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The University of Southampton
HistoryPart of HumanitiesUndergraduate study

Flexible study

Humanities at Southampton offers a range of innovative flexible learning options, so you can tailor your degree to suit your specific needs and interests.

Flexible learning at Southampton
Flexible learning at Southampton

Combined Honours

Combined Honours programmes give students the opportunity to study two areas of interest throughout their undergraduate degree. You may be keen to continue with subjects you have enjoyed at college level, or you might be interested in adding a new subject area to your existing study experiences.

Major/Minor

All Humanities students have the option to study a minor subject alongside their main course, so you graduate with, for example, BA History with American Studies. Minor subject areas include Creative Writing, Music, Philosophy, Politics and many others. For further information visit Customise your degree page.

Curriculum Innovation Programme

Interdisciplinary modules provide you with the opportunity to broaden your learning. Each module explores key contemporary subjects, such as sustainability or intercultural communication, from the perspective of different disciplines. You work with students from other subjects, learn through innovative methods, such as group work and social media, and are assessed in new ways, such as student-led teaching and presentations. See our Curriculum Innovation webpage for more details.

Learning a Language

The Southampton Language Opportunity provides you with the opportunity to study a language free of charge, alongside your degree programme. The scheme is funded by the Southampton Opportunity and managed by Modern Languages and Linguistics. The classes offer no formal qualification or provide any credit, but are perfect for those wanting to start a new language or polish up on previous skills. For more information visit Southampton language opportunity page.

Part time degrees

At Humanities all our degree programmes can be studied part-time.

For some of our students, full-time study isn't a practical possibility for professional, financial or personal reasons. Others have made a deliberate choice to take the less pressurised part-time route to a degree - for example embarking on a course after retirement or returning to academic study after a lengthy time away from education.

Full-time undergraduate degrees are usually completed in three years (or four, for language degrees involving a year abroad). Part-time students cover the same content, but over a longer time-scale, between four (or five for language degrees) and eight years.

The most common arrangement is to take half the number of modules per semester taken by full-time students. However, you can complete the degree course more quickly by changing to full-time after a minimum period of study (usually two years) on a part-time basis; this path can be particularly suitable for parents of young children.

Study Abroad

Through our links with other European universities under the Study Abroad scheme students can also elect to spend a semester studying abroad in Paris, Amsterdam, Bergen, Caen, Potsdam or Wroclaw.

Lifelong learning

History has a schedule of courses, events and cultural days which form part of the Humanities Lifelong Learning programme of part-time study and events.

Courses and events are available in the following subject areas: archaeology, film, English literature, history, Jewish studies, modern languages, music and philosophy.

Visit the Humanities Lifelong Learning website to find out more.

What attracted me to Southampton was the diversity of its history modules. I have found myself studying Spanish, Iranian and British history which has expanded my knowledge and awareness of current affairs. I think that it’s really rewarding when you feel as though you have a grasp on a whole period of history

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