Ancient history is a discipline concerned with the understanding of ancient societies and the construction of historical arguments. Although it stands in its own right, it can also be studied as an important bridging subject between medieval and modern history on the one hand and archaeology on the other. The modules studied make extensive use of written sources and the archaeological record, and are usually studied in translation. Ancient History courses often offer language modules in Greek and Latin at beginners and advanced levels which are specially designed for historians and archaeologists.

The courses structure outlined below is taken from the University of Bristol:

In the first year, you take an introduction to Ancient History, Literary Sources for Ancient History, and choose two historical topics. Typical historical topics include: The World of Late Antiquity; The Roman Principate; Monarchy and the Greeks; Homeric Society; Economy and Society; The Fall of the Roman Republic; Law and Order in Ancient Society. You will also choose two optional topics from a selection of language, literature, philosophy, art, political, social, and cultural history topics, some of which may be taken in other departments (e.g., Archaeology). Typical options include: Happiness and the Good Life; Drama in the Ancient World; The Roman Villa; The World of Late Antiquity; Ancient Ethics and Lifestyles; Economy and Society; The Roman Principate; Rome and the Historical Novel; Homeric Society. It is also possible to study either Latin or Greek language, in the place of optional topics.

In your second year, you take Approaches to Ancient History, Non-Literary Sources for Ancient History, two historical topics (list as above), and two optional topics (list as above). It is also possible to study either Latin or Greek language, in the place of optional topics.

In your third year, you'll take one major special subject and two minor special subjects, which are based on staff's wide-ranging research interests. Typical major special subjects include: Antiquity and Modernity; Time, Temporality and Texts; What is an Emperor?; Receptions of Greek Tragedy; Immortality; Religions of Rome; Trade in the Ancient World; Christianity and Roman Society. Typical minor special subjects include: Heroes and Heroism; Myth and History; Pompeii. You will also submit a dissertation of 10,000 words on a relevant subject of interest to you.

The various University History programmes offer an unusually wide range of choice to students. They introduce a range of countries, periods and themes in ways that are stimulating and intellectually challenging. Very few modules are compulsory.

Course content in the university courses varies. One example of the course is the following at the University of Warwick:

Year 1: The Making of the Modern World, 1750-Present (compulsory); and choice of two options from a broad selection.

Year 2: The History of Europe, 1500-1720 (compulsory); and choice of two options from a broad selection.

Year 3: Historiography (compulsory); one advanced option; one special subject.

At the University of Sheffield the course content is as follows:

In History in your first year you will take the Paths from Antiquity to Modernity module, and can choose as many modules as you wish from survey courses devoted to medieval, early modern, American, and modern European history; you are also free to take modules from the vast range on offer outside the department if you wish.

In your second year you take a course on History and Historians, choose four option modules from a list of more than twenty, and write an extended essay in the form of the Course Assignment. This prepares you for the dissertation you will write in your final year, when you also study a Special Subject across both semesters, involving close study of primary sources with an authority in the field, and take a Further Subject.

In the last semester all our students also take a course called Rethinking History, designed to encourage you to reflect upon the meaning and purpose of History in the light of your studies.

At the practical level the study of history develops a range of skills - in critical reading, in data collection and evaluation, in analysis and argument, in problem-solving, in presentation and persuasion.

History is directly relevant to careers in teaching, librarianship, and museum and archive work. However, the particular transferable skills which a historian acquires - collecting and evaluating information derived from a number of sources, choosing between conflicting arguments and hypotheses, presenting clear, logical arguments backed up by appropriate data - are highly valued by employers. Recent History graduates have taken up managerial positions in industry and commerce, and have gone into finance, accountancy, law, the social services, journalism, local and national government and computer science. History students who have developed their language and IT skills have also been viewed very favourably by employers.

Geographers study a range of issues and environmental processes in which space and location are key elements. These range from the global (eg issues of globalisation and development) to the local (eg the spatial modelling of government policies) and span both the Environmental and Social Sciences.

The BA course generally aims to provide you with a broad understanding of the study of geography and of the work of geographers, and to demonstrate how geographical concepts and skills can be used in suggesting possible solutions for real world problems. The courses are commonly extremely flexible and allow you to take a broad programme which spans the range of Human Geography or to specialise in the parts of the subject which most interest you.

Modular degree programmes often give you the option of undertaking Physical Geography courses and/or a range of courses outside the discipline if you so wish. The courses also include an integrated and coherent skills element (including both research training, IT Skills, and fieldwork), allowing you to develop the wide range of transferable skills for which Geography graduates are particularly valued by employers.

