation of the course is based on two aspects:

• Committee on Teaching.
• Tutors (coordinated by the Tutorial Action Committee).

The Quality Assurance Committee monitors compliance of the process and development of the course, by means of institutional mechanisms for monitoring and improvement. The Committee on Teaching also examines the teaching results after each semester, proposing improvements to curriculum and teaching monitoring mechanisms.

The common characteristics of the curriculums of the ULPGC are:

• The curriculum is based on an educational regime which places the student at the teaching-learning process. Credits follow the ECTS system and will be calculated depending on the time spent by the students. Each ECTS credit accounts for to 25 hours at the ULPGC.
• Basic subjects are mostly taught in the first years, in order to facilitate students’ application for exchange programmes.
• The knowledge of English will be taken into consideration. New curriculums should ensure that new graduates have a good level of English. Therefore, a minimum of 5% of credits will correspond to English, following the regulations established by the Government of the Canary Islands. However, students should be familiar with the English used in the specific field of their degree.
• The academic year is divided into two terms. Compulsory work placements will be conducted in the last year and the Final Project will be conducted in the last semester. For such activities a procedure of tutorship and guidance will be adopted.

The organisation of the Bachelor’s Degree in History of the ULPGC is adapted by the criteria established in the White Paper. Following the guidelines set up by the Spanish Order 1393/2007, of 29 October, which establishes the organisation of official university courses and by the Regulations which establish the official courses of the ULPGC, the Bachelor’s Degree in History is of a general nature and is considered as a training aimed at working in the appropriate professional opportunities.

As recommended by the White Paper, the diachronic structure of the past is the most taught subject, which is divided into two levels: general and regional (both account for 40% of the total subjects, while a 30% is recommended in the White Paper). This division allows to combine the overview of historical processes with the concern for diversity established in the general objectives and the increasing teaching empirical approaches (students’ work placements are easier to organise at a regional level). We have decided to teach the general structure in the second year and the regional structure in the later years.

The theory, methods, and techniques have been grouped and they account for 17.5% of total course credits, increasing the proposal of 15 ECTS credits in the White Paper. Several instrumental subjects have been grouped together with the basic subjects, meeting the demand for professionalization set out in the Spanish Order 1393/2007. Following the principles of the White Paper, theoretical and technical subjects are taught in the first two years.

The thematic approach of History accounts for 7.5% of credits, increasing the percentage recommended by the White Paper (5%). Finally, transdisciplinary knowledge has been grouped into the basic and optional subjects. In this regard, the proposal reaches 12.5% within the basic subjects, increasing a minimum of 10% set out in the White Paper.

However, all percentages increase through the optional subjects, according to the students’ study choices. Furthermore, the White Paper reserves 35% of credits to subjects established by each university, which means that every proposal may be modified. Thereby, the subjects on the diachronic structure of the past account for 45% of credits; subjects on theory, methods, and techniques, 22.5%; subjects on the thematic approach, 10%; and, subjects on cross-cutting knowledge may reach 18% of credits.

Training on the topics and values set out by the Spanish Order 1393/2007 (article 3, section 5), referring to human rights, democracy, peace, and gender equality, are included in many subjects of this course. This distribution is detailed in the syllabus of each subject; however, an optional subject that represents 2.5% of total course credits has been included.

Students must achieve the equivalent of 240 ECTS credits in at least of 4 academic years, which usually implies 60 ECTS credits per year. The curriculum is divided into subjects throughout the degree course. These subjects have specific objectives and competences, by which the content and its training programmes and evaluation mechanisms are determined. There are basic, compulsory, and optional subjects; students must also conduct a Work Placement and a Final Project. Each subject accounts for 6 ECTS credits. The academic year is divided into two semesters; students should read 5 subjects in each semester.

An optional subject includes cross-cutting training (6 ECTS credits), which consists in activities established by the Spanish Order and which are referred in the section 2.3 (participation in management, university collaborations, cultural training, courses on equality of opportunities, European training and knowledge, sports, participation in governing bodies, etc.).

Table 1. Organisation of branches of knowledge by semesters

Table 2. Organisation of subjects by semesters

Syllabuses

First Year

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

Work placements

Work placements is a subject that aims to give students practical experiences related to the knowledge acquired during the course, which gives students a first-hand impression of the day-to-day working environment and the opportunity to gain some experience. All work placements are designed to allow students to gain professional experience in real-life situations, using the knowledge, competences, and attitude gained in training processes during the course. Work placements are also a vital opportunity for personal and professional development of our students.

Work placements are fixed-term periods of work experience undertaken by students in companies, institutions, and organisations; that is, in centres outside the University, where students should improve their training and gain knowledge in the field of study.

Training project on work placements of the Bachelor’s Degree in History

All centres have material resources and experienced staff, which may be confirmed through their links, to ensure the appropriate development and tutorship of the work placements of this degree course. There are agreements signed between the ULPGC and all respective entities. These entities have universal accessibility and design that guarantees for all students the development of all training activities included in the Work placements.

The list of entities that collaborates with the Work placements is updated annually, after consultation and analysis process of data provided by the surveys and the opinions of the interest groups (academic and external tutors and students) on the experience of the work placements.

Final Project

‘The subject consisting on doing a dissertation, conducted by students, according to their field of study and under academic tutorship’ is considered as the Final Project (hereafter the FP), under the General Regulations for the Elaboration and Assessment of Final Projects, approved by the Council of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 29 June 2011 and published in the BOULPGC no. 7 of 4 July 2011, and in accordance with the Statutes of the ULPGC.

• The FP is one of the more important learning activities of the curriculum. On the one hand, students can have insight knowledge of a topic in which they are interested. On the other hand, this FP allows students to develop essential competences and abilities, such as planning processes, solve problems, analyse and interpret results, or defending proposals, etc.
• The FP consists of planning, conducting, presenting, and defending an academic work on a specific topic related to the field of study. Its purpose is to promote the use of the abilities and knowledge acquired in all other subjects, as well as to facilitate the development of relevant competences. The FP may have a theoretical and/or applied orientation. Therefore, it should have the same structure as a scientific work and deals with any of the topics studied during the degree.
• The FP shall be done under the guidance of a tutor, who will guide and help the students at every stage of the work.

The objectives of the Final Project

The objectives of the Final Project are:

• To go into detail about a topic concerning the orientations and professional profiles of this degree course.
• To know and apply the principles and methodologies of research: documentation, information and data collection, analysis, and interpretation, presentation of conclusions, and development of work.
• To apply the abilities and knowledge acquired in the field of study during the degree course.

Competences of the Final Project

• To apply the acquired knowledge and competences in order to solve specific problems in the field of study or research.
• Ability to solve problems within new environments concerning wider contexts (multidisciplinary) in the field of study.
• To communicate the conclusions (and knowledge and reasons that support them) clearly.
• To have learning capacities that allow students to undertake self-directed learning.
• To have and understand the knowledge that allows them to be originals when developing or applying ideas within a field of research.
• To implement basic research techniques related to the fields set out in the curriculum.
• To manage information adequately.
• To apply procedures and technologies for managing the information and documentation.
• To design and manage projects.

Links to:

FP: Methodological Guide, 2013.
General Regulations for the Elaboration and Assessment of Final Projects
Documentation

Academic Staff 2014-2015

Adaptations