English Language and History (including Year Abroad)

Description

Our BA English Language and History (including Year Abroad) combines the chance to investigate a range of historical periods from the sixteenth century to the present with a good grounding in the linguistic and sociolinguistic aspects of the structure and use of modern English. You spend your third year abroad.

Our BA English Language and History (including Year Abroad) aims to give you an insight into questions like: what kind of techniques can we use to research how English varies according to our age, sex, social and geographical background, and ethnic origins? How has social and geographical mobility in contemporary society given rise to the formation of new accents and dialects of English? How do we use English in everyday conversation, and how is it used in the media? How have historical events shaped the contemporary world, and what is the relationship between past and present? How have factors such as class, gender and race influenced historical change since 1500? What comparisons can be made between historical developments in different parts of the world?

In each of your years at Essex, your time is split equally between studying English and studying History. In English, your first year is a foundation year which introduces you to linguistic techniques used to study language and language variation; in your second and final year, you are able to choose between a wide range of English language options. In history, you take a broad overview module in the first year, either Society, Culture and Politics in Europe, 1500-1750 or The Making of the Modern World 1776-1989. In the second year, Making Histories: Themes, Concepts and Sources provides an understanding of fundamental principles of historical analysis, such as concepts of continuity, change, and comparative analysis. You are free to choose other history modules from an extensive list, which includes a range of topics from households and communities in Essex to witchcraft in Germany, from the history of disease to the culture of death, from slaves in the Americas to the struggle for racial equality in South Africa and the United States, from the history of state surveillance to the Anglo-American special relationship. You even have the opportunity of spending an additional year abroad (eg in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the USA) as part of your course if you so wish, providing you with the opportunity of experiencing and integrating into a different academic system, a different culture and a different society.

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 11950 Year (Non-EEA)

• English

Course Content

The special characteristics of our courses are flexibility and choice. In your first year, you usually take four or five modules that include pre-requisite(s) for your course but, in many cases, mean you can try subjects you have not come across before. If you are taking a humanities or social science, then you have the greatest choice, as most of our first-year modules do not assume any specialist knowledge.
With a small number of exceptions, if you successfully complete the first year of your BA, then you are qualified to enter the second year of that course and a range of other courses: for example, if you take economics, politics, philosophy and sociology, then you have a choice of at least nine possible single or joint honours courses at the end of your first year. This means you can change your course, providing you have taken the appropriate pre-requisites and places are available. We offer a range of optional modules in your second- and final-years and most courses allow you to undertake a final-year project, an individual piece of research on a topic that interests you.
We operate a credit framework for our awards, which is based on principles widely used across the UK university sector. Each module has a credit rating attached and our standard three-year course consists of 360 credits (120 credits in your first year, and 240 credits across your second and final years).
Please note that module information on our course finder provides a guide to course content and may be subject to review on an annual basis.

Year 1

Foundations of Linguistics;
Foundations of Sociolinguistics;
The Making of the Modern World 1789-1989 or Society, Culture and Politics in Europe 1500-1750; and
one history option or The Enlightenment

Year 2

One English language option;
one linguistics option;
Making History: Concepts, Themes and Sources (half module);
one history half-option; and
one history option

Year 3

Year abroad

Year 4

One English language option;
one linguistics option; and
two history options

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

• A-levels: ABB-BBB
• GCSE English: C
• IB: 32-30 points (we consider IB certificates at the Higher Level on a case-by-case basis)
• Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 6 level three credits at distinction and the remainder at merit (or above) or achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 45 level three credits at merit (or above).

English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component (or equivalent). Different requirements apply for second year entry.

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than University of Essex.

Funding

For up-to-date information on funding opportunities at Essex, please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/studentfinance.