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History and Politics at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Discover how the politics of the past have shaped the world we know today. On this BA (Hons) History and Politics degree, you'll retrace the political and social conflicts, revolutions and protest movements of yesterday in order to make sense of the here and now and create positive change. Travel back to pivotal political moments in time from around the globe guided by our expert academics. Craft your own learning experience by choosing to study the historical and political subjects and eras that most inspire you, such as the French Revolution, post war Britain and Germany, or the American Civil Rights Movement. As this is an interdisciplinary course, each year you'll also study a bespoke combined history and politics module as well as delving into each subject separately. Through the course's overarching theme of 'changing the world', you'll use what you learn to rethink modern societal issues, such as social justice, racial and gender equality, and global migration. You'll graduate with an insight into the powers and processes that have formed today's societies and how positive changes are made. Armed with this understanding of the past, you'll be empowered to address the challenges of the future. Course highlights

  • Study two fascinating and interwoven subjects from 1750 to today, through combined interdisciplinary modules and specialist modules in each subject area
  • Bring new perspectives to contemporary social issues – such as social justice, human rights and environmentalism – through your studies, supported by the course's overarching theme of 'changing the world'
  • Customise your course by choosing your own topics to focus on in years 2 and 3
  • Immerse yourself in Portsmouth's rich heritage, thanks to our close links with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth Records Service and the D-Day Museum
  • Learn from staff who are members of the Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR)
  • Go on field trips to locations such as the Houses of Parliament and heritage sites on the south coast
  • Take part in an interactive mock UN meeting called 'Model United Nations' and take on the role of a specific country
  • Choose to spend a year building real experience on a work placement at a museum, law firm, government department, charity or other organisation of interest
Careers and opportunities Studying history and politics together will give you transferable skills in critical thinking, collaboration, research, analysis and argument, all of which are highly valued by many kinds of employers. You could also continue your studies at Master's or PhD level in history, politics or a combination of the two. What areas can you work in with a history and politics degree? Graduates from our other history and politics courses have taken up roles in the following sectors:
  • central and local government
  • primary and secondary schools
  • higher education providers
  • financial services
  • corporate governance
  • trade unions
Placement year (optional) After your second year, you'll have the chance to do an optional year-long work placement to get valuable work experience in a sector of your choice. Students from our other history and politics courses have secured placements at:
  • The Ministry of Defence
  • The House of Commons
  • National Museum of the Royal Navy
  • Freedom from Torture, a charity which supports survivors of torture who seek protection in the UK
  • Shrewsbury Museums
  • Law firms such as Darton Law Ltd

Modules

Year 1 Core modules

  • Analysing Politics: Britain and Beyond (20 credits)
  • Discovering World Histories: Peoples and Places (20 credits)
  • Political Thought (20 credits)
  • Revolutions and Activism: History and Politics (40 credits)
  • Societies, Nations, and Empires: Europe 1750-2000 (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules
  • Changing the World – (20 credits)
Optional modules
  • A History of Us Foreign Policy: From the Great War to 9/11 (20 credits)
  • Bending the Truth a Little? Researching Politics and International Relations (20 credits)
  • Development and Democracy in Latin America (20 credits)
  • East Asian States and Societies (20 credits)
  • Empire and Its Afterlives in Britain, Europe, and Africa (20 credits)
  • Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences (20 credits)
  • Envisioning Ourselves: Media and the Making of Modern Britain, 1850-2000 (20 credits)
  • Gender and Social Justice (20 credits)
  • Global Security (20 credits)
  • Intercultural Perspectives On Communication (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Teaching (20 credits)
  • Marketing & Communication (20 credits)
  • Modernity and Globalisation (20 credits)
  • Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday (L5) (20 credits)
  • News, Discourse, and Media (20 credits)
  • Principles of Economic Crime Investigation (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience L5 (20 credits)
  • Puritans to Postmodernists: American Literature (20 credits)
  • Transitional Justice & Human Rights (20 credits)
  • Underworlds: Crime, Deviance & Punishment in Britain, 1500-1900 (20 credits)
  • Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response (20 credits)
  • Working With the Past (20 credits)
Placement year (optional) Have the opportunity to do an additional work placement year after your second or third year on this Connected Degree - we're the only UK university to offer flexible sandwich placements for undergraduates. Year 3 Optional modules
  • Accidents and Everyday Lives in Britain, C. 1850-1970 (20 credits)
  • Civil Rights USA (20 credits)
  • Dissertation (History and Politics) (40 credits)
  • Looking for Utopia, Finding Dystopia? Ideas and Ideologies in the New Millennium (20 credits)
  • Major Project (40 credits)
  • Ngos and Social Movements (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience L6 (20 credits)
  • Racism and Anti-Racism in Postwar Britain (20 credits)
  • Religion and Politics in Global Perspective (20 credits)
  • Security Challenges in the Twenty-First Century (20 credits)
  • The European Union: a Global Power in the Making? (20 credits)
  • The French Revolution, 1789-1799 (20 credits)
  • The Opium War, 1839-1842 (20 credits)
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, course content is revised and regularly reviewed. This may result in changes being made in order to reflect developments in research, learning from practice and changes in policy at both national and local levels.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through:

  • essays
  • article reviews
  • briefing papers
  • projects
  • close textual analysis
  • group and individual presentations/podcasts
  • simulations
  • website creation
  • blogs
  • dissertation
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.


How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
VL29
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements


English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
80%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
90%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
History and Politics at University of Portsmouth - UCAS