BA History and Modern Languages
About this course
BA in History and Modern Languages, a Modern Languages and History degree centred on historical investigation and linguistic proficiency across global cultures. Core topics include Research Methods, Historical Research, Communication & Writing, Critical & Analytical Thinking, Language & Translation, and Global & Comparative Perspective. The course includes an optional third year spent studying or working abroad in a country matching the chosen language. The first year introduces fundamental concepts and linguistic skills through compulsory modules such as Becoming a Historian: Core, Understanding Modern History, and French Language. Students also choose from various optional modules covering specialized historical periods and cultural topics, such as Sources and Skills: Modern or The Making of Modern France. The second year continues language development and historical inquiry with compulsory modules like French Language, Written and Oral, alongside numerous optional choices exploring diverse regional histories and literary traditions. Throughout the course, students build advanced translation and analytical capabilities.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: ABB. Required subjects: Dependent on language level chosen (see below). IB: 32/655.
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Real offers for this course
Applicants have posted 2 UCAS decisions for BA History and Modern Languages (VR10) at the University of Exeter for 2027 entry so far. The published offer is ABB at A level.
Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 88%: 103 offers from 117 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 7 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 70%
- Learning opportunities: 71%
- Assessment and feedback: 76%
- Academic support: 91%
- Organisation and management: 68%
- Learning resources: 79%
- Student voice: 64%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 20 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 16 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 70%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Further study: 10%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 20%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 20%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 5%
- Leisure, travel and related personal service occupations: 5%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 90%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 75%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 65%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 405 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 1%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- East Midlands: 2%
- West Midlands: 3%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 37%
- South East: 25%
- South West: 17%
- Wales: 3%
Who gets in
Based on about 20 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 95%
- Access course: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Becoming a Historian: Core
- Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History
- Understanding Modern History
- French Language
- French Language for Beginners
- German Language
- German Language for Beginners
- Italian Language
- Italian Language for Beginners
- Beginners Chinese
- Portuguese Language for Beginners
- Contemporary Russian Written and Oral
- Russian Language for Beginners
- Spanish Language
- Spanish Language for Beginners
- Climate Emergency! An Introduction to Environmental Arts and Humanities
- Sources and Skills: Modern
- Sources and Skills: Early Modern
- Sources and Skills: Medieval
- The Making of Modern France
- The Devil is in the Detail: An Introduction to the Short Story in French
- The French Language, Present and Past
- An Introduction to French Thought
- A Nation Remembers: Issues in German Cultural Memory
- Turning Points in German History 1200 - 2000
- Chinese Art and the Art of Living
- Introduction to Asian Philosophy
- Italy Inside Out: Popular Visual Narratives about Italy
- A Thousand Faces: Cultures and History in 19th-Century Italy
- Comparative Literatures and Cultures: Theories and Approaches
- Reading Comparatively
- Introduction to Film
- Language, Culture, International Relations
- An Introduction to the Hispanic World: Texts in Context
- The Making of Modern Latin America: History Through Literature and Culture
- An Introduction to the Literature and Film of Spain
- French Language, Written and Oral
- Intermediate French
- German Language, Written and Oral
- Intermediate German
- Italian Language, Written and Oral
- Italian Language
- Intermediate Chinese (One)
- Intermediate Portuguese
- Contemporary Russian Written and Oral I
- Intermediate Russian
- Spanish Language, Written and Oral
- Spanish Language (ex-beginners)
- Adventures in Environmental Arts and Humanities
- Forgetting Fascism, Remembering Communism: Memory in Modern Europe
- Deviants and Dissenters in Early Modern England
- From Gallows to ASBOs: Crime, Punishment, and Society in Britain and Ireland
- Strategy and Success in the Second World War
- Vikings and Other Invaders: Europe under Siege in in the Tenth Century
- Beyond Bridgerton: A Peoples' History of Britain, 1688-1834
- Creating an American Empire: From Westward Expansion to Colonial Empire
- Hunger Games: Poverty, Famine, and Environment
- Russia’s Empires: Societies, Peoples and Cultures
- Beyond the Tudors: Europe’s Worldview Transformed c.1500-1600
- Uses of the Past
- Doing History in the Digital Age
- Chinoiserie and Européenerie: Artistic and Vultural Exchanges between China and Europe
- Digital China: Popular Culture, Technology, and Society
- Revolutions! Art and Society in France, 1770-1830
- Evolution of the French Language
- Intimate Spaces of the French Enlightenment
- Violence and Virtue: Early Modern French Theatre
- Subversive Texts: Baudelaire and Rachilde
- Berlin - Culture, History and Politics
- Gender, Race and Migration in 20th and 21st-century German Literature
- Migrating Texts: Classical Reception, Adaptation, Translation
- Research Skills in Languages and Cultures
- Contemporary Latin American Cinema
- Multilingualism in Society
- Tales of Freedom, Necessity and Providence
- From Page to Screen: Female Detectives in Literature, Film, and Television
- Exploring Revolution: The Making of Soviet Society and Culture in the 1920s
- Apocalypse/Utopia: the Russian Roots of Revolution
- Other Shores: Exile and Emigration in Russian Literature
- Federico Garcia Lorca: Theatre and Poetry
- The Latin American Short Story
- Catalonia Is Not Spain? Modern Catalan Culture in Context
- "What is Love? And Do I Need It?" An Introduction to Spanish Renaissance Love Poetry
- Fiction in Post-War Spain: Voices of Conformity and Subversion
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter earn?
The median salary is £29,000 after 15 months, £28,000 after 3 years, £36,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £29,000 and £46,500. The £36,000 median after five years is £3,000 more than the UK median for Language and area studies (other).
What do graduates of BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter do next?
90% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
70% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
The typical offer is ABB at A level. The average entrant had 141 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
88% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 103 offers from 117 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA History and Modern Languages at University of Exeter?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.