History degree without History A-Level?

2

Hi there

I'm currently in Year 12 and thinking about my next steps now. I had a think about which subject to study at university and I'm now considering History. The glaring issue is that I'm not doing it at A-Level. My current A-Levels are English Literature, Spanish, Media Studies and Maths. I don't have conclusive predicted grades as of yet but I'm aiming for A*-B (at the least) and I'm averaging As in all of my subjects except from Maths (closer to a B). I'm also considering higher ranking (preferably Russel Group) universities for my higher options out of 5 for UCAS - would it be possible for me to get into Oxford History or History and English with those subjects and those grades? I do 4 so it is possible for me to ignore Maths in a way, seeing as it doesn't really fit at all (I chose it when I wasn't sure what I was into but I'm not going to drop it now). I feel REALLY quite passionate about History, more so than English Lit - I got a 9 in History at GCSE and really loved it. I TRULY regret not choosing it at A-Level - but I can't do anything now. I'm feeling very dejected about it all but I'm hoping it's not totally impossible, and I'm willing to work hard for it. Is this AT ALL possible considering the circumstances?

Also, I'd like some tips for work experience and the kind of things that I can put on my personal statement because I don't really have much right now aside from roles such as House Captain (I know, I'm not really helping myself here. It's been hard to get opportunities and I'm not a very outgoing person.) Would some kind of online course or in-depth research on a documentary/topic help me? How about a blog (my friend suggested this)?

I have one more question, and it's regarding the written piece(s) of work to apply at Oxford (and possibly other places - I haven't checked). How would I do this without History (again!) - would I use my English Lit essays instead??

That is all, thank you very much for reading. Please feel free to apply to whichever section you please, but preferably the first.

Reply 1

ageshallnot

21

Original post

by Kingston Jenifer

Good morning,
generally, most uni's may require history as a subject for a history degree. However, if you demonstrate a real interest and passion for it as a degree, they will also consider your application (as seen for imperial college).
Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep)

Imperial doesn't offer history degrees.

Reply 2

normaw

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

20

Original post

by liza_gnatowska

Hi there

I'm currently in Year 12 and thinking about my next steps now. I had a think about which subject to study at university and I'm now considering History. The glaring issue is that I'm not doing it at A-Level. My current A-Levels are English Literature, Spanish, Media Studies and Maths. I don't have conclusive predicted grades as of yet but I'm aiming for A*-B (at the least) and I'm averaging As in all of my subjects except from Maths (closer to a B). I'm also considering higher ranking (preferably Russel Group) universities for my higher options out of 5 for UCAS - would it be possible for me to get into Oxford History or History and English with those subjects and those grades? I do 4 so it is possible for me to ignore Maths in a way, seeing as it doesn't really fit at all (I chose it when I wasn't sure what I was into but I'm not going to drop it now). I feel REALLY quite passionate about History, more so than English Lit - I got a 9 in History at GCSE and really loved it. I TRULY regret not choosing it at A-Level - but I can't do anything now. I'm feeling very dejected about it all but I'm hoping it's not totally impossible, and I'm willing to work hard for it. Is this AT ALL possible considering the circumstances?

Also, I'd like some tips for work experience and the kind of things that I can put on my personal statement because I don't really have much right now aside from roles such as House Captain (I know, I'm not really helping myself here. It's been hard to get opportunities and I'm not a very outgoing person.) Would some kind of online course or in-depth research on a documentary/topic help me? How about a blog (my friend suggested this)?

I have one more question, and it's regarding the written piece(s) of work to apply at Oxford (and possibly other places - I haven't checked). How would I do this without History (again!) - would I use my English Lit essays instead??

That is all, thank you very much for reading. Please feel free to apply to whichever section you please, but preferably the first.

You need to check the entry requirements for a range of history courses. For example:

Oxford:
It is highly recommended for candidates to have History to A-level,...
https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/history

York:
AAA including an A in either History or Classical Civilisation
https://www.york.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/ba-history/#entry

Lancaster:
No specific subjects
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/history-ba-hons-v100/2026/#a-levels-504076-0

So there will be options but you might be limited in your choices to those unis that don't require history A level.

Also note, history is an academic degree for which you do not need work experience. You need to show your interest in the subject through reading, MOOCs, podcasts, etc.. Have a look at the supercurricular recommendations on Cambridge's website:

