BA History and Philosophy

UCAS code: VV15
Length: 3 years

Summary of course aims

This course aims to familiarise students with an extremely broad chronological range, whilst providing them with the opportunity of specialisation in particular periods and topics of British, European and American history. It also enables students to pursue their own interests through independent study and a substantial dissertation. Using a variety of approaches to the study of history, students will develop the ability to analyse change over time, to understand the nature of causal relationships, and to handle comparative, cross-cultural and abstract concepts. Additionally, students will refine the following subject-based skills:

• the collection and synthesis of large quantities of information
• the critical evaluation of primary and secondary sources
• the making of well-crafted and substantial judgements
• engagement in debate on historical issues.

The Philosophy part of the course aims to give students an understanding of central philosophical principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures, and to provide a course of study which introduces progressive intellectual challenges and consolidates previous experience at each new level. Students will be allowed to study in depth some aspects of Philosophy in which they have greater interest and alongside developing their aptitude for Philosophy.

Course content

The course is divided into 3 Parts (years). You must take 120 credits in each Part.

Part 1 introduces the disciplines with a variety of module choices.

Part 2 students develop critical judgement and problem solving, both through personal engagement with issues and through dialogue and group discussion. Students are encouraged to defend and to challenge established positions through the collection, collation and analysis of substantial quantities of material, the rigour of argument, and effective communication and presentation. History also prompts an awareness of numeracy through chronology, periodisation, and basic quantification.

In addition in Part 2, 5 are taken up by Career Management Skills.

Part 3 develops students' familiarity with information technology in the production and presentation of their work and, in History, develops their skills in using computers for the location and retrieval of bibliographic and source material, accessing sophisticated databases and exploiting the internet.

For a full description of this degree course with the required compulsory and optional modules, please download the programme specification. Please note that you are advised to check that this course is running for the next academic year.

http://www.info.reading.ac.uk/progspecs/prog-index.asp

Career prospects

Over the years students who have followed this course have gone into jobs in both the public and private sectors. As such they are eagerly sought after by employers.In addition they are given specific vocational training and orientation through a second year Career Management Scheme in conjunction with the Careers Advisory Service.In the public sector, jobs include academic and academic related jobs (e.g. lectureships, administrative posts on research boards), and the civil service. In the private sector, recent jobs include working for computer firms and large finance and insurance companies. In general, there is some evidence that IT firms appreciate the logical and analytic skills of the History and Philosophy graduate. Furthermore, a survey by the Royal Institute of Philosophy found that graduates with British Philosophy degrees consider their degree course to have been very relevant to their jobs, and report a very high level of job satisfaction

Opportunities for study abroad

There are no opportunities for study abroad during this degree course.