BA (Hons) History and Philosophy

Key information

Typical offer:
Entry requirements
Fees: See below
Full details
UCAS code: V1VP
Institute code: H36
Study abroad option
Work placement option
Find out more

The University of Hertfordshire is committed to welcoming students with a wide range of qualifications and levels of experience. The entry requirements listed on the course pages provide a guide to the minimum level of qualifications needed to study each course. However, we have a flexible approach to admissions and each application will be considered on an individual basis.

UCAS points	A Level	BTEC	Accepted T Levels	Access Course Tariff	IB requirement
112–120	BBC–BBB	DMM	112–120 UCAS points Please see additional requirements for accepted T Level subjects	Overall merit profile in 45 credits at Level 3	112–120 UCAS points

Additional requirements

GCSE: Grade 4/C in English Language and Mathematics.

Accepted T Levels: Design Survey and Planning for Construction; Design Production, Design and Development; Education and Childcare; Healthcare Science; Health; Science; Digital Support Services; Digital Business Services; Onsite Construction; Building Services Engineering for Construction; Accounting; Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing; Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control; Finance; Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing; Management and Administration; Agriculture, Land Management and Production; Legal Services.

All students from non-majority English speaking countries require proof of English language proficiency, equivalent to an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each band.

If you do not have the required IELTS or equivalent for direct entry on to your degree programme, our Pre-sessional English and International Foundation courses can help you to achieve this level.

For more details on the University of Hertfordshire's entry requirements, please visit our Undergraduate Entry Requirements page.

Find out more about International Entry Requirements.

Why choose this course?

Focus on your interests - All History modules optional after 1st year
Host of the annual Sir Francis Bacon lectures
Your Philosophy lecturers are all active researchers

We give you:

An exceptional History team, conducting world-leading research (REF 2014), and a Philosophy team ranked in the 100 best Philosophy departments worldwide (2017 QS rankings).
Stimulating, innovative courses - History students reported almost 94% overall satisfaction with their course (2018 National Student Survey)
A flexible programme of study, allowing you to concentrate on areas you find especially interesting and the scope to write a dissertation on a topic about which you are passionate
The opportunity to expand your horizons by studying abroad at the end of your second year
CV-building potential through work placements and extra-curricular activities
History was ranked in the top 25% of UK universities for research impact. (Research Excellence Framework, 2021).

What's the course about?

Our BA History and Philosophy gives you the opportunity to study two subjects that will help you to make sense of the world around you.

Through our diverse and inclusive History curriculum you will learn about an array of cultures and identities. What links our work is our focus on people’s history and everyday lives. This is represented strongly in our first year programme, which will give you an insight into the making of the modern world through exploration of beliefs, magic and medicine, campaigns for freedom and equality, Africa and the world, and America from Hamilton to Trump.

All our lecturers are active researchers, so you’ll share the excitement of doing original work in a supportive and highly-rated academic community.

In your philosophy modules, you will be introduced to a variety of philosophical issues ranging from the nature of reality, knowledge and mind, to questions about how we should live, what we should value, and what would be the best way of organizing society.

Throughout your degree, the common link between the two disciplines will be the development of analytical skills. As historians you will learn to analyse historical documents and debates among historians, while in Philosophy you’ll assess the arguments of others, arriving at your own conclusions on deep, important issues.

These analytical skills, honed over the course of your studies, will benefit you in the final year, if you choose to write a dissertation. This extended piece of work, available either in History or in Philosophy, will grow out of a topic that interests you. Previous students have been inspired by their year of study abroad. Others have worked on the history of jiu jitsu, women code breakers at Bletchley Park, the Notting Hill riots, and vice and sexuality in 17th-century London. And Philosophy students have worked on the ethical issues of playing video games, the nature of the imagination, and environmental philosophy and the obligations of the state.

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too.

Your main campus is College Lane

This is where the creative arts, science and health-related subjects are based. This means you’ll share the campus with future nurses, scientists, artists and more. You can use the common rooms to relax with friends, work out in the 24-hour gym or have a drink in our on-campus pub or cafes. We also have restaurants for you to eat in or grab something on the go. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.

What will I study?

Our students benefit from being part of a diverse and active academic community. Our interactive seminars and workshops help you find your feet in the academic environment, and establish ways of working confidently, creatively and collaboratively. We see our students as fellow researchers, and we place a great deal of importance on sharing and developing skills.

As one of our students, you will have the opportunity to get involved in activities that will complement your studies. Not only do these enhance your experience, they also make for a more impressive CV. Our renowned staff-student Oral History team has taken students to Australia and produced a BBC Radio 4 documentary, which was commended at the 2018 Royal Historical Society Public History Awards. There is also an active student Philosophy Society.

