Ancient and Medieval History
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities Course
We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a Grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSEs: English/Welsh Language Grade C
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
International students will also require a score of 4 at Higher Level English Language or Literature, or 5 at Standard Level English Language or Literature.
UCAS Tariff
Swansea University will accept the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate as fully equivalent to one A-Level.
About this course
Studying an Ancient and Medieval History degree enables you to explore remote civilisations which remain influential today. Your focus will traverse major periods of time and diverse subjects: from the emergence of Athenian democracy to the glories of renaissance Italy, the expansion of the Roman Empire to the Christian crusades of the Middle Ages, and the epic texts of Homer.
Our three-year degree helps to provide graduates with a wealth of exciting career opportunities thanks to numerous transferable skills which are highly valued by employers.
This subject area at Swansea University ranked in the top 10 for overall student satisfaction (NSS 2017). Some 94% of graduates employed or in further study 6 months after graduating (Destination of Leavers from HE survey 2015) and 70% of our students achieved a 1st class or 2.1 honours degree in 2017/18.
Our interdisciplinary approach means you engage with a range of historic cultures spanning over two millennia across the European continent and the Mediterranean world.
You can tailor your degree to your own interests with a variety of topics to choose from. Your initial studies will focus on the political, social and cultural history of the Greek and Roman world, as well as the transition from Classical antiquity to the Medieval world. Whether your passion lies in Greek history and society, Rome’s transformation from village to Empire, or the roots of Egyptian History, our extensive first year modules have it covered.
Based on our stunning Singleton Park campus overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula, you will have the ability to tailor your degree according to your interests as you progress.
The second year gives you an opportunity to study abroad for a semester in the USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong or Singapore. Later studies are shaped by a study trip or field project focusing on a specific region, and the ‘Literacy through Latin’ work placement project, teaching Latin to primary and secondary school children. Further teaching experience can be developed by leading workshops for the South West Wales Reaching Wider Partnership.
Ancient and Medieval History students typically develop oral and writing skills through presenting ideas in different formats. Assessment is conducted through seminars, tutorials and group presentations, as well as independent study.
Teaching is informed by a vibrant and supportive research environment that unites academics, postgraduates and visiting scholars.
Our graduates have progressed to careers in sectors such as education, heritage, business, media, politics and humanitarian services. Employers have included Mercedes Benz, English Heritage and St Fagans National History Museum.
Please visit our course page for more information:
swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/artsandhumanities/ancient-and-medieval-history/ba-ancientmedievalhistory-v116/
**We guarantee that you will be made a conditional offer for a course at Swansea University. Subject requirements will apply. Please come along to our next Open Day or get in touch for further information.**
Modules
You will study six modules each year to include compulsory and optional modules. Module selection options may change.
Assessment methods
This degree programme is delivered through lectures, tutorials and seminars. You will usually receive nine hours minimum scheduled contact time with your teachers every week. Full attendance at lectures, seminars and personal tutorials (personal tutorials are obligatory). All Arts and Humanities degree programmes include independent learning which requires initiative and hard work.
We will challenge you with demanding teaching and assessment. Assessment includes essay, coursework and examination, presentations and a dissertation.
The Uni
Singleton Park Campus
History and Classics
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)
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.
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
£22k
£26k
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...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
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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.
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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?
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