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/before/improve-application

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 3

Muttley79

20

Original post

by liza_gnatowska

Hi there

I'm currently in Year 12 and thinking about my next steps now. I had a think about which subject to study at university and I'm now considering History. The glaring issue is that I'm not doing it at A-Level. My current A-Levels are English Literature, Spanish, Media Studies and Maths. I don't have conclusive predicted grades as of yet but I'm aiming for A*-B (at the least) and I'm averaging As in all of my subjects except from Maths (closer to a B). I'm also considering higher ranking (preferably Russel Group) universities for my higher options out of 5 for UCAS - would it be possible for me to get into Oxford History or History and English with those subjects and those grades? I do 4 so it is possible for me to ignore Maths in a way, seeing as it doesn't really fit at all (I chose it when I wasn't sure what I was into but I'm not going to drop it now). I feel REALLY quite passionate about History, more so than English Lit - I got a 9 in History at GCSE and really loved it. I TRULY regret not choosing it at A-Level - but I can't do anything now. I'm feeling very dejected about it all but I'm hoping it's not totally impossible, and I'm willing to work hard for it. Is this AT ALL possible considering the circumstances?
Also, I'd like some tips for work experience and the kind of things that I can put on my personal statement because I don't really have much right now aside from roles such as House Captain (I know, I'm not really helping myself here. It's been hard to get opportunities and I'm not a very outgoing person.) Would some kind of online course or in-depth research on a documentary/topic help me? How about a blog (my friend suggested this)?
I have one more question, and it's regarding the written piece(s) of work to apply at Oxford (and possibly other places - I haven't checked). How would I do this without History (again!) - would I use my English Lit essays instead??
That is all, thank you very much for reading. Please feel free to apply to whichever section you please, but preferably the first.

An ex-student studied History at Cambridge with similar A levels.

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post

by liza_gnatowska

Hi there

I'm currently in Year 12 and thinking about my next steps now. I had a think about which subject to study at university and I'm now considering History. The glaring issue is that I'm not doing it at A-Level. My current A-Levels are English Literature, Spanish, Media Studies and Maths. I don't have conclusive predicted grades as of yet but I'm aiming for A*-B (at the least) and I'm averaging As in all of my subjects except from Maths (closer to a B). I'm also considering higher ranking (preferably Russel Group) universities for my higher options out of 5 for UCAS - would it be possible for me to get into Oxford History or History and English with those subjects and those grades? I do 4 so it is possible for me to ignore Maths in a way, seeing as it doesn't really fit at all (I chose it when I wasn't sure what I was into but I'm not going to drop it now). I feel REALLY quite passionate about History, more so than English Lit - I got a 9 in History at GCSE and really loved it. I TRULY regret not choosing it at A-Level - but I can't do anything now. I'm feeling very dejected about it all but I'm hoping it's not totally impossible, and I'm willing to work hard for it. Is this AT ALL possible considering the circumstances?

Also, I'd like some tips for work experience and the kind of things that I can put on my personal statement because I don't really have much right now aside from roles such as House Captain (I know, I'm not really helping myself here. It's been hard to get opportunities and I'm not a very outgoing person.) Would some kind of online course or in-depth research on a documentary/topic help me? How about a blog (my friend suggested this)?

I have one more question, and it's regarding the written piece(s) of work to apply at Oxford (and possibly other places - I haven't checked). How would I do this without History (again!) - would I use my English Lit essays instead??

That is all, thank you very much for reading. Please feel free to apply to whichever section you please, but preferably the first.

Not all history degrees require A-level History, although many do. You need to check individual requirements (I believe neither Oxford nor Cambridge require it for example, although as you note Oxford recommend it). Bear in mind history degrees are very heterogeneous in terms of content and focuses and so depending on your specific interests some courses may be more or less aligned with your interests. You may also want to consider other courses that include historical related content which may focus on different regions/periods to a history degree (e.g. archaeology related courses, classics/classical civilisation and ancient history, various language/regional studies courses which will invariably include history of the region(s) including courses like ancient near eastern studies/Egyptology/Anglo-saxon and Celtic studies/viking and old Norse studies etc, history of art and similar - a lot of these don't have any subject requirements).

Work experience and such is immaterial for an academic course like history as noted above (unless you get something extremely relevant like working in an archive or similar, which is hard to come by and they aren't going to prejudice applicants who don't have such opportunities by giving undue weight to that), and random extracurriculars are of lesser value for most UK universities (especially of almost no interest to Oxbridge).

What they want to see is what specific things you've done relating to your proposed subject area - i.e. history. They need to know you actually know what is involved in studying history and how you have engaged in that. So you need to really focus on doing wider reading thoughtfully and critically analysing what you read and reflecting on it. You may also want to look into e.g. essay competitions in the subject area if there's a topic of interest you want to explore more through that, especially if you have access to relevant primary sources to work with.

For written work required for application you'd need to check with the unis in question. Generally for Oxford as far as I'm aware unless they specify it needs to be in a particular field, the written work requirement is just from any of your subjects and the focus is not on disciplinary content but on how you write and structure academic arguments in general.

So just think about what periods/regions/themes in history you're interested in, and read about those. If possible try and read academic monographs as well as (or perhaps in preference to) more "popular history" type books (although those are also perfectly reasonable as an entry point). There are also some books which arguably kind of straddle the two, for example Jared Diamond's writings (read with a very sharp critical eye and also look at the arguments against his points) or something like 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed if interested in early history (also read critically - the LBA "collapse" has a fair bit of a scholarship around it and so you should definitely not take any singular viewpoint as gospel!).

Reply 5

ageshallnot

21

Echoing the point made by @Muttley79 , a Cambridge admissions tutor who used to frequent TSR once told me that the best undergraduate historian he ever taught had only STEM A-levels.

History degree without History A-Level?

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