Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English

at University of Southampton - Avenue Campus United Kingdom

Examine the people and events of the past from different but complementary perspectives. On BA Archaeology and History with Year Abroad you'll take an in-depth look at your favourite historical subjects, choosing from options like the Cold War and 17th century witchcraft trials. You'll spend a year abroad at one of our partner institutions, such as the University of Malta or the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona.

Archaeology looks at the past through the study of physical remains, including buildings, artefacts and the landscape itself. History draws on written and oral sources.

This degree will give you in-depth knowledge of both archaeology and history, and develop your understanding of earlier human societies. You'll learn how to use and understand historical sources. You'll also learn how to identify and excavate archaeological sites, extracting as much information as possible from materials and records.

Study history with archaeology abroad in your third year at a partner institution to broaden your knowledge and experience.

Archaeology and History with year abroad includes a wide variety of optional modules, covering subjects such as:

• American slavery
• Women's history in modern Britain
• Apocalyptic visions of history
• The French Revolution
• Human origins
• Landscapes and seascapes
• Emergence of civilisation

As part of this course, you can choose to take a minor subject in an unrelated area.

You'll develop valuable skills for any future career, including:

• Problem solving
• Teamwork
• Project management

This BA Philosophy, Ethics and Religion degree provides you with the opportunity to explore deep  and far-reaching issues. You will engage with questions that have puzzled great thinkers for millennia, and are still relevant today: How should we live? What can we really know? Can religious beliefs be justified? And what is their role in society? How can we apply philosophy to real world problems such as global poverty?

You will explore these fundamental issues using the philosophical method of reasoned argument and critical scrutiny. You’ll investigate ethical questions and the nature of religion in society, across a wide range of fields including anthropology, history, and politics.

Our broad curriculum allows you to approach topics from multiple perspectives, with the flexibility to pursue your own interests. You can also take modules outside your main degree subject, to diversify your learning.

• Develop an understanding of basic philosophical arguments in matters of ethics, reason, and responsibility
• Study questions such as the duties of affluent people towards those living in poverty around the world
• Learn about the ethics of global poverty, science and technology, plus moral questions, and the nature of moral judgments
• Apply philosophical thought to language, morality, sex and other important aspects of life

You’ll learn in small groups in a relaxed and friendly environment. You can also take modules from other disciplines such as anthropology or psychology, study a language, or choose from a range of cross-disciplinary modules

Enhance your skills with a master's in creative writing at the University of Southampton. This programme challenges you to cross boundaries and become an expert in 5 areas of contemporary writing:

• Fiction
• Scriptwriting
• Creative non-fiction
• Writing for young people
• Poetry

You’ll also be able to tap into the University’s rich resources in theatre, music, art, and the sciences. On completion of your degree, you’ll be ready for careers in publishing and arts administration.

Our Master of Arts in Creative Writing is a stimulating course which will prepare you to be a professional writer. You’ll have opportunities to publish and edit an anthology, take part in a literary festival, and pursue creative collaborations with everyone from scientists to visiting actors. Your fellow students will come from all over the world and bring with them a wide range of experiences and writing traditions.

You'll be taught by practicing writers, focusing on your own creative writing as well as studying contemporary work. Your lecturers will include four-time novelist Rebecca Smith, award-winning fiction writer and Washington Post freelancer Carole Burns, experimental poet Sarah Hayden, and the highly acclaimed non-fiction writer Philip Hoare.

You'll study with faculty staff and students from countries all over the world, including India, Columbia, Pakistan, Iceland, the USA, Nigeria, and of course the UK. This gives the programme an international focus, and will expose you to a wide range of experiences and writing traditions.

You can take part in a lively programme of literary events, including our own 'Writers in Conversation' reading series. We hold this event 3 times each semester, featuring authors such as Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan, American writer Gish Jen, and BBC scriptwriter Stephen M. Thompson. We'll also encourage you to take advantage of the University's rich arts environment, including the on-campus Turner Sims Concert Hall and affiliation with Southampton's John Hansard Gallery.

Our Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing also hosts regular events, readings, and conferences. Recent visitors to the centre include Caroline Bergvall, Lavinia Greenlaw and Amitav Ghosh.

We’ll provide you with a supportive environment in which to learn, grow and develop your writing skills, and help you think deeply and critically about your work. You can specialise in topics that interest you, and choose from a wide variety of optional modules offered by the School of Humanities.

This degree will give you complete proficiency in German and you’ll gain valuable experience spending a year living and working in a foreign country.

Following our system of language development, you’ll start at a level that matches your ability in German. This means we can personalise your learning so you make the best progress.

You’ll also have all the resources you need to support you in our excellent Centre for Language Study.

You’ll have the freedom to tailor your degree to areas that interest you. Whether you want to learn another language, take modules from other subject areas, improve your employability skills, or explore German culture, society, or history, the choice will be yours.  

In your year abroad you can choose to work as an English assistant in a school, study at a university or take a work placement. Our partner universities in the Erasmus programme are in Germany and Austria.

This German course has a strong focus on employability. You’ll have the option to take practical modules looking at teaching, you could take advantage of our vacation work placement schemes and you’ll develop a wide range of transferable skills.

Explore the development of historical debates and ways of imagining the past. You'll study topics ranging from ancient history to the war on terror. In your third year, you’ll study history abroad at a partner university to expand your knowledge and experience. You’ll graduate with transferable skills that are relevant for a variety of careers.

You’ll look at the different ways historians have approached the human past, and study specific areas in history.

Your course will combine lectures with small group seminars. You’ll learn how to structure an argument, interrogate and contextualise evidence and evaluate historical controversies. In year 2, there’s a chance to work with others students on a group project.

