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2023/24
2024/25

BA History and Politics

  • UCAS code
    VLD2
  • Typical offer
    BBB
  • Year of entry
    2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  3 Years

Address some of the contemporary world's most pressing problems and explore their roots in the past with our BA History and Politics.

Discover a thousand years of history while experiencing all the specialist areas on offer at the University of Reading. The Department of History's expertise covers a wide and diverse range of regions, from Europe and Africa to America, South Asia and the Middle East.

In your first year, your core modules will explore people, politics and revolution – finding out how people struggled for power in past societies – and the culture and concepts those societies developed. We will teach you the skills you need to study and research history through an individual project of your choice. This joint degree enables you to address contemporary issues and trace them back to their historical roots.

The University of Reading is ranked in the top 200 in the world for History (QS World Rankings 2023, by Subject). In 2022, we achieved a 94% satisfaction score for BA History (National Student Survey 2022).

97% of our research outputs are rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, meaning that the University of Reading is 6th highest in the UK for research outputs (Times Higher Education analysis of the latest REF 2021 – Politics and International Studies, when scoring by GPA Output).

By studying politics, you will acquire a strong grounding in the fundamental elements of the subject such as political ideas and democratic processes. You can study a wide range of specialist core and optional modules, which cover topics such as British government and politics, European political integration, and political thinking.

You will be taught in small interactive seminar groups, encouraging discussion and debate with teaching staff and fellow students. We place a great deal of importance on employability skills in both sides of your degree, and our modules History Education, Discovering Archives and Collections, and Going Public all offer students short work placements and act as an introduction to possible career paths.

You have the option to apply to study abroad on this joint degree. Some of the universities we have links with include University of Maastricht, Netherlands; University of Georgia, USA; and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. The University also offers all students the chance to learn a modern language alongside their core subjects.

Placement

Placements are a prominent feature of our degree courses and highly encouraged. Placements are a good way to show you how you can use the skills acquired through studying history in the real world. In History we ensure that placements are incorporated into your core learning. In the second year, we offer opportunities for short group placements in museums and heritage and media organisations, and encourage students to reflect on what they have learned from previous employment or voluntary work experience. For third years, two optional modules offer placements of 10 working days in local archives and secondary schools.

Through our links with the Careers Centre, you can source potential employers and help with CVs and letters of application. Staff in the department also have close links with the university’s Institute of Education, Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) and Special Collections (archives), and with external organisations such as the Berkshire Record Office.

Study abroad

You also have the option to study abroad for a term in the second year. Some of the universities we have links with include University of Ottawa, Canada; University of Maastricht, Netherlands; University of Georgia, USA; and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

For more information, please visit the Department of History website.

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250

New international students: £22,350

*UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Throughout your degree you will complete career and skills related modules, encouraging you to think about what career you would like and what skills you will need. If you would like a career in teaching, or in archives or records management, try our optional third-year modules, History Education and Discovering Archives and Collections. We have had a high success rate from students who have completed History Education, with many of our graduates gaining places for Initial Teacher Training. Additionally, both these modules develop a wide range of interpersonal, organisational, presentational and research skills readily transferable to other areas of employment.

As a history and politics graduate you will gain a broad range of transferable skills, including the ability to think clearly and critically, to communicate with confidence and work effectively both individually and as part of a team. 

Our History and Politics graduates are valued by employers for their research, analytical, teamwork and communication skills. Overall, 94% of graduates from the Department of History are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation, and 89% of Politics and International Relations graduates [1]. Recent employers have included The British Museum, The Football Association, The House of Commons, Marks and Spencer, MI5, Morgan Stanley and Siemens Financial Services.

[1] Based on our analysis of HESA data (c) HESA 2023, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21 includes all History responders and all Politics and International Relations responders.