BA Liberal Arts
Queen Mary University of London
About this course
BA (Hons) Liberal Arts is a liberal arts degree centred on interdisciplinary study across humanities, social sciences, and languages. Core topics include Research Methods and Global & Comparative Perspective. The course culminates in an independent research project completed in the final year. The first year covers foundational modules such as Culture and Language, History and/as Fiction, and London/Culture/Performance, alongside a required language module. The second year focuses on interdisciplinary inquiry through modules including Thinking, Writing and Research across Disciplines, Digital Culture and Society, and Cultural Encounters in Theory and Practice. Optional modules across the degree span history, politics, geography, and literature. Students can also pursue further language study or choose options such as A History of the Internet and Global Shakespeare in year two, and Global Ethics or Creative Writing Prose Fiction in year three.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
Liberal Arts - BA (Hons): A-Level: Grades BBB at A-Level. IB: International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 30 points overall, including 5,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects. BTEC: See our detailed subject and grade requirements. Access HE: We consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall, with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. For all other single and joint honours language programmes, experience of learning a language other than your mother tongue, and a demonstrable aptitude for language study are required. Applications are considered on a case by case basis, and we may request an interview. Due to the high volume of applications, we do not make offers of study purely on the basis of meeting grade requirements. GCSE: Both GCSE English and Maths at grade C or 4 or an acceptable equivalent will be required. EPQ: Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification. For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq. Contextualised admissions: Our standard contextual offer: BCC at A-Level. Our enhanced contextual offer: CCC at A-Level. More information on our contextual offer criteria can be found on our contextualised admissions page . Please note that General Studies and Critical Thinking are excluded from any A-Level offer and cannot be considered.
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 25 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 80%
- Left higher education: 15%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 10%
Who gets in
Based on about 20 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 75%
- Baccalaureate: 15%
- Other qualifications: 10%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Bronze for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- A Language module (current choice is between French, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese)
- Culture and Language
- History and/as Fiction
- London/Culture/Performance
- Background to British Politics
- Brief Encounters: Around The World In Short Stories
- Cities and Regions in Transition
- Controversies of Science and Technology in the Making of the Modern World
- Critical Geography: Environment and Society
- Global Histories
- Myth, Romance, and Fairy Tale
- Love Poetry in the Middle Ages: Literary Analysis and AI-Assisted Creative Rewriting
- Planetary Emergencies: From Analysis to Action
- Screening History: Representing the Past in the Contemporary Historical Film
- Sociolinguistics: English in Use
- The Foundations of Modern Thought: Introduction to Intellectual History
- Understanding Global Cultures: Exploring the Big Questions
- Thinking, Writing and Research across Disciplines
- Digital Culture and Society OR Cultural Encounters in Theory and Practice
- A History of the Internet
- Adventures in World Literature
- Applying Linguistics in the Real World
- Art and the Climate Crisis
- British Politics
- Colonialism, Capitalism & Development
- Contemporary World Cinemas
- Cultural Geographies
- Culture, Power, Performance
- Development Geographies: From International to Global Perspectives
- Digital Film Making
- Global Shakespeare
- International Politics of the Developing World
- Language Module (current choice is between French, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese)
- Literature and Philosophy
- Medieval London: Pubs, Plague-pits and Cathedrals
- The International Politics of Security
- To Be Continued: Adaptations of Global Literary Classics
- Victorian Fictions
- Women and Gender in Medieval Islam
- Liberal Arts Independent Research Project
- Afropean Identities
- Civil Society: Democracy, Activism and Social Change
- Creative Producing
- Creative Writing Prose Fiction
- Critical Environmental Studies
- Epidemic Cities
- Film Philosophy
- Geography, Technology and Society
- Global Ethics
- Global Medical Humanities: The Human in Medicine
- Language and Health Communication
- Language Module (current choice is between French, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese)
- Medicine and Ethics in Contemporary Global Literature
- Migration and the Politics of Belonging
- More than Human Politics
- Multimodality, media and language
- Public Life of Cities
- Race and Anti-Racism in World Politics
- Shaping Identities: Language in the French-Speaking World
- Spanish Graphic Novels in the 21st Century
- The Atlantic Slave Trade: Africa, Europe, and the Americas from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries
- Writing About the Arts
Questions about this course
What grades do I need for BA Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 125 UCAS points.
Does BA Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory placement year.
How many students continue on BA Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London?
80% of students continued into their second year, and 15% left higher education.