History and English, BSc (Hons), with industry placement

Course outlineAs a student on the BSc (Hons) History and English course, you’ll have opportunities to study topics such as nationalism, state-building and inter-state relations; the history of war and peace; religious and ethnic conflict; trauma and memory; and issues of globalisation in the present that can only be understood by looking to the past. For example, you’ll learn how the British Empire helped to create the NHS, why Britain voted to stay in the EU in 1975 and why Margaret Thatcher became the first pop star of British international relations.With a global outlook, our teaching is informed by exciting historical research. As part of the course, you’ll participate in field trips to historical sites and get your hands dirty by digging into local archives, as well as conducting original research on a topic of your choosing. Studying cutting-edge techniques such as digital and oral history will give you new insights and further boost your employment prospects.On the English strand of the course, you’ll study literature, culture and history and explore the style choices of films, digital fiction, Instapoetry and Twitterfiction, alongside more traditional modes of text. We will equip you to critically engage with a variety of texts across both literary genres and periods, and you’ll be able to develop your skills as a writer through our Creative Writing module.Key benefits

• As part of your degree you’ll undertake a professional placement year, gaining valuable practical experience that employers demand. Aston University’s Careers and Placements team was recognised as the ‘Best University Placement Service’ at the National Undergraduate Employability (NUE) Awards 2022.

• English at Aston University was ranked first in the UK for ‘graduate prospects – on-track’ (Complete University Guide, 2022), which measures our graduates’ satisfaction with their career trajectory 15 months after completing their degree.

• Our courses are thought-provoking. 95 per cent of students on the English literature programmes at Aston University agreed that their course was intellectually stimulating (National Student Survey, 2021).

• Employed Aston University English graduates earn £5,300 (23 per cent) more than the UK average, five years after graduating (Longitudinal Education Outcomes, 2021).