History with a Foundation Year
Swansea University
UCAS Code: V102 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Swansea University
UCAS Code: V102 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
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
We require a minimum of 5 passes at Grade A*-C, including Welsh/English Language
UCAS Tariff
Swansea University accepts the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales as fully equivalent to x1 A-Level.
Swansea University recognises the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate as equivalent to one full A-Level.
About this course
Put your fascination with the past to good use by studying History at Swansea University. You’ll build the skills valued by employers across a range of sectors, while exploring the human condition from the Middle Ages to the present.
The Foundation Year gives you an exciting introduction to Higher Education, setting you up with the skills, confidence, and knowledge that you’ll need to be successful on your undergraduate degree. It’s ideal if you need a little more support after Further Education or are returning to education after a gap.
Studying this four-year integrated BA degree course opens up a range of exciting career opportunities by helping you develop skills, which are highly valued by employers.
The foundation year gives you an exciting introduction to higher education, exploring the humanities and social sciences before progressing to the full degree programme. It’s ideal if you need a little more support after further education or if you are returning to education after a gap.
Based at our stunning Singleton Park campus, in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula, our History course at Swansea University is highly regarded by students and employers.
You’ll be taught by staff with expertise in British, European, and American history, from the Middle Ages to the modern day, on topics including gender, sexuality, and inequalities; heritage and history in the workplace; medicine, health, and disability; and war, violence, and peace.
You can study the past outside of the lecture hall and the library, through field trips and study trip modules, and apply your knowledge in a work placement. You can choose to spend a semester abroad with one of our many partners in Asia or North America.
We offer an inclusive, student-focused learning environment and community. Modules are delivered and assessed in a variety of different ways and you will be encouraged to take responsibility for your own learning, to work independently as well as with others, to act professionally, and to master new skills.
Modules
Your first year is your Foundation Year, which will introduce you to university-life, covering key themes of study and knowledge and skills building ready to enter the three years of your BA degree.
In Year 2, you will typically study areas including:
Making History, Of Gods and Heroes - Greek Mythology, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age, Medieval Europe: An Introduction
In Year 3, you will typically study areas including:
The Practice of History, The Anglo-Norman World, 1066-1225, America in a Nutshell: A History of Pennsylvania from William Penn to Donald Trump, 1631-2016, The Global First World War
In Year 4, you will typically study areas including:
History Dissertation, The Reign of King John, 1199-1216: Misrule and Magna Carta, Towns and Cities in Modern Britain, The Russian Civil War
Assessment methods
We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:
- Source Analysis
- Debate
- Presentations (solo & group)
Throughout your undergraduate BA History degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/history/ba-history/
or get in touch with us at [email protected]
The Uni
Singleton Park Campus
College of Arts and Humanities
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score 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.
£16k
£21k
£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...
Higher entry requirements
Lower entry requirements
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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?
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