(Full time) 2021 start
English and History BA

Coronavirus information for applicants and offer holders
We hope that by the time you’re ready to start your studies with us the situation with COVID-19 will have eased. However, please be aware, we will continue to review our courses and other elements of the student experience in response to COVID-19 and we may need to adapt our provision to ensure students remain safe. For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19, regularly visit our website, which we will continue to update as the situation changes www.leeds.ac.uk/covid19faqs
Overview
This exciting and varied degree allows you to explore the full range of literature in English – whether prose, poetry, or drama, across different literary periods – whilst also gaining an understanding of British, European and world history in the context of a variety of periods and themes.
Core modules will provide you with the foundations for studying both English and History at an advanced level and ensure you have well-rounded subject knowledge. You'll also choose from a wide variety of optional modules, giving you the chance to tailor your course to your own interests.
You could specialise in a range of literature from Old English and the Arthurian legends to crime fiction and post-Apartheid narratives, and get hands-on experience setting type and using the printing presses in our Print Rooms. Our expertise in History ranges from theology in medieval France to 20th century American Business History, allowing you to focus on periods and themes which interest you.
Facilities
The University of Leeds has excellent resources for historians and literature students. The world-class Brotherton Library boasts unique manuscript, archive and early printed material in its Special Collections as well as extensive resources in all the areas we teach. The University Library offers comprehensive training programmes to help you make the most of the facilities we have.
Take a look around our libraries:
Brotherton Library
Laidlaw Library
Edward Boyle Library
Course content
Core modules in your first year will introduce you to texts across poetry, prose and drama and allow you to develop important skills such as historical methods and research. You’ll also have the chance to choose from discovery modules across a wide variety of subjects – an opportunity open to you throughout your degree.
You’ll build on this knowledge over the next two years. You’ll choose from core English modules spanning from the medieval period to today, and study at least one history module in the modern period and one from earlier times. You’ll then pursue your interests across optional modules in both subjects, from the Crusades to twentieth-century Africa and from folklore to disability and sexuality in contemporary literature.
Throughout the course, you’ll develop valuable interpretative and analytical skills, as well as becoming a confident researcher. You’ll demonstrate these qualities in your final year, when you undertake an independently researched dissertation on a topic of your choice.
Course structure
The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.
Modules
Year 1
Compulsory modules
- Foundations of English Studies 20 credits
- Historiography and Historical Skills 20 credits
- Primary Sources for the Historian: An Introduction to Documentary study 20 credits
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- Twentieth-Century Fiction in English 20 credits
- Prose: Reading and Interpretation 20 credits
- Poetry: Reading and Interpretation 20 credits
- Drama: Reading and Interpretation 20 credits
- Approaches to Theatre and Performance 1 20 credits
- Narratives of Witchcraft and Magic 20 credits
- Race, Writing and Decolonization 20 credits
- The Creative Essay: From Idea to Submission 20 credits
- Empire and Aftermath: The Mediterranean World from the Second to the Eighth Centuries 20 credits
- Faith, Knowledge and Power, 1500-1750 20 credits
- Medieval and Renaissance Europe 20 credits
- The Modern World 20 credits
Year 2
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- Power of Language 20 credits
- Language in Society 20 credits
- Medieval Literature 20 credits
- Eighteenth Century Literature 20 credits
- Literature of the Romantic Period 20 credits
- Renaissance Literature 20 credits
- Textual Healing: An Introduction to Scholarly Editing and Publishing 20 credits
- Writing Nature: Creative and Critical Practices 20 credits
- Imaginary Friends: the consolations and consequences of story 20 credits
- Shakespeare and Global Cinema 20 credits
- African American Narrative: Eight Major Works 20 credits
- Forming Victorian Fiction 20 credits
- Tragedy: Classical to Neo-Classical 20 credits
- 20th Century Britain: The Burdens of Conflict 1900-1945 20 credits
- Russia under the Romanovs, 1812-1917 20 credits
- Lost Colonists: Failure and the Family in Southern Africa, 1880-1939 20 credits
- Black Politics from Emancipation to Obama 20 credits
- Thinking about History 20 credits
- Histories of Black Britain 20 credits
Year 3
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- Modern Literature 20 credits
- Postcolonial Literature 20 credits
- Contemporary Literature 20 credits
- Shakespeare 20 credits
- Final Year Project 40 credits
- Arthurian Legend: Chivalry and Violence 20 credits
- The Wild: Literature and the Environment 20 credits
- Disposable Lives? 20 credits
- Contemporary Postcolonial Texts 20 credits
- Writing America 20 credits
- Angry Young Men and Women: Literature of the Mid-Twentieth Century 20 credits
- Lost in Fiction: The Metafictional Novel from 20 credits
- Millennial Fictions 20 credits
- Bowie, Reading, Writing 20 credits
- Fictions of the End: Apocalypse and After 20 credits
- Modernist Sexualities 20 credits
- States of Mind: Disability, Cognitive Impairment and Mental Health in Contemporary Culture 20 credits
- Postcolonial London 20 credits
- Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 40 credits
- Dividing India: The Road to Democracy in South Asia, 1939-1952 40 credits
- Tradition and Modernity in Colonial Africa: Uganda's Kingdoms 1862-1964 40 credits
- Citizens of the World: British Merchants in the Long Eighteenth Century 40 credits
- The Cultural History of Venice, 1509-1797 40 credits
- The Soviet Sixties: Politics and Society in the USSR, 1953-1968 40 credits
- Georgians at War 40 credits
- Caribbean Identity, Society and Decolonisation 20 credits
Discovery modules
Throughout your degree you will benefit from the range of opportunities, expanding your intellectual horizons outside or within your subject area.
