| UCAS code | QV01 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 3 years |
| Entry year | 2025 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Discipline | English |
| Contact | Web: Enquire online |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
| UCAS code | QV02 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 years |
| Entry year | 2025 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Discipline | English |
| Contact | Web: Enquire online |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
| UCAS code | QV03 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 years |
| Entry year | 2025 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Discipline | English |
| Contact | Web: Enquire online |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
| UCAS code | QV04 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 years |
| Entry year | 2025 |
| Campus | Streatham Campus |
| Discipline | English |
| Contact | Web: Enquire online |
| Typical offer | A-Level: AAB |
|---|---|
|
A-Level: BBB |
Overview
- Immerse yourself in literature spanning from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century, whilst exploring the historical context in which texts were written
- Delve into fascinating history from the Roman Empire to indigenous people in Latin America, or the Vikings, magic, and witchcraft in early modern Europe
- Take advantage of our excellent facilities, such as our Special Collections relating to world-renowned writers, the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, which is a unique film and popular culture resource, and our Digital Humanities Lab. Exeter has also recently been awarded UNESCO City of Literature status
- Customise your degree to your interests and career ambitions with an array of exciting modules spanning the breadth of History and English
- Boost your employability with sought-after, advanced skills in communication, critical thinking, developing ideas and arguments, and interpreting information.
Top 15 in the UK for English
11th in the Complete University Guide 2025; 14th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
Top 50 in the world for English Language and Literature
QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
Unique on-site resources: Exeter’s Special Collections archive and the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
Top 100 in world subject rankings for History
QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
History has always been my favourite subject. The wide range of module choices has allowed me to study a range of very interesting time periods and topics, and I have been given the opportunity to learn a new language which I am thoroughly enjoying.
I would recommend Exeter to anyone who would like to be taken out of their comfort zone. I have learnt a lot about myself by attending this institution.
I have thoroughly enjoyed diving deeper into medieval periods that I was unable to cover at school. Unlike some other history courses, Exeter’s course is not Eurocentric, and there are many modules covering different areas of world history. For example, I am currently studying a module on Islamic history.
Hanife
BA History (Exeter)
Entry requirements (typical offer)
| Qualification | Typical offer | Required subjects |
|---|---|---|
| A-Level | AAB | B in English Literature, English Language, or English Literature & Language |
| IB | 34/665 | HL5 in English Literature, English Language, or English Literature & Language |
| BTEC | DDD | Applicants studying a BTEC Extended Diploma will also require GCE AL English Literature, English Language, or English Literature & Language Grade B |
| GCSE | C or 4 | English Language |
| Access to HE | 24 L3 Credits at Distinction Grade and 21 L3 credits at Merit Grade. | To include at least 12 L3 credits at Merit Grade in an acceptable English Literature or English Language subject area. |
| T-Level | Distinction | Applicants studying a T-Level will also require GCE AL English Literature, English Language, or English Literature & Language grade B |
| Contextual Offer | A-Level: BBB |
Specific subject requirements must still be achieved where stated above. Find out more about contextual offers. |
| Other accepted qualifications | ||
| English language requirements |
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country. |
|
NB General Studies is not included in any offer.
Grades advertised on each programme webpage are the typical level at which our offers are made and provide information on any specific subjects an applicant will need to have studied in order to be considered for a place on the programme. However, if we receive a large number of applications for the programme we may not be able to make an offer to all those who are predicted to achieve/have achieved grades which are in line with our typical offer. For more information on how applications are assessed and when decisions are released, please see: After you apply
Course content
You will explore the work of some of the giants of English literature and go on an exciting journey across a diverse range of Anglophone literatures. You will read works of literature spanning the Middle Ages to the 21st century in their historical context, learning how and why certain literary forms emerged when they did. We will introduce you to traditional and emerging cultural forms from novels to digital culture and expose you to writers from across the globe.
Our history expertise covers areas such as migration and mobility, indigenous peoples in Latin America, the history of health and its politics, women in society, the Vikings, magic and witchcraft in early modern Europe, and histories of material things. In your final year you will have the opportunity to delve into a topic that interests you for your History Research Project.
