English and History

English and history is a combination that examines how human experience has been shaped and understood through stories: the stories people tell in literature and the stories that historians construct from the evidence of the past. The two disciplines share a deep concern with how language shapes understanding, how narratives are constructed, and what texts of all kinds reveal about the societies that produced them. Literature and historical narratives have challenged authority, amplified marginalised voices, and forged new ways of seeing and being in the world, as Sussex describes, and studying them together means engaging with both the imaginative and the analytical dimensions of that power.

At the University of Sussex, this three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year for students who benefit from additional academic preparation, as well as a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, giving the degree an unusually rich range of experiential dimensions alongside the academic core. You will develop your close reading and critical writing skills through literary study alongside the research, source analysis, and interpretive skills of historical enquiry, becoming part of a community of students and scholars who are passionate about words, ideas, and the past's power to transform the present.

English and history graduates go on to work in journalism, publishing, education, the civil service, heritage, museum and archival work, broadcasting, policy research, law, and the many professional roles that value the communication and analytical skills both disciplines build. The breadth of the combined degree is reflected in the breadth of where graduates end up. Many also pursue postgraduate study in English literature, history, creative writing, journalism, or education, deepening their expertise for academic or specialist professional careers.