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University of Exeter

UCAS Code: QV02 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,A,B

Excluding General Studies. Applicants are required to achieve a Grade B in either: A level English Literature, English Literature and Language or English Language.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15,P:0

Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 30 L3 credits at Distinction Grade and 15 L3 credits at Merit Grade - 24 L3 credits at Distinction Grade and 21 L3 credits at Merit Grade. Both grade ranges to include 12 L3 credits at Merit Grade in accepted English Literature modules.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

Applicants will be considered with IB 34 OR 665 in three Higher Level subjects. All applicants will be required to have Grade 5 in HL English Literature, English Language and Literature or English Language.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

Applicants studying a BTEC Extended Diploma are also required to achieve a Grade B in either: A Level English Literature, English Literature & Language or English Language.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B,B

English Literature, English Language and Literature or English Language at Grade B required.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,B,B

English Literature, English Language and Literature or English Language at Grade B required.

UCAS Tariff

136-153

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time including placement abroad | 2026

Subjects

History

English studies

In our combined honours programme, you'll study two subjects that are especially complementary. The English part of the programme takes you 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 (for example, the novel) emerged when they did. Our modules cover a wide range of media, from plays, novels, poetry and short stories to more recent and emerging cultural forms such as comics/graphic novels, film, television and digital culture. You will study writers from Britain, Ireland, the United States, Africa, Asia and beyond. In addition to historicist approaches to the study of literature, our team's expertise spans a wide variety of methods and approaches, enabling you to take modules in Creative Writing (poetry, prose, screenplays), Creative Industries (Publishing, Museum Studies, Theatre and Film) and Critical Theory. With such extensive choice, our degree programmes provide a diverse and enriching experience.

As for the History component at the University of Exeter, it's designed to provide you with the tools you need to delve into the fascinating realms of history that capture your interest. The curriculum lays a solid foundation of skills and knowledge in the first year, allowing you to progress into independent research in the second year. The journey culminates in the final year with the opportunity to delve deeply into a specific subject. With numerous module choices, you can explore diverse time periods, from the Roman Empire to the early twenty-first century, and geographical areas around the world. Topics range widely, covering 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. The choices are extensive, offering you a truly immersive and personalized academic experience.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,535
per year
England
£9,535
per year
EU
£24,700
per year
International
£24,700
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,535
per year
Scotland
£9,535
per year
Wales
£9,535
per year

The Uni

Course location:

University of Exeter - Exeter campuses

Department:

English and Creative Writing

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

90%
History
94%
English studies

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.

History

Teaching and learning

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

77%
Library resources
95%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
73%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
50%
Male students
50%
Female students
91%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

English studies (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

93%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

81%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
86%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
21%
Male students
79%
Female students
97%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

History

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.

£28,000
high
Average annual salary
88%
med
Employed or in further education
66%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
14%
Business, research and administrative professionals
10%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.

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.

£25,000
med
Average annual salary
88%
med
Employed or in further education
71%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
9%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
9%
Media professionals

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.

History

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

£22k

£28k

£28k

£32k

£32k

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.

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.

£21k

£21k

£26k

£26k

£30k

£30k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
place
University of Suffolk | Ipswich
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UCAS Points: 112
Nearby University
place
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
History
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including placement abroad 2026
UCAS Points: 104-112
Higher entry requirements
place
University of Oxford | Oxford
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BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including placement abroad 2026
UCAS Points: 112-165
Same University
place
University of Exeter | Exeter
English and History with Employment Experience Abroad
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including placement abroad 2026
UCAS Points: 136-153

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here