English Language and History BA (Hons)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

*Single Hons English Language is available for 2025 entry only

Are you interested in exploring language, becoming a writer, linguist or just in saving the world one word at a time?

Liverpool is truly one of the best locations you could think of, if you want to study language and its structures, and it’s not just thanks to its trademark accents and dialects. Whether it’s the bilingual signs of the first Chinatown in Europe or the Viking heritage of the Wirral, the region’s rich and complex history of languages and cultures interacting with each other creates a vibrant multilingual and multicultural landscape.
 
Our graduates have built a range of interesting careers in journalism, the legal profession, police, teaching and education, as well as going on to study at postgraduate level, courses such as teaching English to speakers of other languages or law conversion courses.
 
Our students have conducted their own final-year research in areas as diverse as the influence of autism on language acquisition in children, the language of AI-written prose, computer-mediated analyses of political speeches, the history of words for madness and many others.
 
Our language programme builds on the links with Liverpool’s cultural institutions and benefits from a unique blend of expertise of international scholars from different fields of linguistics. We pride ourselves on our:

- small-group teaching with a close personal connection to our students, helping them develop and pursue their own academic interests;

- focus on the development of critical, analytical and digital skills that are favoured by employers around the world;

- access to Special Collections, home to over 75,000 printed materials and complemented by an environmentally controlled vault that houses rare books and manuscripts from as early as the ninth century;

- commitment to helping students develop employability skills and plan for future careers;

- strong commitment to ethics and sustainability, exploring language as a tool that can change the world for better or for worse.

At Liverpool Hope University, you will become a linguist prepared to unravel the complexities of language, promote cross-cultural awareness, amplify unheard voices, and use language imaginatively to make our shared world more inclusive and environmentally sound.

HISTORY

The study of History helps you to understand how individuals, communities and societies have lived in the past and how those past experiences have helped to shape the present world. History helps us make sense of our world and understand what may lie ahead because the future is shaped by its history in so many ways. Our History degree gives you the opportunity to study a wide-range of historical periods from the Early Modern period to more recent contemporary historical issues and events. You will encounter important themes such as nationalism and imperialism; colonisation and decolonisation; gender and identity. Our course will encourage you to engage with, and challenge, existing views of the past: history is always controversial and contested.

Liverpool’s long-standing connections with Ireland and many other places across the globe, and its diverse traditions and cultures, make it a fascinating place to study history. Historic sites in the University’s local area, Childwall – which is mentioned in Domesday Book – form part of our programme of study visits, which also includes the city’s impressive Museum of Liverpool, International Slavery Museum and the World Museum, and sites further afield, such as the Elizabethan wonder that is Hardwick Hall.

History at Liverpool Hope is part of the supportive and friendly environment within the subject areas of History, Politics and International Relations. You will benefit from being taught by a team of recognised scholars, who have published widely in their fields and who are dedicated and experienced teachers. You will work with a wide variety of historical evidence throughout the whole of your degree programme, including rare books housed in our Special Collections.

Our course offers the option of a placement year so that you can practise your research and communications skills in a professional setting. Our close links with National Museums Liverpool also enable us to offer final-year dissertation topics linked to museum research projects, providing valuable experience of handling artefacts. Whatever you choose to work on for your dissertation, it will showcase the important skills that you have developed during your degree course that are much in demand with a wide range of employers.