The History Department was created in 1977, counting among its founders with some outstanding figures of Portuguese historiography such as.

During the 80's, he grew and consolidated his faculty, which allowed him to gain an uncontroversial prestige and authority, asserting himself in national and international terms.

Since its inception, the Department has been awarded a Master's Degree in History and has also been a pioneer in the creation of Masters Courses in various areas of specialization of historical knowledge: Egyptology, Middle East and Ancient Asia Civilizations, Medieval History, Modern History and of Discoveries and Contemporary History.
The Masters Courses, with the many theses defended and published, are the best testimony of a course focused on learning and research and that continues to be a reference in the university panorama of our country.
Currently, the Department of History is directly responsible for the degrees in History and Archeology, for master's degrees in History, Archeology, History Teaching and Cultural Practices for Municipalities and for its PhD in History.

Associated with the Department are three research units evaluated by the FCT: the Institute of Medieval Studies (evaluated with Very Good) the Humanities Center (rated with Excellent) and the Institute of Contemporary History (rated with Excellent).

The Department of History has as its mission the public service for the high level qualification of citizens in the field of History, as well as for the dissemination of knowledge of the Past to all those who wish to deepen their formation throughout the life.
In order to carry out this mission, the Department has the following objectives: excellence in teaching and research in the areas of History, Archeology and Heritage both nationally and internationally; a permanent search for innovation; the development of complementary actions to disseminate scientific results.