English Literature and History (BA)
- Subject areas: English language and literature, History and ancient history
- UCAS code: VQ13
- Next intake: September 2025
- Duration: 3 years
- Mode: Full time
Why study this course
Follow your interests
Choose from modules across a widerange of periods and genres.
Adventure and exploration
Opportunities to study abroad in Europe and beyond, fostering independence and resilience.
Future-focused
Develop in-demand employability skills, enhancing your career prospects in a wide range of fields.
Learn from the best
Study research-led modules with world-renowned literary scholars and authors.
Communicate effectively
Develop employability skills and experience in presenting your ideas in speech and writing.
On our English Literature and History (BA) programme, you’ll be able to explore the span of English literature and take history modules that develop your knowledge and critical understanding of the political, social, economic, and cultural structures of past societies.
Our historical expertise reaches an extraordinary breadth of periods, societies, and places, spanning the British Isles, Europe (east and west), Africa, Asia, and the Americas. In English literature, you won’t be restricted to studying the printed word: we are intrigued by the connections between literature and film, art, history, technology, language, and everyday life, and our teaching reflects these interests. The focus throughout the degree is on your becoming a careful and informed reader and writer who can communicate precisely, stylishly, and effectively. You’ll become a versatile, highly employable researcher who is both critically independent and collaborative.
Criss-crossing this wide range of time spans and perspectives, you’ll cultivate intellectual skills such as the ability to assess literary and historical evidence critically, to evaluate different interpretations of the evidence, to construct arguments on the basis of evidence, and to express opinions cogently in speech and in writing. Our modules give you the opportunity to study both well-established areas, such as political, social, cultural and gender history, or explore areas that might be new to you, such as environmental history or digital history. On our joint degree, you’ll develop the skills so advantageous in our digital age: creativity, empathy, critical thinking, persuasive communication skills and the ability to challenge and question.
Our friendly academic staff will be on hand to guide you and provide full and constructive feedback throughout your studies. Bringing a wealth of expertise across theme, genre, period and geography, your lecturers will share latest thinking in the classroom, including their own cutting-edge research.
Subject area: English language and literature
Subject area: History and ancient history
Entry requirements
We accept a combination of A-levels and other qualifications, as well as equivalent international qualifications subject to entry requirements. Typical offers are as follows:
A level
AAB-ABB. Must include Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.
Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.
Our grade range covers our standard offer and contextual offer. We carefully consider the circumstances in which you've been studying (your contextual data) upon application.
- Eligible students will be given an offer at the lower end of the advertised grade range.
- Where there is no grade range advertised and/or where there are selection processes in place (like an interview) you may receive additional points in the selection process or be guaranteed interview/consideration.
Learn about eligible courses and how contextual data is applied.
International Baccalaureate
34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL English Language and Literature, English Literature, or English Literature and Performance.
Baccalaureate Wales
From September 2023, there will be a new qualification called the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales (level 3). This qualification will replace the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (Welsh Baccalaureate). The qualification will continue to be accepted in lieu of one A-Level (at the grades listed above), excluding any specified subjects.
Other essential requirements
You must have or be working towards:
- English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade C/4 or an equivalent (such as A-levels). If you require a Student visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements.
We do not accept Critical Thinking, General Studies, Citizenship Studies, or other similar equivalent subjects.
We will accept a combination of BTEC subjects, A-levels, and other qualifications, subject to the course specific grade and subject requirements.
English language requirements
GCSE
Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.
IELTS (academic)
At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.
TOEFL iBT
At least 90 overall with a minimum of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading, and 20 for speaking.
PTE Academic
At least 69 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.
Trinity ISE II/III
II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.
Other accepted qualifications
Please visit our English Language requirements page for more information on our other accepted language qualifications.
Criminal convictions
You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.
If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:
- access to computers or devices that can store images
- use of internet and communication tools/devices
- curfews
- freedom of movement
- contact with people related to Cardiff University.