You will have the flexibility to choose History and English modules that complement each other, enabling you to fully immerse yourself in the real world behind the story.
45 credits of compulsory History modules, 30 credits of compulsory English modules, 15 credits of optional History modules, 30 credits of optional English modules.
Compulsory modules
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
Take EAS1035 (30 credits)
Take HIH1137 (15 credits)
a Take EITHER HIH1421 (30 credits) OR HIH1422 (30 credits)
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EAS1035 | Beginnings: English Literature before 1800 | 30 |
| HIH1137 | Becoming a Historian: Core | 15 |
| HIH1421 | Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History see note a above | 30 |
| HIH1422 | Understanding Modern History see note a above | 30 |
Optional modules
Select 30 credits from this list of optional English modules
Select 15 credits from this list of optional History modules.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| English Stage 1 CH Option Modules 2024-5 | ||
| EAS1037 | The Novel | 15 |
| EAS1038 | The Poem | 15 |
| EAS1041 | Rethinking Shakespeare | 15 |
| EAS1044 | Imagine This: Prompts for Creative Writing | 15 |
| EAS1016 | Digital Cultures: Narrative, Creativity, Industry | 15 |
| History Stage 1 UG options 2024-5 | ||
| HIH1014 | The Body in Eighteenth-Century Britain | 15 |
| HIH1043 | The Collapse of Communism in Central-Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union | 15 |
| HIH1138 | Medieval, Manufactured? Uses and Reuses of the Middle Ages | 15 |
| HIH1411 | From Wigan Pier to Piccadilly: Britain between the Wars | 15 |
| HIH1501 | The Viking Phenomenon | 15 |
| HIH1505 | The First Crusade | 15 |
| HIH1506 | The First Day of the Somme | 15 |
| HIH1586 | Early Modern Venice: Representations and Myths | 15 |
| HIH1597 | Serfdom in Late Medieval England | 15 |
| HIH1614 | Environment and Industry, 1750-1950: Global Perspectives | 15 |
| HIH1616 | Producing Poverty: Peasants in a Global Perspective, 700-1300CE | 15 |
| HIH1618 | Body, Border, Partition: Understanding Violence in South Asia | 15 |
60 credits English option modules. 60 credits History options
Optional modules
Select 30-60 credits from this list of optional English modules. English modules in stage 2 are divided into three groups. Combined Honours students may not take more than one module from each group.
Group 1, modules concerned with pre-1750 literature
Group 2, modules concerned with post-1750 literature
Group 3, modules not concerned with a particular historical period.
Select 60 credits from a single History Route A, B, C or D . You must take HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age if you intend to select HIH3005 History Dissertation or HIH3006 Research Dissertation in the final stage.
History Route A
2 History Option modules. English/ Creative Writing Dissertation in final stage
History Route B
HIH2002 Uses of the Past + 1 other History option. English/ Creative Writing Dissertation in final stage
History Route C
HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age + 1 other History Option. History Dissertation in final stage
History Route D
HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age + HIH2002 Uses of the Past. History Dissertation in final stage
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| English Stage 2 Pre-1750 Option Modules 2024-5 Pre-1750 English options | ||
| EAS2026 | Desire and Power: English Literature 1570-1640 | 30 |
| EAS2036 | Theatrical Cultures in Early Modern England | 30 |
| EAS2071 | Chaucer and His Contemporaries | 30 |
| EAS2080 | Renaissance and Revolution | 30 |
| EAS2102 | Satire and the City: English Literature 1660-1750 | 30 |
| English Stage 2 Post-1750 Option Modules 2024-5 Post-1750 English options | ||
| EAF2510 | Adaptation: Text, Image, Culture | 30 |
| EAS2029 | Revolutions and Evolutions 19C Writings | 30 |
| EAS2103 | Modernism and Modernity: Literature 1900-1960 | 30 |
| EAS2104 | Crossing the Water: Transatlantic Literary Relations | 30 |
| EAS2106 | Romanticism | 30 |
| EAS2116 | Empire of Liberty: American Literature of the Long Nineteenth Century | 30 |