Level 4

Module	Credits	Compulsory/optional
Reason and Persuasion	15 Credits	Optional
We live in a world of persuasion. Advertisers would persuade us to buy their products while politicians press their policies on us. In personal life too, others want us to see things their way. We, of course, want others (colleagues, friends and family) to agree with us, to be persuaded by our arguments. Rhetoric is the art of persuasive speech and writing. It has been studied both for academic interest and for its practical, business and legal usefulness since ancient times. This module will explore the reasons why some persuasive efforts work while others do not. It will develop your ability to judge when you ought to be persuaded by the arguments of others and to present your own views in a way that increases their persuasive force.
Social and Political Philosophy	15 Credits	Optional
How should our society function and what implications does this have for the individual? How should goods (e.g. property, services, rights, liberties, power) be distributed in society? On what basis can some people claim ownership of property? What is exploitation and how might it be addressed? What is equality? On what basis can someone 'in authority' tell me what (or what not) to do? And if I don't do as they say, on what basis can I be punished for it? What is a legitimate way to protest against a state? What are rights? Do all humans have rights or are some to be excluded? What are our obligations to future generations, to non-human animals, and to the environment in general?
Mind, Knowledge and Reality	15 Credits	Optional
Sometimes we misperceive the world. Sometimes, whilst asleep, we take ourselves to be doing things which we are not in fact doing. And, furthermore, there is no evidence we could bring to bear which would eliminate the possibility that an evil demon is continually deceiving us about how the world is. To what extent does all of this undermine our claims to know anything? What is the link between reality and the way we perceive it? Can we at least know that we have a mind, if not a body? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? What is the relationship between mind and body and being a person? What does it take the remain the same person over a lifetime? Indeed, how can anything undergo change and yet remain the same thing?
Historians' Toolkit	15 Credits	Compulsory
This module provides you with the toolkit of the historical profession. It supports the transition from secondary education, and those returning to education, by teaching you the history skills needed at university, in a hands-on and relevant way. You will learn about the historical development of the discipline, explore the ways historians interpret a wide range of sources, and develop your essay writing skills .
The Meaning of Life	15 Credits	Optional
Does anything give meaning to life? Does the fact that we will die render our striving to achieve anything of significance ultimately futile, even ridiculous? Would God's existence or non-existence have any bearing on an answer to this question? Does it even make sense to ask about the meaningfulness of our lives? Might we better approach the meaning of life through thinking about what it would take for activities within a lifetime to have meaning?
Ethics	15 Credits	Optional
Can you be harmed by something without ever experiencing it as a harm? Is what we experience all that should matter to us? What should we value? What is an ethical dilemma and is there a good way to resolve them? Can you be held morally responsible for something which is to some extent not within your control? To what extent should you be held morally responsible for anything? What are we even doing when we make ethical claims?
Philosophy of Fiction	15 Credits	Optional
Fiction is philosophically interesting in many ways. How do we establish what is true in a fiction? Can the impossible happen in fiction? How, if at all, do we manage to engage with fictions that we take to be metaphysically or morally problematic (such as H.G.Wells' The Time Machine or Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita)? How do we make sense of interactive fiction, where it appears that we take on the role of a fictional character? In what sense can fiction explore not only how things actually are but how things could have been? Is there a difference between what can be represented in film and what can be represented in literature? We tackle these questions by engaging with various vehicles for fiction (film, literature, videogames, etc.) to see how they fit within a philosophical framework for thinking about them.
Faith, Magic, and Medicine 1500-1800	15 Credits	Optional
Many of the debates that define the making of our modern era were concerned with the relationships between religion, science, magic, and medicine. This module begins by exploring the early modern ideas and practices that shaped people s understanding of the natural and supernatural world in Protestant England and Catholic Europe, and also how these influenced European colonial views of the religions and rituals of other cultures. The module will question how events like the witch trials affected peoples medical, magical, and theological world view , and challenge students to consider the extent to which the Reformation and Enlightenment transformed health, faith, and beliefs in everyday life.
The American Century, 1900-2000	15 Credits	Optional
The influence of the American lifestyle extends far beyond the country's borders, and this module encourages you to reflect on the historical roots of often-familiar elements of culture from the United States of America. By focussing on selected moments in twentieth century American music, sport and entertainment, we will consider the historical processes that shaped the continent's social and cultural history. Building on this, we will also examine how and why the country's cultural identity has been internationally transmitted and how it has been received. Each week you will learn to connect a specific individual, event or movement to broader historical issues through the use of video, texts, images, and song.
Imperial Trade and Global Connections 1600-2001	15 Credits	Optional
International trade has a significant impact on the way we live. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the gadgets we use and the services we rely on are often created in distant places and delivered to us through complex trading networks. This module will introduce you to the long history of global trade and consumption. We will consider how the desire for foreign commodities helped transform economies, polities and cultures around the world. We will explore the lives of the traders who supplied the goods and seek to understand the desires of the consumers who demanded foreign luxuries. We will also see the impact that consumption in one country has on lives in other places acknowledging the Africans who, as enslaved people, were turned into commodities, the farmers forced into the production of cash crops, and the workers expected to toil in sweatshops to produce cheap goods for multinational corporations.
History on the Page, Stage, and Screen	15 Credits	Optional
From the Assassin's Creed video games to the enormously popular Bridgeton series historical events, people, and scenarios dominate our cultural landscape. They are presented in novels, on television, on film, and on the stage. The past is the source of inspiration for societies around the world. Writers use it as the setting for their stories; governments use it to justify their policies; businesses use it to sell their products or services. This module explores how history is represented in popular culture and provides students with an understanding of how historians are involved in shaping these depictions. It asks students to question the extent to which contemporary depictions tell us more about our own times than about the past and to consider the extent to which popular representations of the past connect with debates amongst academic historians.
Global Gender History, 1550-1850	15 Credits	Optional
Gender shaped the lives of people around the world between 1550 and 1850. From the cradle to the grave, gender played a major role in determining how societies understood the proper places of women and men. Taking a global approach, you will chart similarities and differences in the experiences of persons who lived, loved, and worked in places as varied as Britain, China, France, Ireland, the Low Countries, North America, Latin America, Spain, and Sweden. Close attention will be paid to how local factors, like race, religion, and labour status, further refined and defined the gendered lives of individuals. The module begins by introducing you to gender history as both historical field and approach, before moving on to consider the different types of primary sources that enable us to access the gendered intimacies of everyday life. Possible topics may include: Crime, Marriage, Piracy, Reproduction, Sexuality, War, and Work.
Revolutions, Riots, and Social Justice 1776-Present	15 Credits	Optional
This module takes you through 200 years of national and global conflicts over people s rights, and the complex history of the recognition of human rights. Taking a history from below approach, this module will give you critical thinking skills in understanding how global change affects individuals and different communities, and how different social movements fought for rights, including women, sexuality, race, and disability. You will investigate the impact of revolutions and new ideas in inspiring different groups across the world to challenge and defend their social, political, and economic rights.
Africa and the World 1500-1850	15 Credits	Optional
The history of Africa is rich and varied but has all too often been viewed through European lenses of prejudice and self-interest; such perspectives shaped by the experiences of Africa s slave trades and of colonisation. This module explores the history of Africa and its peoples from 1500 to the mid-nineteenth century, and, taking an African perspective, how Africa and Africans encountered and engaged with the people, culture, and religions of the wider world. The module will explore how contact with the nations and peoples of Europe, Asia and America forged new political institutions and global trade networks, changed religious practices and social conventions, and drew Africans willingly and unwillingly into a global diaspora.

