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History with Foundation

Entry requirements


32-48 points, minimum of 2 A Levels excluding General Studies

Accepted

Pass a named Access to HE Diploma (e.g. Preferably History, Humanities or Combined), (including GCSE English and Maths grade C/4 or above or equivalent).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

24 points overall

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

PPP

T Level

P

Pass (D o E on the core) 72 points or above. Preferably English, Humanities or Combined)

UCAS Tariff

32-48

About this course


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

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

5 years | Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subject

History

It’s often said that the best way to see the future is to understand the past. History with the University helps you to do just that. Exploring five centuries of human history, you encounter political intrigue, cultural transformation, war, sex and revolution across the globe. Graduate with the problem-solving, research and analytical abilities that give you an edge in the world of work.

This four-year course is designed to give you the grounding necessary to progress through your undergraduate studies in History.

**Your foundation year will:**

* Welcome you to an exciting and eclectic curriculum which will develop your knowledge of the disciplines of history, English literature, and creative writing while also engaging with lively interdisciplinary enquiry across a wide range of historical periods and literary forms.

* Provide training in all the skills required for a successful passage through your undergraduate study: research, use of digital resources, essay-writing, academic argument, presentations, independent study.

* Introduce you to supportive and accessible academic staff in a welcoming community.

* Immerse you in an academic environment offering a wide range of field trips, access to free cultural events through The Arts Institute, student-led magazines, internships and extra-curricular work experiences.

* Give you access to state-of-the-art facilities, library and learning resources on our city-centre campus.

* Enable you to find a route for you, whether you are returning to education after a break or if you come with qualifications other than A levels.

* Require you to attend classes only on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings.

**When you join BA (Hons) History you will:**

* Study history in Britain’s Ocean City and explore more than five centuries of fascinating history.

* Work with world leading experts in history from 1500 to the present day to develop your interests and research. We offer modules in British, American and World History.

* Enhance your career options with a degree that helps you develop highly sought-after analytical and communication skills while you home in on your passion.

* Participate in local, national and international field trips which are free or subsidised for all students.

* Our international exchange programme gives you the opportunity to travel and spend either a semester or an entire year exploring history with one of our partner institutions in the US or Europe.

* Make the most of our excellent history resources and partners in the University library, The Box and wider city of Plymouth and region.

* Be part of a community of historians by joining the History Society or taking part in our internship and volunteering opportunities.

This course is an integrated part of the BA (Hons) History degree at the University of Plymouth. Successful completion of your foundation year (Year 0) will not lead to a separate award or qualification its own right but provides progression onto Year 1 of one of BA (Hons) History, or one of the following degree courses:

* BA (Hons) Anthropology 

* BA (Hons) Art History

* BA (Hons) Creative Writing

* BSc (Hons) Criminology

* BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology

* BSc (Hons) Criminology and Sociology

* BA (Hons) English

* BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing

* BSc (Hons) International Relations

* LLB (Hons) Law

* LLB (Hons) Law and Criminology

* BSc (Hons) Politics

* BSc (Hons) Politics and International Relations

* BSc (Hons) Sociology

* BSc (Hons) Professional Policing

Modules

In your foundation year, you’ll acquire the knowledge and skills you’ll need to progress through your studies and become a confident, independent learner. You’ll take four modules focusing on the interplay of history, literature, and culture in the past and the present, examining the historical and literary stories that have shaped our world.

The autumn semester contains two discipline-specific 30 credit modules, one in history and one in English and creative writing. The spring semester comprises an interdisciplinary module that broadens out the meaning of the humanities and an independent study project module. All modules will have a strong focus on study skills related to the progression to higher education.

Entering full-time study can require many adjustments. To help you make the transition, all your classes will take place on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings.

In your first year, you’ll get to know the key concepts of history, studying six modules designed to give you a firm foundation in historical methodology while helping you develop practical skills. You’ll study the subject from a broad range of perspectives exploring developments in world, US, European and British history.

During your second year, you’ll have the chance to choose from a range of modules as you develop your historical knowledge and skills. Experience visual, oral, material and archival research – undertaking interviews with living witnesses, examining visual sources and delving into original sources.

In your second year you will have the opportunity to try modules from other disciplines as part of our 21st Century Curriculum.

You can also take the opportunity to study in the USA or Canada for up to a year.

Undertake an optional placement year where you can build a number of key employability skills. Put theory onto practice, get a taste for your chosen career and expand upon your professional network.

In your final year, you’ll continue to advance your skills working alongside our expert historians in their areas of specialism. With one-to-one support, you’ll benefit from your tutor’s experience and knowledge as you create a piece of independent research on a subject of your choice, based on original research and primary resources. You can also continue to explore other subject areas as part of our 21st Century Curriculum.

The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry and up to date information can be found on our website

Assessment methods

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

School of Society and Culture

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.

94%
History

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

96%
Staff make the subject interesting
96%
Staff are good at explaining things
92%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
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
83%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
94%
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?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
60%
Male students
40%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
16%
Other elementary services occupations
8%
Administrative occupations: records

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.

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.

£17k

£17k

£19k

£19k

£24k

£24k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
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Same University
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History
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
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Lower entry requirements
University of Liverpool | Liverpool
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UCAS Points: 27-144
Nearby University
University of Exeter | Exeter
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UCAS Points: 136-160

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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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:

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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

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