Department of History

Prospective students

Current students

About the department

Research

Lifelong Learning

Entrance requirements

UG History workshop in Special Collections

Although we ask for an A-level in History, entrance requirements for our programmes are nevertheless flexible; in assessing potential students, we do not limit ourselves solely to a consideration of exam results. Rather, we consider applicants in the round, paying attention to their motivation, abilities, commitment to the subject, interest in and/or potential for conducting individual historical research, and educational background as well as their academic achievements. The majority of the offers we make to individual students are in the AAA-AAB range for A-levels or equivalent. A limited number of ABB offers may also be made each year. We welcome applications from students with qualifications other than A-levels. These include AS-levels, Scottish Highers, International Baccalaureate, Access, and vocational qualifications (e.g GNVQ). In addition to looking for top grades, we evaluate the quality of the candidates's reference and personal statement. Offers are made to students who are considered strong in all three of these areas combined. The popularity of our degree programmes means that we only offer places to students whom we consider to be of outstanding academic potential.

We offer the following degree programme:

Degree programmes involving a modern language are only available for History of Art, see Online Prospectus.

Applications to History

Typical total number of places: In the past this was limited to 106 places. Now that the number of 'AAB' places we offer is no longer fixed by the government, we may choose to make additional places available.
Typical number of applications: approximately 1,500
Typical Offer: AAA-AAB

Admissions Policy

We aim to recruit students of the highest academic potential from a diverse range of backgrounds. This diversity further enriches the learning experience for history undergraduates at Bristol. Our students are of all ages, and they come from a broad range of social and cultural backgrounds as well as from schools and communities throughout the United Kingdom and around the world.

Please see our Departmental Admissions Statement for further details and advice on how to apply, including an outline of what we look for in personal statements and in references.

Admission enquiries