An example of Course Content – University of Sheffield

The first year of study (Level 1) is broad-based and involves the study of twelve units with a minimum of 5 in Geography. These introduce and explore the range of contemporary human geographies and provide a foundation for the rest of the course. The compulsory modules in Human Geography include the study of globalisation, economic systems, environmental issues, and core concepts of place, space, culture and nature. Additional compulsory skills training covers study skills, data collection and analysis techniques, the use of IT with geographical data. Beyond these modules additional modules can be chosen from the Physical Geography programme or freely from modules on offer elsewhere in the university.

From year two onwards (Levels 2/3) modules are designed to develop and expand your framework of geographical knowledge and as the course advances to build upon it with more specialised knowledge of particular aspects of the discipline. In the second year of study there are core modules designed to give a grounding in key principles and concepts within Human Geography. These include courses on Social and Political Geography and Economic Geography. There is also a compulsory skills module, which develops students' ability to undertake independent research in Human Geography. The remaining modules can be chosen from a wide range of options within Geography or from modules elsewhere in the University. The current list of Geography options includes courses in subfields within the discipline (e.g Health Geography, Geopolitics), the study of particular environments and regions, and new geographical skills such as GIS and Remote Sensing.

In the final year of study, half of the programme consists of two large pieces of independent study, one based on independent research, and one based on reading. The former is an independent project on an approved subject chosen, designed and carried out by each student. Of the remaining three modules, one may be chosen from outside Geography and the remainder are chosen from a wide range of specialised options within Geography which are listed in the course details.

Geography has one of the best graduate employment records. Graduates are employed in a wide variety of occupations including finance, education, marketing, sales, advertising, land management, environmental work, the diplomatic service, health service, law and social work.

The course outline below (taken from the University of Leicester) is representative of the type of Law courses Langton students follow:

First Year

The first year of the LLB has been carefully constructed to introduce you to the study of law. There are two specialist modules on legal skills and legal theory. You will also study a wide range of topics including the fairness of contractual terms; liability for causing personal injury; the constitutional role of the Crown; and the rights of suspects at police stations. The Legal Skills module will introduce you to materials which will help you to develop your own skills-based learning. It covers the skills needed to read statutes and cases, and to research legal issues. Analysing Law offers an imaginative introduction to legal theory and explores key legal issues such as: consent and the law, whose interests are promoted by the law, and interpreting legal norms.

Second, Third and Fourth Years

You will study European Union Law in your second year and Criminal Law in your third or fourth year. Three of the four subjects you will study in the second and third years are optional, which means you are free to choose these subjects from the wide list of options normally offered. The department offers an excellent range of options reflecting the research interests and publications of staff. Examples may include: International Law, Land Law, Criminology, Company Law, Health Care Law, Human Rights and Civil Liberties. In your final year you may opt to write a dissertation under individual supervision on a topic of your own choosing. Recent topics have included: The Legal Implications of Cloning; International Parental Child Abduction; Religious Dress Codes, Identities and Educational Institutions

Ex-Langton Law graduates have secured employment in some of the country's premier solicitors' firms and barristers' chambers. They have also enjoyed success in a wide range of non-legal careers, such as:

• Accountancy and Insurance
• Management
• Administration
• Public Sector
• Publishing

Studying Philosophy will give you an opportunity to think about some deep and important questions, and to compare your thoughts with those of some of the greatest minds in history. Philosophy also develops useful skills, by enabling you to:

• engage in reasoned discussion with people of opposing views;
• identify the underlying issues in a debate, analyse complex problems and detect relevance and irrelevance;
• read and analyse complex texts;
• construct a reasoned argument, and present it in a clear and structured way;
• display openness and independence of mind;
• be receptive to new ideas and approaches, and subject them to critical scrutiny.

Philosophy graduates go on to a wide range of careers comparable to those on other Arts courses, but if anything more diverse

PPE brings together some of the most important approaches to understanding the social and human world around us, developing skills useful for a whole range of future careers and activities.

Studying philosophy, you will develop analytical rigour and the ability to criticise and reason logically, and be able to apply these skills to questions concerning how we acquire knowledge or how we make ethical judgements.

The study of politics will acquaint you with the institutions that make crucial decisions which govern our lives as members of nations, states and other political groupings. You will also learn how to evaluate the choices which political systems must regularly make, and about the processes that maintain or change those systems.

