BA Modern History and Politics
About this course
Bachelor of Arts in Modern History and Politics, a politics and international relations and history degree centered on the evolution of societal structures and governance. Core topics include Research Methods, Ethics & Professional Practice, and Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning. Students can choose to spend time at an international institution during their studies. The first year covers core foundations through Comparative Politics, Engaging Political Ideas, History Matters (Object, Image, Text), Introduction to International Relations, and World Histories Introduced, alongside optional modules such as A (Dis) United Kingdom? An introduction to British Politics and Foundations of Modern Politics. The second year introduces modules including Humanities Study Abroad Preparation Module, Making History: Historians and Audiences, and The Struggle for Democracy, with further options like AI Utopias and the Climate Crisis and Chinese Politics. Optional modules in later stages allow for specialised study in areas such as global justice, political theory, and historical analysis, while students may also undertake a Dissertation in Politics & International Relations.
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 IB: Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level
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What students say
Based on about 19 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 84%
- Learning opportunities: 73%
- Assessment and feedback: 74%
- Academic support: 84%
- Organisation and management: 68%
- Learning resources: 87%
- Student voice: 73%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 11 graduates who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 60%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 10%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Elementary occupations: 25%
- Teaching Professionals: 15%
- Media Professionals: 15%
- Administrative occupations: 15%
- Process, plant and machine operatives: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 90%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 70%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 30%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 335 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 1%
- East Midlands: 1%
- West Midlands: 2%
- East of England: 10%
- London: 32%
- South East: 41%
- South West: 10%
- Wales: 2%
Who gets in
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 95%
- Access course: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Comparative Politics
- Engaging Political Ideas
- History Matters (Object, Image, Text)
- Introduction to International Relations
- World Histories Introduced
- A (Dis) United Kingdom? An introduction to British Politics
- Foundations of Modern Politics
- Global Dilemmas: Reading Contemporary Politics
- Putin and the Politics of Post-Soviet Russia
- The Crimean War
- The First World War
- The French Revolution
- Humanities Study Abroad Preparation Module
- Making History: Historians and Audiences
- The Struggle for Democracy
- Year Abroad Report Module for Humanities Students
- Year in Employment
- AI Utopias and the Climate Crisis
- Building London: the history of a city, 1666 – 2012
- Children and Human Rights
- Chinese Politics
- Cities of the Dead: Death, Mourning and Remembrance in Modern Britain
- Comparative Party Politics
- Contemporary Theories of Justice
- Darwin and the Making of Evolutionary Thought: Myth, Memory, and Modern Society
- Data, Culture, and Justice
- Democratic Theory
- Digital Futures of the Past: Power, Ethics, and Representation
- Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts
- Ethics of War
- European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia
- Gender, Power and Politics
- Global Justice: Poverty, Inequality and the Environment
- Globalisation and World Politics
- Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
- Humanities and Professional Practice
- Introduction to Experiments in Social Science
- Islam's Identity Crisis: Between Violent Jihadism and Peaceful Reformation
- Jews in Germany before the Holocaust
- McCarthyism
- Migration, Borders, Refuge: Political Ethics in an Age of Mobility
- Napoleon and his legend
- Nelson Mandela: A South African life
- Partisans, Public Opinion and Elections: Understanding the Political Mind
- Political Thinking
- Politics and Protest
- Public Opinion in Action: What we know and how we know it
- Qualitative Research in Politics & International Relations
- Queering the Digital
- Ragtime! The Making of Modern America
- Reinventing Democracy: Innovation, Participation and Power
- Retail Therapy: A Journey Through the Cultural History of Shopping
- The EU and European Identity
- The Fall of the Russian Empire
- The Government Lab
- The Making of Modern India
- Theorising International Politics
- Vienna and Berlin: Society, Politics and Culture from 1890 to the Present
- A Short History of Exploration
- A Short History of the Far Right
- A Short History of the Populist Leader
- American Cinema Since 1965
- Children and Human Rights
- China in the Cold War – Part 1 (The Chronology)
- China in the Cold War – Part 2 (Themes)
- Chinese Politics
- Comparative Party Politics
- Contemporary Theories of Justice
- Crime and Punishment in England c.1688-1840 part 1
- Crime and Punishment in England c.1688-1840 part 2
- Democratic Theory
- Dissertation in Politics & International Relations
- Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local Contexts
- Ethics of War
- European Power and the Geopolitics of Europe and Asia
- Gender, Power and Politics
- Global Justice: Poverty, Inequality and the Environment
- Globalisation and World Politics
- Green Political Thought: Humans and other stories
- Historical Memory in Modern Latin America
- History Dissertation
- Holocaust Literature
- Introduction to Experiments in Social Science
- Migration, Borders, Refuge: Political Ethics in an Age of Mobility
- Partisans, Public Opinion and Elections: Understanding the Political Mind
- Politics and Protest
- Public Opinion in Action: What we know and how we know it
- Reading Histories
- Reinventing Democracy: Innovation, Participation and Power
- The Government Lab
- The Hammer and the Scalpel: The American Precision Ethos and Culture of War (Part 1)
- The Hammer and the Scalpel: The American Precision Ethos and Culture of War (Part 2)
- The Third Reich 1
- The Third Reich 2
- The imperial Other: Race, Religion and Identity in modern Britain and France
- The imperial Other: Race, Religion and Identity in the Russian and Soviet empires
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Modern History and Politics at University of Southampton earn?
The median salary is £26,000 after 15 months, £26,500 after 3 years, £34,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,500 and £44,000. The £34,000 median after five years is the same as the UK median for Politics.
What do graduates of BA Modern History and Politics at University of Southampton 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 Modern History and Politics at University of Southampton?
84% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Modern History and Politics at University of Southampton?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 144 UCAS points.
How many students continue on BA Modern History and Politics at University of Southampton?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.