Durham University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
Course summary
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. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, this would increase the course from three years to four. In the first year of your degree, you'll get an introduction into the disciplines of literature and advanced historical study. In the second year, you are required to engage with a range of periods and styles of literary and historical study. The third year will include a dissertation as well as optional modules for both subjects.
Modules
Year 1 Core modules: Introduction to Drama Introduction to the Novel Introduction to Poetry Romance and the Literature of Chivalry Epic and Literature of Legend Ancient Worlds and English Literature. You will also complete three modules in History from a list which may include: Decline and Crisis? Europe 1300-1500 Transformations in the Late Antique Mediterranean, c.300-c.700 CE Connected Histories: Early Modern Europe, c.1450-1750 The Atlantic Archipelago, c.1500-c.1750 Modern Times: a Cultural History of Europe, c.1860-1960 Power in Africa Imagining East Asia in the Modern World Wars and Welfare: c.1900-1945 The Rise and Fall of American Slavery. Year 2 Core modules: Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism introduces the presuppositions and principles of literary criticism and issues of knowledge, value and ideology arising from the practice of reading. You will develop an independent critical sense in your own practice of reading. Shakespeare introduces a broad range of Shakespeare’s work and will enable you to analyse in detail a selection of works from different periods of Shakespeare’s oeuvre and in different genres. Examples of optional modules: Chaucer Victorian Literature American Poetry Contemporary US Fiction and the Question of Genre Romantic Plays and Players The Brontës Medieval Islamic World Modern China’s Transformations Black British History Photographic Histories. Year 3 (Year 4 if undertaking a placement year or year abroad) Core module: In the third year you will produce a Dissertation, a large research project undertaken in either English Literature or History. This involves guided research on a topic of interest. Examples of optional modules: Restoration and 18th Century Literature Old English Old Norse Literature of the Romantic Period Post-War Fiction and Poetry Keats and Shelley Resistance in South Asian Postcolonial Literature US Cold War Literature and Culture 1688: Monarchy and Revolution in Britain Developing Africa Mapping Eastern Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Sexual Revolutions: The Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Britain and Beyond, 1920s–1970s.
Assessment method
Most modules will be assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations. The third year will culminate with a dissertation.
How to apply
31Jan
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Application codes
- Course code:
- QV21
- Institution code:
- D86
- Campus name:
- Durham City
- Campus code:
- O
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - Not accepted
A level - A*AA
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) - D*DD
Access to HE Diploma - D: 30 credits M: 15 credits
Scottish Higher - AAAAA
Scottish Advanced Higher - AAA
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme - 38 points
Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024) - Not accepted
Extended Project - Not accepted
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017) - H1, H2, H2, H2, H2
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal - D2, D3, D3
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - D*DD
T Level
We welcome enquiries regarding applications for deferred entry which may be considered in special circumstances. Please contact us using www.durham.ac.uk/study/askus/ Our contextual offer for this programme is A level AAB (or equivalent) including History and English Literature at grade A. To find out if you’re eligible, please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/how-to-apply/what-happens-to-your-application/contextual-offers/
Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course
English language requirements
Durham University welcomes applications from all students irrespective of background. We encourage the recruitment of academically well-qualified and highly motivated students, who are non-native speakers of English, whose full potential can be realised with a limited amount of English Language training either prior to entry or through pre-sessional and/or in-sessional courses. It is the normal expectation that candidates for admission should be able to demonstrate satisfactory English proficiency before the start of a programme of study, whether via the submission of an appropriate English language qualification or by attendance on an appropriate pre-sessional course. Acceptable evidence and levels required can be viewed by following the link provided.
English language requirements
https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/international/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/
Student Outcomes
Operated by the Office for Students
There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| Republic of Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £9250 | Year 1 |
| EU | £25500 | Year 1 |
| England | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £9250 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £9250 | Year 1 |
| International | £25500 | 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
There may also be additional course costs for things like books (if you want to purchase them), field trips etc.
Provider information
Durham University
The Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE