History and Philosophy

Program Description: The Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy at the University of Kent offers students a vibrant and intellectually stimulating education that explores some of the most significant aspects of human thought and historical development. This interdisciplinary programme combines rigorous training in historical analysis with profound engagement in philosophical inquiry, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which ideas and events have shaped our world. Throughout the course, students will examine a wide range of topics, from ancient civilizations and medieval societies to modern political movements and contemporary philosophical debates. They will develop critical thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to evaluate complex arguments, preparing them for careers in academia, public service, journalism, education, and beyond. The curriculum is designed to foster a deep appreciation for diverse perspectives and to cultivate a nuanced understanding of historical contexts alongside philosophical theories. Students will benefit from the expertise of experienced lecturers who are active researchers in their fields, participating in innovative projects and research initiatives. The programme also encourages independent study, with opportunities for students to undertake dissertations and research projects that align with their interests. Additionally, the university provides excellent resources, including extensive libraries and digital archives, to support thorough research and study. Study options include full-time and part-time modes, offering flexibility for students with different commitments. By completing this degree, graduates will not only acquire a broad knowledge base in history and philosophy but also essential skills in research, communication, and critical analysis that are highly valued across many careers. The interdisciplinary approach of this programme prepares students to think broadly and critically about the human condition and the development of ideas, making them well-equipped to contribute to diverse societal challenges with informed insight and ethical awareness.

Detailed Course Facts

Application deadline You are advised to apply as early as possible Tuition fee

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 12450 Year (Non-EEA)

Full-time - UK/EU- £9000 / Overseas - £12450 /
Part-time - UK/EU - £4500 / Overseas - £6240

Start date September 2015 28 September 2015 Credits (ECTS) 180 ECTS

• Total Kent credits: 360
• Total ECTS credits: 180

Credits 360

• Total Kent credits: 360
• Total ECTS credits: 180

Duration full-time 36 months Partnership Joint Languages Take an IELTS test

• English

Delivery mode On Campus Educational variant Part-time, Full-time Intensity Flexible More information Go To The Course Website

Course Content

Course structure

The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules, you may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.

Stage 1

Possible modules may include:

• HI426 - Making History: Theory and Practice
• PL302 - Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Metaphysics
• PL303 - Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics
• PL310 - Introduction to Philosopy: Logic and Reasoning
• PL315 - Philosophical Reading and Writing (core)
• HI430 - Modern British History (Part Two)
• HI431 - The English Renaissance: Society, Politics and Culture 1400-1600
• HI433 - Early Modern History: The Age of Enlightenment c. 1600-1750
• HI436 - A Global History of Empires: 1850-1960
• HI353 - Britain and the Second World War: The Home Front
• HI359 - Empire and Africa
• HI366 - Britain in the Age of Industrialisation 1700-1830
• HI385 - Introduction to the History of Medicine
• HI391 - The Rise of the United States Since 1880
• HI397 - Cinema and Society, 1930 - 1960
• HI411 - Later Medieval Europe
• HI419 - England in the Age of Chivalry: c1200-1400
• HI425 - Revolutionary Europe 1700-1850

Stage 2

Possible modules may include:

• HI6036 - Science Satirised
• HI6042 - The British Empire: Sunrise to Sunset
• HI613 - Conflict in Seventeenth Century Britain
• HI632 - The Tools of Empire 1760-1920
• HI707 - Britain and The Falklands War
• HI742 - The Cold War, 1941-1991
• HI6047 - Communist Eastern Europe, 1945-89
• HI763 - How the West was Won (or lost): The American West in the Nineteenth Cen
• HI5031 - African History since 1800
• HI5035 - History of Modern Medicine and Medical Ethics,1800-2000
• HI5041 - Gothic Art: Image and Imagination in Europe, c.1140-1500
• HI5055 - Russia: 1855-1945 Reform, Revolution and War
• HI5065 - British History c. 1480-1620
• HI5013 - Popular Religion and Heresy, 1100-1300
• HI5023 - The American Civil War Era 1848-1877
• HI5075 - Marvels, Monsters and Freaks 1780-1920
• HI5092 - Armies at War 1914-1918
• HI566 - History Dissertation
• HI6002 - The British Army and Empire c1750-1920
• HI6009 - Europe and the Islamic World, c 1450-1750
• HI5094 - Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies: The British and French Experienc
• HI6018 - Victorian Science
• HI6025 - Everyday Life in Early Modern Europe
• HI6032 - Persecution, Repression and Resistance
• HI6034 - Anglo-French Relations 1904 - 1945
• HI783 - Anglo-Saxon England
• HI789 - The Art of Death
• HI795 - Inviting Doomsday: US Environmental
• PL620 - Justice, Violence and the State
• PL625 - Continental Philosophy: Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
• PL628 - Continental Philosophy: Subject, Identity and the Political
• PL584 - Knowledge and Metaphysics: Descartes to Kant
• PL588 - Metaphysics, Truth and Relativism
• PL595 - Metaethics
• PL596 - Philosophy of Medicine
• PL599 - Wittgenstein
• PL601 - Philosophy of Religion
• PL602 - Philosophy of Language
• PL604 - Advanced Topics in Mind and Langauge
• PL605 - Logic
• PL606 - Philosophy of Science
• PL608 - Paradoxes
• PL609 - Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence
• PL610 - Aesthetics
• PL618 - Political Philosophy
• PL640 - Normative Ethics
• PL638 - Schopenhauer and Nietzsche