| English Stage 2 Neutral Option Modules 2024-5 Neutral English options | ||
| EAS2031 | Creative Writing: Building a Story | 30 |
| EAS2032 | Creative Writing: Making a Poem | 30 |
| EAS2089 | Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future | 30 |
| EAS2090 | Humanities after the Human: Further Adventures in Critical Theory | 30 |
| EAS2113 | Culture, Crisis and Ecology in a Postcolonial World | 30 |
| AHV2018 | Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres | 30 |
| History Stage 2 UG options Route A 2024-5 History Route A | ||
| HIH2014A | Decolonisation and the Collapse of the British Empire, 1919-1968 | 30 |
| HIH2032A | Europe 1650-1800: From Enlightenment to Romanticism | 30 |
| HIH2036A | Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965 | 30 |
| HIH2186A | Deviants and Dissenters in Early Modern England | 30 |
| HIH2209A | African American History | 30 |
| HIH2218A | Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England | 30 |
| HIH2224A | African Modernities: Popular Cultures in Twentieth Century Africa | 30 |
| HIH2234 | Sailors, Slavery and Piracy: The Atlantic World, 1600 - 1800 | 30 |
| HIH2590 | An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century | 30 |
| HIH2592 | Science, Empire, and Natural History Museums: A Global Perspective | 30 |
| HIH2587 | The Other Renaissance: Religion, Knowledge, and Power in the Twelfth Century | 30 |
| HIH2011A | Forgetting Fascism, Remembering Communism: Memory in Modern Europe | 30 |
| HIH2037 | American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology | 30 |
| HIH2137A | Inventing Modern Man: Constructions of Mind, Body, and the Individual, 1400-1800 | 30 |
| HIH2138A | History of Development: Ideologies, Politics, and Projects | 30 |
| HIH2145A | Spain from Absolutism to Democracy | 30 |
| HIH2179A | The American Empire | 30 |
| HIH2185A | China in the World, 1500-1840 | 30 |
| HIH2208A | Medieval Paris | 30 |
| HIH2233 | The British World c.1860-1975 | 30 |
| HIH2591 | Philip Augustus and the Making of France, 1180-1223 | 30 |
| History Stage 2 UG options Route B 2024-5 History Route B | ||
| HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 |
| HIH2037 | American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology | 30 |
| HIH2137A | Inventing Modern Man: Constructions of Mind, Body, and the Individual, 1400-1800 | 30 |
| HIH2138A | History of Development: Ideologies, Politics, and Projects | 30 |
| HIH2145A | Spain from Absolutism to Democracy | 30 |
| HIH2179A | The American Empire | 30 |
| HIH2185A | China in the World, 1500-1840 | 30 |
| HIH2208A | Medieval Paris | 30 |
| HIH2233 | The British World c.1860-1975 | 30 |
| HIH2591 | Philip Augustus and the Making of France, 1180-1223 | 30 |
| HIH2011A | Forgetting Fascism, Remembering Communism: Memory in Modern Europe | 30 |
| History Stage 2 UG options Route C 2024-5 History Route C | ||
| HIH2237 | Doing History in the Digital Age | 30 |
| HIH2014A | Decolonisation and the Collapse of the British Empire, 1919-1968 | 30 |
| HIH2032A | Europe 1650-1800: From Enlightenment to Romanticism | 30 |
| HIH2036A | Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965 | 30 |
| HIH2186A | Deviants and Dissenters in Early Modern England | 30 |
| HIH2209A | African American History | 30 |
| HIH2218A | Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England | 30 |
| HIH2224A | African Modernities: Popular Cultures in Twentieth Century Africa | 30 |
| HIH2234 | Sailors, Slavery and Piracy: The Atlantic World, 1600 - 1800 | 30 |
| HIH2590 | An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century | 30 |
| HIH2592 | Science, Empire, and Natural History Museums: A Global Perspective | 30 |
| HIH2587 | The Other Renaissance: Religion, Knowledge, and Power in the Twelfth Century | 30 |
| History Stage 2 UG options Route D 2024-5 History Route D | ||
| HIH2237 | Doing History in the Digital Age | 30 |
| HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 |
Typically, any placement year will take place in Year 3. If you are not taking a placement year please see the Final Year modules for year 3.
