Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• To provide students with an intellectually stimulating environment within which they can develop knowledge, understanding and skills in both History and English.
• To encourage a sense of enthusiasm for History and English; to foster critical, creative and independent thinking; and to develop a sensitive and disciplined approach.
• To stimulate productive reflection on the similarities and differences between modes of study in both subjects.
• To develop competence and practical skills which are transferable to a wide range of professions and employment as well as life experiences.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

• QAA History Benchmark Statement
• QAA English Benchmark Statement

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the idea of academic disciplines as dynamic, plural and contested; developed within the broader framework of the social sciences and humanities;
• the potential applications of concepts within a broader critical framework;
• the main methodologies used in the analysis and interpretation of texts and other sources; 

and within the History portion of the programme:

• past societies and historical processes over a chronological and geographical range;
• the use of primary evidence in historical argument;
• History as an academic discipline, its schools of interpretations, and the variety of methodological approaches and theoretical foundations;

and within the English portion of the programme:

• a range of authors and texts from different periods of literary history, including those before 1800;
• the distinctive characteristics of the different literary genres of fiction, poetry and drama;
• an appreciation of the structure and function of the English language;
• an appreciation of the power of imagination in literary creation and an awareness of the range and variety of contemporary approaches to literary study;
• practical experience of a range of research and critical methods in English;
• an awareness of the role of culture in a changing landscape of literary production; the ability to understand the epistemological underpinnings of different research traditions in the subject area.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1.  demonstrate a reflexive approach to learning;

2.  abstract and synthesise information;

3.  assess the merits of contrasting theories, explanations and arguments;

4.  critically evaluate and interpret a range of evidence, including texts and other sources;

5.  undertake problem-solving and decision-making;

6.  develop a reasoned argument;

additionally, within the History portion of the programme:

7.  appreciate the complexities and diversity of past events and mentalities;

8.  show a critical awareness of the problems inherent in historical sources and in interpreting the past;

9. solve problems with imagination and creativity.

and within the English portion of the programme:

10.  on successful completion of the programme students will have acquired critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts and will have a thorough understanding of texts, concepts and theories relating to English studies;

11.  they will have an appreciation of the central role of language in the creation of meaning and will have gained rhetorical skills of effective communication and argument.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1. locate and retrieve information using a variety of research methods;
2. select, combine, and interpret different types of source material;
3. deploy bibliographic skills including accuracy in the citation of sources and the use of proper conventions in the presentation of scholarly work
4. present cogent and persuasive arguments in oral, written and practical form;
5. undertake independent learning and research;
6. recognise and critically debate moral and ethical issues underpinning particular debates or enquiries.

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to handle complex information in a structured, systematic and analytical way. They should be able to participate effectively in group work using communication effectively, including dialogue, writing formats and visualisation. They should possess effective organisational and time-management skills. They should posses an independence of mind, creativity and intellectual maturity. 

4. Programme structure

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 In order to progress from Part A to Part B, from Part B to C, and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must not only satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX but also achieve a module mark of at least 30% in all modules in each Part.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C. The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40%, Part C 60% to determine the final programme percentage mark.