Bachelor of Arts in English and History

at University of Southampton - Avenue Campus United Kingdom

From the Aztecs and Maya to Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire and the medieval world, you'll study the story of human activity and the origins of civilisation. You'll gain an understanding of how human societies came into being, how and why they changed over time, and the underlying reasons for human diversity today. In your final year, you'll develop in-depth knowledge and skills in a specific area of archaeology.

Archaeology is the study of the human past through its material remains. This integrated undergraduate and master's degree will teach you the many methods and techniques we use to find, excavate and investigate historical sites and materials.

During your master's in archaeology, you'll learn how to handle, describe and interpret archaeological objects and data. As you become more confident, you'll recognise and interpret your finds in the field and carry out advanced archaeological techniques.

The undergraduate grounding (following the framework of the BA in Archaeology) will give you a foundation in archaeology. The final postgraduate archaeology year enables you to develop your own interests in specialist fields so that you can target the career path you want to follow. For example, you could choose to explore the archaeologist profession in commercial archaeology or the museums and heritage sector.

This master's degree in archaeology is flexible so you can choose your own path. You'll have options to focus on areas like:

• Museums and heritage management
• Studying human and animal bones
• Environmental impact assessment
• Maritime archaeology

We have a purpose-built archaeology building, equipped with the latest science-based laboratories. You'll gain hands-on experience with archaeological artefacts and materials, and receive the practical training needed for a career in professional archaeology.

Postgraduate archaeology courses teach a wide range of transferable skills such as:

• Evidence-based reasoning
• Problem-solving
• Project management

We’re also offering up to 10 bursaries of £1000 each to incoming students (subject to criteria). These are from the Terry Mason Bursary and the University of Southampton Archaeology Bursary Fund.

Develop the knowledge and skills you’ll need to become an entrepreneur in the global music industry on our MA International Music Management master's degree. On this UK course you'll learn about all aspects of the music business, from live performance and streaming to advertising and video games. Industry professionals will help you discover the careers you can go into. We were number 1 for music research in the most recent UK Research Excellence Framework (REF).

This International Music Management master’s course will prepare you for a management career in the global music business.  

You’ll develop critical understanding of the legal, economic, social and cultural frameworks that support the music industry.

And you'll gain key business skills through exposure to local music venues such as Turner Sims, touring musicians, and masterclasses with industry partners like Sony, Universal, Google and YouTube.  

On this practical programme, you'll also learn about:

• How the music publishing industry makes its money
• Copyright and licensing
• Music event planning
• Adding music to a video game or tv show  
• The costs involved in making an album
• How music festivals and opera companies work

You'll learn from expert academics with plenty of music industry experience and connections. They'll teach you to the practical skills you need to work in a wide range of music management roles.

Examine the fundamentals of language, and study issues in teaching methodology, on this MA Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching master's degree.

You'll investigate current theories in training and learning languages, and we'll show you how to apply these to your teaching practices.

This degree will open paths to teaching in the UK or starting a career overseas.

If you're a language professional in a school or other education setting, this course will help you:

• Develop a comparative perspective on language education policy and practice
• Learn the skills needed to challenge professional practice
• Undertake research and innovation in a range of applied language fields

The MA Applied Linguistics for Language Teaching is offered by our Centre for Applied Language Research. Staff contributing to the programme are involved in:

• Direct teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and other languages
• Research and development work in applied linguistics and language learning
• Sociolinguistics and cultural studies

This blend of theoretical expertise and ongoing practical experience is one of the distinguishing features of our programme.

On completion of the course, you’ll be ready for a rewarding career as a language teacher, language teaching educator, or applied linguistics researcher.

Discover how English has developed through history and how it varies in different societies. You'll explore the language, its structure and the linguistic science behind it. You can also choose from a wide range of modules that follow your interests and career goals in the subject. We have one of the UK’s leading Modern Languages and Linguistics departments.

This English language and linguistics degree will give you an advanced knowledge of contemporary English, its development, systems and use around the world. You'll learn analytical, research and personal skills relevant to a range of careers.

You’ll take modules in:

• Applied linguistics
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Language teaching
• English around the world

You can also study a foreign language and take modules in related disciplines, such as philosophy and film.

In your final year, you’ll write a dissertation specialising in an area that interests you. This will use the skills you developed over the rest of the course.

As part of this course you can:

• Take part in writing workshops at Nuffield Southampton Theatres
• Access a unique collection of rare books at the Chawton House Library
• Explore experimental writing with our Entropics events

This course will give you training and expertise that are of special interest to many employers. It provides the knowledge and skills to follow a wide range of careers.

Is there a god? What is morality? What does it mean to be human? On this joint BA Philosophy and English degree you’ll examine concepts like these from philosophical and literary perspectives. You’ll broaden your knowledge and understanding with a placement year at a university abroad.

You’ll have the freedom to pursue your own interests in subjects as varied as scriptwriting and Islamic philosophy.

In your degree you can:

• Learn about philosophical questions such as ethics, reason and responsibility
• Explore philosophy and literature through diverse times and places, from Viking to Victorian eras, from Eastern to African settings
• Study themes like the Islamic Golden Age, classical Indian philosophy, and holocaust literature
• Study abroad at one of our partner institutions
• Explore contested narratives, for example, race and culture in American literature

At Southampton you’ll learn in small groups in a relaxed and friendly environment. You'll benefit from the expertise of academic staff whose research feeds directly into the course content.