With Study Abroad
120 credits of optional modules, as approved by the Academic Study Abroad Coordinator.
For your year abroad you will agree a suite of modules in your host institution with the Study Abroad Coordinator. Details of individual modules that may be taken whilst abroad can be found by accessing the partner institution’s website navigating to the modules on offer for incoming exchange students.
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HUM3999 | Year Abroad | 120 |
With Employment Experience
120 credit compulsory placement module
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HUM3998 | Employment Experience UK | 120 |
With Employment Experience Abroad
120 credit compulsory placement module
Compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HUM3997 | Employment Experience Abroad | 120 |
30 credits of compulsory modules, 90 credits of optional modules
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
Select a Dissertation in either English or Creative Writing or History: EAS3003/EAS3122/EAS3510 or HIH3005 or HIH3005 History Research Project Dissertation (you cannot choose more than one module from this group). To select either History Dissertation (HIH3005 or HIH3006), you must have taken HIH2237 Doing History in a Digital Age at stage 2.
Compulsory modules
History Route A or B taken in Stage 2 - Select EAS3003 Dissertation OR EAS3122 Creative Writing Dissertation OR EAS3510 Project-Based Dissertation.
History Route C or D taken in Stage 2 – Select either HIH3005 General Third-Year Dissertation OR HIH3006 History Research Project Dissertation.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EAS3003 | Dissertation History Route A or B | 30 |
| EAS3122 | Creative Writing Dissertation History Route A or B | 30 |
| EAS3510 | Dissertation by Collaborative Project History Route A or B | 30 |
| HIH3005 | General Third-Year Dissertation History Route C or D | 30 |
| HIH3006 | Research Project Dissertation History Route C or D | 30 |
Optional modules
History Route A or B taken in Stage 2 - Select one 30 Credit English/Creative Writing optional module. Select a History Special Subject for 60 credits.
History Route C or D taken in stage 2 - You must select 30 credits from History Concepts Modules, or 30 credits of optional modules from outside History via modularity. Select 60 credits of English/Creative Writing optional modules.
If choosing optional modules outside your named subjects, you must make sure that your total for both History and English is 90 credits each over the second and final year. This is to ensure you meet the requirements needed for the degree title.
| Code | Module | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| English Final Stage Option Modules 2024-5 English Options | ||
| EAS3128 | Writing the Short Film | 30 |
| EAS3131 | Advanced Critical Theory | 30 |
| EAS3181 | Visual and Literary Cultures of Realism | 30 |
| EAS3182 | Encountering the Other in Medieval Literature | 30 |
| EAS3191 | Writing for Children and Young Adults | 30 |
| EAS3198 | The Death of the Novel | 30 |
| EAS3219 | Virginia Woolf: Fiction, Feeling, Form | 30 |
| EAS3225 | 'Reader, I Married Him': The Evolution of Romance Fiction from 1740 to the Present | 30 |
| EAS3237 | The Rise of Science | 30 |
| EAS3245 | The 21st Century Museum | 30 |
| EAS3252 | Poison, Filth, Trash: Modernism, Censorship and Resistance | 30 |
| EAS3311 | Piracy in Early Modern Literature, 1570-1730 | 30 |
| EAS3408 | Poetry and Politics | 30 |
| EAS3414 | Jane Austen: In and Out of Context | 30 |
| EAS3415 | The Development of British Childrens Literature | 30 |
| EAS3416 | Feeling Bodies: Emotions in Early Modern Literature and Culture, 1500-1700 | 30 |
| EAS3417 | Sex, Scandal and Sensation in Victorian Literature | 30 |
| EAS3420 | Staging Space: Dramatic Geography and Audience Experience | 30 |
| EAS3421 | Picturing the Global City: Literature and Visual Culture in the 21st Century | 30 |
| EAS3502 | Shakespeare and Crisis | 30 |
