Ancient History and History BA, 3-4 years
Start date:
Course information
Typical offer ABB
UK/EU fee £9,250
UCAS code V110
International fee £17,450
Institute code L34
Taught by Archaeology and Ancient History
Admissions enquiries
+44 (0)116 252 5281
ahladmissions@le.ac.uk
Course enquiries
+44 (0)116 252 2772
saahstudent@le.ac.uk
Archaeology and Ancient History website
History at Leicester website
What ideas have transcended the ages? How has antiquity impacted the world today? By studying a range of historical periods, you’ll look at the ways in which the modern and ancient worlds are inextricably linked.
Course description
Course description
The Ancient History and History BA allows you to combine the study of the classical world with medieval and modern history. This course will provide you with an understanding of societies and cultures from a huge variety of historical periods. It will give you the opportunity to engage with themes that transcend all ages, such as democracy and empire, and recognise aspects of the human experience that are constant as well as those that have changed with time.
You will discover the societies and cultures of the past, travelling as far back as early Greece and Rome and moving through history to the present day. You will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in many periods of ancient and modern history through a wide range of option modules, giving you the chance to analyse the themes that re-occur and change throughout history. You will have the opportunity to gain experience with local heritage organisations and schools through Year 3 module placements and our accredited internship programme.
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
- A/AS-levels: ABB. Two AS-levels can be considered in place of one A-level. General Studies or Critical Thinking accepted.
- EPQ with A-levels: BBB + EPQ at grade B.
- Access to HE Diploma: Pass Diploma with 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Distinction.
- International Baccalaureate: Pass Diploma with 30 points.
- BTEC Nationals: Pass Diploma with DDM.
Other national and international qualifications considered. If you do not meet the entry requirements for this course, you can apply for the International Foundation Year – Society and Culture run by the Global Study Centre. The GSC provides academic support to help you progress to your chosen undergraduate degree at the University of Leicester.
Second Year Entry may be possible with suitable qualifications.
Selection Process
When considering your application, we will look for evidence that you will be able to fulfil the objectives of the course and achieve the standards required. We will take into account a range of factors including previous exam results.
Applicants are not normally interviewed. If you receive an offer you will be invited to visit the department.
English Language Requirements
IELTS 6.5 or equivalent. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. If you do not yet meet our requirements, our English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) offers a range of courses to help you to improve your English to the necessary standard.
International Qualifications
Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.
Countries listFees and funding
Fees and funding
UK and EU Students
Starting in 2021
The University of Leicester has made the decision to keep fees for EU students at the same level as UK student fees for this year, despite this no longer being a UK Government requirement.
- £9,250 in your first year. Tuition fees are subject to government regulations and may change in future years
- Year Abroad: your fee will be £1,250 for that year
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
International Students
Starting in 2021
- £17,450 per year
- Year Abroad: £4,362.50, which is 25% of the full-time tuition fee
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
Careers and employability
Careers and employability
We offer several practical or placement modules so that you can gain hands-on experience in your chosen career path. For instance, our 'History in the Classroom' module includes practical teaching experience by incorporating a placement in a local school and our 'Heritage Field Project' will give you hands on experience working in the heritage industry, offering you invaluable experience for the future.
We routinely develop paid internship opportunities for our students to gain additional, relevant work experience during their degrees. Roles such as research assistance, conference organiser, and editorial assistant have been offered in recent years.
Graduate destinations
Graduates from our History degrees have gone on to work for a wide range of employers including:
- Department of Education
- Troubadour Publishing
- British Standards Institution
- Nissan
Alex transferred to the University of Leicester in his second year, impressed by the range of academic modules available which meant he could study the area that he was interested in.
Career Development Service
Get career-ready at Leicester with guidance from our award-winning Career Development Service. We're here to give you a lifetime offer of support, even after graduation. Our team of specialist careers advisers and mentors will help you every step of the way. From supporting you with CVs and interviews, to volunteering opportunities and placements, we're here to help you reach your professional goals.
Related courses
Related courses
Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goals
We are committed to providing skills and knowledge to help prepare you tackle global challenges. We have mapped our undergraduate degrees for learning which aligns to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This degree includes learning which relates to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
- Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Course structure
Year 1
Year 1
In your first year you will split your studies equally between ancient history and history, taking core modules in Greek and Roman history and choosing from history modules covering medieval, early modern and global history.
