BA History and French (with a year abroad)
About this course
BA (Hons) History and French (with a year abroad) is an undergraduate degree spanning French and Francophone Studies and History. Core topics include Research Methods. Students spend the third year abroad. The first year covers foundations through compulsory modules such as French Language and Cultures: Upper Intermediate, Knowledge and Beliefs in World History, Political Communities in World History, and Societies and Economies in World History. The second year introduces core study through French Language and Cultures: Advanced and Historical Thinking, alongside optional modules covering subjects like world cinemas, historical periods, and transnational societies. The final year involves advanced language study through French Language and Cultures: Proficient. Optional modules in the final year allow specialisation in areas such as translation, historical themes, and independent study projects, with an option to complete a History Dissertation.
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: For post-A Level French: AAB including History/Classical Civilisation and French For ab initio route (for students not taking French at Advanced Level): AAB including grade A in History or Classical Civilisation IB: For post-HL French: 35 points including 6,5 in History and French at Higher Level (either way round) For ab initio route (for students not taking French at Higher Level): 35 points including 6 in HL History BTEC: DDD with an additional A Level or equivalent qualification in either History or Classical Civilisation at grade A
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What students say
Based on about 195 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 91%
- Learning opportunities: 82%
- Assessment and feedback: 78%
- Academic support: 94%
- Organisation and management: 78%
- Learning resources: 93%
- Student voice: 76%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 260 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 3%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 2%
What graduates do next
Based on about 70 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 56%
- Working and studying: 21%
- Further study: 13%
- Unemployed: 4%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 20%
- Sales occupations: 10%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 85%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 65%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 35%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 330 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 4%
- North West: 7%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 20%
- East Midlands: 5%
- West Midlands: 5%
- East of England: 13%
- London: 27%
- South East: 10%
- South West: 4%
- Wales: 2%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 255 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 99%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- French Language and Cultures: Upper Intermediate
- Understanding French-speaking Cultures and Societies
- Intensive French Language and Cultures: Beginner
- Understanding French-speaking Cultures and Societies
- Understanding Language in the Real World
- Structure of English
- Knowledge and Beliefs in World History
- Evidence and Methods
- Political Communities in World History
- Societies and Economies in World History
- French Language and Cultures: Advanced
- Historical Thinking
- World Cinemas: Representing National and Transnational Societies and Cultures
- Teaching English as a Foreign Language I
- Teaching English as a Foreign Language II
- Plurilingualism, multilingualism and transnational languages: concepts, strategies and approaches
- Laicité: religious freedom or state repression?
- Empire and Cultural Exchange in Asia 1500-1700
- Black Radicalism
- Ancien Régime France, 1610-1789
- Before the Mongols: Nomadic Empires of Central Eurasia, 900-1200
- Using and Abusing the Past in Britain, 1835-2018
- Gender, Enlightenment and Revolution in Eighteenth-Century Europe
- From the Global Shadows: Africa and the World since the 1950s
- Health for all? International Health from Colonial Medicine to Covid Vaccine
- Powerful Impressions: Culture and Politics in the Post-1945 United States
- Heterosexual Africa? Sexuality, Power, and Politics in Africa since 1900
- Persecution and Toleration in Early Modern Britain
- Catherine the Great
- Social Science and Modern Britain, c1880-c1970
- Crime and Society in Britain and Ireland since 1750
- Bankers, Merchants, and Poets: Florence and the Roots of the Renaissance
- Communist Europe: Crisis, Transformation & Memory after the Second World War
- Historical Fictions and Frictions: Fictionalising the Past
- Chivalry, Identity and Love 1350-1450
- Vikings and Historians: Historiographical Dialogues through the Ages
- The Scientific Revolution, 1500-1700
- Containing Multitudes: Inequality and the City in Britain and its Empire post-1800
- French Language and Cultures: Proficient
- History Dissertation
- Translation: Methodology and Practice
- World Cinemas: Representing National and Transnational Societies and Cultures
- Myths, Memories and the Legacy of the French Occupation (1940-44)
- Independent Study in Languages and Cultures
- Independent Study in Translation
- Empires
- Violence
- Animals
- Commemorations
- Travel
- Beauty
- Communisms
- From Colonial to Post-Colonial States? The Twentieth-Century Caribbean
- Divided Worlds: The British Empire, 1846-1961
- Imperial Japan, 1890-1950
- Popular Politics? The History of British Political Culture since 1945
- The French Wars of Religion
- Race, Place and Health in Britain and its Empire, 1880-1960
- Hong Kong: Decolonisation and Development, 1945-97
- Thomas More: Learning, Politics and Religion in England, 1500-35
- Ploughing the Sea? The Spanish American Wars of Independence, 1750-1830
- Rome Reborn: Culture and Society c.1575-c.1655
- Prussia and the Unification of Germany, 1815-1918
- Mao and Maoism
- Reading and Writing in Medieval England
- Exiled Lives: English Nuns in Catholic Europe, 1600-1800
- Poverty and the Welfare State in Post-War Britain
- Joan of Arc
- Revolution in the Streets: Faith, Poverty, & Religious Ferment, c.1200
- Francis Bacon: Myth, Magic and Morals
- Black British History and Decolonisation
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA History and French (with a year abroad) at University of York earn?
The median salary is £29,000 after 15 months, £25,500 after 3 years, £32,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £26,000 and £43,500. The £32,000 median after five years is £2,000 less than the UK median for French studies.
What do graduates of BA History and French (with a year abroad) at University of York 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 French (with a year abroad) at University of York?
91% 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 French (with a year abroad) at University of York?
The typical offer is AAB at A level, or 35 points in the IB. The average entrant had 154 UCAS points.
Does BA History and French (with a year abroad) at University of York include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year and a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA History and French (with a year abroad) at University of York?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 3% left higher education.