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English and History (Full-time) (BA Hons)

Carmarthen
3 Years Full-time
96 - 112 UCAS Points

The Joint Honours English and History degree offers you the chance to explore two fascinating and interrelated subjects. This course allows you to study both English literature and history, and the intersections between them, developing the intellectual tools to approach these subjects from a variety of perspectives.

The English part of the degree covers a wide range of genres and periods of literature, from Shakespeare to contemporary fiction, and explores key themes and ideas that have shaped the development and understanding of literature. You will engage with both literary theory and the practice of literary analysis, learning to interpret texts in their historical context and reflecting on how literature reflects and shapes society. You will also have the opportunity to produce creative responses to texts.

The History part of this degree explores the history of Europe, the US, and beyond, ranging from Ancient Rome to the modern period. It will allow you to explore a range of  thematic approaches to history, including political history, social history, and cultural history, encouraging you to consider the richness and diversity of human experience across time. 

You will learn textual and source analysis, an understanding of narrative and critical thinking skills. These skills will be tested through a range of assessments, from essays to archive and library projects, to creative responses.

Both subjects work together to improve your communication skills, with a focus on how to present complex ideas clearly and persuasively. These skills are valuable not only in an academic context, but for a range of careers after graduation. By the end of the course, you will be able to critically assess historical and literary materials, providing evidence-based interpretations of the past and engaging with cultural, literary and historical debates in a meaningful way.

This Humanities joint honours degree provides an opportunity to build a coherent and engaging academic experience, offering flexibility to create combinations of modules that best suit your interests. By studying English and History, you’ll gain a deep understanding of the historical periods that have shaped our world and develop the analytical and creative skills necessary for interpreting both literature and history.

Course details

Start date:
Study modes:
  • Full-time
  • On-campus
Language:
  • English
Institution code:
T80
UCAS code:
QV31
Course length:
3 Years Full-time
Entry requirements:
96 - 112 UCAS Points

Tuition Fees 25/26
Home (Full-time): £9,535 per year
Overseas (Full-time): £15,525 per year

Why choose this course?

01
Explore two fascinating and interrelated subjects.
02
Wide range of modules options on offer.
03
Small-group classes with a focus on discussion and engaging learning activities.

What you will learn

The Joint Honours English and History programme is designed to foster critical thinking, creativity, and independent learning. Through a series of interdisciplinary studies, students will develop the skills necessary to analyse and interpret both literary and historical texts. With a focus on critical thinking, creative writing, and the historical context of literature, students are encouraged to engage with complex ideas and viewpoints.

In the first year, students focus on building a foundation in creative and critical writing. Compulsory modules introduce short story techniques, critical theory, and the essentials of writing as a career through “The Art of the Pitch.†Optional modules range from Shakespearean studies to ecocriticism, with unique opportunities to explore rare collections at the Roderic Bowen Library and Archives.

Exploring the Humanities

(20 credits)

Optional

Historicising Texts

(20 credits)

Introduction to the Craft of Writing

(20 credits)

Myths and Mythology: How Stories Shape the World

(20 credits)

Popular Fiction

(20 credits)

The Study of Literature: Text and Theory

(20 credits)

People’s worlds: Interactions with the Environment

(20 Credits)

The Modern World

(20 credits)

Doing History: Past in Practice

(20 credits)

Everyday Life in Athens and Rome

(20 credits)

The Medieval World

(20 credits)

What makes civilisation?

(20 credits)

Year 2 deepens critical engagement, with compulsory modules exploring 20th and 21st-century writing, speculative fiction, and Renaissance literature. Creative skills expand into writing for TV, film, and radio, alongside “The Art of the Pitch,†which develops professional writing insights. Students may also select from options like performance poetry and a professional placement, offering real-world experience.