Core modules
- Approaching Ancient Evidence (Greek)
- Approaching Ancient Evidence (Roman)
- Barbarism and Civilisation: Medieval and Early Modern Europe
- Introduction to Greek History
- Introduction to Roman History
- The Shock of the Modern
Option modules
Choose two option modules from:
- Global History: Connections and Cultures in a Changing World, 1750 to the present
- Great Britain: The State We're In
- US History since 1877
- Europe 1861-1991: Emancipation and Subjugation
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year 2
Year 2
In your second year you will continue to balance your studies equally between the two subjects. You will have more opportunity to shape the course of your degree this year as you will be able to choose option modules from the areas of ancient history and history that interest you the most. You will also take a core module focusing on sources and methods in ancient history.
If you would like to write your third year dissertation on an area of History rather than Ancient History then you must take the option module The Historian’s Craft.
Core module
Option modules
Choose one ancient history option module from:
- Greek History in 40 Lives
- The Ancient Near East
- The Roman Principate
- Archaeology of the Roman Empire
Then choose one history option module from:
Then choose one history option module from:
- Americas Plural: Latin America and the United States
- Madness, Monarchy and Politics in Georgian Britain
- Blood, Position and Power: The Nobility of Later Medieval England, 1066-1485
- Modern Ireland, 1939-1975
- Slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction in the United States
- Enter the Dragon: Modern Chinese History, 1839-1989
- Living with Dictatorship: European Societies, 1918-1941
Then choose two ancient history option modules from:
- Classical and Hellenistic Greek States
- Classical and Post-classical Latin
- Roman Social History and the Roman Family
- Roman Religion
- Celts, Britons and Barbarians: Iron Age Europe in context
- The Medieval Mediterranean World
Plus either Becoming the Historical Researcher (you must choose this if you plan to write your third year dissertation on history)
Or two more history option modules: choose one option module from:
And one option module from:
- The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
- Domestic Revolutions: Women, Men, and the Family in American History
- Imperialism and Decolonisation
- A World Connected: Welfare, Economy and Government since 1945
- From Beer to Fraternity: Alcohol, Society, and Culture in North America
- History in the Classroom
- Holy Wars in Sacred Lands: Conflict and Coexistence during the Crusades
- Heritage Field Project
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year Abroad (optional)
Year Abroad (optional)
If you want to, you can spend your third year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions (eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2). Alternatively, you can opt to continue studying at the University and complete your degree in three years.
Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to work in the private sector, the state sector, a non-governmental organisation, or become self-employed you will find the experience invaluable. Find out more from our Study Abroad Unit.
Please note, a year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See our Fees and Funding section for details.
We have links with several European universities, administered through the Erasmus+ scheme. If you are eligible for a loan from Student Finance you can apply for a travel grant from them. Languages courses, at both beginners and advanced level, are available through the University’s Languages at Leicester scheme.
- For the latest information on the future of the Erasmus+ scheme at UK universities please see our Brexit microsite.
We have links with the following universities:
- Università di Bologna, Italy
- Universitat de València, Spain
- Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Netherlands
- Universität Freiburg, Germany
- Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
We also have links with some universities outside Europe. If you are receiving financial assistance from Student Finance your support will continue and you may also be eligible to apply for additional travel grants or scholarships. We have links with the following universities:
- Flinders University, Australia
- University of Calgary, Canada
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Final Year (Ancient History dissertation)
Final Year (Ancient History dissertation)
Modules
Either choose five option modules from the lists below, three from the lists marked A and two from the lists marked B. At least one – but no more than two – of your option modules should be in ancient history.