Other qualifications from inside the UK
BTEC
DD in a BTEC Diploma in Humanities and Social Science subjects, and grade B in A-level Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.
T level
Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.
Please see our admissions policies for more information about the application process.
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.
Learn how we decide your fee status
Fees for home status
We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of a course as permitted by law or Welsh Government policy. Where applicable we will notify you of any change in tuition fee by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which the fee will increase.
Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland
We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.
Fees for island status
Learn more about the undergraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Fees for overseas status
We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.
Additional costs
Course specific equipment
You will not need any specific equipment.
Accommodation
We have a range of residences to suit your needs and budget. Find out more on our accommodation pages.
Living costs
We're based in one of the UK's most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.
Course structure
This is a 3-year full-time degree, with 120 credits of study in each year – 60 credits in English literature and 60 credits in history.
The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2025/2026 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2025.
Year one
Year 1 offers a foundation for study, designed to equip you with the skills for advanced study and give you an overview of your subjects.
In English literature, you'll take 3 core modules that enhance your skills in critical reading and critical writing, by examining a range of literary genres and interpretative approaches. These modules lay the foundations for your academic development in literary studies in your second and final years. They also give you key writing, reading, research, and employability skills that you will use throughout your degree and beyond.
History modules are designed to equip you with the skills for advanced study and introduce you to historical themes and areas of study that you may not have encountered at A level. Our two core modules introduce you to the different frameworks which underpin historical study and the different ways of writing history, while also allowing you to explore how we understand ‘global’ connections and historical change to challenge how we think beyond set time periods and regional or national borders. Optional modules allow you to extend your historical knowledge and skills through a variety of periods and regions to lay the foundation for study in year 2 and the final year.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| The Making of The Modern World, 1750-1970 | HS1105 | 20 credits |
| Inventing a Nation: Politics, Culture and Heritage | HS1109 | 20 credits |
| Medieval Worlds, AD 500 -1500 | HS1112 | 20 credits |
| Renaissance, Reformation and Revolution | HS1117 | 20 credits |
| History in Practice Part 1: Questions, Frameworks and Audiences. | HS1119 | 20 credits |
| History in Practice Part 2: Sources, Evidence and Argument. | HS1120 | 20 credits |
| Global Histories | HS6101 | 20 credits |
| Reading Up Close | SE2149 | 20 credits |
| Ways of Reading: Literature, Culture, Theory | SE2150 | 20 credits |
| Writing at University and Beyond | SE6266 | 20 credits |
Year two
There are no core modules in English literature in year 2. Instead, you have the freedom to choose your modules from two different ‘baskets’ that have been designed to give you a coherent experience across periods, genres, and thematic areas. Basket A (‘Literary Periods’) covers the range of English literature from the medieval era to the present moment. Basket B (‘Themes, Forms, and Genres’) includes modules that address literature and the environment; film and visual culture; the history and future of the book; race and colonialism; feminisms; and the gothic. You will choose 2 modules from one basket and 1 from the other, with either 20 or 40 credits per semester, depending on the fit with your other subject. These second-year English literature modules build upon work undertaken in year 1 and continue our commitment to allowing you to study literature alongside other forms of culture (such as film).
In history, you take a core module which introduces you to the key theoretical approaches and methods that have influenced historical writing. Our optional modules allow you to explore themes across a narrower time range while encouraging a more comparative approach to history. In your second year, the emphasis shifts towards different approaches to history and different ways of using evidence. You also have the option to take modules which give you a deeper understanding of the kinds of evidence historians use, the ways of using that evidence, and the historian’s role in sharing research beyond the boundaries of academia and the voices they privilege or silence.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Reading History | HS6201 | 20 credits |
Year three
By your final year, you’ll have gained experience of a variety of literary periods, topics, genres and approaches, developing your critical faculties and your skills in analysing texts and contexts. You choose between a range of more specialised modules that engage with current issues in research and scholarship in relation to authors and literary texts, and historical topics and areas both well-known and possibly less familiar to you.