This course gives you the opportunity to choose from a range of discovery modules. They’re a great way to tailor your study around your interests or career aspirations and help you stand out from the crowd when you graduate. Find out more about discovery modules on our Broadening webpages.
Learning and teaching
Our tutors in the Schools of English and History are leading researchers, and their teaching is informed by their work. We use a variety of teaching methods so you can benefit from their expertise, including lectures, seminars and tutorials. However, we also put a lot of emphasis on independent study, since this allows you to develop your research and critical skills.
On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.
Assessment
We use different means of assessment to develop your skills, including exams and essays. Extended projects may also be assessed components in some modules. We offer plenty of support, including the chance to attend extra classes on issues such as exam technique, public speaking and structuring an essay if you need them.
Entry requirements, fees and applying
Entry requirements
A-level: AAA including A in History and A in English (Literature, Language or Language and Literature).
Other course specific tests:Where an applicant is taking the EPQ in a relevant subject this might be considered alongside other Level 3 qualifications and may attract an alternative offer in addition to the standard offer. If you are taking A Levels, this would be AAB at A Level including A in English and History and grade A in the EPQ.
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Access to HE Diploma
Pass diploma with 60 credits overall, including at least 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. An interview and a piece of written work may also be required. The Access course must include English modules. This course has additional subject specific requirements for History. Contact the Admissions Office for more information.
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BTEC
We will consider the level 3 QCF BTEC at Subsidiary Diploma level and above in combination with other qualifications. Please contact the Admissions Office for more information.
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Cambridge Pre-U
D3, D3, M2 including D3 in English and D3 in History.
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International Baccalaureate
35 overall (17 higher including 6 in Higher level History and 6 in Higher level English)
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Irish Highers (Leaving Certificate)
H2, H2, H2, H2, H2, H2 including H2 in English and H2 in History
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Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers
Please contact Admissions Office for more information.
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Welsh Baccalaureate
The Welsh Baccalaureate is not typically included in the academic conditions of an offer made to you for this course. If you choose to undertake the Welsh Baccalaureate we would strongly encourage you to draw upon these experiences within your personal statement, as your qualification will then be taken into account both when your application is initially considered by the selection panel and again when reviewed by the admissions tutor at the time your A-level results are passed to us.
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Other Qualifications
European Baccalaureate: 85% with 8.5 in English and History.
Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the Schools Undergraduate Admissions Team.
Alternative entry
Were committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.
Access to Leeds is an alternative admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.
Find out more about Access to Leeds and alternative admissions.
Typical Access to Leeds offer: ABB including A in English and B in History at A Level and pass Access to Leeds.
International
We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information contact the School of English admissions team.
International Foundation Year
International students who do not meet the academic requirements for undergraduate study may be able to study the University of Leeds International Foundation Year. This gives you the opportunity to study on campus, be taught by University of Leeds academics and progress onto a wide range of Leeds undergraduate courses. Find out more about International Foundation Year programmes.
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.
Improve your English
If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our undergraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.
How to apply
Apply to this course through UCAS. The institution code for the University of Leeds is L23. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website.
International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK/EU students. Our network of international representatives can help you with your application. If you’re unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.
Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.
Admissions policy
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures Undergraduate Admissions Policy 2021
Fees
UK: See fees section below
International: £20,250 (per year)
Undergraduate tuition fees for 2020 entry
For UK and non-UK EU full-time students starting in 2020, the fee for 2020/21 will be £9,250.
The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation, and as permitted by law. Fees for UK and non-UK EU undergraduate students are decided by Government and may vary if policy changes.
The UK government has confirmed that non-UK EU students starting in the 2020/21 academic year will have home fee status and be eligible for UK government student loans for the duration of their course.
UK undergraduate tuition fees for 2021 entry
For UK full-time students starting in 2021, the fee for 2021/22 will be £9,250.
The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation, and as permitted by law. Fees for UK undergraduate students are decided by Government and may vary if policy changes.
EU students starting in 2021/22
EU students starting their course in the 2021/22 academic year or later will now be classed as international students and so will need to pay the international student tuition fee.
Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year
If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period. For more information, see Study abroad and work placement tuition fees and loans.
Read more about paying fees and charges.
Brexit
Visit our Brexit page for the latest information on the effect of the UK's exit from the EU on current students and applicants to the University.
There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more about additional costs
Financial support
If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There is help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Find out more in our Undergraduate funding overview.
Career opportunities
Your degree in English and History will give you transferable skills that can help you succeed in a wide range of careers.
You’ll have strong research skills and be confident working independently or within a team. You’ll be able to analyse information from a number of different sources and form your own conclusions about them. Then you’ll be able to communicate and present those views clearly, both verbally and in writing. You’ll also have the time management and organisational skills needed to manage two demanding subjects.
Graduates have pursued careers in fields such as publishing, law, journalism, business and finance, advertising and marketing, the civil service, education and the charity sector. Many others have progressed to postgraduate study.
We’re committed to helping you achieve your career ambitions. You could boost your CV with one of the internship opportunities offered by the School of History and the School of English each year, become a peer mentor or take any of our employability-related modules during your degree.
Careers support
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. Thats one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
Leeds for Life is our unique approach to helping you make the most of University by supporting your academic and personal development. Find out more at the Leeds for Life website.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
Study abroad and work placements
Study abroad
On this course you have the opportunity to apply to spend time abroad, usually as an extra academic year. We have over 300 University partners worldwide and popular destinations for our students include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Latin America.
Find out more at the Study Abroad website.
Work placements
Practical work experience can help you decide on your career and improve your employability. On this course you have the option to apply to take a placement year module with organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK, or overseas.
Find out more about work experience on the Careers website.