Ancient History modules list A
- Households and Domesticity in the Ancient World
- Textiles, Dress and Identity in the Roman World
- Great Greek Monuments
- Early Christian Europe
- Warfare and Violence in Antiquity
History modules list A
- The USA and the Vietnam War
- Fourteenth Century Crisis in England? Politics and Society 1297-1413
- Crime and Punishment in African American History
- Food, Diet and Health in Early Modern Europe
- When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
- Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
- Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain
Ancient History modules list B
- Sparta and the Greek World
- Greek and Roman Art
- The Roman Labyrinth: Crete under the Emperors
- The Fall of the Roman Republic
- Archaeology and Ancient History in Education
History modules list B
- What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939
- The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
- Women in American Society from the Civil War to First World War
- Clothing and Fashion in Historical Perspective. Case Studies of Modern European History in Transnational Context
- Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, c1350-1650
- The Medieval Natural World
- From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947
Or choose two option modules from the lists above (at least one of which must be in ancient history) and one history special subject module from this list:
- The British Antislavery Movement, 1787-1833
- The Age of Bede and Alcuin: Anglo-Saxon Northumbria and Mercia in the 7th and 8th Centuries
- Beauty, Sex & Science: Whose Body is it Anyway c.1550-2015?
- How Soon is Now? A Social History of Urban England, 1945-1985
- The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Church, State and Belief in Soviet Russia, 1941-1991
Plus your Ancient History Dissertation
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Final Year (History dissertation)
Final Year (History dissertation)
Modules
Choose five option modules from the lists below, three from the lists marked A and two from the lists marked B. At least one – but no more than two – of your option modules should be in history.
Ancient History modules list A
- Households and Domesticity in the Ancient World
- Textiles, Dress and Identity in the Roman World
- Great Greek Monuments
- Early Christian Europe
- Warfare and Violence in Antiquity
History modules list A
- The USA and the Vietnam War
- Fourteenth Century Crisis in England? Politics and Society 1297-1413
- Crime and Punishment in African American History
- Food, Diet and Health in Early Modern Europe
- When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
- Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
- Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain
Ancient History modules list B
- Sparta and the Greek World
- Greek and Roman Art
- The Roman Labyrinth: Crete under the Emperors
- The Fall of the Roman Republic
- Archaeology and Ancient History in Education
History modules list B
- What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939
- The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
- Women in American Society from the Civil War to First World War
- Clothing and Fashion in Historical Perspective. Case Studies of Modern European History in Transnational Context
- Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, c1350-1650
- The Medieval Natural World
- From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947
Plus your Dissertation
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Why Leicester?
Job prospects are excellent: 98% of our Ancient History students are employed (or studying for a Masters degree) six months after graduating. (DLHE)
The broad range of interests among our staff means you won't be limited to Rome and Greece. Your course will take you all around the ancient Mediterranean, investigating a wide range of cultures and states.
The academic staff in the department have written or edited dozens of books and publish regularly in major national and international journals. Where other people only get to read what our experts think, you will be working directly with them, learning from them in lectures and questioning them in seminars.
Through the University's ‘Languages at Leicester’ programme you can study Latin, Ancient Greek or Modern Greek alongside your degree at beginner or intermediate level.
Reading list
See the types of texts you might read, over the summer, to get a feel for the course and arrive prepared and ready to go.
View reading lists for:
Teaching and learning
You will be taught by a variety of methods, ranging from large lectures to seminars to individual tutorials. Lectures are used to provide historical narrative and to raise key historical questions and areas of debate. Seminars are where you share your opinion about those debates and put forward your interpretation of history.
Assessment is through exams and essays, source analyses, group projects and presentations.
Independent learning
When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. To help with your independent learning, you can access the Library and our social study spaces in halls of residence.
Your contact hours will depend on the option modules you select. You can see details of the contact hours on individual module pages.
Academic support
Our Student Learning Development Team provides help in the following areas:
- study and exam skills
- academic writing
- presentations
- dissertations
- numerical data skills
- referencing sources
Our AccessAbility Centre offers support and practical help for students with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties, including physical, mental health or mobility difficulties, deafness, or visual impairment.
Teaching staff
You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. PhD research students who have undertaken teacher training may also contribute to the teaching of seminars under the supervision of the module leader. Our teaching is informed by the research we do. You can learn more about our staff by visiting our staff profiles.
Apply now
Course | Qualification | Duration | UCAS Code | Availability |
---|---|---|---|---|
Course Ancient History and History | Qualification BA | Duration 3 years full-time | UCAS Code V110 | Availability Apply Now |
Course Ancient History and History with Year Abroad | Qualification BA | Duration 4 years full-time | UCAS Code V110 | Availability Apply Now |