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Politics, Philosophy and History

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,C-A,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:15

Access to Higher Education Diploma in humanities or social science units.

UCAS Tariff

96-128

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About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Part-time | 2024

Subjects

History

Philosophy

Politics

Our BA Politics, Philosophy and History (PPH) draws together the three disciplines in a distinctive combination and uses them to interrogate one another. This innovative degree is unified by the following cross-disciplinary core modules taught by academics from all three subject areas:

- Rise of the Modern State

- Conceptions of the Human from the Enlightenment to Today

- Problems of Explanation and Interpretation

These three modules distinguish PPH from other tripartite degrees by providing a unique intellectual spine from which you can then branch out to take individual options in each of the three subject areas. This structure produces a distinctive kind of student, one keen on questions and willing to think across and sometimes against conventional disciplinary boundaries. The course prepares you to undertake a higher degree or to move into a range of careers, including in education, the arts, politics, or journalism. 

**Highlights**

- Birkbeck is a distinguished centre of research and teaching excellence in politics. Our central London location puts us at the heart of the UK's political life and at the centre of academic London.

- Birkbeck is a leading centre for philosophical research in the UK. All of our established members of academic staff are active researchers, and our excellence in both teaching and research is consistently reflected in UK and international surveys.

- Our building was once a key location for members of the Bloomsbury Group, so you could be studying in rooms that have hosted distinguished visitors, including T.S. Eliot, George Bernard Shaw and Maynard Keynes.

- We have built up a strong reputation over more than 50 years for the excellence of our teaching and the international significance of our research in politics.

- Birkbeck was ranked in the top eight universities in the UK for its History research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

- The PPH Society, run by students, organises regular study skills days, a weekend away, a journal and regular social events.

**Careers and employability**

Graduates can pursue career paths in local and national government, policy work, research or journalism. Possible professions include:

- diplomatic service operational officer

- civil service fast-streamer

- charity officer

- newspaper journalist.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment methods

Written examinations in the summer term of the year in which modules are taken, or a mixture of essay and examination-based assessment.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
International
£17,620
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Birkbeck, University of London

Department:

School of Social Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

93%
History
87%
Philosophy
87%
Politics

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
97%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
74%
Course specific equipment and facilities
78%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
56%
Male students
44%
Female students
84%
2:1 or above
24%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
95%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

68%
Library resources
74%
IT resources
73%
Course specific equipment and facilities
73%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
55%
Male students
45%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
25%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

Politics

Teaching and learning

91%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
93%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
70%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

83%
UK students
17%
International students
63%
Male students
37%
Female students
55%
2:1 or above
29%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
C

After graduation


We don't have more detailed stats to show you in relation to this subject area at this university but read about typical employment outcomes and prospects for graduates of this subject below.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

History

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£25k

£25k

£24k

£24k

£27k

£27k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Philosophy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Politics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£24k

£24k

£26k

£26k

£25k

£25k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here