(Full time) 2025 start
English and History BA
Overview
This exciting degree allows you to explore the human experience from the medieval period to contemporary times, from the perspectives of both History and English.
This joint honours course provides a unique insight into the development of the world in which we live, combining the study of prose, poetry, and drama with specialist British, European and global history modules across a variety of periods and themes. The course will allow you to develop your own areas of specialism and a skillset that will be appealing to employers.
Core modules provide you with the foundations for studying both English and History, enabling you to flourish as a Leeds undergraduate. You’ll also choose from a wide variety of optional modules, giving you the chance to tailor the course to your own interests.
You could specialise in a range of literature, from Old English and Arthurian legends to the novels of Jane Austen and postcolonial fiction, while also getting hands-on experience setting type and using the printing presses in our print rooms.
Our expertise in History ranges from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present day, and our cutting-edge curriculum has been designed to prioritise the study of voices that have traditionally been overlooked in historical narratives.
Facilities
The University of Leeds has world-class facilities and resources to study both English and History.
The School of English supports a vibrant community of researchers and creative practitioners. It’s home to the Leeds Poetry Centre, which regularly host readings and talks by well-known and emerging contemporary writers. It also produces a literary magazine, Stand, and publishes the best in new creative writing. You’ll also have opportunities to learn traditional printing and typesetting techniques using our period printing presses and learn more about print and publishing history.
The School of History has its own academic journal, Northern History, and has dedicated research clusters in key areas of the past, including Health, Medicine and Society, Women, Gender and Sexuality, War and Peace, and Global History. You’ll also benefit from the School’s partnerships and collaborations with local and national archives, museums and galleries, including the West Yorkshire Archive Service, the Royal Armouries, Thackray Museum of Medicine, and the Migration Museum.
The University’s own libraries house one of the largest collections of printed and manuscript collections in the UK.
Take a look around our libraries:
Brotherton Library
Laidlaw Library
Edward Boyle Library
Skills@Library offers training courses to help you make the most of the library’s collections, digital resources and databases. In addition, it can provide one-to-one support to taught students on a wide range of topics, including academic writing, research skills, and data analysis.
The Brotherton’s Library’s manuscripts are held in the Special Collections Research Centre, which has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment and extension, after a generous bequest from the John Victor Bedford Will Trust.
This provides new working spaces for individuals or groups, and new teaching spaces that feature visualisers and projectors, enabling you to engage with sources using the latest techniques.
Prominent Special Collections include letters by Charles Dickens, manuscripts by the Brontës, a Shakespeare First Folio, the extensive archives of prominent contemporary poets including Simon Armitage and Tony Harrison, manorial records from the 13th-16th centuries, the Leeds Russian Archive (a resource for the study of Anglo-Russian relations into the 20th century), the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma collection, Feminist Archive North, and the Liddle Collection of personal papers from thousands of people who lived through the First and Second World Wars.
Course content
Year 1
In Year 1, you’ll lay the foundations for your degree. Core modules will guide you through the transition to university study, helping you to read critically and develop your historical skills and awareness.
A further core module on Race, Writing and Decolonization draws upon the School of English’s long history of teaching and research on postcolonialism, Black writing, and African-American studies. You’ll also have the chance to take innovative optional modules in medieval, modern or global history that showcase the latest in inclusive historical scholarship.
Year 2
In Year 2, you’ll take two core modules on the literatures of the environment and human embodiment, and a core module that focuses on different aspects of History in Practice. You’ll also choose from a range of optional History and English modules spanning the early medieval period to the present day. This will allow you pursue your interests across optional modules in both subjects with wide geographic coverage and strong thematic coherence.
Year 3
In Year 3, you’ll specialise in the History and English that interests you the most. Working closely with a tutor on a research-based Special Subject module, you’ll focus on a specific topic and engage closely with primary sources. Optional History and English modules with more advanced thematic content can be taken to further hone your skills. Throughout the course, you’ll develop valuable interpretative and analytical skills, as well as becoming a confident researcher. These qualities will be demonstrated when you undertake a Final Year Project on a topic of your choice in either English or History.
Modules
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Learning and teaching
Our tutors are experts in their fields, and their teaching is informed by their own cutting-edge research. We use a range of teaching methods to help you benefit from their expertise, connecting you with the latest research in English and History.
