This course is closed
for Clearing 2024
This course is closed for Clearing 2022
If you would like to study at Warwick, there are other courses available for 2025 entry.
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
3 years full-time (4 years full-time with study abroad)
27 September 2021
Department of Study
Department of Sociology
Location of Study
University of Warwick
The study of history demands critical analysis, familiarity with a wide range of research methods, rigorous approaches to complexity, and expert communication skills. It will develop your ability to gather information from a variety of sources, evaluate that information, and present it clearly, concisely and to tight deadlines.
This course is for you for you if you’re interested in understanding the history of people, culture and societies, and their evolution in the modern era. The two complementary subjects both involve understanding people - their interests, motivations and culture – and why societies and social groups act the way they do.
You’ll be taught by staff from both departments, and will draw information from sources including film, visual images, literature and television as well as written texts. The flexible course structure enables you to choose modules from a wide range of options in both History and Sociology. Core modules in your first year introduce you to research and quantitative methods, and to the study of modern history set in a global context. Sociology core modules cover the history of sociological thought, and class and capitalism. In your second and third years you can choose from optional modules, with current options examining areas such as British imperialism, slavery, the significance of gender, crime, religious conflict or health in history, and political sociology. In your final year you can either maintain a balance between the two subjects or specialise in either History or Sociology.
Students will be offered the opportunity at the start of their second year to apply for an optional Year Abroad. Following the application process, those students who are offered and take up a Year Abroad place transfer to the four-year History and Sociology (with a Year Abroad) course, with the Year Abroad as the third of the four years.
You will be taught by staff from both departments, and will draw information from sources including film, visual images, literature and television as well as written texts. The flexible course structure allows you to choose modules from a wide range of options in both History and Sociology. Core modules in your first year introduce you to research and quantitative methods, and to the study of modern history set in a global context. Sociology core modules cover the history of sociological thought, and class and capitalism.
In your second and third years you can choose from optional modules, with current options examining areas such as British imperialism, slavery, the significance of gender, crime, religious conflict or health in history, and political sociology. In your final year you can either maintain a balance between the two subjects or specialise in either History or Sociology. You can also complete an optional dissertation on a topic of your choice related to either subject.
How will I learn?
Teaching is delivered through lectures, seminars and tutorials, web forums, podcasts, workshops, presentations, film analysis, group work and field trips. Our use of surprising and inspiring sources is a feature of all our teaching. For core modules there are usually two lectures and one hour-long seminar per week, and for optional modules one lecture per week plus weekly seminars. Seminar groups are small (normally under 16), providing a valuable opportunity for you to work closely with your lecturers and to learn from other students. Modules focus on important themes in political, religious, cultural or social history and many explore topics far removed from the usual A level syllabus.
For core modules in first year there are usually two lectures and an hour-long seminar per week, and for optional modules one lecture per week plus weekly or fortnightly seminars.
How will I be assessed?
You will receive regular feedback throughout your course on developmental assignments and assessed essays, and will sit end-of-year exams. During your third year study is heavily weighted towards seminar teaching and includes an individually supervised 9,000-word dissertation. We consider feedback on written work to be an essential part of our teaching. Throughout the year you will have the opportunity to attend feedback tutorials following the submission of your essays.
All students have the opportunity to apply for an intercalated year abroad at one of our partner universities. The Study Abroad Team based in the Office for Global Engagement offers support for these activities, and the Department’s dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator can provide more specific information and assistance.
Our Careers and Skills department offer a wide range of workshops, from developing confidence and interview techniques to learning how to articulate what you have to offer in order to impress potential employers. Online resources are also available, including training in drafting CVs and covering letters, practice aptitude and psychometric tests, practice online interviews, and other resources to help you research job opportunities.
You will also be able to book an appointment at any point during your degree with a careers advisor for your specific degree. Whether you have no idea what you want to do, or a clear direction in mind, you can take advantage of this focused advice and guidance.
