- UCAS course code
- VT17
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA History and American Studies
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Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2026
UCAS course code: VT17 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
- Typical A-level offer: AAB including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: ABC including specific subjects
- UK refugee/care-experienced offer: ACC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 35 points overall with 6,6,5 at HL including specific subjects
Overview
Course overview
- Combine training in History with an immersion in the interdisciplinary field of American Studies.
- Engage with a range of American literature, history, film, politics, and popular culture.
- Pursue, in parallel with American Studies, the study of diverse historical periods, themes, cultures and sub-cultures.
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Arts, Languages and Cultures
- Telephone
- +44 (0)161 509 2871
- ug-eac@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/american-studies/
- School/Faculty overview
-
See: About us
Related courses
- History BA (3 years)
- English Literature and American Studies BA (3 years)
- American Studies BA (3 years)
- American Studies BA (4 years)
Courses in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
A-level
AAB, including A in History.
Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.
We accept native language A Levels provided they are taken in the same sitting as your other subjects.
A-level contextual offer
ABC including A in History.
Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken.
Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.
Contextual offers are available for applicants who:
- live in the UK and will be under the age of 21 on 1 September of the year they will start their course; and
- live in an area of disadvantage or with low progression into higher education; and
- have attended a UK school or college for their GCSEs or A-levels (or equivalent qualifications) that has performed below the national average over multiple years.
See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.
UK refugee/care-experienced offer
ACC including A in History.
Practical skills are a crucial part of science education and therefore will be a requirement to pass the practical element of any science A Level taken. Where applicants are applying for science and related degrees, this is likely to be made explicit in the offer you will receive.
Applicants taking A Levels are normally expected to offer three full A Levels. If you’re taking more than three A Levels, these won’t be included in your offer. We will only make offers consisting of three A Levels.
UK refugee/care-experienced offers are available for applicants who:
- have been looked after in care for more than three months; or
- have been granted refugee status by the UK government or have been issued a UK visa under one of the Ukrainian schemes (Homes for Ukraine, Ukraine Family Scheme or Ukraine Extension Scheme).
See our contextual admissions page for full details and to check your eligibility.
International Baccalaureate
35 points overall. 6,6,5 in Higher Level subjects including 6 in History.
Applicants studying the International Baccalaureate Career Related Programme (IBCP) should contact the admissions team prior to applying so that their academic profile can be considered.
GCSE/IGCSE
Applicants must demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of Literacy and Numeracy, equivalent to at least Grade 6 in English Language and Grade 4 in Mathematics in GCSE/IGCSE English Language and Mathematics. GCSE/IGCSE English Literature will not be accepted in lieu of GCSE/IGCSE English Language.
Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the admissions team in your academic School/Department for clarification.
Other entry requirements
Other entry requirements exist for this course. You may view these by selecting from the list below.
Country-specific entry requirements
English language requirements
All applicants to the University (from the UK and Overseas) are required to show evidence of English Language proficiency. The minimum English Language requirement for this course is either:
GCSE/IGCSE English Language grade 6, or;
IELTS 7.0, or;
An acceptable equivalent qualification.
Please note that if you hold English as a second language IGCSE qualification, we may also require you to offer one of our acceptable equivalent English Language qualifications or achieve a higher grade in your IGCSE than the one stated above. Please contact the academic School for clarification.
If you need to improve your English language skills to meet the entry requirements for your academic course, the University Centre for Academic English (UCAE) summer pre-sessional courses can help. Check if your academic course offers the option of taking a pre-sessional course on the UCAE page .
The UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) requires that every student requiring a visa to study in the UK must show evidence of a minimum level of English Language (common European Framework (CEFR B2 level) to be granted a Student Route visa (previously known as a Tier 4 visa) to study at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
In addition, our academic Schools/Departments may require applicants to demonstrate English proficiency above the B2 level. Further information about our English Language policy, including a list of some of the English Language qualifications we accept, can be found here .
