English Literature and History
Durham University
UCAS Code: QV21 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Durham University
UCAS Code: QV21 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: A level History at grade A and English Literature (or combined English Literature and Language) at grade A.
Access to HE Diploma
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: At least 12 credits must be taken in History at Level 3 and passed with distinction and at least 12 credits must be taken in English at Level 3 and passed with distinction.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include 6, 6, 6 from Higher Level subjects. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Higher Level History grade 6 and Higher Level English Literature or English Literature/Language.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Higher Level History Grade H2 and Higher Level English Grade H2.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Other level 3 Cambridge Technical qualifications are also accepted in combination with each other or with other qualifications. See our website for more information on our Cambridge technical qualification equivalencies. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: A level History at grade A and English Literature (or the combined English Literature and Language) at grade A.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Other BTEC level 3 qualifications are also accepted in combination with each other or with other qualifications. See our website for more information on our BTEC qualification equivalencies. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: A level History at grade A or equivalent and A level English Literature (or combined English Literature and Language) at grade A.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Advanced Higher History at grade A and Advanced Higher English at grade A.
Scottish Higher
We will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. If an applicant has not been able to take 3 Advanced Highers, offers may be made with a combination of Advanced Highers and Highers, or on a number of Highers. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Advanced Higher History at grade A and Advanced Higher English at grade A if taken. or Higher History at grade A if Advanced Higher History and Higher English at grade A if Advanced Higher English wasn’t available for study.
T levels will be considered on a case-by-case basis where the subject area aligns with the course applied to. Please note that additional A levels or equivalent may be required to study certain courses. If you’re interested in applying, then please Ask Us and we’ll see if we’re able to consider this for you: www.durham.ac.uk/study/ask-us/
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Course details**
The Joint Honours in BA English Literature and History is a cross-disciplinary course, which develops and assesses skills that are common to both disciplines alongside others that are specific to each. The course offers you the opportunity to acquire a range of both literary-critical and historical knowledge.
The English part of your degree not only provides a thorough grounding in the ‘great tradition’ of English literature – from Chaucer and Shakespeare through to plays, poems and novels written in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – and in literary theory, but it also offers a wide range of imaginative and carefully designed modules.
The history element offers you one of the most varied, exciting and wide-ranging courses in the country. You will explore the full range of history from the end of the Roman Empire to the present day.
**Why Durham University?**
We are consistently ranked as one of the leading English departments in the UK, so when you choose to study English at Durham you can be assured of the highest quality learning experience.
Spanning texts from Chaucer to Shakespeare, from Jane Austen to Virginial Woolf, and American poetry to twenty-first century novels, English Studies at Durham will appeal to those with a sensitivity to language, a love of reading and a sense of intellectual adventure.
English Studies is a popular and highly regarded subject that will give you a broader and more balanced understanding of how the world works, politically, psychologically and sociologically. It also develops the highly transferable linguistic, critical and analytical skills that are sought after in the contemporary workplace.
You can choose to focus purely on English literature or combine the study of English with either Philosophy or History. We also offer English Studies named routes through a Combined Honours or Liberal Arts degree.
You can further tailor your study with an optional year abroad or work placement in the third year.
**Rankings**
**29th** in QS World University Subject rankings 2025
**4th** in the Complete University Guide 2025
**4th** in the Guardian University Guide 2025
**Top 10** in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
**Career Opportunities**
Academically, we inspire our students to develop as analytic, sensitive and creative readers and writers, yet an English Studies degree is worth so much more. We aim to transform students into independent thinkers with the ability to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
It’s this skill set, coupled with effective organisational and research skills, that makes them so highly valued across a range of work environments. Outside of the classroom, we offer regular lectures and workshops that focus on personal development and key employability skills.
Graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and sectors, including roles in arts and theatre management, broadcasting, publishing and journalism, technical writing, business, marketing and advertising, teaching, higher education, law, the third sector and government.
Modules
For current information please scroll to the bottom of the page for Provider Information and select Visit our Course Page under Course Contact Details.
Assessment methods
Most modules will be assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations.
The third year will culminate with a dissertation, a large research project undertaken in either the English or History Department, giving you the opportunity to engage, at an advanced level, with creative cutting-edge research at the forefront of the discipline.
Extra funding
Durham University offers a range of scholarship opportunities to academically well-qualified and highly motivated students. For further details, including deadlines for application, please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/scholarships/
What students say
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
English studies (non-specific)
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
English studies (non-specific)
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
English studies (non-specific)
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£22k
£27k
£33k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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