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History and Politics

Entry requirements


We welcome applications from students who are completing an Access to Higher Education Diploma. We normally look for applicants to have studied a course that is in a similar subject and offers are usually made in line with our published tariff point range.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE in English Language at grade 4 or C, or higher.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

104-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Politics

International history

- Develop an informed awareness of the contemporary world and a clear understanding of the historical roots of its ideas and problems, as well as its social, economic and political structures

- Our accessible and committed staff teach and research across a wide range of topics, from medieval to modern periods and across all the continents

- Develop a range of transferable skills that can be applied to a variety of rewarding careers

- Visit and engage with historic and political sites and communities, both nationally and internationally; recent fields trips have included Washington DC and Auschwitz

Understanding the past is crucial to facing the political challenges of the future. Our History and Politics degree challenges you to interpret the history of societies and political cultures critically and imaginatively. Studying these two complementary subjects together will not only help you understand how the world works but why it works that way.

This versatile programme examines compelling global issues such as the world economy, religions, environmentalism and international relations, covering Britain, Western Europe, the USA, Eastern Europe and East Asia.

As well gaining a firm academic grounding in the workings of history and politics, you select modules from a stimulating range of global concerns and historic periods. The course culminates with a written project, bringing together the skills you acquire over three years of study.

In Year 1, you assess a variety of historical periods and cultures around the world, including Asia, Europe and America. Politics topics include international relations, political philosophies and political economy. You also examine contemporary issues in global studies such as America’s role as a hegemonic power and current and future challenges to its pre-eminence.

You choose from a range of optional modules in Year 2, focusing on reading original documents and giving oral presentations. Optional History modules focus on global issues in the modern world based around cultures, societies or themes.

Study in Year 3 is more in-depth – you complete a supervised dissertation and study Research Methods and Debates in Globalisation. In History, you can explore topics such as genocide and the Holocaust. The Politics modules deepen study of contemporary issues, debates and controversies such as Political Islam in the Middle East, and environmental concerns.

Our tutors pride themselves on the quality of their teaching and their commitment to developing your academic potential as an individual.

History and Politics students garner a range of transferable skills which can be applied to a variety of rewarding careers. These skills include: effective research methods, clarity of expression, critical thinking and the capacity for argument and debate.

Our graduates pursue careers in heritage and museums, politics, journalism, nongovernment organisations (NGOs), charities, interest groups and lobbying, consultancy, the civil and foreign service and teaching.

Some of our graduates go on to postgraduate study at Winchester or elsewhere; there is a clear pathway from graduation to our existing MAs in Managing Contemporary Global Issues and in History.

Modules

For detailed information on modules you will be studying please click on the 'View course details' link at the top of this summary box.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,700
per year
International
£16,700
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Winchester

Department:

Department of Politics and Society

Read full university profile

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.

80%
Politics
86%
International history

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.

Politics

Teaching and learning

93%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
75%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
53%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

59%
Library resources
48%
IT resources
51%
Course specific equipment and facilities
63%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
54%
Male students
46%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
25%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

History

Teaching and learning

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
96%
Staff are good at explaining things
87%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

71%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
52%
Male students
48%
Female students
63%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

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.

Politics

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.

£18,240
low
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
36%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Administrative occupations: records
18%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Other administrative occupations

The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.

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.

£19,500
med
Average annual salary
93%
low
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
9%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

Politics

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

£20k

£27k

£27k

£26k

£26k

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

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£21k

£21k

£23k

£23k

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 is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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