You can take modules from other disciplines such as anthropology or psychology, studying a language, or choosing from a range of cross-disciplinary modules.

Explore how our ancestors engaged with the world, and gain a fascinating insight into what it means to be human. Studying archaeology and anthropology combines aspects of the humanities and the sciences. You'll study global human diversity in time and space, in a truly interdisciplinary way. Along with studying the theoretical background, you'll do fieldwork as part of an active research project in the UK or abroad.

Our BA Archaeology and Anthropology degree gives teaches you how human societies came into being, how they have changed over time, and the underlying reasons for human diversity today.

This degree integrates the disciplines of archaeology (the study of the human past through its material remains) and anthropology, which is made up of:

• Social anthropology (exploring how people in different places create meaning and build communities)
• Anthropological linguistics (the study of humans through the languages they use)
• Biological anthropology (looking at the physiological and genetic diversity in present and past human and primate societies)

We have a purpose-built archaeology building, equipped with the latest science-based laboratories. On this anthropology and archaeology degree you'll gain hands-on experience with archaeological artefacts and materials, and receive the practical training needed for a career in archaeology or anthropology.

Our archaeology and anthropology degree courses give you the opportunity to study a minor subject alongside the main programme.

We’re also offering up to 10 bursaries of £1000 each to incoming students (subject to criteria). These are from the Terry Mason Bursary and the University of Southampton Archaeology Bursary Fund.

For movie lovers and history buffs, we offer this exciting and challenging film and history degree with year abroad. You'll examine film from a variety of perspectives: as popular art, big business and as a cultural record. You'll study history and the links between both subjects. A year abroad will enhance your understanding of visual arts and let you experience a new culture.

You'll study familiar classics alongside contemporary cinema, and genres including:

• film noir
• horror
• science fiction
• documentary
• animation

Your history modules will cover the development of historical debates, imagining the past, and topics ranging from ancient societies to the war on terror.

Our Framing the Past module looks at cinema's relationship with history. You'll study films about the distant past of Greece, Rome or Egypt, up to more recent times, such as heritage films about the British Empire or the Titanic.

You'll spend your third year abroad at an exchange partner university. You can study in English but will have opportunities to develop your language skills.

 As part of this course you can:

• take modules in film noir, animation, horror and sci-fi
• explore British, European and world cinema
• discover early film through archive visits
• access document collections, including the Wellington, Palmerston and Mountbatten papers
• use one of the largest Jewish document centres in Europe, the Parkes Archive
• submit your own film to our annual student film festival

This degree in French, including a year abroad, will give you complete proficiency in a major international language. You’ll also gain a deep understanding of the cultures, histories and structures of French-speaking nations worldwide.

What you learn will open up a world of career opportunities. French is native to France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and the French Caribbean, and it’s an official language in much of Africa and Asia.

You’ll start at a level that matches your ability in French. You’ll also have excellent resources to support you. The Centre for Language Study at Southampton’s Avenue Campus is equipped with everything you need.

As well as studying French, you can choose from a range of subjects in Linguistics and modules such as Urban Culture, Ethnography and Film.

A special module in year 2 will make sure you’re ready for the following year abroad, including your academic work. This part of your course is the perfect opportunity to strengthen your linguistic skills and raise your cultural awareness.

We have partner universities in the Erasmus programme throughout France and in Switzerland.

Your final year also offers a wide range of module choices. This means you can specialise in an area that suits your interests and combines well with what you’ve studied so far.

Develop your passion for reading and your talent for languages. Discover new ways to think about literature from around the world. At Southampton, you'll study German language and culture, and English literature together to improve how you understand them. You can examine the linked histories, influences and works of German and English writers. You'll also get to experience a new culture with a year abroad.

This dynamic English and German degree course shows you the connections between literature, language and culture. Our English modules cover writing from around the world and its connection to politics, the arts, identity and more.

In your German studies, you can take modules that feed your love of history and culture, or you may choose to focus on linguistics. You can shape your degree to suit your interests or career aspirations.

You'll spend your year abroad at one of our partner universities in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, among others.

As part of this course you can:

• Use our Centre for Language Study, including a German resources room
• Join one of 40 student-led performing arts groups
• Take part in writing workshops at Nuffield Southampton Theatres
• Use a unique collection of rare books at the Chawton House Library
• Explore experimental writing with our Entropics events
• Get one-to-one tutorials on writing from our Royal Literary Fund Fellows

Study global views on ancient, medieval and modern history with this joint honours ancient history and history degree. Learn how ancient civilisations inspired modern society and examine historical empires and cultures. You can also study literary transformations to develop an understanding of past societies.

You'll look at the different ways historians have approached the past, and study different periods in ancient and modern history. You'll cover the development of historical debates, ways of imagining the past, and topics ranging from ancient history to the war on terror.

As part of BA Ancient History and History you can:

• Learn from experts in the ancient world and history (including archaeology, ancient and modern languages and literature, and film)
• Spend time at a university abroad in Europe, the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea or Australia
• Access document collections, including the Wellington, Palmerston and Mountbatten papers, and the Parkes archive, one of the largest Jewish documentation centres in Europe
• Learn Latin and Ancient Greek

The history and ancient history degree course combines lectures with small group seminars. You'll learn how to structure an argument, interrogate and contextualise evidence, and evaluate historical controversies.