In English literature, you take a 20-credit core module that will give you the opportunity to undertake a detailed examination of a single text across a whole semester and to use the experience and knowledge gained as the basis of a public-facing piece of work.
You also have the opportunity to undertake a sustained independent research project on a topic of your choice in either discipline, enabling you to focus on a particular area or period or to examine the interface between literature and history at greater depth.
| Module title | Module code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Literature for All | SE2639 | 20 credits |
The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.
Learning and assessment
Research is central to the student experience at Cardiff University and all our teaching is informed by the latest findings.
We offer a supportive learning environment, where you'll acquire a range of skills and a wealth of specialist knowledge. You’ll learn through a wide range of teaching methods from interactive lectures, lively discussion-based seminars and workshops, to group work and tutorials. These on-campus activities will be blended with a range of online environments that will enhance your learning experience and enable you to extend your studies beyond the classroom. Seminars and workshops offer a rewarding experience to engage critically with the key ideas and reading on a topic. They provide a valuable opportunity to explore ideas and work closely with your lecturers and to learn from other students. In the second part of your degree, you have the opportunity to undertake independent projects with the support of an expert in the field and one-to-one tuition (second and final year in history, and final year in English literature).
Our teaching methods foster intellectual skills, such as critical thinking, close analysis, evaluating evidence, constructing arguments, using theory and the effective deployment of language in writing and in debate. We also help you gain experience in team-working, independent research and time management in a supportive environment.
How will I be supported?
You will be supported by a number of different staff, some focusing on academic performance in a particular area and some looking at learning and progress more holistically.
You will be allocated personal tutors in both English literature and history, who will guide you for the duration of your studies. You’ll meet your personal tutors regularly in groups and individually to reflect on your progress and development across your studies. Your personal tutors can also guide you towards appropriate support if you experience difficulties or require specific information about your time at Cardiff University. Welsh-speaking students can request a Welsh-speaking personal tutor.
Additional module-specific support is provided by seminar tutors, lecturers and/or module convenors; support for independent research projects is provided by an academic advisor who will meet with you regularly. Your module leaders have weekly office hour sessions during teaching weeks that you can attend if you have any questions about course materials or assessments.
You’ll have access through the University virtual learning environment to relevant multimedia material, presentations, lecture handouts, bibliographies, further links, electronic exercises and discussion boards.
Our undergraduate Education Support Teams provide academic and student support and are there to provide information and guidance in response to any queries you may have.
The University also offers a range of services, including Student Futures to help you with your career planning, support services and events to help you manage your emotional, mental and physical health, and support with financial issues and for students with disabilities.
The Writing Development Centre (based in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy) provides specialist support for academic writing across the programme. You can access online materials, workshops, and one-to-one meetings about any aspect of academic writing to support you with your assessments.
How will I be assessed?
Assessments include source criticisms, close literary readings, research projects, reviews, presentations, creative-critical portfolios and blog posts, alongside more traditional forms of assessment such as essays and tests/exams. Some of our assessments allow you to work collaboratively on a project and communicate your findings to a non-specialist audience, while others include writing and creating for different audiences; for example, you might be asked to design a museum exhibition or create a guide for using sources; and you may have the opportunity to create podcasts and digital texts for social media. Long essays in history allow you to address fundamental historical questions or explore an historical issue or debate in more depth, while the dissertation in either subject enables you to examine a single topic in a sustained and detailed way.
In all cases, our assessments are designed to support you in developing your ideas, skills and competencies. They help equip you with skills to link your knowledge to local, national and global issues, and encourage you to be innovative and creative; to find new ways to address problems or ask questions; to collaborate in solving problems and presenting findings; and to present evidence-based arguments. The skills developed and assessed throughout the programme prepare you for entry into a range of graduate careers. Individual and group feedback on assessments and other learning provides you with the opportunity to reflect on your current or recent level of attainment.
What skills will I practise and develop?
The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.
