English and History BA (Hons)
On this English and History degree, you’ll explore how stories, ideas, and historical events shape our world. You will examine class, race, gender, power, and culture while developing the critical skills to navigate today’s challenges.
Key information
UCAS code:
Q323
Typical offer:
96-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent.
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Overview
With expert-led teaching, archival research, and hands-on analysis, this BA (Hons) English and History degree equips you with the critical tools to question, interpret, and engage with the world around you.
Explore the ideas and events that have shaped societies across time. Investigate power, identity, and conflict through the lens of history and the written word.
Examine how narratives shape our understanding of the past and present—and how you can challenge them to build a better future.
This is a new course and we're finalising the detailed information for this page.
Contact information
Contact AdmissionsEntry requirements
BA (Hons) English and History entry requirements
Typical offers
- A levels - BBC-CCC
- UCAS points - 96-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent. (calculate your UCAS points)
- BTECs (Extended Diplomas) - DMM-MMM
- International Baccalaureate - 25
You may need to have studied specific subjects or GCSEs - see full entry requirements and other qualifications we accept.
English language requirements
- English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
See alternative English language qualifications.
We also accept other standard English tests and qualifications, as long as they meet the minimum requirements of your course.
If you don't meet the English language requirements yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
We look at more than just your grades
While we consider your grades when making an offer, we also carefully look at your circumstances and other factors to assess your potential. These include whether you live and work in the region and your personal and family circumstances which we assess using established data.
Modules
What you'll study
Core modules
- Beliefs, Communities and Conflict: Europe 1400-1750 - 20 credits
- Body Politics - 40 credits
- Global Identities - 20 credits
- Traces of the Past: Exploring Lives Through Sources - 40 credits
Optional modules
- Age of Crisis: European Culture in the Twentieth Century - 20 credits
- Bloody Shakespeare - 20 credits
- Crime Writing - 20 credits
- Debating the Past (History) OR Literary Prizes and Public Acclaim (English) - 20 credits (Optional Core)
- Empire and Its Afterlives in Britain, France and Africa - 20 credits
- Research in Practice (English Literature) OR Working with the Past (History) - 20 credits (Optional Core)
- Space, Place and Being - 20 credits
- The Hidden Lives of Things: Material Culture in the Early Modern World - 20 credits
- Underworlds: Crime, Deviance and Punishment in Britain, 1500-1900 - 20 credits
- Women’s Writing in the Americas - 20 credits
Core modules
- Dissertation/Major Project - 40
Optional modules
- Consuming Fictions: Food and Appetite in Victorian Culture - 20 credits
- Holocaust Literatures - 20 credits
- Magical Realism - 20 credits
- Specialist Option: Empires and Identities - 20 credits
- Specialist Option: Everyday Life, Extraordinary Lives - 20 credits
- Specialist Option: Popular Cultures - 20 credits
- Specialist Option: Societies in Revolution - 20 credits
- The Gothic - 20 credits
- Time, Temporality, Contemporary Fiction - 20 credits
- US Masculinities - 20 credits
Boost your employability by taking an industry-based work placement year with a relevant organisation.
This is an amazing opportunity to put everything you’ve learned so far into action in a real workplace. We’ll help you find and secure an exciting placement opportunity within an appropriate company or organisation to help you boost your future career.
This is a Connected Degree
We're the only university that gives you the flexibility to choose when to take a work placement. Take it after your 2nd year, before returning to finish your studies. Or after your final year, connecting you into the workplace.
If you're not sure if or when to take your placement, don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to settle into your studies and explore your options before making your choice.
Course costs and funding
Tuition fees
- UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £9,535 a year (may be subject to annual increase)
- EU students – £9,535 a year (including Transition Scholarship – (may be subject to annual increase)
- International students – £17,200 a year (subject to annual increase)
Apply
Ready to apply?
To start this course in 2025, apply through UCAS. You'll need:
- the UCAS course code – Q323
- our institution code – P80
If you'd prefer to apply directly, use our online application form.
You can also sign up to an Open Day to:
- Tour our campus, facilities and halls of residence
- Speak with lecturers and chat with our students
- Get information about where to live, how to fund your studies and which clubs and societies to join
If you're new to the application process, read our guide on applying for an undergraduate course.
Admissions terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.
Finalising this course
All our courses go through a rigorous approval process to make sure they’re of the highest quality. This includes a review by a panel of experts, made up of academic staff and an external academic or professional with specialist knowledge.
This course is in the final stages of this process and is open for applications. If any details of the course or its approval status change after you apply, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and will be here to discuss your options with you.