An appreciation of economics and the general workings of the economy has become increasingly necessary to make sense of governmental policy-making, the conduct of businesses and the enormous changes in economic systems occurring throughout the world. Economics focuses both on individual units and on the aggregate behaviour of groups, societies and international markets.

PPE at Oxford

All three branches of PPE at Oxford have an international reputation, supported by more than 200 teachers and scholars of the highest calibre. You will also be able to attend lectures given by the many distinguished visitors to Oxford each year.

PPE at Oxford is a very flexible course which allows you to study all three branches, or to specialise in two of the branches after the first year. Although there is no reference to sociology in the title of the subject, you may specialise in sociology by choosing relevant options. International relations, though linked closely to politics, is also acknowledged as a separate specialisation.

A typical weekly timetable

Your work is divided between lectures (six to eight a week), tutorials and classes (typically one tutorial and one class a week), and private study mainly spent preparing essays for tutorials and classes.

Geographers study a range of issues and environmental processes in which space and location are key elements. These range from the global (eg the possibilities of climate change) to the local (eg agricultural pollution) and span both the Environmental and Social Sciences.

The BSc course generally aims to provide you with a broad understanding of the study of geography and of the work of geographers, and to demonstrate how geographical concepts and skills can be used in suggesting possible solutions for real world problems. The course are commonly flexible and allow you to take a broad programme which spans the range of Physical Geography or to specialise in the parts of the subject which most interest you.

Modular degree programmes commonly give you the option of undertaking Human Geography courses and/or a range of courses outside the discipline if you so wish. The courses also include an integrated and coherent skills element (including both laboratory and fieldwork), allowing you to develop the wide range of transferable skills for which Geography graduates are particularly valued by employers.

An example of Course Content – University of Sheffield

The first year of study (Level 1) is broad-based and involves the study of twelve units with a minimum of 5 in Geography. These introduce and explore the range of physical environments and provide a foundation for the rest of the course. The compulsory modules in Physical Geography include the study of environmental systems, land surface processes and systems and the interaction between human and physical systems. Additional compulsory skills training covers study skills, data collection and analysis techniques, the use of IT with geographical data, laboratory methods, and fieldwork. Beyond these modules additional modules can be chosen from the Human Geography degree programme or freely from modules on offer elsewhere in the university.

From year two onwards (Levels 2/3) modules are designed to develop and expand the framework of environmental knowledge and as the course advances to build upon it with more specialised knowledge of particular aspects of the discipline. In the second year of study there are core modules designed to give a grounding in key principles and concepts within Physical geography. These include courses on Earth Surface Processes and Environmental Change. There is also a compulsory skills module, which develops students' ability to undertake independent research in Physical Geography. The remaining modules can be chosen from a wide range of options within Geography or from modules elsewhere in the University. The current list of Geography options is shown in the course details and includes courses in subfields within the discipline, the study of particular environments and regions, and new geographical skills such as GIS and Remote Sensing.

In the final year of study, half of the programme consists of two large pieces of independent study, one based on field data collection, and one based on reading. The former is an independent project on an approved subject chosen, designed and carried out by each student. Of the remaining three modules, one may be chosen from outside Geography and the remainder are chosen from a wide range of specialised options within Geography which are listed in the course details.

Geography has one of the best graduate employment records. Graduates are employed in a wide variety of occupations including finance, education, marketing, sales, advertising, land management, environmental work, the diplomatic service, health service, law and social work.

Planning is all about shaping the way society lives. It embraces questions about the design of particular urban environments to proposals for new towns; from assessing the environmental impacts of proposed developments to considering the access needs of those people with disabilities/special needs; from conserving important landscapes to promoting economic regeneration.

A degree in planning will provide you with a critical understanding of issues that concern planners. This includes the theoretical and technical knowledge that is required to identify problems, the values and attitudes of planning and the public that planning serves, and the skills to formulate, evaluate and implement planning policies at the national, regional, urban, rural and local scales. You will learn to understand the nature of the social, economic, political and environmental processes that shape town and country, and the various ways in which public policy can improve the quality of life. Courses develop skills and knowledge in the key policy areas of spatial planning, local and regional economic development, design and development, environmental planning and governance, placing these in the context of debates about sustainable development and social justice.

There are numerous exciting and varied career routes for planning graduates, in particular, opportunities exist in local planning authorities, central government departments, regional development agencies, transport undertakings, private planning consultancies and environmental organizations.