Level 5

Module	Credits	Compulsory/optional
Themes in Plato's Republic	15 Credits	Optional
If you could get away with morally unjust behaviour, why should you act morally? What would an 'ideal society' be like? What is the relationship between justice in the individual, and justice in society? This course investigates several major themes in Plato's philosophy. After an introduction to the importance of Socrates and the nature of Socratic enquiry, we shall focus predominantly upon the Republic - one of the most important texts in the history of western thought - in which the above questions are central. The course will aim to show connections between Plato's metaphysics and theory of knowledge, and his ethics, political thought and philosophy of art and literature. Students will develop their skills in reading, assessing and advancing arguments.
The Right and The Good	15 Credits	Optional
Is happiness the only thing of value? According to Utilitarianism, my moral duty is to promote happiness. What do we mean by "happiness"? If our moral duty is to promote happiness does this mean that we are justified in adopting any means, including killing, that might promote happiness? Kant is one philosopher who considers that we should value human beings in their own right and this introduces constraints on what we are morally justified in doing. We have duties to assist and also not to harm other human beings. We study these two theories by looking at Mill's 'Utilitarianism' and Kant's 'Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals'. Application of these theories to moral dilemmas chosen by students will form the topic of the presentation. For example, is it ever morally right to use violence or terrorism in the pursuit of peace? Should we ever assist anyone to commit suicide?
Philosophy of Mind	15 Credits	Optional
What are mental states? How do they relate to human actions? What is consciousness? Is there a real difference between the mental and the physical? This course explores philosophical approaches to understanding the nature of mind which range from dualism to strong forms of materialism. Students will be trained in the use of relevant terminology and will develop their skills in reading, assessing and advancing arguments. Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of at least two approaches/issues in the philosophy of mind, their use of relevant terminology and their ability to produce structured arguments, which anticipate possible replies, in the form of essays.
Propaganda in 20th century War and Politics A	15 Credits	Optional
This broad survey module will encourage students to connect the development of mass communications with domestic and international politics in the twentieth century. Time will be spent on defining public opinion, censorship and propaganda; on examining propaganda channels and techniques; and, on analysing and measuring propaganda effects. Emphasis will be placed on Britain s pioneering role in the new world communications network via its empire, and on the importance attached to the First World War in changing the face of propaganda. A variety of sources, including film, will be used to assess the increasing sophistication of political persuasion thereafter. Particular attention will be paid to Hitler s Germany, Stalin s Russia and the international conflicts in Vietnam in the 1960s and the Middle East in the 1990s. Seminars will involve group work centred on core interpretative texts.
Knowledge and Discovery	15 Credits	Optional
What kind of justification is required to be able to say not just that we believe something but that we know it? Must we be able to cite reasons for believing something before we can be said to know it, or is it enough for those beliefs to have been generated in a reliable way? Must knowledge rest on a foundation that is immune from error, or are beliefs justified by being part of a network of mutually supporting beliefs? We shall discuss the extent to which the particular observations we make give us reason to believe (or disbelieve) general claims about the world and, further, what counts as a good explanation for why that thing has happened. We shall consider not just beliefs about those things we can see with our own eyes but whether there is any reason to believe in those things which we cannot observe directly (e.g., the very small and the very distant).
Philosophy of Art	15 Credits	Optional
We go to museums, read novels, listen to music, talk about art. But what is art? In this module, we survey the main theories of art throughout history, observing as we go along, that while each theory has added to our understanding of art, it has not defined it once and for all. At the end of the survey, we shall ask whether a comprehensive definition is possible, or even necessary to our understanding of art. The survey will take us through passages from authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Tolstoy, Hume, Kant, Collingwood, Wittgenstein, Danto, Dickie and Wollheim. We will ask ourselves: Is art is a matter of personal taste or are there intersubjective criteria in the determination of art? Where is the boundary between art and craft? How is art related to morality? Is Tracy Emin's My Bed art; if so, is it good art? What makes anything art?
Metaphysics	15 Credits	Optional
Metaphysics asks the most general questions about the most fundamental features of the world. How should we understand space, time and causation? Does time flow? Does the future already exist? Is space a substance? Is it possible for me to do something now so as to affect what happened in the past? What are things and what does it take for them to persist over time? What is it for things to have properties, such as being red? What are properties? Do they exist in the same way that the things that have them do? What else exists? Does reality extend beyond what is actual?
Graduate Skills	0 Credits	Compulsory
You will be offered a variety of employment enhancing workshops and online activities such as interview skills workshops, personality profiling and career planning in order to improve your employment prospects after graduation and make you aware of current areas of strength and weakness in relation to employability. You will also have the opportunity to learn about self-employment options, graduate schemes and will attend speaker sessions with successful professionals in areas of employment appropriate for Humanities graduates so you can learn about the skills and attributes required for these areas and how to enhance your prospects of entering such areas. You will be required to undertake a certain number of activities chosen by you from a career "menu" and to reflect on what they have learnt in order to complete the module successfully.
Philosophies of Religion	15 Credits	Optional
This module focuses on the philosophies of religion that arise from the analytic (Anglo-American), European, and Asian (especially Buddhist) traditions. Its primary focus is a body of philosophical texts on religion by classic thinkers from these diverse traditions. Through these writings, you will be invited to consider how such different philosophical perspectives approach a series of questions they have in common, questions such as: What role do happiness and suffering play in religious thinking and practice? What is the relevance of the body and of embodiment to religion? What role is played by experience in religious faith and practice? How do reason and faith relate to each other? What goal is served by religious language? Is there such a thing as a distinctively philosophical approach to religion, given the differences between these diverse traditions?
Logic and Philosophy	15 Credits	Optional
Logic and philosophy have been intimately connected since ancient times. Logic provides some conceptual tools which can be very helpful in clarifying ideas and developing convincing arguments. But, as you will see in the module, the ideas and arguments which can be expressed depend on which system of logic is adopted. In learning elements of various systems of logic, we will consider the philosophical issues raised by them. Which ideas can be expressed in logic? Might we lose something in translation when expressing ideas in a logical language rather than in English? Are there any sentences which are neither true nor false? To what extent can logic help in deciding what we should believe in? Many of these issues are at the cutting edge of contemporary philosophy.
Hearth & Heart: Family Life in the Long Eighteenth-Century	15 Credits	Optional