You have the opportunity to select wild modules in this stage

Stage 3

Possible modules may include:

• HI796 - Inviting Doomsday: US Environmental
• HI6035 - Anglo-French Relations 1904 - 1945
• HI6029 - The Great War: British Memory, History and Culture
• HI6030 - Empires of Religion
• HI6021 - Famine in Pre-Industrial Societies
• HI6024 - Napoleon and Europe, 1799 - 1815
• HI5095 - Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies: The British and French Experienc
• HI5099 - The Wars of the Roses
• HI6012 - From Crisis to Revolution: France 1774-1799
• HI6014 - Riders on the Storm
• HI6016 - The English Reformation and the Invention of the Middle Ages
• HI5093 - Armies at War 1914-1918
• HI5024 - The American Civil War Era 1848-1877
• HI5068 - War and Modern Medicine 1850-1950
• HI5072 - The American Revolution
• HI770 - From Blitzkrieg to Baghdad: Armoured Warfare in Theory, Practise and Im
• HI6049 - The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the Atlantic World, c. 1500 - 1900
• HI605 - Independent Documentary Study in History
• HI747 - The Cold War, 1941 - 1991
• HI6044 - British Politics 1625-1642
• HI6045 - Origins of the Second World War
• HI6046 - Wolves, Walruses and the Wild
• HI6037 - Science Satirised
• HI6039 - The Rights Revolution: The 20th Century US Supreme Court & Society
• HI6040 - The Discovery of the World c.1450 - 1800
• HI6041 - The Crusades in the Thirteenth Century
• PL639 - Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
• PL641 - Normative Ethics
• PL619 - Political Philosophy
• PL629 - Continental Philosophy: Subject , Identity and the Political
• PL621 - Justice, Violence and the State
• PL624 - Continental Philosophy: Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
• PL514 - Knowledge and Metaphysics: Descartes to Kant
• PL526 - Aesthetics
• PL552 - Metaphysics, Truth and Relativism
• PL569 - Metaethics
• PL570 - Philosophy of Medicine
• PL573 - Wittgenstein
• PL575 - Philosophy of Religion
• PL576 - Philosophy of Language
• PL578 - Advanced Topics in Mind and Language
• PL579 - Logic
• PL580 - Philosophy of Science
• PL582 - Paradoxes
• PL583 - Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6 CAE score : 75(Grade B) TOEFL paper-based test score : 580 TOEFL iBT® test : 85

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

take an IELTS test.

Requirements

Home/EU students

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.

Qualification / Typical offer/minimum requirement

A level

• ABB including A level History grade B excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking

Access to HE Diploma

• The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above.

BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma)

• The university will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF;OCR) on a case by case basis please contact us via the enquiries tab for further advice on your individual circumstances.

International Baccalaureate

• 34 points overall or 16 points at HL including History 5 at HL or 6 at SL

International students

The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.

Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

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Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

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 Kent.

Funding

Funding

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Our 2015 financial support package includes a £6,000 cash bursary spread over the duration of your course. For Ts&Cs and to find out more, visit our Scholarships site.

General scholarships

Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence, which will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our funding pages. Please note that details of the scholarship for 2015 entry have not yet been finalised and are subject to change.

The BA in History and Philosophy at the University of Kent offers students an opportunity to explore two vibrant disciplines that complement each other by fostering critical thinking, analytical skills, and a deep understanding of human thought and historical processes. The programme is designed to provide a broad and flexible curriculum, enabling students to tailor their studies according to their interests and career ambitions. In the history component, students examine significant periods, events, and movements that have shaped the modern world, gaining insight into political, social, economic, and cultural developments across different regions and eras. The philosophy component encourages students to explore fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, and logic, developing their reasoning abilities and philosophical literacy. The interdisciplinary structure promotes a comprehensive perspective on past and present human experiences.

Students enrolled in this programme benefit from the university’s experienced faculty, who are actively engaged in research and often involve students in their projects, fostering an interactive learning environment. The curriculum includes core modules such as Historical Methods, Introduction to Philosophy, and thematic courses that span topics like Ancient Philosophy, Modern History, and Contemporary Ethical Issues. Options are available for students to specialize further within either discipline or to develop cross-disciplinary projects. The university’s facilities and resources support extensive research, including the university library’s extensive collections and access to digital archives.

Moreover, the programme emphasizes employability skill development through presentations, essays, and debates, preparing graduates for careers in education, research, public history, journalism, and more. Opportunities for placements or study abroad are available, enhancing practical experience and cultural awareness. The University of Kent’s supportive academic community and career services help students succeed academically and professionally. Overall, the BA in History and Philosophy combines rigorous academic inquiry with practical skills, aiming to produce well-rounded graduates capable of critical thought, analytical reasoning, and effective communication in diverse contexts.