BA History
About this course
BA in History. Core topics include Research Methods, Historical Research, and Critical & Analytical Thinking. An introductory first year leads to optional modules spanning medieval to modern periods across Britain, Europe, Africa, America, the Middle East and South Asia. A final-year dissertation module is available.
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 at higher level.
See the highest paying History, Philosophy & Religion degrees in the UK →
What students say
Based on about 27 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 98%
- Learning opportunities: 94%
- Assessment and feedback: 93%
- Academic support: 100%
- Organisation and management: 94%
- Learning resources: 92%
- Student voice: 83%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 55 students who started
- Continued on course: 85%
- Left higher education: 11%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 4%
What graduates do next
Based on about 8 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 55%
- Working and studying: 5%
- Further study: 25%
- Unemployed: 15%
Most common jobs
- Business and public service associate professionals: 25%
- Teaching Professionals: 20%
- Sales occupations: 15%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 85%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 65%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 55%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 135 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 4%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 3%
- West Midlands: 4%
- East of England: 11%
- London: 21%
- South East: 33%
- South West: 12%
- Wales: 6%
- Scotland: 2%
- Northern Ireland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 55 students who started
- A levels: 96%
- Other HE qualification: 4%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Exploring Evidence
- History Now
- Making History and You: Practices and Possibilities
- Perspectives in History
- Arriving in Britain: A History of Immigration, 1685–2004
- Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination
- Hunger and Famines in History
- Merlin: Magic and Prophecy
- Radicalism and Protest in Britain: From the Levellers to Black Lives Matter
- Everyday Life in a Medieval Town: Reading, 1100-1500
- Warfare in Early Modern Europe, c 1500-1715
- After Malthus: Sex, Society, Sustainability and the Politics of Population in the Long Nineteenth Century
- US Foreign Policy and the Environment: from Nixon to Obama
- The Crusades, 1095-1291
- Medieval Medicine
- Noise Annoys: British Youth Culture, Popular Music and Social Change, 1950s-90s
- From Revolution to Reconstruction: A Social History of Nineteenth Century USA
- Dissertation in History
- History Education
- Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84
- Becoming a Revolutionary: The Old Regime and the French Revolution, 1787-1794
- Gender in Africa
- Heretics and Popes: Heresy and Persecution in the Medieval World
- Sexual Politics: Gender, Sex, and Feminism in Britain after 1918
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750
- The American Civil War
- Utopia: The Quest for a Perfect World
- Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze
- The United States and the Cold War
- Battleaxes and Benchwarmers': Early Female MPs 1919-1931
- Religion and Politics in the Medieval West, 1050-1492
- Axis at War: Life and Death in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, 1936-45
- Poor Law to Hostile Environment: Repatriation, Deportation and Exclusion from Britain 1800-2016
- From Darwin to Death Camps? Evolution and Eugenics in European Society, 1859-1945
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA History at University of Reading earn?
The median salary is £30,000 after 15 months, £25,000 after 3 years, £29,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £25,000 and £36,000. The £29,500 median after five years is £1,000 less than the UK median for History.
What do graduates of BA History at University of Reading 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 at University of Reading?
98% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA History at University of Reading?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 113 UCAS points.
Does BA 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 History at University of Reading?
85% of students continued into their second year, and 11% left higher education.