Ancient and Medieval History
University of Birmingham
UCAS Code: V116 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
A Level History, Medieval History or Ancient History is preferred but we welcome applications from candidates who can demonstrate an interest in and an aptitude for the study of history and politics. Acceptable subjects include: Ancient History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Business Studies, Classical Civilisation, Drama and Theatre Studies, Economics, English Language, English Language and Literature, English Literature, Environmental Studies, Geography, Government and Politics, History, History of Art, Law, Medieval History, Modern or Classical Languages, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies, and Sociology. If you are not studying one or more of the above then please contact us to discuss your application.
Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE History grade 7
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects. Please see A Level details above for subject information.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD + B at A Level BTEC Diploma: DD, plus B at A-level. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level. Please see A Level details above for subject information.
Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
To understand fully the modern world - its culture, language, political systems and people – you need to take a long perspective. Studying undergraduate Ancient and Medieval History goes back to the roots of modern civilisation in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages.
Our degree course has a distinctive emphasis on using literature, history and archaeology in the study of the ancient world, and we offer a range of expertise. The chronological sweep is wide, from around 3000BC to 1500AD and you can study Europe, the Mediterranean and Asian civilisations. One aspect of study is social history: how people in the past lived, worked, traded and enjoyed their leisure. Studying such a diverse range of societies and cultures enables you to analyse and reflect on the complex relationship between the Ancient and Medieval worlds.
The first year of your degree course represents a foundation year in which we instil core skills and knowledge for historical enquiry. In the second year, the emphasis on small group teaching and independent learning increases and you develop as an historian of the ancient and medieval worlds. In the final year you study medieval and ancient modules, along with a Dissertation, using primary sources to answer a historical question which you have developed since your second year.
**Why study this course?**
**Impressive employability** - 90% of our graduates in work or doing further study 15 months after the course (Discover Uni stats 2023). Our graduates enter a wide range of professions, including accountancy, charity work, housing, law, publishing, politics and teaching.
**Outstanding student experience** - At Birmingham we believe that teaching hours should be complemented by a wide-range of academic opportunities and social occasions. Join our community and you'll have access to, among many other things, a student experience team who co-ordinate performances, talks, trips, podcasts, quizzes and celebrations and bespoke academic writing advice.
**Broad portfolio** - We are very conscious that a true appreciation of the ancient and medieval world requires as varied an approach as possible. At the beginning of your degree course you will study broad time periods and issues but you will get to focus on particular topics of your choosing all the way through.
**Resources** - We have excellent library facilities with the University Library situated by the History Department and we have the Hilton and Styles libraries in the Arts Building. The Cadbury Research Library is home to the University of Birmingham’s historic collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives, photographs and associated artefacts. The collections which have been built up over a period of 120 years consist of over 200,000 rare printed books including significant incunabula, as well as over 4 million unique archive and manuscript collections.
**9th for undergraduate History in the Complete University Guide 2023**
**8th for History in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework exercise based on Grade Point Average**
**Top 100 for History in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2022**
Modules
First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
University of Birmingham
Department of History
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
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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.
£20k
£26k
£30k
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 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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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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