History and Contemporary Chinese Studies
University of Nottingham
UCAS Code: VT11 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of Nottingham
UCAS Code: VT11 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
including History
AQA Certificate in Mathematical Studies (Core Maths)
If you have already achieved your Core Maths qualification 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 Core Maths qualification you will receive the standard course offer, and also an alternate offer with a condition of one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject if you achieve an A grade in your Core Maths qualification. Core Maths qualifications offered by other exam boards are also considered for an alternative offer.
Access to HE Diploma
Unfortunately we are unable to accept this qualification on its own due to the subject specific requirements at A Level. A Level History grade B required.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
including History grade M2.
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.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English grade 4 (alpha grade C)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
or 655 in 3 Higher Level Certificates including History grade 5 at Higher Level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
and A Level grade B in History.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)
and A Level grades BB including History.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Unfortunately we are unable to accept this qualification on its own due to the subject specific requirements at A Level. A Level History grade B required.
Applications are assessed on an individual basis.
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 Scottish Advanced Highers at grades AB including History.
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024)
This qualification is considered alongside other UoN accepted qualifications such as A Levels. A Level History grade B or higher (or UoN accepted equivalent).
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
If you’re passionate about history but also dream of spending time in China and becoming fluent in the language – how do you choose which degree to study? We say, choose both!
This joint honours course allows you to combine your curiosity for human experience with your love of communicating in another language.
On this course you will follow an intensive language course in Mandarin at an appropriate level designed to take you to advanced, proficiency or research level within four years, depending on your entry level.
You divide your time equally between the two subjects across the degree. In the final year you will undertake a year-long special subject study in History, based on primary historical sources.
Many of our students say the year abroad is their course highlight. Not only do you have the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the Chinese language and culture, but spending time abroad can make you more independent and confident. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone won’t only benefit your degree, it’ll shape the person you are to become.
Modules
In year one Chinese you will begin a structured course in Mandarin Chinese. For beginners’ in Mandarin this module will be a basis to lead you from beginners' stage to advanced level; if you begin the degree having previously studied Mandarin you will be placed on modules at an appropriate level. Depending on progress during the degree, you may reach proficiency or research level. You will also take a module introducing you to Chinese culture and institutions.
In history, the Learning History core module will introduce you to the discipline's practical and theoretical elements and you will choose optional modules from the early medieval period to the 20th century.
In year two you will consolidate your language studies in Mandarin at the appropriate level (intermediate or advanced or proficiency) and study modules on Chinese contemporary history and culture.
In History, you will take two optional modules from a broad range, covering an extremely wide chronological and geographical range.
You will spend your third academic year at our campus in Ningbo, where you will have the opportunity to practise your Mandarin skills and explore Chinese culture. You will follow a combination of language, Chinese history and employability options relevant to your level of experience in Mandarin.
In your final year back at Nottingham you will weight your credits towards History or Contemporary Chinese studies according to your preference – either 80 credits in History and 40 in Contemporary Chinese studies, or vice versa.
You will practise your Mandarin skills in increasingly sophisticated contexts and may choose to study optional modules in Contemporary Chinese studies, including the option of a dissertation.
In history, you will get to grips with historical work during the year-long Special Subject study, based on primary sources, and if you take more credits in History, you will also write a dissertation.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University Park Campus
School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies
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)
Asian studies
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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.
Asian 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
China plays an important role in world economics and politics, and business can be very interested in graduates with good Chinese language skills. In 2015, just over 180 degrees were awarded in this subject to UK graduates, so it is still an unusual and specialist degree to take - take that into consideration before drawing definitive conclusions from the data. About one in five graduates went on to further study (mostly at Masters level) and of those who were working, a quarter went to work abroad. Most of the rest were working in the UK after six months, mainly in London. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills, even if that language is rare and valuable to business.
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.
£21k
£27k
£34k
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.
Asian 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
£36k
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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Lower entry requirementsSame University
Higher 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?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
