BA Ancient History and History
About this course
BA in History and Classics. Core topics include Research Methods, Fieldwork, and Historical Research. The degree spans ancient Greece through to Cold War Britain and offers optional language study from ten languages offered by the University.
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: BBB, including History or a humanities-based essay subject Humanities-based essay subjects include: Classical Civilisation, English Language, English Literature, Geography, Philosophy, Politics, Religious Studies. IB: 30 points overall including 5 in History or a humanities-based essay subject
See the highest paying History, Philosophy & Religion degrees in the UK →
What students say
Based on about 46 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 96%
- Learning opportunities: 88%
- Assessment and feedback: 87%
- Academic support: 99%
- Organisation and management: 88%
- Learning resources: 96%
- Student voice: 87%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 85%
- Left higher education: 15%
What graduates do next
Based on about 5 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 5%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 35%
- Sales occupations: 20%
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 65%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 55%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 65 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 3%
- North West: 2%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- East Midlands: 4%
- West Midlands: 3%
- East of England: 19%
- London: 25%
- South East: 29%
- South West: 11%
- Wales: 2%
- Northern Ireland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 20 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Greek History: War, Society and Change in the Archaic Age
- Perspectives in History
- Roman History: The Rise and Fall of the Republic
- Making History and You: Practices and Possibilities
- Rape in the United States: From Colonisation to Civil Rights
- Warfare in Early Modern Europe, c.1500-1715
- Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination
- Merlin the Magician
- Ancient Song
- Latin 1-3
- Ancient Greek 1-3
- US Environmental Diplomacy from Nixon to Obama
- After Malthus: Sex, Society, Sustainability and the Politics of Population in the Long Nineteenth Century
- Presenting the Past: An Introduction to Museum Studies
- Optional Language or University Wide Modules
- Greek History: Persian Wars to Alexander
- Ancient Epic
- Greek Sculpture and Architecture
- My Mother's Sin and Other Stories
- Latin 1-4
- Ancient Greek 1-4
- Careers for Classicists and Ancient Historians
- Careers for Classicists and Ancient Historians with Placement
- Roman History: From Republic to Empire
- Ancient Drama
- Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future
- People, Power and Revolution: Political Culture in Seventeenth-Century England
- 'The Brightest Jewel in the British Crown’: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947
- Europe in the Twentieth Century
- Reform and Revolt in the Modern Middle East: Egypt from Ataturk to the ‘Arab Spring’
- Hollywood Histories: Film and the Past
- American Century: United States History since 1898
- Preparing for your Dissertation
- Encountering the Atlantic World, 1450-1850
- Women and Medieval History
- The Colonial Experience: Africa Since 1879
- Black Britain: Race and Migration in Post-war United Kingdom
- Curatorship and Collections Management
- Medieval Medicine
- Museum Learning and Engagement
- The Crusades, 1095-1291
- Medieval Europe: Power, Religion and Death
- From Revolution to Reconstruction: A Social History of the Nineteenth-Century USA
- Optional Language or University Wide Modules
- Society, Thought and Art in Modern Europe
- Dissertation in Classics
- Independent Project in Classics
- Dissertation in History
- Latin 1-6
- Ancient Greek 1-6
- ‘Race’ and Ethnicity in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds
- From Classroom to Courtroom: Mastering the Art of Persuasion in the Ancient World
- Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze
- Battleaxes and Benchwarmers': Early Female MPs 1919-1931
- History Education
- Axis at War: Life and Death in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, 1936-45
- From Darwin to Death Camps? Evolution and Eugenics in European Society, 1859-1945
- The American Civil War
- Utopia: The Quest for a Perfect World
- Poor Law to Hostile Environment: Repatriation, Deportation and Exclusion from Britain 1800-2016
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750
- The United States and the Cold War
- Optional Language or University Wide Modules
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Ancient History and History at University of Reading earn?
The median salary is £25,000 after 15 months, £22,000 after 3 years, £27,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £22,500 and £34,000. The £27,000 median after five years is £3,500 less than the UK median for History.
What do graduates of BA Ancient History and History at University of Reading do next?
85% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Ancient History and History at University of Reading?
96% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Ancient History and History at University of Reading?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 117 UCAS points.
Does BA Ancient History and History at University of Reading 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 Ancient History and History at University of Reading?
85% of students continued into their second year, and 15% left higher education.