| EAS3503 | Migration, Literature and Culture | 30 |
| EAS3501 | Fiction Matters | 30 |
| EAS3100 | Hardy and Women Who Did: the Coming of Modernity | 30 |
| EAS3500 | American Counterculture in Literature | 30 |
| EAS3504 | Surrealism and its Legacies | 30 |
| EAS3228 | Romance from Chaucer to Shakespeare | 30 |
| EAS3509 | From Pen to Printed Page: Exeter's Literary Archives | 30 |
| EAS3511 | 'Mad': cultures, histories, phantasies, imaginaries of mental distress | 30 |
| EAS3312 | Adventures in Technique (Poetry) | 30 |
| EAS3196 | Charles Dickens: Novelist, Journalist and Reformer | 30 |
| History UG Final Year Special Subjects 2024-5 History Special Subjects | ||
| HIH3415 | Everyday Stalinism: Life in the Soviet Union, 1928-53 | 60 |
| HIH3416 | Critics of Empire | 60 |
| HIH3417 | The Yes, Minister Files: Perspectives on British Government since 1914 | 60 |
| HIH3422 | Street Protest and Social Movements in the Modern Era | 60 |
| HIH3426 | Health and its Politics in the 20th Century | 60 |
| HIH3430 | From the Grand Tour to Gladiator: Modern encounters with the ancient world | 60 |
| HIH3433 | Beyond Cannibalism: Indigenous Peoples and the European Colonisation of Brazil, 1500-1822 | 60 |
| HIH3434 | The Body in Early Modern England | 60 |
| HIH3436 | Engendering Empire: Making the British Imperial World | 60 |
| HIH3437 | Death to the Traitors: Rebellion and Resisting Tyranny in the Middle Ages | 60 |
| HIH3438 | The Rise of Capitalism in Britain 1660-1830 | 60 |
| HIH3439 | Women's Experience in Britain: Race, Class and Gender since 1945 | 60 |
| HIH3441 | Britons Abroad: The Experience of Travel, c. 1650-1900 | 60 |
| HIH3442 | From Its Cradle to Its Grave? The National Health Service in Britain, 1948-Present | 60 |
| HIH3444 | Them and Us: Imagining the Social "Other" in Britain since the 1880s | 60 |
| HIH3450 | Decolonisation and Colonial Conflict | 60 |
| HIH3451 | Borders and Mobilities in Postcolonial South Asia | 60 |
| HIH3452 | Whiteness: A Global History | 60 |
| HIH3448 | Britain and the Age of Revolution, 1775-1832 | 60 |
| History UG Final Stage Concepts History Concepts | ||
| HIH3330 | Truth | 30 |
| HIH3332 | Labour | 30 |
| HIH3333 | In Sickness and in Health | 30 |
| HIH3334 | War | 30 |
| HIH3336 | Revolution | 30 |
| HIH3331 | Elites | 30 |
Course variants
UCAS code: QV02
Our four-year ‘with Study Abroad’ degree offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, studying with one of our many partner universities.
Why study abroad?
Living and studying in a different country is an exciting experience that broadens your academic and cultural horizons, as well as giving you the opportunity to widen your circle of friends. Students who have studied abroad demonstrate initiative, independence, motivation and, depending on where they stay, may also have gained a working knowledge of another language – all key qualities that employers are looking for in today’s competitive employment environment.
Where can I study abroad?
We have partnership arrangements with many prestigious institutions across the globe. Exactly where you can apply to study will depend on the subjects you are studying at Exeter. For a full list please visit the Study Abroad website.
Does it count towards my degree?
Credit for academic work during your year abroad is arranged by agreement between the University of Exeter and the host institution. These marks are then translated back into your degree at Exeter. If you are studying abroad for a semester or full year, your time abroad will count toward your final degree. Please refer to your Study Abroad co-ordinator for further details.
How does it affect my tuition fee and funding?
For the year that you spend studying abroad you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter, but nothing to your host university – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your Study Abroad year.
UCAS code: QV03
Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements within the UK as part of your degree.