Psyche, Text, and Society: Critical and Cultural Theory

(20 credits)

Green to the very door: Ecocriticism and Romanticism

(20 credits)

Make it New: Aspects of 20th and 21st Century Writing

(20 credits)

Error and Sweet Violence: Shakespeare and Renaissance Comedy and Tragedy

(20 credits)

The Book, the Body, and the World: Renaissance Humanism, Medicine, and Exploration

(20 credits)

Writing for TV, Film and Radio

(20 credits)

Optional 

Independent Creative Project
A troubled unity: Philosophy, Society and Civil War in the Literature of the Seventeenth Century

(20 credits)

Novel writing

(20 credits)

Armies and Navies: Studies in Ancient Warfare

(20 credits)

Confessing with Saint Augustine: God and Religion in the Twilight of the Roman Empire

(20 credits)

Activism, Protest and Campaigning for Global Justice

(20 credits)

(Re)presenting and (Re)constructing the Past

(20 credits)

Celtic Sanctity and Spirituality: Hagiography and Saints' Cults

(20 credits)

Error and Sweet Violence: Shakespeare and Renaissance Comedy and Tragedy

(20 credits)

Difficult Heritage/ Dark Tourism

(20 credits)

Identity and Myth: The Normans and their World

(20 credits)

Medicine and Miracles: Health, Illness, and Cure

(20 credits)

The Irish Question 1886-1998: from Charles Parnell to the Good Friday Agreement

(20 credits)

Britain and the Great War

(20 credits)

Classical Mythology and Legends in Roman and Medieval Times

(20 credits)

Cold war, hot wars. Global perspectives on post-war history

(20 credits)

Exhibiting the Past: Ancient Egypt, death and modern representation

(20 credits)

From Desert Myths to Sheep Tales: The Cistercians in the Middle Ages

(20 credits)

Global Governance

(20 credits)

Gwlad, gwlad: Aspects of Welsh History 1200 to the present

(20 credits)

Heritage and Archaeology of Conflict

(20 credits)

Medieval Prose in Wales

(20 credits)

Pompeii: The life, death and rediscovery of a Roman town

(20 credits)

Special Collections Research: The Roderic Bowen Library and Archives

(20 credits)

The Book, the Body, and the World: Renaissance Humanism, Medicine, and Exploration

(20 credits)

Women and Religion

(20 credits)

Religions in Africa

(20 credits)

Rome Transformed: The World of Late Antiquity

(20 credits)

The World of Han China (206 BCE to 220 CE)

(20 credits)

Medieval Britain from Edward the Confessor to Richard II, 1042 -1399

(20 credits)

Medieval Europe from Charlemagne to the Hundred Years War, 800 -1453

(20 credits)

Museums, Heritage and Representation

(20 credits)

Global Genocides

(20 credits)

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Understanding the Enlightenment

(20 credits)

‘War made the State and the State made War’: Politics and Warfare in the Modern Age

(20 credits)

From the Death of Stalin to the Oil Crises. Life in the Shadow of the Iron Curtain

(20 credits)

Looking at the Age of Extremes: The Cultural History of 20th century Europe

(20 credits)

In the final year, students refine their independent project, bringing together creative and research skills. Compulsory modules provide advanced critical theory and practical industry insight. Students may choose from diverse topics, including philosophy in literature and Renaissance poetics, while special collections research offers access to historical texts, fostering advanced research skills for future careers in writing or academia.

Independent Project

(40 credits)

Psyche, Text, and Society: Critical and Cultural Theory

(20 credits)

The Book, the Body, and the World: Renaissance Humanism, Medicine, and Exploration

(20 credits)

Optional 

Novel writing

(20 credits)

Special Collections Research: The Roderic Bowen Library and Archives

(20 credits)

The Well-Tempered Reader: Renaissance Poetics

(20 credits)

Armies and Navies: Studies in Ancient Warfare

(20 credits)

Confessing with Saint Augustine: God and Religion in the Twilight of the Roman Empire

(20 credits)

Activism, Protest and Campaigning for Global Justice

(20 credits)

(Re)presenting and (Re)constructing the Past

(20 credits)

Celtic Sanctity and Spirituality: Hagiography and Saints' Cults

(20 credits)

Error and Sweet Violence: Shakespeare and Renaissance Comedy and Tragedy

(20 credits)

Difficult Heritage/ Dark Tourism

(20 credits)

Identity and Myth: The Normans and their World

(20 credits)

The Irish Question 1886-1998: from Charles Parnell to the Good Friday Agreement

(20 credits)

Britain and the Great War

(20 credits)

Classical Mythology and Legends in Roman and Medieval Times

(20 credits)