This module examines the history of the family in Britain and Ireland over the long eighteenth-century. It will introduce you to the methodological approaches and historiographical debates in the history of the family, and will cover a wide variety of topics, from family size and structure, to representations of ideal families in literature and art, family relationships, deviant sexuality, and the regulation of the family by church and state. Questions it will consider include: What was family life like in this period? Did parents really love their children? How widespread was pre-marital sexual intercourse? And, in what ways did the family change over time? Close attention will be paid to the role that gender and social class played in shaping family life over the period. The module will make use of a rich array of source materials including, letters and diaries, church court minutes, art and census material.
Nation & Identity: Newly Independent States in Interwar Europe, 1918-1939	15 Credits	Optional
This module explores a fascinating period in European history when empires crumbled, and new nation-states emerged. The process of state building is investigated in detail. Through an analysis of the settlements that gave birth to the new states, the module seeks to establish the extent to which they influenced and, in some cases, hindered the states development. The various political, economic, social, religious, and cultural forces that shaped the states will also be examined and evaluated. Close attention will be paid to the various efforts to create national identity through a range of diverse range of forums, including membership of international bodies, major sporting occasions, state-sponsored art, and religious events. Building on these themes, the module will subsequently address why some states survived and others collapsed with the outbreak of a second world war.
Making a Historical Documentary	15 Credits	Optional
Historical documentaries are one of the key ways that the public learn about the past. The most successful documentaries take complex issues and communicate them in a straightforward and engaging manner. This practical module will guide you through the various stages of television documentary-making, from generating an idea to actually producing your own short twelve-minute documentary. Archive research, scripting, filming and interviewing, and editing are among the basic techniques that will be covered. You will also develop the ability to critically assess documentaries, learning to detect strengths and weaknesses. Over the course of the semester, you will gain and expand a range of practical transferable skills.
Postcards from the Empire: Experiences of British Imperialism	15 Credits	Optional
At the empire's height, Queen Victoria claimed sovereignty over nearly one in four of the planet's human inhabitants. The lives and experiences of each were sculpted by international, national, and local dynamics. This module explores the stories of these everyday lives through snapshots of life in the British Empire up to 1922. Case studies may draw from places including Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Africa, India, Ireland, Canada, America, and the Caribbean. Themes may include race, gender, class, religion, economics, and adventure. A particular emphasis will be placed on exploring the histories of racialized and colonized peoples, with attention to the historical approaches developed over the past several decades that have changed the ability of historians to identify and engage with these voices.
Maladies and Medicine in Early Modern Europe	15 Credits	Optional
Early modern men and women contended with a range of deadly, disabling, and distracting disease throughout their lives. Those offering treatments jostled for attention and clients in a competitive medical marketplace. This module explores the nature of medical knowledge and treatment between c. 1550-1750. We will look at a range of illnesses including mental illness and disability and disfigurement. The course will investigate the treatments offered to patients and who they were treated by. A series of lectures will form the spine of the module introducing the key themes and historiographical debates in this field. The seminars will then consider specific examples and particular historiographical issues in greater depth. The module will move through three main areas; medical knowledge and learning, disease and death, and medical provision in the period.
Crime and Society in England, 1550-1750	15 Credits	Optional
One way of understanding early-modern English society is to examine the nature of criminal activity, and the perception and response to crime in the period. In this module you will be introduced to a wide variety of criminal activities and behaviours, ranging from the pattern and nature of petty crimes, such as poaching and defamation, to more serious crimes, such as murder and treason. You will be encouraged to reflect on the motives for crime and what such activities can tell us about early modern society. Considerable emphasis will be place on understanding the system of justice and the nature of law enforcement in the period. To this end, you will identify, consult and undertake qualitative and quantitative analyses of online historical datasets and databases, such as The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, and will be encouraged to reflect on the ethical implications of using such resources for historical research.
The Age of the Cold War, 1945-1991	15 Credits	Optional
This broad survey module will examine the origins, nature and end of the Cold War in a global context between 1945 and 1991. The first section of the module assesses the nature of the Cold War in comparative historical context, before investigating the origins of the Cold War, the nature of superpower conflict, and the global expansion of the Cold War. The module then adopts a thematic approach, concentrating on the ideological, diplomatic, economic, political, military and cultural dimensions of the Cold War of the 1950s through to the 1980s. The module will consider the conflict between the superpowers, but also the effect of the Cold War on the periphery and unaligned nations. The final section of the module deals with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the People s Democracies in Europe following Gorbachev s rise to power in 1985, and the diplomacy and events that brought the Cold War to an end.
Doing History: Investigating the Historians' Craft	15 Credits	Optional
This module prepares students for Level 6 dissertations and extended essays by equipping them with essential historical research skills. Engaging, hands-on workshops enhance their ability to conduct scholarly enquiry, build confidence, and collaborate effectively. The module also focuses on project development, proposal writing, mastering digital tools, ethical research practices, and exploring diverse approaches. Whether for dissertation preparation or independent research, this course provides a strong foundation and valuable expertise for impactful historical study.
Employability Skills	15 Credits	Optional
Producing graduates who are highly employable is a key aim of the University of Hertfordshire. This module aims to help you bridge gaps between your specialist academic studies and the world of graduate employment. As well as allowing you to reflect on and further develop your employability skills we will explore the changing nature of employers' needs. Using case studies, we will consider a range of issues (legal, gender, equality) that can arise in recruitment and the workplace. The module will also focus on career planning and job searching, as well as recruitment and selection processes including the work of assessment centres and psychometric testing. Overall the intention is that you will be able to develop your job-market awareness and identify and explore potential career pathways. The module is worth 15 credits and may be chosen in place of a 15-credit subject module at Level 5, or as an additional module at Level 6, alongside 120 credits of modules in your subject(s).
Philosophy of Love and Sex	15 Credits	Optional
Philosophers have considered the nature of love and sex for centuries, challenging us to question our assumptions about some of the most fundamental human experiences. What does it mean to love? What is the relationship between love and philosophy? Can getting dumped make us better philosophers? What is the role of sex and desire in love? What is sexual desire and how does it relate to sexual arousal? What is a sexual perversion? How should we understand pornography? This course will explore love and sex through a variety of kinds of philosophical and fictional works and will introduce students to different philosophical methodologies.