Why choose to include Employment Experience?
Undertaking graduate-level work during your degree unlocks a world of experience that allows you to develop essential employability and interpersonal skills that relate to your degree and future career. A work placement will dramatically boost your confidence, enhance your CV and develop graduate-level skills and competencies that employers are looking for.
Where will I do my work placement?
The sector you choose to work within is very much your choice as you will be responsible for finding and organising your placement. We will provide plenty of guidance and support during your first and second years which will prepare you to research and apply for placements. Ultimately, the university will give final approval to your placement to make sure you have a valuable experience.
How does it affect my tuition fees and funding?
For your ‘Year In Industry’ you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your year of work placement/s.
Find out more
Visit our website to learn more about employment experience opportunities.
UCAS code: QV04
Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience Abroad’ degree offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements as part of your degree.
Why choose to include Employment Experience Abroad?
Spending up to a year living and working in a different country is an exciting experience that broadens your academic and cultural horizons, as well as giving you the opportunity to widen your circle of friends. By carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements abroad you can demonstrate to employers your adaptability, cultural awareness, independence and resourcefulness and, depending on where you stay, may also have gained a working knowledge of another language.
Where will I do my work placement?
The sector and country you choose to work within is very much your choice as you will be responsible for finding and organising your placement. We will provide plenty of guidance and support during your first and second years which will prepare you to research and apply for placements. Ultimately, the university will give final approval to your placement to make sure you have a valuable experience.
How does it affect my tuition fee?
For your ‘Year In Industry’ you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your year of work placement/s.
Is the placement paid?
You will be paid in accordance with the rules of the country you work in and there may be visa restrictions or requirements which you need to consider when applying.
Find out more
Visit our website to learn more about employment experience opportunities.
Fees
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
UK students: £9,535 per year
International students: £24,700 per year
Scholarships
The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students, such as our Global Excellence Scholarships*. Financial support is also available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, lower income households and other under-represented groups to help them access, succeed and progress through higher education.
* Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.
Learning and teaching
How will I learn?
As well as lectures, seminars and tutorials led by internationally respected academics at the forefront of research, you'll engage in group tasks and independent study: reading or viewing module material, writing essays or preparing for seminars and presentations.
We encourage presentation work and written coursework, because it involves you actively in the teaching and learning process and develops important transferable skills such as good verbal and visual communication, as well as effective interaction with other people. You will also develop a range of professional skills, such as time management and team working, plus valuable critical and analytical skills.
Modules
Our history modules encourage you to think about long-term developments and processes of historical change, and to make comparisons between countries and cultures. We emphasise historical questions that require you to identify patterns across time or between countries, and to isolate common or competing trends, instead of concentrating on short-term or single explanations.
Likewise our English modules enable you to deeply investigate the work of some of the giants of English literature, as well as discovering more unusual works from the past and engaging literary and cultural works from the contemporary moment.
Teaching hours
You’ll have on average 1-3 teaching hours per module per week, and will need to allow for up to nine additional hours of private study. You should expect your total workload to average about 40 hours per week during term time.
As well as attending lectures and writing essays and assignments, you’ll be expected to make presentations in seminars or tutorials. We encourage your presentation work, because it involves you actively in the teaching and learning process and develops important life skills, such as good verbal and visual communication and effective interaction with other people.
Personal tutor
You'll have a personal tutor as well as tutors in individual subjects and they will work with you to monitor your progress, as well as offering pastoral support and other help. You will have a chance to make your mark on the programmes through regular student evaluations and participation in the Student-Staff Liaison Committees and relevant subject societies on both campuses.
How will I be assessed?
All our degrees have assessments and examinations each year. Although formal examinations are important tests of skill, up to 50% of your marks will come from other forms of assessment, including coursework essays, projects, dissertations and measures of your skill in presentation and oral work. The exact balance will depend on the modules you choose, and you’ll be informed of the methods of assessment before making your choices.
Progression
You must pass your first-year assessment in order to progress to the second year, but the results do not count towards your degree classification. For three-year courses, the assessments in the second and third years contribute to your final degree classification. For four-year courses, the assessments in the second, third and fourth years all contribute to your final degree classification.