Cold war, hot wars. Global perspectives on post-war history

(20 credits)

Exhibiting the Past: Ancient Egypt, death and modern representation

(20 credits)

From Desert Myths to Sheep Tales: The Cistercians in the Middle Ages

(20 credits)

Global Governance

(20 credits)

Gwlad, gwlad: Aspects of Welsh History 1200 to the present

(20 credits)

Heritage and Archaeology of Conflict

(20 credits)

Medieval Prose in Wales

(20 credits)

Pompeii: The life, death and rediscovery of a Roman town

(20 credits)

The Book, the Body, and the World: Renaissance Humanism, Medicine, and Exploration

(20 credits)

Women and Religion

(20 credits)

Religions in Africa

(20 credits)

Rome Transformed: The World of Late Antiquity

(20 credits)

The World of Han China (206 BCE to 220 CE)

(20 credits)

Medieval Britain from Edward the Confessor to Richard II, 1042 -1399

(20 credits)

Medieval Europe from Charlemagne to the Hundred Years War, 800 -1453

(20 credits)

Museums, Heritage and Representation

(20 credits)

Medicines and Miracles: Health, Illness, and Cure
Global Genocides

(20 credits)

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Understanding the Enlightenment

(20 credits)

‘War made the State and the State made War’: Politics and Warfare in the Modern Age

(20 credits)

From the Death of Stalin to the Oil Crises. Life in the Shadow of the Iron Curtain

(20 credits)

Looking at the Age of Extremes: The Cultural History of 20th century Europe

(20 credits)

Course Disclaimer

  • The modules outlined above provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this course based on recent academic teaching. We continuously review our courses to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Where your course includes optional modules, these are to provide an element of choice within the course. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed.

    You’ll typically complete 120 credits per year of study on a full-time course. For more information visit our Student Agreement.

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Staff

Our People

You will be taught and supported by a wide range of professional staff and teams here to help you get the university experience you are looking for. Our teaching staff were ranked 2nd in Wales for Teaching, Assessment and Feedback and Academic Support (NSS 2024) meaning that the support and feedback you get will help you learn and develop strong academic skills. Our students have placed us 1st in Wales for Learning Opportunities and Student Voice (NSS 2024) meaning that there are a wide range of opportunities available to enhance your studies and that students play an active role in shaping their learning experiences. Our commitment to your learning has seen our students place us as 1st in Wales and joint 3rd in the UK for student satisfaction (Times Higher Education, 2024, ‘Overall Positivity’ measure). Find out more about our academic staff who teach across our courses. 

Further information

  • Grades are important; however, our offers are not solely based on academic results. We are interested in creative people that demonstrate a strong commitment to their chosen subject area and therefore we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.

    To assess student suitability for their chosen course we normally arrange interviews for all applicants at which your skills, achievements and life experience will be considered as well as your qualifications.

  • The programme is assessed in a variety of ways and will include several of the following types of assessment: essays of 1,000 to 4,000 words in length, document analyses, book reviews, short reports and reflective journals, timed tests, take-home exams, field journals, posters, group and individual presentations, dissertations of 10,000 words, wikis, commentaries and film evaluations.

  • The Faculty has estimated on the assumption that students buy new copies of the books. Students may also choose to spend money on printing drafts of work.

    Students may spend up to £300 per year on books and additional related materials.

    Students are expected to submit two hard copies of their final project, the estimated cost for binding these is Â£20.

    Optional Field trip:
    Faculty works to ensure that there are a range of fieldwork and field trip options available both locally and internationally. Thus students can opt to take either more expensive or less expensive placements. The Faculty subsidises these but the cost each year is dependent on airfare, location, and currency exchange rates. Below are the upper end of expected costs based on where students have currently done placements.

    Fieldwork (depending on where student decides to do fieldwork): c. £500 - £1,500
    Individual trips: c. £5 - Â£50

  • You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit our Scholarships and Bursaries section.

  • Career and employment opportunities are very broad and include:

    • Administrative and managerial jobs 
    • Community Work
    • Freelance work such as copywriting, editing 
    • Independent and commissioned creative writing
    • Marketing and fundraising
    • Publishing
    • Teaching
    • Writing for film, television and media