Level 6

Module	Credits	Compulsory/optional
Close Encounters: Natives and Settlers in Colonial America, 1600-1780	15 Credits	Optional
This module explores the relationship between English settlers and indigenous peoples in Colonial America. When the first English colonists arrived in America in the early seventeenth century, they found themselves living alongside native groups whose languages, belief systems, and cultures were entirely different to their own. This module examines how both parties responded to the sudden presence of an unfamiliar 'other' in their midst. The module will interrogate English efforts to conquer and convert indigenous peoples, and instances of co-existence and cross-cultural exchange.
Contemporary Moral Philosophy P	15 Credits	Optional
What should be the primary focus of ethics? Should we focus on actions or on the character of agents? Students will study different approaches to these questions embodied in contemporary discussions of Kantian Ethics, Consequentialism and Virtue Ethics. This discussion will raise issues such as, do we arrive at moral evaluations by applying principles to particular cases or are moral evaluations more a matter of, for example, a virtuous person's perception of a particular case? What is the relationship between the moral evaluations that we make and the reasons that we give for those evaluations? What are our moral theories based on: shared beliefs about rightness, our moral intuitions, our common sense intuitions about the virtues?
Aristotle P	15 Credits	Optional
Is there a method to philosophy? Are we rational animals? Do all living things have a purpose? What is the good life or is there more than one? Is ethics primarily concerned with virtue? These questions, which are still of relevance today, will be explored by an examination of Aristotle's central works.
Philosophy of Language	15 Credits	Optional
Marks, sounds and gestures can all have meaning. But what is it for them to have meaning and how do they manage to have it? Is the meaning of my words to be analysed in terms of my intentions to communicate with another or the conventions I subscribe to when using words? In what way is meaning related to truth and my being warranted in asserting what I say? What other things can we do with words than state truths? How should we understand metaphorical uses of language? How do names and descriptions in particular manage to pick out objects in the world? Are some things I say true solely in virtue of the meanings of the words I use? Is there anything that fixes what it is that I do mean when I use words, or is meaning, to some extent, indeterminate? Can a study of language tell us anything about reality?
Year Abroad	0 Credits	Optional
A Study Abroad year is an optional additional year that increases the length of the Honours degree award to a four-year full- time degree. The additional year comprises an agreed programme of study in a partner institution abroad with whom the University of Hertfordshire has an institutional agreement.
Philosophy of Psychology	15 Credits	Optional
'Blindsighters' can judge with around 90% accuracy whether experimenters are showing them either a cross or a circle, and are able to discriminate colours, despite being completely blind due to a form of brain damage. The job of philosophers of psychology is to settle what this phenomenon, and related ones, means for the nature of the mind. Does it show that blindsighters 'see' colours etc., unconsciously? That would suggest mere perception is insufficient for consciousness, and we must then investigate what must be added to make a percept conscious. Or does blindsight simply demonstrate that there is a completely blind 'visual information system' in humans, operating alongside normal conscious vision? And would that mean conscious vision plays only a secondary role in daily life (is our behaviour somewhat more 'automatic' than we believe)? This module investigates key psychological phenomena and examines philosophical theories as to their significance for the human mind.
Bodies and Sexuality in the Early Modern Period A	15 Credits	Optional
The body was fundamental to gender roles, social relationships and experiencing everyday life. This course will explore popular ideas about the body and sexuality in the early modern period. Through a series of workshops, you will examine a diverse range of primary source material and supporting historiography to evaluate the assumptions that underpinned early modern notions of normal and abnormal bodies. The course will emphasise the ways in which some bodies were thought to be unsuited/suited to sexual activity. The course will then consider the importance of sexuality and sexual behaviours to early modern life. The course will consider whether certain sexual behaviours were thought to be normal or abnormal and will think about how these activities were monitored and policed. The module will provide experience of researching and using a range of unusual source materials including medical treatises, portraits, jokes and erotic literature.
The Humanities Placement Year	0 Credits	Compulsory
The Placement Year provides students with the opportunity to set their academic studies in a broader context and to utilise the intellectual skills they have gained through their degree in the workplace. The module enables students to strengthen their time management, organisational and communication skills as well as develop employability skills. Students gain experience of applying for jobs and of working within a commercial, business or professional environment prior to graduating thus increasing employability skills such as teamwork, communication skills and commercial awareness.
Religion and Modern Thought	15 Credits	Optional