Optional modules outside of this course
Each year, if you have optional modules available, you can take up to 30 credits in a subject outside of your course. This can increase your employability and widen your intellectual horizons.
Proficiency in a second subject
If you complete 60 credits of modules in one of the subjects below, you may have the words 'with proficiency in [e.g. Social Data Science]' added to your degree title when you graduate.
- A Foreign Language
- Data Science
- Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
- Law (Penryn Campus only)
- Leadership
- Management
- Social Data Science
Facilities
Students in the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
We are exceptionally lucky to have some fantastic facilities and resources on the Streatham Campus.
Special Collections
We have Special Collections relating to writers such as Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, and William Golding, and we integrate these into our teaching so students can share the excitement we have when discovering new insights from manuscripts, letters, and business papers.
The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
Our unique film and popular culture resource, contains items going back hundreds of years. We regularly take students into its archives and think about the study of literature in relation to visual texts.
Digital Humanities Lab
Digital Humanities is increasingly important in all areas of humanities research, including history, archaeology, literatures and languages. This research space enables the examination, preservation and analysis of historical, literary and visual material. Facilities in the lab include:
- a flagship seminar room equipped with a 4.2-metre video wall, encouraging interactive engagement in a shared display space
- two state-of-the-art photography labs, including provision for the 2D digitisation of heritage material and primary sources
- an audio-visual lab with a recording studio and sound editing suite
- a MakerSpace equipped with 3D scanning and printing equipment
Whilst my studies here at the University of Exeter have been incredible (I cannot speak highly enough of my English course), my time at Exeter has been defined by what I do away from the books.
I have taken managerial roles within societies, broadening my circle of peers and allowing me to develop my leadership skills. Not only have I been involved in voluntary positions, the University’s broad internship programme has allowed me to take paid work in the Digital Humanities Labs, assisting academics on world leading research and pioneering and fostering new relationships between the University and the rest of the world.
This internship has let me interact with texts like the first edition of William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ (with the rarely seen first chapter) and even taken me to Canada, all of which is incredible experience, and will stand me in good stead for further study. I chose the study abroad option at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, as I believe that having international experience is key to success as work between countries continues to become more globally significant and the world is becoming smaller through communication and travel,’
Connor
BA English with Study Abroad (Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)
Your future
Employer-valued skills this course develops
A degree in English and History equips you with a range of complementary skills that will put you in a great position to succeed in a range of careers. Alongside in-depth subject knowledge of both English and History, you will develop highly transferable skills in:
- researching;
- analysing and assessing primary and secondary sources;
- written and verbal communication;
- managing and interpreting information;
- developing ideas and arguments;
- teamwork;
- problem solving;
- and the ability to make informed decisions.
Through a balance of independent study and teamwork you will learn to manage your time and workload effectively.
Employer visits
We have a dedicated Careers Service, ensuring you have access to careers advisors, mentors and the tools you need to succeed in finding employment in your chosen field on graduation. We offer the Exeter Award and the Exeter Leaders Award which include employability-related workshops, skills events, volunteering and employment which will contribute to your career decision-making skills and success in the employment market.
Our graduates compete very successfully in the employment market, with many employers targeting the University when recruiting new graduates. For further information please visit our Careers Service pages.
Career paths
You will be equipped with skills that are attractive to employers and relevant for a wide range of careers, including graduate-level roles in the heritage and arts sectors as well as other fields of work, including education, retail management, recruitment, charities, finance and accounting, and journalism.
Example careers include:
- Account Manager
- Archivist and/or Librarian
- Business Analyst
- Civil Servant
- Digital Marketing and Events Executive
- Event Project Manager
- Global Market
- Researcher
- Historian/teacher of History and/or English
- Parliamentary Researcher
- TV Researcher
Top 15 in the UK for English
11th in the Complete University Guide 2025; 14th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
Top 50 in the world for English Language and Literature
QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
Unique on-site resources: Exeter’s Special Collections archive and the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
Top 100 in world subject rankings for History
QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