Politics is one of the most important of all human activities, and its study is central to the social sciences. Fundamental to the study of politics is a consideration of the problems that humans face in living together in organised societies, and the solutions that they have attempted. Politics is concerned with how societies make decisions, such as about governmental power or the allocation of resources. It involves considering how and why different decisions are made, and how they might be changed over time. The subject matter of politics varies from a traditional focus on individual governments, to wider and more abstract issues such as the nature of power and justice.

Politics courses vary greatly and so you should look carefully at the content of the courses offered by the different universities. The main features of most courses cover international politics, European politics, British politics and political theory.

By way of an example, a Politics degree might include modules on the following topics:

• British Politics
• Contemporary development issues
• The impact of colonialism
• European politics
• Global politics and the environment
• Globalisation
• Freedom, power and democracy
• International politics
• The politics of development
• British Central Government
• Political and Electoral communication
• Politics and society in developing countries
• The European Union
• Politics in Africa
• Politics in the USA
• Foreign Policy
• Political Ideologies
• Politic Economics
• Theories of Democracy
• Political Extremism
• The Middle East

Politics graduates have gone into the higher Civil Service, journalism and television, social work, accountancy, teaching, law and a variety of managerial and administrative jobs.

Psychology is a lively and constantly changing discipline, and this vigour is reflected in the increasing number of applicants who choose to study the subject. A degree in psychology is a necessary first requirement for entry into many branches of professional psychology, such as clinical, educational and research work. However, a degree in Psychology can also be used as a passport for entry into other fields where their skills are put to use.

The course outlined below is taken from the University of Manchester prospectus:

In the first year you will study courses covering the History of Psychology, Psychobiology, Learning Theory, Abnormal Psychology, Health Psychology, Human Evolution and finally Auditory and Visual Perception. In addition you will receive training in statistics, research design, laboratory work, computing applications, group working and communication skills.

The second year course units cover Perception, Time Space and Music, Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Cognition, Neuropsychology, Human Learning, Evolutionary Psychology and Psychopathology. Again, you will receive further training in quantitative methods and practicals.

As the core of Psychology is covered in the first two years, the final year allows you to choose courses from a wide range of available topics. These vary from year to year, but may include:

human & organisational factors in complex systems spoken language processing
social psychology of communication technology and work
critical social psychology
consciousness philosophy and the brain
ecological approaches to visual perception
mind and society
aspects of madness
psychosomatics
cognitive behavioural therapy
psychosis
cognitive neuropsychiatry
ageing
movement and action
the education of children
children with special needs.
Final year students must also complete an empirical research project and a dissertation.

This is a very broad subject in which you will be able to take courses in a wide range of religious and theological traditions. The degree is highly flexible in each university and you can usually opt to spend up to a third of your study focusing on subjects offered in other subject areas (eg Classics, English, Social Anthropology, philosophy).

A typical course would have the following structure:

In your first year you will take a core course in the Study of Religion and Theology which introduces you to the various theories and methods currently being used in the subject area (eg literary, historical, social, scientific and feminist approaches). You will also choose other courses which can either concentrate on a specific subject area (eg the philosophy of religion) or range across a variety of different subjects within the field of Religion and Theology (eg Islam, Christian ethics, Hindu and Buddhist World Views).

In your second year you will choose six further courses. Again, you have considerable freedom to concentrate either on a particular area or to study a variety of religious traditions and topics.

Finally, in your third year you will write a dissertation. You will also study four additional courses which you can choose from a wide range of topics

Graduates from Religions & Theology go into the same wide range of careers as other arts and humanities students

Social & Political Sciences

How do human beings live together? Why do some do so differently than others? Why do we co-operate and why do we fight? Can we do any better? This degree tackles deep questions from different perspectives.

A passionate detachment

The Social and Political Sciences Tripos (SPS) explores many of the questions about human beings that excite great passions and it enables you to consider them in a coherent and detached manner as the heirs to distinguished, cosmopolitan traditions of thought. It encourages you to think for yourself about these questions and to understand why others will answer them differently.

What’s different about SPS at Cambridge?

SPS is a distinctive course within the social sciences and humanities in the range of subjects and choices it can offer you: in few other institutions are Politics, Social and Developmental Psychology (in contrast to Experimental Psychology) and Sociology taught together and combined under the same roof. In the first year, SPS also includes Social Anthropology. This gives you the opportunity to study four subjects in the first year, to specialise in the second year, and to broaden out again in the third year. But you can also combine subjects in the second and third years: both Sociology and Psychology, and Sociology and Politics.