Do we live in a 'secular' or 'post-secular' age? What are the prospects for religious and spiritual belief and practice today? Inspired by the work of Charles Taylor, this module traces the 'conditions of belief' from the sixteenth century to the present day. It explores the significance of a shift from a 'God-saturated' world to one in which faith is, often even for the believer, one human possibility amongst others. In tracing the origins of the modern 'secular' worldview, you will explore such topics as: the Reformation and the rise of the 'Protestant ethic'; the Enlightenment critique of religion; scientific and historico-critical challenges to scriptural authority; and the impacts of liberalism, fundamentalism, feminism and religious diversity on religious belief and practice in the west. You will consider the 'secularisation hypothesis' and its critics, and the question of what the options might be for responsible religious belief and practice today.
Kierkegaard, Philosophy and Religion	15 Credits	Optional
What makes a human life worthwhile? What does it really mean to live 'aesthetically', 'ethically' or 'religiously'? What are the roles of faith, hope and love in all this? And how is genuine ethical or religious insight best communicated? The Danish thinker Kierkegaard explored these questions through a series of texts many of which were published under a variety of bizarre pseudonyms. This module investigates some of Kierkegaard's most important writings. After an introduction to the pseudonyms and the importance of 'indirect communication', it explores in detail aspects of what Kierkegaard called the aesthetic, ethical and religious ways of living. Each is presented as an attempt to address what makes a human life valuable, and the question of the roles of faith, hope and love are never far from our concerns. The module also considers Kierkegaard's influence upon later thought – both in philosophy and beyond.
Italy and Fascism	15 Credits	Optional
How and why did Fascism come to power in Italy? Claiming that Italians were the true heirs to the Roman Empire and that the nation had been betrayed and undermined by its former allies, Fascists demanded a new and expanded role for Italy on the world stage and implemented sweeping and dramatic changes at home. On this module, we will explore how the Fascist project advanced in the aftermath of the Great War, setting this in the context of the underlying social, economic, political, and cultural structures and cleavages in Italian history. You will have the opportunity to work with a wide range of visual and textual primary sources relating to Italian Fascism, and all written documents from the period will be provided in English translation.
Wittgenstein: Meaning and Forms of Life	15 Credits	Optional
Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. Much of today's philosophical thinking has been inspired by or has developed in response to his work. His first published work - the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - provides, for some, an inspiration for powerful anti-metaphysical programmes. For others, it offers refined tools for doing metaphysics in a new, more fertile way. He himself came to reject aspects of his early work. How his approach evolved can only be fully understood by considering his early programme in the light of his second great masterpiece, Philosophical Investigations. This module does just that by introducing important aspects of Wittgenstein's philosophy in their historical and ideological contexts. The module will explore a range of topics such as: the nature of language and thought and their relations to reality; meaning and use; understanding and intentionality; following a rule; the possibility of a private language; the nature of philosophy.
Popular Protest, Riot and Reform in Britain, 1760-1848 B	15 Credits	Optional
Britain experienced a period of tumultuous social and political upheaval in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This module will examine the development of social and political protest movements, and survey the causes and consequences of popular unrest in Britain, 1760-1848. You will engage with the secondary literature of the subject and with a wide range of primary sources, visual, written and digital. Topics may include the development of ideas of democratic rights through the influence of the American and French revolutions, radical political and social movements in Britain; Luddites and trade unions; Swing rioters and rural unrest; Chartism; anti-New Poor Law Riots.
Final Year History Dissertation	30 Credits	Optional
With the dissertation, students have the chance to select their own topic to research, subject to approval. Albeit under supervision, this module requires largely independent study and research based partly on primary sources, with students expected to address historical problems in depth by gathering, sifting, reading, analysing and reflecting critically upon historical sources and advanced secondary literature. Students present their research in a poster or presentation format, and submit a draft chapter followed by a dissertation.
Placement with Study Abroad	0 Credits	Compulsory
Students on this unique module will have the opportunity to undertake both a semester at a partner university and to undertake a semester of placement, thus both improving their cultural awareness and employability. Students who have been on the Placement Year and Study Abroad Year, both normally undertaken after level 5 and before entering the final year, have reported high levels of satisfaction with both and many have said the Placement or Study Abroad year was one of the highlights of their university career. The Placement Year is offered by only a handful of universities offering Humanities subjects, so this module is a fantastic opportunity for students to explore both aspects of Study Abroad and Placement both here and abroad.
Boom Cities and New Towns in the 20th Century A	15 Credits	Optional
