Regent's is one of the university's most consistent sponsors of the History & English joint schools degree, taking 2 students each year. Our tutors believe that History & English is one of the most exciting and distinctive of all Oxford joint school degrees, because - almost uniquely - it is genuinely interdisciplinary.

Literary and historical approaches often complement each other extremely well: texts and contexts are mutually enlightening.  This is reflected in the degree structure, with specialist papers in each year being designed to encourage you to draw on both disciplines to tackle primary source and methodological problems.

When applying are students asked to submit written work?

Yes. All candidates must submit one piece of written work for History and one piece for English.

Do I need to sit a test?

Yes, all candidates for History & English must take both the History Aptitude Test (HAT) and the English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT).

How are students in History & English taught?

You will be taught largely in tutorials (either singly or in pairs), and will be expected to attend the relevant lectures, although some of the Optional Subjects are supplemented by seminar classes instead of lectures.

How close is Regent’s to the History and English faculties and libraries?

About 10 minutes for both.

What proportion of the teaching in History & English is done by Regent’s tutors and fellows?

In your first year we ensure that all of our British History papers are taught by a trusted team of Regent’s affiliated tutors. Your Optional Subject will be organised by the History Faculty, which means that you will probably be taught by a specialist at another college. This is standard practice across most colleges. All of your English papers are taught by our in-house team.

What can a first year student expect to study?

In History you will take two papers. You will begin with a period of British History, and in the final term of the year you will take an Optional Subject.  Although this means that you will taker fewer papers than single honours historians, your workload overall will be slightly higher because of your commitments in English.

What do the students say?

“The advantage of doing History and English at a small college like Regent’s is the variety of teaching you see. Alongside the excellent tuition in college that maintains a balance between intellectual discussion and a relaxed attitude to studies, you also go to other colleges for some papers, ensuring you see a variety of different tutors who are all experts on their subject, and also get to develop degree-long relationships with Regent’s tutors.”