Part II Politics considers the subject from a philosophical and historical point of view as well as that of political science. It emphasises the importance of political thought and the past in shaping the ideas and circumstances that affect national and international politics now. It allows students an increasing choice of specialisation and encourages assessment by long essays and a dissertation as well as conventional examinations.

Part II Psychology offers you the chance to concentrate on social and developmental psychology, exploring how individuals develop and interact in their social context as well as the influences of culture and collective ideas.

In Part II Sociology you can combine social theory and the empirical analysis of particular societies and institutions. You can explore the social organisation, cultures and economies of different societies and the theories that have shaped our understanding of them. In the third year, you can take some interdisciplinary papers that cross the boundaries between subjects and also some papers from other disciplines.

Whatever your background, we will teach you to think independently, and to distinguish good arguments from bad ones. You will have the chance to undertake a research project and write essays and a dissertation on the questions that interest you most.

SPS students are some of the most diverse at Cambridge: within the humanities and social sciences, SPS attracts more undergraduates from abroad (especially from Europe and South-east Asia), more students from ethnic minorities, and more from state schools than the average, so that our undergraduate community is one of the most interesting in Cambridge.

Teaching

For each Tripos paper, the Faculty offers a series of lectures ranging between one and four hours a week. For some papers, we also hold classes and seminars, and for Experimental Psychology and the papers on methods of inquiry and analysis, practical demonstrations and exercises. You also have one or two encounters a week with a supervisor to discuss your work. This teaching is focused on you, and on developing your reasoning and your ideas.

We have a well-stocked library with computers. We organise occasions for students to meet each other and staff outside lectures. Some of our students writing dissertations use the summer vacation to pursue research abroad, sometimes financed by travel grants from their Colleges.

Assessment

For Part I you are assessed in four three-hour examination papers. In Part IIA, two papers are assessed by examination. Psychology, Sociology, and Psychology and Sociology students carry out a research project and write an essay on research methods. Politics students write two 5,000 word essays for one paper and take examinations for the other two. In Part IIB, Psychology students write a dissertation and students taking other subjects can choose to do so too, or submit two essays.

Tripos transfers

You can enter the SPS Tripos after taking other subjects at the end of your first or second year. Conversely, after completing Part I or Part II of the SPS Tripos, you can transfer to another Tripos, such as Law, Social Anthropology, Management Studies or History.

Careers and research opportunities

SPS combines opportunity to develop specific skills and knowledge to equip you for particular careers in psychology and research, with a broad education that can lead to careers in the media, management, the Civil Service, diplomacy, national and international non-governmental organisations, and much else beside.

The course offers an unusually diverse range of career openings. Students who follow the psychology route are eligible for admission to professional courses in clinical and educational psychology through graduate membership of the British Psychological Society. In recent years up to a third of our graduates have begun careers in finance, law and business, including consultancy. Many of our students pursue further study and research, frequently abroad.

Sociology is concerned with the study of society, culture and institutions and is one of the disciplines central to making sense of society in an era of globalisation and social change. It is a subject that adopts a wide range of methods observational, statistical, historical and comparative to investigate the nature of human social life.

Sociology is often studied as a ‘joint honours’ subject, perhaps with something like ‘criminology’, media studies, social policy or economics.

Studying for this degree will bring you into contact with new ideas and concepts, and with interesting and open-minded people from different social and cultural backgrounds. You'll have the opportunity to examine and defend your own opinions, and you'll probably find that discussion will continue long after the lecture or seminar has finished.



You will be expected to think creatively, interpreting ideas with originality, and putting forward coherent arguments, as well as gathering information from a wide range of sources.

The degree is usually designed around a series of course-units and you can be flexible in your choice of courses, structuring your studies according to your particular interests

The study of sport science offers the opportunity to explore and gain applied understanding of the workings of the human body in a sporting setting.

In this degree you will study how physical performance can be improved and how individuals can achieve their personal potential. You would normally cover subjects such as physiology, biomechanics, kinesiology, motor control and sports psychology. You will develop the ability to evaluate the demands of different sports and to conduct and interpret assessments. This will prepare you for a career in the fitness industry, as a sports scientist working with squads of elite performers to fine-tune their training, or in sports science research

The sports, fitness, health and leisure sectors of the economy are booming and provide a wide variety of careers for well-qualified graduates. Career destinations of graduates include working in the fields of health care, teaching, health and fitness industry.