Liberal Arts
Entry requirements
A level
Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects. Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking.
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent). Applicants may be required to meet additional subject-specific requirements for particular courses at Durham.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include Higher Level subjects at 6, 6, 6. Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects.
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
To include subject specific A-levels (or equivalent) where required. Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
To include subject specific A-levels (or equivalent) where required. Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Please see our website for requirements around specific subjects.
Scottish Higher
Departments will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. In the absence of 3 Advanced Highers, where these are not offered by the applicant’s school, offers comprising of Advanced Highers and Highers or a number of Highers may be made on a case by case basis.
At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds. We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level. Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements. Detailed entry requirements can be found on individual course entries on our courses database.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
If you’re creative and curious with an interest in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the BA in Liberal Arts could be what you’re looking for. A highly regarded degree subject with a long-standing tradition, Liberal Arts gives you the freedom to craft a programme of study that is tailored around your interests and career aspirations. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four.
This course appeals to highly qualified, self-motivated and independent-minded students who are seeking to make creative connections between their subjects. A multidisciplinary qualification that sits outside of traditional boundaries, the course offers exceptional flexibility and the opportunity to learn in some of the UK’s most prestigious Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences departments.
You can choose to focus on two subjects at a deeper level or spread your learning across a wider range of subjects. You will explore a diverse selection of contemporary worldwide issues which will develop your intellectual and critical skills. As such, you will be well placed to take up careers in fields as diverse as law, teaching, publishing and the financial services.
In the Arts and Humanities you can choose from:
Classics and Ancient History
English Literature
History
Music
Philosophy
Theology and Religious Studies
Visual Arts
Languages, currently Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish
Up to half of your modules can be chosen from subjects in the Social Sciences (subject to timetable compatibility and entry requirements):
Anthropology
Archaeology
Business
Economics
Education
Geography
International Relations
Politics
Sociology and Criminology
The degree culminates in a dissertation or research project on a relevant topic which draws together the skills developed throughout the course.
Modules
For more information regarding modules and subject choices, please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/courses/la01/#learning-1237527
Assessment methods
Your choice of subjects and modules will determine the ways in which your work is assessed, and are likely to include essays, examinations and seminar presentations. Assessment is designed to evaluate your knowledge and understanding of the modules, test your critical thinking and determine your ability to relate your learning to real-world issues.
In your final year, you will also complete a research project or dissertation – supported by one-on-one supervision – that makes up one-third of your final-year marks. At this stage of the course the content is heavily self-driven. You will be expected to think independently and take greater control of the direction of study.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Durham City
College allocation pending
Interdepartmental
What students say
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Mathematics
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Mathematics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Explore these similar courses...
This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Course location and department:
This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here