This module explores the rise of boom cities and new towns in Britain and across the world in the 20th century. Hertfordshire was the central county of experiments in urban planning, from garden cities to new towns. You will study the utopian visions of urban planners and postwar governments, and how these ideas were exchanged in new towns across the world, including Poland, India, the USA and Australia. The module also examines the social history of planned settlements. Who moved to new towns and what was everyday life like there? Did new town blues really exist? You will develop your skills in analysis of a wide range of primary sources, including plans, correspondence and oral histories from planned settlements in Britain.
Sinners, Scoundrels & Deviants: Non-Conformity in the Atlantic World A	15 Credits	Optional
How do societies decide what constitutes deviant behaviour, and who is responsible for making that distinction? This module challenges students to rethink societal definitions of deviant behaviour. It will explore why certain groups and certain behaviours were deemed to be deviant at particular points in time. Focusing on the Atlantic World, the module charts changing perceptions of deviant and traditional behaviour amidst a period of immense social, cultural and political change. Drawing on a diverse range of primary source materials, we will explore how the church, state and community responded to differences in sexuality, lifestyle, religion and race, to create acceptable standards of behaviour. Possible deviant behaviours to be explored include incest, alcohol misuse, bigamy, fist-fights, same-sex and inter-racial relationships.
Cold War Film and Propaganda	15 Credits	Optional
The Cold War between 1945 and 1991 saw one of the most intense propaganda conflicts in history. Popular culture played a vital role in the icy stand-off between the East and West. Through media such as popular film, each side promoted the virtues of their respective systems, while simultaneously demonising their opponents. This module uses feature films and documentaries to analyse different aspects of the battle for hearts and minds in the Cold War. Some films will be used to help illustrate the key propaganda themes of the Cold War; others will be viewed as primary source documents i.e. they will be discussed and analysed in the context of when they were produced and what they tell us about the mindset of Americans and Russians at the time. Combined with in-class discussion and analysis of primary documents, examining Cold War films provides students with an engaging way of exploring the relationship between history, propaganda and entertainment.
Nietzsche Then and Now	15 Credits	Optional
Nietzsche famously claimed that 'God is dead'. But what does he mean by this? What ramifications would the 'death of God' have for morality and human flourishing? What would a 'Nietzschean' view of self and world look like? And what religious responses to Nietzsche's challenge are possible? With these questions in mind, this module investigates key aspects of Nietzsche's thought and his legacy. Typically, after an introduction to his styles of philosophizing, the 'hermeneutics of suspicion', and his 'moral perfectionism', we shall focus upon his influential critique of morality. We shall investigate his account of ressentiment, guilt and 'bad conscience', alongside central Nietzschean ideas such as the will to power, eternal recurrence and 'self-overcoming'. We'll also consider some ways in which his legacy has been carried through in later thinkers, and we will examine possible critical responses to his worldview.
The Middle East in turmoil: The Arab-Israeli conflict since 1948	15 Credits	Optional
The Arab-Israeli conflict stands as one of the most enduring and, some claim, most intractable political issues in the modern Middle East, if not the whole world. This module offers a detailed examination of this ongoing conflict from its beginnings in the First World War until the present day. It explores the growth of the Zionist movement, the emergence of Palestinian nationalism, the impact of the critical years of 1948 and 1967 that saw the birth and consolidation of the state of Israel and the continuing dispossession of the Palestinians, and the ongoing attempts of forging a political solution since that time. The module is broadly chronological in shape, but uses primary and secondary sources to explore a range of issues including Israeli state and society, European and American intervention in the Middle East, terrorism and war, religion, and efforts to bring peace.
Philosophy of Music	15 Credits	Optional
There are many ways in which philosophical reflection on music can illuminate and enrich our understanding and enjoyment of it. What is a musical work and how does it relate to its performances? What is the aesthetic significance of improvisation and of mistakes during performance? How should we understand the notions of authenticity and appropriation in music? What is it for music to be expressive and how does this relate to the emotions? What is it for music to be sublime or for a performance to be virtuosic? What kind of action is singing a song? How should we understand the relationship between films and their musical soundtracks? And how might that differ from the music and singing found in music videos, musicals and opera?
Philosophy of Race and Gender	15 Credits	Optional
In the last half-century, critical debates about race and gender have raised questions about the central topics and assumptions of philosophy. For example, these debates have brought an emphasis on embodiment and social roles that challenge the relevance of the ideal types (ideal reasoner, ideal observer, etc.) of traditional epistemology. These ideas are now debated in mainstream epistemology and philosophy of mind. Other questions about ethics, social justice, objectivity, authority and power have also become urgent. Students on this module examine the contribution of race and gender theory to philosophy and critically consider the challenges that considerations of race and gender pose the theory and practice of philosophy.

