Uni Application 2019/2020 - History and Politics/ History, Politics & IR

Hi, I'm a second-year A-Level student, studying History, Politics and Sociology and I really don't know which universities to apply to for the course I want to do. I was considering History & Politics or History, Politics and International Relations - I know for certain that I would like to study a joint honours. My issue is that I don't know which universities are best for this, or what others' experiences have been like studying this or similar courses. I'm predicted ABB, (A in Sociology, B in History and Politics). I have looked at many universities on open days -
Leicester
Essex
Chichester
Winchester
Brunel
Loughborough
Royal Holloway
Reading
East Anglia

Of course I have my own opinions on these unis, but I would like to hear some other views/experiences, and if there are any other universities that people would recommend.
Thanks! :smile:

(P.S I would eventually like to become a History teacher, but I want to keep my options open, which is why I am considering a joint degree)

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

University of Chichester

Hi @ABCABCDDD,

We asked one of our History students Amber to help give you some insight into studying at Chichester!

Anything you wish you knew before you started?
Nothing I can think of! I feel the prospectus covers quite a lot and it’s both that and the open day I attended that convinced me to come to Chichester! It was one of the best courses I’d seen and it offers so much in terms of module choice. Along with the beautiful campus and close knit community, I fell in love straight away!

Anything you wish you could change about the program?
Sometimes there’s timetabling clashes so you might find yourself having to chose between modules which is frustrating but unfortunately an inevitable part of the experience of any university, especially when so many good modules are offered. That’s one thing I wish I could change in terms of still being able to take it somehow. I don’t know how feasible it would be but there’s been one or two I’ve missed out on because I’ve chosen a different module instead!

Apart from that though I really enjoyed my course, the staff and the whole experience. The staff in the history department give you a much more personal experience than what you might get at bigger universities and they’re always able to give you advice, often getting to know you on a 1:1 level rather than just a member of their class.

What is the workload like?
Work load is easily manageable.

Most modules have weekly readings to do and this usually consists of 2 or 3 required readings plus additional reading if you’re really interested in the topic and have time to get to them. Of course, when you have 2 or 3 readings for about 4 modules it can seem like a lot especially, if there’s around 20 pages to read per reading, but they’re vitally important for seminars so even if you don’t manage it all, you can often still take part if you’ve at least attempted it. In terms of assignments. This does differ per tutor, some set more and some don’t set any at all. You have to be quite self motivated on a history course as you have a lot of independent study time to get through the reading you’re set.

In terms of assignments, I think we’re quite lucky in the history department in that we don’t really have loads to do and not much pressure comes from our tutors, it feels quite relaxed. First year I had the most assignments, on average two per module whether that was an essay (750 words) and an exam or a small (750 words) and the bigger essay (1500/1750 words). These were usually weighted 30%/70% of the final module grade. Year two and three tended to be one assignment worth 100% of the module grade and this was either an exam or 3000 word essay. It worked well as you only ever really had 4 assignments to worry about when other courses had like 6 or 7 plus exams, but ours were often all due around the same time so managing getting them all done and the priority in which to do them is what was difficult about deadline time.

In year 3 with the dissertation to write, I felt quite relaxed as we didn’t have as many modules or assignments and we had a lot of time to focus on our own research which actually made it an enjoyable experience because I didn’t have to worry about getting loads of other work done.

Of course stress can come with all sorts of work and deadlines but like I said already it’s quite relaxed in our department and if you start your assignments with plenty of time, they’ll be a breeze.

What are the career prospects during the program/after?
During your second year there’s an opportunity to take up a workplace module. I didn’t personally take this but do have some regrets as I think it offers invaluable experience and you can see our degree being used in the work place. Opportunities being in museums or archives, or even at local Arundel castle as we are surrounded by so much history being located in West Sussex.

The University is really good when it comes to helping with job searches be that for part time work whilst at university or for after getting a degree. They advertise an array of opportunities and the staff in the careers department are often available to help with advice and can even support applications. I am going on to do a PGCE in Secondary History at Chichester to become a History teacher!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

Reply 2

riaaree

Original post by ABCABCDDD

(P.S I would eventually like to become a History teacher, but I want to keep my options open, which is why I am considering a joint degree)

im also applying to royal holloway and reading for history!

Reply 3

University of East Anglia

Official Rep

Original post by ABCABCDDD

(P.S I would eventually like to become a History teacher, but I want to keep my options open, which is why I am considering a joint degree)

Hi @ABCABCDDD,

It sounds like you are doing a great deal of research into your university choices, which is brilliant!

I'm a BA History Undergraduate from UEA (2015) so more than happy to share my experience studying History at UEA. I personally had a brilliant time studying my undergrad at UEA; the lecturers are incredibly supportive and the modules on offer were varied across the specialism. There's a lot of flexibility around the course and if you are passionate about a certain subject or a topic that is related to a module, the tutors are more than happy to go the extra mile and facilitate this. They also took the time to make me feel valued as a member of the community at UEA, happily sitting down with me to discuss ideas for coursework assignments, and they felt passionate about me achieving my potential at UEA and in the course.

It's brilliant to hear that you've decided upon a Joint Honours. UEA is passionate about collaborative study that goes beyond specified subjects and joint degrees are embedded into the learning here. History with Politics or International Relations should complement each other really well - and broaden your contextual and theoretical knowledge about both disciplines. You can decide on the balance between the two disciplines with joint degrees at UEA. This gives you the best flexibility to focus on one subject as a major and another as a minor, or both as 50/50.

If you want to chat online with a current History student at UEA with have three students available on our Ask a Student platform; Cailin, Toby, and Victoria. You can also check out their previous Q&As for advice on preparing for studying History at university.

I hope this helps! If you have any further questions at all about History at UEA, do feel free to ask me. I'm also a current MA Politics student, so can also offer general advice on the School of Politics here :h:

Laura - Official UEA TSR Rep

Reply 4

Loughborough University

Official Rep

Original post by ABCABCDDD

(P.S I would eventually like to become a History teacher, but I want to keep my options open, which is why I am considering a joint degree)

Hi @ABCABCDDD,

Great to see your researching your choices and that Loughborough is one of them.

I am not a student in this department, but I asked on of my friends who studies International Relations (the closest I could get to what you were looking at, hope it is still helpful) about her experience so far and this is what she said...
'My experience has been great so far. The most important part is that there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing your modules. If you like IR, Politics or History more than the others there are a lot of modules that can be tailored to your preferences. You have a lot of independence but the lecturers and tutors are always happy to help and their office hours are really helpful. Having the option of choosing a language is very good too.'
I hope this helps and if you have any specific questions to the course I can pass them on.

Regarding Loughborough as a university it really is a great place to be. I have enjoyed every year here and there is so much to get involved in at the Student's Union that everyone can find something to do/ try if they have a look. There is so much on campus that in your first year you could probably never leave, but I wouldn't recommend as despite having a small town there is a lot to do. Plus the train station is not too far away so you can easily go to Nottingham or Leicester for a day out - we always go to the Christmas Market at Nottingham.

I think the best thing you can do is write down what is important to you and then see where these unis match up.

Let us know if you have any more queries and hope this is helpful.
Best wishes,
Emily :smile: