English and History
UCAS Code: QV31
A levelAccess to HE DiplomaInternational Baccalaureate Diploma ProgrammeLeaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)Scottish Advanced HigherScottish HigherUCAS Tariff
A-levelAccess to HE DiplomaInternational Baccalaureate Diploma ProgrammeLeaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)Scottish Advanced HigherScottish HigherUCAS Tariff
B,B,B
Including English Literature (or Language and Literature).
Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 30 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject specific modules.
With three Higher Level subjects at 655 including English Literature (or Language and Literature).
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H2,H2,H2,H2
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish Advanced Higher
B,B,C
Grade B in English Literature (or Language and Literature) is required.
Scottish Higher
B,B,B,B,C
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
4.0 years | Part-time | 2020
If you love reading and interrogating literature, and are also interested in the historical context of its creation, BA English and History is a course that will help you combine these passions.
**Why study BA English and History at Goldsmiths?**
- You'll look at how texts represented and defined the attitudes of their time, and how they challenged or shocked the readers of the past. You'll learn to respect the power of the written word, and understand its potential for both positive and negative impacts.
- The best way to understand any words on a page is to understand the culture and society in which they were written. By studying both the texts themselves, and the history behind them, you'll go beyond the boundaries of the text; understanding what you read as part of a wider discourse.
- You'll be able to choose a range of modules from both English and History. In the final year, you'll bring the two disciplines together with a dissertation that interrogates the literature we've studied and uses it to answer a historical question that has piqued your interest.
- Our optional History at Work module gives you the chance to learn about working as a historian.
- You'll gain important skills including the ability to analyse and evaluate texts, spot biases, write summaries and draw evidence-based conclusions. The course is particularly useful for any career that involves analysing or processing large amounts of information.
At Level 4 you'll be introduced to essential concepts in literary study, encouraged to read a wide range of works covering the major literary genres, and become aware of changing views of the past, and theories of history. You'll choose between learning about cultural history, intellectual history, modern political history or religion, peace and conflict.
Level 5 consists of an interdisciplinary studies module or modules, plus a combination of English and history modules. For instance, (for English) you might want to: examine the literature and ideas of the 16th and 17th centuries; investigate how the concept of the American nation state was produced in 19th-century literature; make a literary and cultural analysis of Shakespeare's or Chaucer's work; and (for History): examine the medieval crusades or gender relations in the past; look into the cultural history of Buddhist Asia; or investigate the recent history of a range of European countries.
Your interdisciplinary studies at Level 6 are directed towards a written project, and you continue to deepen your knowledge by balancing your selection of English and History modules with those you took at Level 5.
Options currently available include: taking a creative writing option; exploring the close relationship between literature and film in the 20th century; investigating gender and culture in medieval Europe; considering contemporary moral problems; or studying aspects of African or South Asian history.
The Departments also offer each year a small number of single-term 'option' modules which can be combined in pairs to form the equivalent of full-year modules. You can also apply to take a 'related study' – an approved module from another department which is relevant to your overall module profile.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Coursework portfolios, long essays, examinations (various timescales and formats) and interdisciplinary project. The interdisciplinary project must be passed for the degree to be awarded.
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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.
English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options
What's it like studying a degree in History
What's it like studying a degree in English language and literature
English with History