- AAB to include grade A in History
- 36 with at least a 6 in Higher Level History
We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside one or two A levels, including A level History. Our typical BTEC offers are as follows:
- BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate plus 2 A levels: D plus AA including History
- BTEC Level 3 National Diploma plus 1 A level: D*D plus A in History
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.
Contextual data and differential offers
There are a number of circumstances in which Warwick may make differential offers. These include students participating in the Realising Opportunities programme, or who meet two of the contextual data criteria. Differential offers are one or two grades below Warwick’s standard offer (to a minimum of BBB).
Warwick International Foundation Programme (IFP)
All students who successfully complete the Warwick IFP and apply to Warwick through UCAS will receive a guaranteed conditional offer for a related undergraduate programme (selected courses only).
Taking a gap year
Applications for deferred entry welcomed.
We do not typically interview applicants. Offers are made based on your UCAS form which includes predicted and actual grades, your personal statement and school reference.
Making of the Modern World (no CATS)
We live in the here and now. But what got us here? This module studies the string of major social, political, and cultural developments that established our modern world. Radical (and not so radical) ideas from the Enlightenment, the industrial revolution’s structural transformations of how we work, build and buy things, and the struggles and stumbles of imperialism, capitalism and globalisation have gone far to set terms of life in the twenty-first century. The module will also help you develop your critical voice as a historian while asking comparative questions about historical difference across the world.
Sociology of Gender
Through case studies from the gender pay gap to the politics of Christmas, this module will transform how you see gender and its impact on the world. You will explore the origins of gender ideas and analyse their effects on areas of social life including: language; media and popular culture; science; work; family relationships; sexuality; violence; education; politics; and feminist movements.
While gender is the focus of this module, you will also consider how gender connects to other dimensions of social difference and inequality, such as sexuality, race, class or disability.
History of Sociological Thought
What holds societies together? How do societies change? And how is politics in the conventional sense affected by factors such as class, status, ethnicity or religion, or the state of the economy? These are some of the questions with which you will engage with when you consider the history of sociological thought. You will gain skills of research, analysis and debate by considering the extent to which sociology may be considered a science and how the evolution of sociological thought has been shaped by events and the cultural, economic and political problems of the day.
Sociology of Race
What is 'race' and why does it matter? This module answers these questions by drawing on the wealth of expertise within Warwick Sociology, and is taught by experts who research and write about race and racism from a range of perspectives. Students will learn about both theoretical concepts and real-world examples that will help them to understand how race and racism shape the social world.
Class and Capitalism in the Neoliberal World
Protest and anger characterise the contemporary era – young people taking part in militant politics, protest parties gaining more votes, and even NHS doctors taking to the streets.
In this module, we will explore the social consequences of the economic and political transformations associated with neoliberalism that have taken place in recent decades. We will ask why these changes might be responsible for the global rise in urban unrest and dissatisfaction.
Topics will include growing inequality and elite power, militant policing, consumerism, anxiety, debt, the destruction of industrial communities, class identity, the marketisation of education, and the diminishing spaces of public life.
Introduction to Social Analytics 1
In the age of ever-increasing data availability which is paired with a growing sophistication of statistical techniques, the opportunities for social science research are vast. This module will give you an understanding of the basic elements of core descriptive and inferential statistics that will allow you not only to critically engage with quantitative findings in existing social science research, and also conduct quantitative analysis yourself. The module covers the topics of conceptualisation, operationalisation and measurement, as well as the principles of sampling and the basics of statistical inference. You will be introduced to the statistical methods and process of social science research in one hour lectures, and then explore these in extended seminars (two hours) through both readings, and the statistical software STATA. We will be working on real data sets, such as the World Development Indicators, but you will also conduct your own short surveys amongst other students and analyse the data in class afterwards.
Researching Society and Culture
What is society and how do you study it? Is human behaviour governed by rules similar to the natural world that you can study objectively? Or do human beings consciously act upon their environment and change the world through creativity and intelligence, driven by their own understanding and motivations. These are some of the questions that this module will explore.
