American Studies and History
University of Nottingham
UCAS Code: TV71 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Including History.
Pass with 60 credits overall; 45 at level 3. Of the level 3 credits, at least 21 should be passed with Merit or above and this must include 9 credits of History graded Distinction.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Including History.
Extended Project
If you have already achieved your EPQ at Grade A you will automatically be offered one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject. If you are still studying for your EPQ you will receive the standard course offer, with a condition of one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject if you achieve an A grade in your EPQ.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Including 5 points in History at Higher Level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
This qualification is considered alongside other UoN accepted qualifications such as A Levels and must include History.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)
This qualification is considered alongside other UoN accepted qualifications such as A Levels and must include History.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
This qualification is considered alongside A Level History grade B (or UoN accepted equivalent).
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
This qualification is considered alongside other UoN accepted qualifications such as A Levels and must include History.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Including History. This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Scottish Higher grades ABBBB.
Scottish Higher
This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Sottish Advanced Highers at grades AB including History.
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)
This qualification is considered alongside other UoN accepted qualifications such as A Levels and must include History.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course opens up new worlds and possibilities. You will deepen your knowledge of how societies develop and learn how the past influences the present.
We offer a variety of modules in both American Studies and History, covering:
- The Crusades
- 19th-century Japan
- The Cold War
- Civil rights
- US foreign policy
- Crime and punishment
You will also study American and Canadian culture, politics, literature, film, music and art in the largest department of its kind in Europe.
You can experience North America, by choosing to study abroad for a year at a US or Canadian university. The option to study abroad is dependent on your academic performance and the availability of places.
Modules
In year one you will gain the core, skills, knowledge and methods needed to work at degree level by taking introductory modules to early modern, modern and American history. Your American history core modules will introduce you to the key themes, debates and events in American history from the colonial period to the present day. You will also take the multidisciplinary Approaches to American Culture module which explores cultural forms such as painting, photography, film and music in historical and social context.
The core history module, Learning History, develops skills and introduces methodologies. Students reflect on the nature of history as a discipline and develop the skills associated with writing and discussing history.
In year two you will broaden your understanding of American and global history while developing your interests through more specialist optional modules. The core module Key Texts in American Social and Political Thought, which explores debates about religion, race, class, capitalism, gender, sexuality and war in different periods.
In history, as well as American studies, you will be able to choose optional modules from an extensive array, covering an extremely wide chronological and geographical range. These options will allow you to focus on certain periods, events, or texts in more depth.
You can apply to spend your third year studying in the USA, transferring to a four-year course and returning to Nottingham for your final year to complete your course.
The final year provides the opportunity to extend your analysis of specialist themes and develop your research skills through independent study. In American studies, you will choose from a wide selection of advanced-level modules in North American history, literature, culture and film.
In history, you will choose from a range of advanced-level options enabling you to specialise in key areas, further develop your understanding of historiography and refine your source analysis skills.
You will write a dissertation in either American Studies or History.
Placement and volunteering opportunities are available in the Department of History and the Department of American and Canadian Studies, as well as via the Nottingham Advantage Award.
You can also spend time overseas through the University of Nottingham Study Abroad programme.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University Park Campus
Department of American and Canadian Studies
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.
American and australasian studies
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)
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.
American studies
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
Just 615 UK students graduated with American studies degrees in 2015, so it's one of the smaller subjects in terms of student numbers and has lost numbers in recent years. Most graduates stay in the UK once they graduate - quite unusual for graduates in languages and studies of overseas cultures - and about one in six go into further study, mostly to take Masters degrees in subjects like journalism, languages, teaching and law. Graduates tend to go into any general graduate jobs, in industries such as education, advertising, social care and media and publishing. There might not be many jobs that specifically require a degree in American studies, but the skills you learn are useful in many roles.
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.
Languages and area studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£29k
£32k
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.
History and archaeology
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
£31k
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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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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