History and Politics
Entry requirements
A level
BBC in three A levels
Access to HE Diploma
112 UCAS points in any Access to HE Diploma including Distinction in at least 15 Level 3 credits
GCSE/National 4/National 5
You will also need: an English language qualification
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
554 in three Higher Levels or 29 points
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
DMM in any BTEC Extended Diploma / National Extended Diploma
T Level
Merit in any T level
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
Are you intrigued by how power has shaped the world that we live in and by the impact of global events on our lives? History and Politics explores big issues such as conflict, the environment, and human rights and aims to provide an understanding of the impact of governmental decisions within society. You will engage in conversations around power, leadership, policies and political action, exploring how these have changed over time and how they inform the contemporary world. This programme will equip you with key analytical skills and the confidence to share opinions and insights.
**Why choose this course?**
- No. 1 in the UK. Britain's best university, ranked by students (Student Crowd University Awards, 2022)
- Global Top 300 for Social Sciences (Times Higher Education World University Subject Rankings, 2022)
- Gain insight into various eras, cultures and societies, developing a broad understanding and interpretation of history
- Learn to critically evaluate and reflect on political and historical events and how these impact the world we live in, supported by inspiring teachers
- Discover diverse cultures through an optional International Year at one of our partner universities across the globe
Our combined honours History and Politics course at Keele investigates how the past has shaped the world and the societies that we live in today, with consideration of power, justice, conflict, legitimacy, accountability, and governance.
History at Keele is taught by academics who are active researchers and experts across a diverse range of fields (from political, social, economic and cultural history to the history of gender, health, sexuality and religion) and periods (from late-antiquity to the present day). You will develop your knowledge, critical thinking, and analytical skills by studying a range of topics but will also benefit from the opportunity to specialise in areas that align to your personal interests and career aspirations. You will be able to trace the course of change in key areas of human history and appreciate the impact of events, forces, and processes on individual societies and the world as a whole.
You will explore why citizens are increasingly disillusioned with politics; what a democracy is; when and how it’s legitimate to protest; and the effects of different models of government. You can tailor your studies to your interests, whether theoretical, historical or oriented to specific issues.
Our academics in the School of Social, Political and Global Studies are active researchers, with expertise in environmental politics, European and American politics and international relations. This will enable you to build subject knowledge in a range of areas, broadening your career prospects after university.
**About Keele**
Keele University was established in 1949 by the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Founded to meet the needs of a changing world, Keele has always had a pioneering vision to be a different kind of university.
We excel in both teaching and research, with some of the most satisfied students in England, and research that is changing lives for the better at a regional, national and global level.
Our beautiful 600-acre campus is one of the biggest in Britain – but all the most important services and facilities are on your doorstep, with accommodation, teaching spaces, facilities including a medical centre, sports centre and pharmacy, and a range of shops, eateries and entertainment venues – including the Students’ Union – clustered around the centre.
Modules
For a list of indicative modules please visit the course page on the Keele University website.
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Politics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section 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
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.
Politics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.
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.
£18k
£22k
£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.
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.
£17k
£21k
£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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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.
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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.
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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
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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