American Studies (with a study abroad year)
University of Sussex
UCAS Code: T700 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
You should have a broad range of GCSEs 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.
Pass Diploma with at least 39 level 3 credits at Merit or above including 21-24 credits at Distinction. The Access to HE Diploma should be in the Humanities or Social sciences.
We take the EPQ into account when considering your application and it can be useful in the summer when your results are released if you have narrowly missed the conditions of your offer. We do not routinely include the EPQ in the conditions of your offer but we sometimes offer alternative conditions that include the EPQ. If you wish to discuss this further please contact Admissions at [email protected]
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
You should have a broad range of GCSEs 9-4 (A*-C), including good grades in relevant subjects.
Scottish Higher
A,B,B,B,B-A,A,B,B,B
If you are taking Advanced Highers we would normally expect you to have at least BBB.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**2nd in the UK for American Studies (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023)**
**4th in the UK for American Studies (Complete University Guide 2024)**
**About the course**
Intrigued by American culture, politics and history? Fascinated by the many facets of modern North American culture including literature, film, popular culture and art?
On this course, you’ll learn from one of the largest groups of academics dedicated to American Studies in the UK. Your teaching is underpinned by our cutting-edge research expertise. This includes American culture, US imperialism, gender and sexuality, social and racial justice movements, women’s history, American literature and philosophy, and literature’s scientific connections.
During your studies, you’ll:
* conduct research on topics related to North American history, literature, politics and popular culture
* get to grips with theoretical concepts in American Studies around race, class, gender and sexuality
* learn how to critically analyse across a range of media, including music, art, film, monuments and speeches
* hone your verbal and written presentation skills
* be a part of our active student community, with activities including a seminar series featuring international speakers.
Your exciting year abroad in North America is a highlight of this course. You’ll build your confidence and broaden your outlook. From UC Berkeley to Georgetown, we have many prestigious partner institutions all across the continent.
When you graduate, you’ll be prepared for a wide range of jobs – from the radio, tv and film industries, to the Civil Service, research, journalism, marketing and non-profit organisations.
**Location**
We shape the world from a fantastic campus on the UK’s beautiful south coast.
We are the only UK university surrounded by a national park, so you can step off campus to explore the hills and woodlands of the South Downs. The vibrant, colourful and creative seaside city of Brighton & Hove is just nine minutes away.
With Brighton voted the happiest city in England for students, (Student Living Survey, Sodexo, 2018) there can be few better places to study.
Modules
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Tuition fees
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What students say
How do students rate their degree experience?
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American studies
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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American and australasian 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.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
American and australasian 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.
£21k
£25k
£28k
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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Post-six month graduation stats:
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Graduate field commentary:
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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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