History and Philosophy BA
University of Nottingham
UCAS Code: VV51 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Including A Level History. We can accept Ancient History, Medieval History or Classical Civilisation instead of History. General Studies or Critical Thinking not considered
Access to HE Diploma
Pass Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at level 3 of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 at Merit. 9 Level 3 credits must be from History and achieved at 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.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE requirements - English grade C (numeric grade 4)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
34; including 5 in History at Higher Level
RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma DD plus 1 A Level grade B at History
RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate D plus 2 A Levels grades AB including History
Unfortunately we are unable to accept this qualification on its own due to the subject specific requirements at A Level. RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma DDD + B at History accepted.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Including History, and including Scottish Highers AAABB.
Scottish Higher
This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Advanced Higher grades AA and above, including History
Accepted alongside A-Levels
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
History and Philosophy are both concerned with the ideas, events, and people that have shaped human life. This degree lets you explore human history and thought from its most ancient periods to the present day.
Across each subject, you can explore the moral, social, political, religious, and scientific developments that have made human life possible, and which continue to challenge humanity today. Our geographic scope is wide and diverse, from Britain and Europe to Asia, North America and Africa.
You will gain the skills, understanding, and knowledge to describe and make sense of these ideas and events, and to argue for your own interpretations of them. These are the transferrable skills needed for a wide range of exciting careers.
Modules
Our year one modules are designed as an introduction to university study. They will:
- build everyone’s knowledge to the same level, so you are ready to progress to year two
- introduce you to the range of approaches and expertise on offer
- help you connect and build relationships with your fellow students.
In year two, you will take 120 credits of modules, split equally between history and philosophy. In year three, you take 120 credits again. All students must complete a dissertation in either history (40 credits) or philosophy (20 credits). You will devise and carry out your own independent research project in one of your two subjects, supported by an expert supervisor. All students must also take a 40-credit Special Subject module in history. You will become an expert in a particular period or area of history and develop your analysis and interpretation of primary sources.
Assessment methods
Your assessments will vary according to the topic studied. The majority of assessment is by essays and, for some modules, exams. However, other forms of assessment may include:
- individual or group presentations
- student-led seminars
- interpretation of documents, sources or images
- poster presentations
- reviews and reflections on the process of study, including weekly reading summaries
- in-class tests and quizzes
- independently-researched dissertation
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University Park Campus
Department of Philosophy
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)
Philosophy
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.
Philosophy
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
Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.
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
£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.
Philosophy
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£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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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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