On successful completion of your Programme you will be able to:
Knowledge & Understanding:
KU1: Systematically comprehend literature from different cultures and periods (including pre-1800) and the range of principal literary genres across prose, poetry, and drama.
KU2: Systematically comprehend the relationships between literature and other cultural forms, or the complexity and diversity of the past in a single country or in relation to particular themes or texts.
KU3: Systematically comprehend the changing assumptions and methods that historians use to explain the past, or the interplay between reading and different forms of writing.
KU4: Systematically comprehend how culture, language, technology, and economics affect how, where, and by whom texts or disciplinary knowledge are produced and received.
Intellectual Skills:
IS1: Examine different kinds of literary or cultural materials closely and critically.
IS2: Organise and defend arguments about a range of historical issues, problems and debates using historiographical ideas and methods.
IS3: Develop and apply arguments that respond to literary and critical sources or that critically evaluate historical and cultural change.
IS4: Generate and justify arguments about a range of historical issues, problems and debates using historiographical and/or literary ideas and methods.
IS5: Compile appropriate primary sources, reflect upon their nature and analyse them critically to address questions and solve problems.
Professional Practical Skills:
PS1: Compile and systematically evaluate complex information and diverse evidence with accuracy.
PS2: Communicate persuasively, conveying academic ideas and technical arguments to specialist or non-specialist audiences, using written or oral techniques.
PS3: Assess and solve problems independently, taking the views of others into account in a systematic and evaluative way.
Transferable/Key Skills:
TS1: Explain information and ideas clearly and professionally, applying advanced knowledge and skills to unfamiliar or wider world challenges or contexts.
TS2: Develop initiative by taking responsibility for structuring and time-managing a research task, working in teams when appropriate.
TS3: Develop positive and effective working relations with others in teams, especially through constructive and collaborative dialogue and feedback.
TS4: Generate imaginative solutions of your own that are rooted in evidence.
TS5: Develop enterprise skills to solve problems and analyse diverse, partial or ambiguous evidence using critical thinking, initiative and creativity.
Careers and placements
Career prospects
We encourage you to think about life beyond university from day one, offering modules and support to give you a competitive advantage on graduating, no matter what path you follow.
Our degree equips you with a lively and critical understanding of literature and the past, its enduring legacies, and how it connects to the present, and important skills which employers value, from collaborative working and communicating with a wide range of audiences to critical thinking and finding new ways to address problems. We provide you with opportunities to attain and develop enterprise skills as you progress from pitching your ideas on global history on first-year modules and working collaboratively on a project to credit-bearing placements in year 2 and the final year. A range of literary and historical optional modules extend these opportunities and support you to develop these skills further.
Training and careers events are delivered in and out of the curriculum with a focus on developing skills while in university and articulating those skills successfully in future applications. We work closely with Student Futures who not only deliver training and workshops on our core modules, but also offer a wealth of opportunities. Beyond your formal studies, we run programmes that provide you with opportunities to engage with local schools and communities or work with local heritage organisations to develop your own skills and profile whilst allowing you to make a difference.
Our graduates are versatile, collaborative, and critically independent individuals who are able to communicate complex ideas effectively to diverse audiences. They demonstrate personal and professional integrity, reliability, and competence, and they have the ability to motivate themselves and others in meeting agreed responsibilities.
These attributes mean our graduates progress into a wide range of careers, maximising the skills developed throughout their studies. Some choose to pursue professions that make direct use of their expertise in the discipline, while others enter the public or private sectors, from teaching to graduate-track management.
Placements
We ensure that placements can be incorporated into your learning.
Opportunities for diverse, bespoke placements are offered in year 2 on a module which focuses on translating the skills you gain through your degree into the workplace. In your final year, we offer the opportunity to take a module through which you can develop your enterprise skills, and which equips you with the skills to communicate and collaborate with external organisations. Staff also have close links with a range of local heritage and other organisations, which offer placement opportunities both in and outside semesters.
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HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.