Study abroad

An opportunity for an amazing experience, which will help make you stand out from the crowd. With more and more companies working internationally, experience of living in another country can make a great impression on future employers.

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a sandwich year abroad. The University has partnerships with over 150 universities around the world, including the USA, Canada, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and closer to home in Europe.

If you study abroad between your second and third year of study, you’ll pay no tuition fee to the partner university and no tuition fee to us either. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.

Find out more about Study abroad opportunities

Please note Erasmus+ funding is only available until May 2023. For students starting their course in September 2022 and wishing to study abroad in 2023-24 or 2024-25, please refer to the Turing Scheme.
Work placement

Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought after professional skills.

Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.

If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.

Find out more about work placements

Check out our student blogs

Alumni Stories

Jenny Vu

Meet Jenny Vu who gained valuable transferable skills for her future career. She is currently a Teaching Assistant at a secondary school.

Read more stories BA (Hons) History and Philosophy

Current job role	Teaching Assistant
Year of graduation	2018
Course of study	BA (Hons) History and Philosophy with Study Abroad Year

University life and experience

Throughout her degree, Jenny learnt a considerable amount of transferable skills and world knowledge to enable to her succeed in her career as a Teaching Assistant. She says that the most useful skills she learnt are how to analyse and correct grammar which have proved invaluable when teaching her students.

Jenny initially chose the University of Hertfordshire as it ‘was close to home but still relatively far enough to move out and learn to live independently.’ She explains how her independence grew as she used her degree to explore the World by taking the opportunity to study abroad for a year. She says, ‘My standout memory from my time at the University was studying abroad for a year. It was probably the best year of my life.’

Future aspirations

Jenny’s study abroad year sparked her passion for travel and in the future, she plans to teach in Asia. However, she says, if she does return to the UK, she would like to teach and promote higher education to young students to inspire future generations and showcase their potential.

Alumni Stories

Callaghan French

Meet Callaghan. Callaghan’s love of history inspired him to study at Herts and now he is teaching in Italy.

Current job role	English as a Second Language Teacher in Italy
Year of graduation	2022
Course of study	BA (Hons) History

A love of history

Callaghan’s love of history started in primary school, and it stuck with him up until it was time to apply to university. He visited Herts for an open day and was impressed. He says, ‘Herts offers the opportunity to study a wide range of historical topics, they have a huge library, and extensive resources available to students. I also had a compulsory academic support module in the first year which was very helpful for my studies.’

His time at Herts was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but one of Callaghan’s favourite moments was when he and fellow committee members were able to revive the History Society once restrictions were lifted. He says, ‘Working together to achieve this after such a tough period is an experience I will always value. I’d recommend that everyone join a society!’

Callaghan says that the most interesting part of his degree was his dissertation because he had the opportunity to research a topic of his choosing and present it to his lecturers and course mates.

Teaching in Italy

Callaghan is now a Teacher in Italy, where he teaches English as a Second Language. He says, ‘My course shaped me into a strong and confident speaker, which has greatly helped me in my current role. I was able to practice this skill in seminars and the occasional presentation.’

Callaghan is considering a career in academia or the Civil Service. His advice to current or future Herts students is to, ‘Work hard, but ask for help if you need it.’

View our Alumni profiles

Jenny Vu Callaghan French

Course fact sheets
BA (Hons) History	Download

Programme specifications
BA (Hons) Philosophy	Download
BA (Hons) History	Download
BA (Hons) History	Download

Additional information
Sandwich placement or study abroad year	Optional
Applications open to international and EU students	Yes
Course length	Full Time, 3 Years Sandwich, 4 Years
Location	University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

International/EU applicants without pre-settled status in the UK

Apply through our international/EU application portal

Home and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status in the UK

Apply using the links below:

2025

Start Date	End Date	Year	Location	Link
23/09/2025	31/05/2026	3	UH Hatfield Campus	Apply online (Full Time)
23/09/2025	31/05/2026	1	UH Hatfield Campus	Apply online (Full Time/Sandwich)
23/09/2025	31/05/2026	2	UH Hatfield Campus	Apply online (Full Time/Sandwich)

2026

Start Date	End Date	Year	Location	Link
23/09/2026	31/05/2027	3	UH Hatfield Campus	Apply online (Full Time)
23/09/2026	31/05/2027	1	UH Hatfield Campus	Apply online (Full Time/Sandwich)
23/09/2026	31/05/2027	2	UH Hatfield Campus	Apply online (Full Time/Sandwich)

Fees and funding
Fees 2024
UK Students
Full time
- £9250 for the 2024/2025 academic year
EU Students
Full time
- £15500 for the 2024/2025 academic year
International Students
Full time
- £15500 for the 2024/2025 academic year
Fees 2025
UK Students
Full time
- £9250 for the 2025/2026 academic year
EU Students
Full time
- £15965 for the 2025/2026 academic year
International Students
Full time
- £15965 for the 2025/2026 academic year
*Tuition fees are charged annually. The fees quoted above are for the specified year(s) only. Fees may be higher in future years, for both new and continuing students. Please see the University’s Fees and Finance Policy (and in particular the section headed “When tuition fees change”), for further information about when and by how much the University may increase its fees for future years.

View detailed information about tuition fees

Read more about additional fees in the course fact sheet

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

View detailed information about our accommodation

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BA (Hons) History and Philosophy

Key information

Typical offer:

Fees: See below

UCAS code: V1VP

Institute code: H36

Study abroad option

Work placement option

Additional requirements

Why choose this course?

What's the course about?

Your main campus is College Lane

What will I study?

Check out our student blogs

Student Blogs

My week at a glance

Student Blogs

Things you need to know before studying History at Herts

Student Blogs

What I love most about my course

Student Blogs

Alumni Stories

Meet Jenny Vu who gained valuable transferable skills for her future career. She is currently a Teaching Assistant at a secondary school.

University life and experience

Future aspirations

Alumni Stories

Meet Callaghan. Callaghan’s love of history inspired him to study at Herts and now he is teaching in Italy.

A love of history

Teaching in Italy

International/EU applicants without pre-settled status in the UK

Home and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status in the UK

2025

2026

Fees 2024

UK Students

Full time

EU Students

Full time

International Students

Full time

Fees 2025

UK Students

Full time

EU Students

Full time

International Students

Full time

Other financial support

Living costs / accommodation

Your main campus is College Lane