History and Philosophy

History and philosophy are disciplines that have been in conversation with each other for centuries, and studying them together at degree level reveals that relationship in productive ways. History traces the unfolding of human events, institutions and ideas over time, asking why things happened as they did and what the evidence tells us. Philosophy interrogates the assumptions underlying those questions, examining the nature of historical knowledge, the ethics of political action, the philosophical foundations of social institutions, and the deep structures of thought that shape how we understand the world.

At Royal Holloway and Bedford New College this three-year full-time programme combines the two disciplines so that each enriches the other. Your philosophy studies will provide a deeper understanding of fields such as politics, literature and art that inform your historical work, while history gives your philosophical inquiry a grounding in the concrete particularity of actual human experience. You will engage critically with questions fundamental to our understanding of politics and ethics, of culture and art, of our relationship to the past and the natural world.

A sandwich year gives you the opportunity for professional experience before your final year, a year abroad adds an international dimension, and work placement opportunities connect academic learning with real professional environments.

The skills developed across history and philosophy are among the most transferable in the humanities. You will read carefully, think rigorously, write with precision and construct extended arguments from complex evidence.

Graduates move into law, the civil service, journalism, publishing, education, research, the arts, management consulting and policy. Many pursue postgraduate study in history, philosophy, law or related fields. The combination of historical knowledge and philosophical rigour is valued by employers who need graduates capable of both depth and analytical flexibility.