Leading researchers will teach you about topics like the buildings of the Roman Empire and concepts of peace and peacefulness in twentieth-century China.

You'll spend your third year studying at one of our partner institutions abroad. University locations include Croatia, Poland, Norway and France.

As part of this degree you’ll:

• choose from over 100 modules
• access document collections, including the Wellington, Palmerston and Mountbatten papers, and the Parkes archive, one of the largest Jewish documentation centres in Europe
• attend our visiting lecture and seminar programme

Explore how our ancestors engaged with the world, and gain a fascinating insight into what it means to be human. Studying archaeology and anthropology combines aspects of the humanities and the sciences. You'll study global human diversity in time and space, in a truly interdisciplinary way. Along with studying the theoretical background, you'll do fieldwork as part of an active research project in the UK or abroad.

Our BA Archaeology and Anthropology degree gives teaches you how human societies came into being, how they have changed over time, and the underlying reasons for human diversity today.

This degree integrates the disciplines of archaeology (the study of the human past through its material remains) and anthropology, which is made up of:

• Social anthropology (exploring how people in different places create meaning and build communities)
• Anthropological linguistics (the study of humans through the languages they use)
• Biological anthropology (looking at the physiological and genetic diversity in present and past human and primate societies)

We have a purpose-built archaeology building, equipped with the latest science-based laboratories. On this anthropology and archaeology degree you'll gain hands-on experience with archaeological artefacts and materials, and receive the practical training needed for a career in archaeology or anthropology.

Our archaeology and anthropology degree courses give you the opportunity to study a minor subject alongside the main programme.

We’re also offering up to 10 bursaries of £1000 each to incoming students (subject to criteria). These are from the Terry Mason Bursary and the University of Southampton Archaeology Bursary Fund.

Explore 18th century literature in depth with a master’s degree at the University of Southampton. This course gives you the chance to specialise in the culture and history of the 18th century, covering topics such as:

• 18th century fiction
• economics and class
• education
• gender and sexuality
• Jane Austen

On completion of the course, you’ll be ready for a career in teaching, publishing, librarianship or cultural heritage.

You’ll get the chance to carry out advanced-level research and independent critical thinking, and to make effective use of archives, manuscripts, and research libraries. This pathway is linked to Chawton House Library, the ‘Great House’ referred to in Jane Austen’s letters, which is now home to a unique collection of women’s writing.

We offer a flexible module structure which is designed to give you an advanced understanding of cultural analysis, textual interpretation and theoretical method.

You'll explore the interrelations of text, theory and culture across the field of English literary and cultural studies. We’ll work with you to:

• develop your knowledge of critical and research methods
• raise your awareness of the historical and critical reception of literature in various periods
• explore the role of literature in a contested cultural framework

Build on your desire to explore the past, encounter diverse societies and learn how to understand them with a History degree at Southampton. You'll graduate with transferable skills you can take into a variety of careers.

Historians embrace the challenge of understanding a different world and meeting it on its own terms. We trace continuities and explain change, finding new perspectives to make sense of the evidence.

At Southampton, we're committed to the mission of exploring the past. As world-class researchers, we work to generate new knowledge about human societies, from the era of Greek antiquity to the recent 'war on terror'. As your teachers, we'll give you the skills to navigate these worlds and guide you along the way. By the end of your time with us, you'll be able to pioneer your own trails with confidence.

You can study a vast range of history with us, across many time periods (from Cleopatra, to the Nazis, to drones in the 21st Century), places (Britain, Europe, America, Russia, Africa, Asia, and even the moon) and perspectives. You'll learn new things about familiar subjects, as well as exploring the history of a society or culture that is entirely new to you.

To help with your learning, you'll have access to:

• over 100 modules
• document collections, including the Wellington, Palmerston and Mountbatten papers, and the Parkes archive - one of the largest Jewish documentation centres in Europe
• leading experts through our visiting lecture and seminar programme

Throughout your degree, you'll build skills in research and communication that will open a wide variety of career options to you. Our BA History degree programmes will challenge you to rethink the stories we tell about the past, while creating a passport for your future.

Is there a god? Are our minds separate from our bodies? How much can we ever really know? On this 3-year BA Philosophy degree, you'll grapple with some of the most profound questions. You'll also develop critical thinking and analysis skills that will be essential in your future career.

This course will help you develop your own thoughts on abstract issues and introduce you to philosophical debate. You'll explore questions in core areas, such as:

• Ethics
• Epistemology
• Metaphysics
• Philosophy of mind
• Political philosophy

You'll apply philosophical thought to practical questions on subjects including:

• Global poverty
• Future generations
• Sex and gender
• Artificial intelligence

As part of this course you can:

• Get involved in many events, including talks by visiting philosophers and activities arranged by the student-led Philosophy Society
• Take part in other Philosophy courses and events run by the Lifelonglearning team where you can discuss philosophy in an informal, relaxed atmosphere
• Develop research and presentation skills
• Choose from a wide range of optional modules to follow your interests
• Explore subjects as varied as scriptwriting and Islamic philosophy

This degree is also offered with a year studying abroad.

Become fluent in Spanish and gain valuable experience spending a year living and working in a foreign country on this BA Spanish degree. You’ll get personalise your degree to areas that interest you. You could take another language, choose modules from other subject areas, improve your employability skills, or explore Hispanic culture and history.

Following our unique system of language development, you’ll start at a level that matches your ability in Spanish. This means we can personalise your learning so you make the best progress.

As part of the year abroad you can choose to:

• Work as an English assistant in a school
• Study at a university
• Take a work placement

You could choose to go to Spain or Latin America - we have links in Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

This course has a strong focus on employability. You’ll have the option to take practical modules looking at teaching, you could take advantage of our vacation work placement schemes, and you’ll develop a wide range of transferable skills.