History and Philosophy BA (Hons)

Analyse beliefs and concepts and consider how past societies worked with our BA History and Philosophy. Studying history and philosophy allows you to question your assumptions and trace the origins of modern societies and cultures.Discover a thousand years of history whilst experiencing all the specialist areas on offer at the University of Reading. The History Department's expertise covers a wide range of regions, from Europe and Africa to America, South Asia and the Middle East. Module choices cover diverse periods and topics, from the Crusades to the 1960s, slavery in America to Tudor monarchy, and Cold War Berlin to medieval magic.In your first year, your core modules will explore people, politics and revolution, finding out how people struggled for power in past societies; and the culture and concepts those societies developed. We will teach you the skills you need to study and research history through an individual project of your choice.Studying philosophy will equip you with the ability to think logically, to evaluate arguments critically, and to challenge your own ideas and those of other people. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy and you will also have the chance to explore non-western philosophies such as Indian philosophy.In both subjects, you will be taught in small interactive seminar groups, encouraging discussion and debate with teaching staff and fellow students. The University also offers all students the chance to learn a modern language alongside their core subjects.**Placement**Placements are encouraged as they provide you with a chance to put your newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice as well as allowing you to gain valuable real-world experience. Through our links with the Careers, Placement and Experience Centre, you can source potential employers and help with CVs and letters of application. Staff in the History Department also have close links with the University’s Institute of Education, Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) and Special Collections (archives), and with external organisations such as Cliveden House, English Heritage, Reading Museum, Reading Borough Library and the Berkshire Record Office.You also have the option to study abroad for a term in the second year. Some of the universities we have links with include University of Ottawa, Canada; University of Maastricht, Netherlands; University of Georgia, USA; and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.**Careers**Throughout your degree you will complete career and skills related modules, encouraging you to think about what career you would like and what skills you will need. If you would like a career in teaching, or in archives or records management, try our optional third-year modules, History education and Discovering Archives and Collections. We have had a high success rate from students who have completed History Education, with many of our graduates gaining places for Initial Teacher Training, but both these modules develop a wide range of interpersonal, organisational, presentational and research skills readily transferable to other areas of employment.Our graduates are valued by employers for their research, analytical, teamwork and communication skills. 97% of our Philosophy graduates and 96% of our History graduates are in work or further study within six months of graduating (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey, 2016–17). Previous graduates have found employment in the civil service, journalism, consultancy, finance, local and central government, and recent employers have included The British Museum, Cambridge Univer