You will be introduced to the core ideas behind sociological research and the practical tools to undertake research yourself. As well as looking at some of the key qualitative methods (for example, interviews, ethnography and discourse analysis), you will also examine the political, ethical and practical issues that social research inevitably entails.
Early Modern History module (from a selected list)
Designing and Conducting Social Research
This module will teach you the core concepts and practical skills to undertake qualitative social research in academic and professional settings. These include research design, ethnography, in-depth interviewing, documents and discourse. As well as practical skills, you will investigate how social research has changed in recent decades, considering:
• ethical questions when researching life online
• how (and whether you should) study Twitter
• effects of social media on social interactions
• how to engage diverse audiences
You will also gain analytical skills to critically evaluate previous research, and develop your ability to collect and analyse data using a range of qualitative methods.
Modern Social Theory
This module will introduce you to the main thinkers and movements in critical social theory. Topics include Marxism, post-structuralism, class and culture. The changing conceptualisation of power and class is a focus throughout the module. This helps you to see how the different theoretical approaches relate to each other, and to historical and political events.
Practice and Interpretation of Quantitative Research
Quantitative methods can help you answer questions such as:
• Is income inequality in the UK growing?
• Does marriage improve health?
• Does growing up in a poor neighbourhood affect your life chances?
Analysing representative, large-scale social surveys is crucial for sociologists to understand social processes. This module will introduce you to quantitative methods and how to analyse large data sets using SPSS Statistics software. It will help you engage with published quantitative sociological research and to undertake your own basic quantitative data analysis.
- Pathway 1 (25% History, 75% Sociology)
- Pathway 2 (75% History, 25% Sociology)
- Pathway 3 (50% History, 50% Sociology)
Examples of optional modules/options for current students
- Empire and Aftermath
- Latin America: Themes and Problems
- A History of Africa, 1830-1980
- The Enlightenment
- The History of Modern China
- Slavery and Slave Life in the American South, 1619-1865
- From the Blues to Hip Hop
- The Drug Trade in the Americas
- A History of Human Rights in Latin America
- Visual and Material Cultures of the Early Modern Iberian World
- Life of Media: Past, Present and Future
- International Perspectives on Gender
- Punishment, Justice and Control
- Race, Resistance and Modernity
Additional course costs
There may be costs associated with other items or services such as academic texts, course notes, and trips associated with your course. Students who choose to complete a work placement or study abroad will pay reduced tuition fees for their third year.
We believe there should be no barrier to talent. That's why we are committed to offering a scholarship that makes it easier for gifted, ambitious international learners to pursue their academic interests at one of the UK's most prestigious universities. This new scheme will offer international fee-paying students 250 tuition fee discounts ranging from full fees to awards of £13,000 to £2,000 for the full duration of your Undergraduate degree course.
Graduates from these courses have gone on to work for employers including:
- Admiral Group
- Amnesty International
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Civil Service
- ESI Media
- Ipsos Mori
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Ministry of Defence
- Penguin Random House
- Teach First
They have pursued roles such as:
- Archivists and curators
- Arts officers
- Producers and directors
- Actuaries, economists and statisticians
- Barristers and judges
- Business sales executives
- Chartered and certified accountants
- Conservation professionals
- Financial account managers
- Journalists, newspaper and periodical editors
- Public relations professionals
Helping you find the right career
Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant to support you. They offer impartial advice and guidance, together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:
- A Career to suit you
- Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
- Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
- The Historian’s Toolkit – Career planning for first years
- History – CV review session
"So many different areas of study"
"There's so many different areas of study on offer in the modules that I'm able to expand my interests beyond anything I was taught at school, meaning that my interest in history will hopefully keep growing throughout the three years of the course."
"The cutting edge of research"
“The Warwick history staff are academically brilliant and absolutely lovely. Teaching wise, it is not uncommon to be reading a book and seeing your lecturer’s name as a reference. You can really tell you are learning from top academics in their field and that what you are learning is the cutting edge of research.”
BA History graduate
About the information on this page
This information is applicable for 2021 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.