Arts and Humanities Programmes

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities consists of seven departments and schools: the Department of Classics and Ancient History, the Department of English Studies, the Department of History, the School of Modern Language and Cultures (incorporating the Departments of Arabic, French, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian, and Russian, together with the Centre for Foreign Language Study), the Department of Music, the Department of Philosophy, and the Department of Theology and Religion. It is home to a number of research centres (including the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies), the English Language Centre, and Combined Honours programmes in Arts and Social Sciences.

The Faculty includes almost two hundred members of academic staff, who research, supervise the work of postgraduate research students, and deliver postgraduate and undergraduate programmes.

There are over five hundred postgraduate students in the Faculty, studying for an MA or a PhD, and approximately two and a half thousand undergraduates, studying for a BA through one of the Single Honours, Joint Honours, and Combined Honours programmes for which the Faculty is responsible.

The Faculty's departments and schools continue to play a critical role in consolidating the University's international reputation. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, much of the Faculty's research was identified to be ‘world-leading' and ‘internationally excellent', and ranked on the basis of grade point average several departments were recognised as among the very best in the UK — particularly Theology and Religion (in first place), Modern Languages and Cultures (in which German was in second place, and Spanish in fifth place), and Classics and Ancient History (in fourth place).

In the latest edition of the Times Good University Guide, almost every department is ranked in the top five in the UK, and several departments consistently feature in the top three in this and other subject rankings.

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities aims to:

• produce research of international significance, created through individual projects and the work of groups of staff collaborating with one another in specific research groups, research centres, and research institutes, within and beyond the Faculty;

• provide opportunities for PhD students to work closely with staff who are engaged in leading-edge research in their disciplines;

• deliver, for taught postgraduates, a range of single-discipline and interdisciplinary MA programmes, designed to provide optimal training for research at PhD level;

• offer, for undergraduates, a broad range of Single, Joint, and Combined Honours programmes, providing a first class education in one or more disciplines, and the knowledge and skills required for graduate employment, professional training, or postgraduate degrees.