Our vision for teaching revolves around safe learning spaces and inclusive curricula, ensuring that everyone can participate. You’ll learn in lectures, seminars, one-to-one tutorials, online discussions, and by creating and sharing content (including presentations, posters, blogs, and reviews). As well as meeting other students in lectures and seminars, you’ll also work with each other on field trips, and in archive visits and museum handling sessions.
These activities are underpinned by digital technologies that structure your learning and intellectual development. You’ll have the opportunity to produce podcasts, digital exhibitions and storyboards, network graphs, text analyses, timelines, maps, and bibliographies using the latest digital tools and platforms.
Our online spaces are integrated with in-person teaching activities, allowing you to review lectures, ask questions, and record and reflect upon your learning. Independent learning is also central to the development of your skills in research and analysis, and you’ll apply these skills in a Final Year Project on a topic of your own choice.
Fieldwork
During your time studying English and History at the University of Leeds, you’ll have the opportunity to engage in research outside the classroom, including in archives and museums (the University’s Special Collections, the on-campus M&S Archives, the West Yorkshire Archives Service, Leeds Museums and Galleries, and the Royal Amouries). Students will also have the opportunity present their own research at the University of Leeds Undergraduate Research Conference.
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
The assessments used in the degree course are designed to develop your academic and career skills. ‘Take-home’ exams and essays are just two of the modes of assessments used. Some modules may also include group work, oral presentations, source commentaries, annotated bibliographies, book/literature reviews, blog posts, wikis, podcasts, digital exhibitions and self-directed heritage trails as part of the assessment mix.
We offer plenty of support, including the chance to attend extra classes on issues such as exam technique, public speaking and structuring essays if you need them. We use this variety of assessment methods to help you develop a range of transferable skills needed in professional life.
Throughout your degree, you’ll be presented with choices about your assignments, whether it be selecting an essay question, choosing primary sources to analyse, or developing you own lines of inquiry in your Final Year Project.
Entry requirements, fees and applying
Entry requirements
A-level: AAB including A in English (Literature, Language or Language and Literature)
Other course specific tests:EPQ offer: ABB including A in English (Literature, Language or Language and Literature) and grade A in the EPQ
We welcome applications from mature students with Access qualifications, and from students with a wide range of qualifications.
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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 be required. The Access course must follow a Humanities pathway and/or include English modules.
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BTEC
BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma: DDD. Other BTEC qualifications are also considered. Please contact the Admissions Office for more information.
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Cambridge Pre-U
D3, M1, M2 including D3 in English
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International Baccalaureate
35 points overall with 16 at Higher Level including 6 in English at Higher Level
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Irish Leaving Certificate (higher Level)
H2, H2, H2, H2, H3, H3 including H2 in English
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Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers
AB in Advanced Highers (including A in English) and AABBB in Highers, or A in English Advanced Highers and AABBB in Highers
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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. -
Other Qualifications
European Baccalaureate: 85% including 8.5 in English
Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the Schools Undergraduate Admissions Team.
Alternative entry
We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.
Access to Leeds is a contextual 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 contextual admissions.
Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year
This course is designed for students whose backgrounds mean they are less likely to attend university (also known as widening participation backgrounds) and who do not currently meet admissions criteria for direct entry to a degree.
The course will give you the opportunity to be taught by academic staff and provides intensive support to enable your development of academic skills and knowledge. On successful completion of your foundation year, you will progress to your chosen degree course. Find out more about the Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year
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. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website.
Read our guidance about applying.
International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK 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
University of Leeds Taught Admissions Policy 2024
Fees
UK: To be confirmed
International: To be confirmed
Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2024/25
Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students are set by the UK Government and will be £9,250 for students starting in 2024/25.
The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation only, as a consequence of future changes in Government legislation and as permitted by law.
Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26
Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 have not yet been confirmed by the UK government. When the fee is available we will update individual course pages.
Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 and 2025/26
Tuition fees for international students for 2024/25 are available on individual course pages. Fees for students starting in 2025/26 will be available from September 2024.
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.
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 on our living costs and budgeting page.
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.
The course will equip you with strong research skills and the confidence to work independently or within a team. You’ll be able to analyse information from different texts and sources, forming your own conclusions and presenting them clearly, both verbally and in writing. The degree will help you develop 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.
Careers support
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s 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 about Careers support.
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.