English language test validity
Fees and funding
Fees
Fees for entry in 2026 have not yet been set. For entry in 2025 the tuition fees were £9,535 per annum for home students, and are expected to increase slightly for 2026 entry.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Application and selection
How to apply
Advice to applicants
In addition to good grades in History, we wish to see evidence of extra-curricular involvement in and enthusiasm for these subjects and evidence of skills in communication, organisation, independent research, critical analysis and teamwork.
Home-schooled applicants
Non-standard educational routes
Mature students are some of our most well-equipped learners, bringing skills and attributes gained from work, family and other life experiences. Students come from a whole array of backgrounds, study every kind of course, undertake full-time and part-time learning and are motivated by career intentions as well as personal interest. There is no such thing as a typical mature student at Manchester.
The application process is the same as for other prospective undergraduates. If you require further clarification about the acceptability of the qualifications you hold please contact the academic School(s) you plan to apply to. Further information for mature students can be found here ( http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/mature-students/ )
How your application is considered
Interview requirements
We don't normally interview for this degree, except in the case of mature applicants. In considering your application, all the information on the UCAS form is taken into account, particular attention being paid to academic qualifications and predictions, to your referee's confidential report, and to your personal statement.
Returning to education
We welcome applications from mature candidates. Where appropriate, mature applicants are called for interview and/or invited to submit written work. Your qualifications to date will be considered, along with the length of time since you were last studying for a qualification - applicants need to have been in education within the last five years. If it is any longer than five years since you were last in education we may require you to take an Access Qualification and invite you along for interview.
If you are on an Access course, you will be considered individually and we will ask to see some of your recent written work.
If you have other qualifications (eg Vocational A levels, Open University) you will be considered on an individual basis and you are recommended to contact our Admissions Administrator.
Deferrals
All Deferred applications are assessed on the same basis as applications for the current year of entry.
We do ask applicants to let us know as early as possible if they are intending to defer. This helps us to adjust the number of offers we make, in order to achieve the required number of students in a given year.
Policy for applicants who resit their qualifications
The University will consider applicants who have re-sat their final examinations but we may require further information in order to make an informed academic judgment on your application.
Re-applications
Course details
Course description
BA History and American Studies will allow you to examine the history of the USA from colonisation through to the present-day.
The course will train you in the methods of American Studies and the skills of historical scholarship. You will also be given the opportunity to study aspects of history that interest you most, from ancient, medieval, modern, and economic and social history, to the history of science, technology and medicine.
The University of Manchester was the home of the first Department of American Studies in the UK, and you will be taught by one of the largest concentrations of US historians in the country.
Our areas of specialisation range widely from the European colonisation of the Caribbean in the 17th century, through to the development of US racialized slavery, America's Cold War strategy, and the history of US sport in the late 20th century.
You will be taught by political, intellectual, social, and cultural historians, gain advanced historical skills, such as those of analysis, debate, and argument, and acquire an appreciation of the historiographical debates that have shaped American and world history.
These skills will be refined further through the study of a wide corpus of materials that includes musical scores, diplomatic memoranda, and political cartoons, and through the composition of essays and a final-year dissertation.
Students on this course are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities for study abroad, especially with our partner institutions in North America and Europe. Find out more about our North American partners and European partners .
Special features
Placement year option
Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks.
Connect with like-minded students
Join the History Society, which plays a key role in building a community among History students at Manchester by organising trips (in the UK and on the continent), hosting social events, and coordinating the student magazine, The Manchester Historian .
You can also join the University of Manchester American Studies Society (UMASS), which organises social events and cultural activities with an American theme.
Teaching and learning
Teaching takes the form of tutor-led sessions, lectures and seminars.
You will spend approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions.
For every hour spent at university, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of independent study.
You will also need to study during the holiday periods.
A significant part of your study time will be spent reading, taking notes, preparing presentations and writing essays (which examine aspects of a subject in greater depth).
Classroom time is frequently supplemented by new media, such as the virtual learning environment, Blackboard.
You will also have access to other digital resources to support your learning. For some course units you'll join in group work and other forms of collaborative learning.
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed in various ways, including:
- written and oral examinations;
- coursework essays;
- research reports;
- practical tests;
- learning logs;
- web contributions.
Many course units are assessed through a mixture of techniques.
In your final year, you will write a dissertation.
Your second-year work counts toward 33% of your final degree result. Your third-year work accounts for the remaining 67%.
Course content for year 1
Start building your knowledge of US history, from its formation in the late 18th century through to the end of the Cold War.
You can also take optional units in other historical periods and contexts, alongside several units on the key themes and critical debates within the field of American Studies.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMER10002 | 20 | Mandatory | |
| AMER10211 | 20 | Mandatory | |
| AMER10501 | 20 | Mandatory | |
| AMER10021 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER10312 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE10011 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE10022 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE10101 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE10232 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE10281 | 20 | Optional | |
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Course content for year 2
Choose from units covering US history, literature, film and politics, as well as a wide selection of options from other historical periods and contexts.
You can also apply to spend some of your second year abroad in the US and Canada. The course holds more than 20 exchange partnerships with institutions across North America, including North Carolina State, University of Illinois, Rutgers University and the University of Toronto.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMER20022 | 20 | Mandatory | |
| AMER20072 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER20331 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER20481 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER21001 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER22662 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE20042 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE20052 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE20061 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE20531 | 20 | Optional | |
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Course content for year 3
Tailor your course to the historical topics and debates that most interest you.
As well as selecting from a series of advanced courses within American Studies, you will write a compulsory long essay on a subject of your choice, under the supervision of an academic tutor.
The History department offers an unrivalled variety of History course units, each of which corresponds to the specific area of research expertise of our world-leading academic staff. This provides students with the opportunity to collaborate with staff in developing fresh research projects in their respective fields and make an important contribution to knowledge in the discipline via our research-led teaching.
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMER30002 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER30162 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER30382 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER30571 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER30811 | 20 | Optional | |
| AMER33131 | 20 | Optional | |
| CAHE30881 | 20 | Optional | |
| HIST30970 | 40 | Optional | |
| HIST31052 | 20 | Optional | |
| HIST31202 | 20 | Optional | |
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What our students say
Studying a broad range of modules on the History and American Studies degree has definitely enabled me to become an effective teacher. Alongside the wide array of History modules, American Studies modules broadened my awareness of other significant cultural texts. I now find myself referencing such material in a range of lessons-allowing for an interdisciplinary style in my teaching, and hopefully more engaged students. Exposing young people in state education to ‘cultural capital,' to widen their opportunities after leaving school was the main reason that I pursued this career. My degree in History and American Studies provided the perfect training to do that.
Sam Nero, Secondary History Teacher/ History and American Studies graduate 2019
Facilities
The University of Manchester owns the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum and Tabley House, giving you unique access to outstanding cultural and historical resources.
One of only five National Research Libraries, The University of Manchester Library holds extensive, internationally renowned collections in the American literary field, including the Walt Whitman Collection and the Upton Sinclair Collection.
American history is also well-served by several major research databases dedicated to topics such as the African American Experience, the 19th century US press, and American religion.
The English and American Studies Film Library is another substantial and growing learning resource.
Learn more on the Facilities pages for History and American Studies .
Disability support
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Support Office. Email: disability@manchester.ac.uk
Careers
Career opportunities
History and American Studies is a joint honours programme that combines the breadth and training of a History degree, with the analytical skills and insights of Cultural Studies. Our graduates are held in high regard by employers, and enjoy success in a wide range of careers.
Recent graduates have taken up roles at HarperCollins, PWC, Cambridge University Press, Clifford Chance, NSPCC, JazzFM, as well as management roles in public administration, including with the City of Edmonton, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Graduates on this degree go into a range of professions including:
• teaching and academia
• law and accountancy
• heritage and museums
• Civil Service
• Management and senior administration
• media and creative project management
• marketing and public relations
• finance and tax advising
• non-profit administration and strategy
For a more detailed guide to the range of careers that recent graduates of American Studies have gone into see Our Graduates .
Regulated by the Office for Students
The University of Manchester is regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS aims to help students succeed in Higher Education by ensuring they receive excellent information and guidance, get high quality education that prepares them for the future and by protecting their interests. More information can be found at the OfS website.
You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website.