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BA (Hons) Liberal Arts with German

Combine German with modules from across the arts and humanities, building on York’s vibrant history of interdisciplinary learning.

Year of entry: 2025/26

UCAS code

Y0R2

Institution code

Y50

Length

3 years full-time

Typical offer

AAA (full entry requirements)

Start date

September 2025 (semester dates)

UK (home) fees

£9,250/£9,535 (to be confirmed) per year

International and EU fees

£25,800 per year

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Follow your own academic path by learning German, working across an exciting range of subjects in the arts and humanities and building on York’s vibrant history of interdisciplinary learning.

Your degree will consist of three main strands: core interdisciplinary modules, German language modules connecting your learning with global perspectives, and open module choices for pursuing your intellectual interests.

The BA in Liberal Arts is designed to help you become a more versatile thinker and a more engaged global citizen, empowering you to find your unique academic identity and your intellectual role in addressing social and cultural concerns.

Explore the history, politics and culture that have shaped German-speaking countries around the world. You’ll develop the critical skills needed to prepare you for an international career.

If you want to extend your language learning even further, you can take extracurricular classes as part of our Languages for All programme.

66th for arts and humanities

according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023.

51st in the world

for arts and humanities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2024.

8 highly ranked schools and departments

make up the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at York.

Course content

Throughout the degree, you'll work closely with tutors to develop a bespoke individual study pathway for exploring interdisciplinary areas such as environmental humanities or digital humanities, or topics such as mental health, gender and sexuality, or race, which demand cross-disciplinary perspectives.

The degree's language strand will also broaden your view of the world and deepen your understanding of other cultures. You'll complete the BA equipped with adaptable critical and creative skills for making connections across a wide field of knowledge, in ways that will be increasingly valuable for a number of career paths and pursuits beyond the degree.        

Placements

There are opportunities to spend time in industry as part of this course.

Year 1

In your first year, you'll study four core modules. You'll then choose two options from different subject areas.

Core modules

Option modules

Archaeology
English and Related Literature
History
History of Art
Language and Linguistic Science
Music
Philosophy
Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media

Academic integrity module

In addition to the above you will also need to complete our online Academic Integrity module.

Year 2

In your second year, you'll study two core modules. You'll also choose one language option module and three others from a different subject areas.

Core modules

Option modules

Language Options
Archaeology
English and Related Literature
History
History of Art
Language and Linguistic Science
Music
Philosophy
Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
Environmental Sustainability at York (ESAY)

Year 3

In your third year, you'll carry out your dissertation project across the full year. Examples of potential dissertation topics include:

  • academic practices in YouTube video essays
  • costume design in Japanese figure skating
  • the comedy of COVID-19
  • disco on film as a symbol of social development and decline

You'll also study one core German module and one language option modules. You'll then study two other option modules from different subject areas.

Core modules

Language Options

Option modules

Archaeology
English and Related Literature
History
History of Art
Language and Linguistic Science
Music
Philosophy
Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
Environmental Sustainability at York (ESAY)

Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.

Learning by design

Every course at York has been designed to provide clear and ambitious learning outcomes. These learning outcomes give you an understanding of what you will be able to do at the end of the course. We develop each course by designing modules that grow your abilities towards the learning outcomes and help you to explain what you can offer to employers. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of key aspects of interdisciplinary study in the arts and humanities, as part of a diverse and well-rounded liberal arts education (interdisciplinary thinker)
  • Select and apply appropriate cross-disciplinary methods to a range of issues in order to gain a multifaceted understanding of complex problems (adaptable researcher)
  • Apply creative and critical thinking to solve problems arising from diverse perspectives and complex issues, drawing on knowledge from different disciplines and cultures (innovative problem solver)
  • Effectively communicate complex and well-supported ideas regarding questions and debates in different disciplines to different audiences, using a variety of written forms and media (effective communicator)
  • Collaborate with others from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to design and manage individual and collaborative projects, demonstrating leadership and negotiation skills (collaborative team worker)
  • Demonstrate expertise in specific areas of humanities scholarship, languages, and cultures by recording, reflecting upon and evaluating personal and academic practices to identify appropriate resources for ongoing learning, growth, and development (reflective practitioner)
  • Engage confidently with diverse cultural, social, and ethical contexts with an awareness and sensitivity to the relativity of norms and values across different cultures, identities, and languages (culturally competent agent)

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees

UK (home) International and EU
£9,250/£9,535 (to be confirmed) £25,800

*In November 2024, the UK Government announced that the fee cap for full-time UK (home) students may rise from £9,250 to £9,535, starting from the 2025/26 academic year. We’ll publish any updates to fees on this page once they've been confirmed.

UK (home) or international fees?

The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Fees for subsequent years

  • UK (home) fees may increase within the government fee cap in subsequent academic years. We will notify you of any increase as soon as we can.
  • International fees are subject to increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).

More information

For more information about tuition fees, any reduced fees for study abroad and work placement years, scholarships, tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and living costs see undergraduate fees and funding.

Additional costs

The fees here are the University's standard undergraduate fees for September 2024 entry. Our fees for September 2025 will be published in the Summer.

Funding

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2025/26 throughout the year.

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching Excellence Framework Gold Award

Gold-standard education

Our teaching, learning and student experience is outstanding, recognised by a Gold rating from the Office for Students in the 2023 national assessment (Teaching Excellence Framework).

Why we’re gold-rated

Teaching and assessment

You’ll study and learn with academics who are active researchers, experts in their field and have a passion for their subjects. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.

Teaching format

You'll be taught in varying methods depending on the areas within the arts and humanities that you choose to pursue. This includes lectures, small-group seminars and practical locations that are relevant to the chosen subject area.

In the UK, full-time students are expected to spend 1,200 hours a year learning. That's about 40 hours of classes and independent study each week during semesters. Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours you spend on independent study will be different to other students on your course.

Facilities

Depending on the option modules you choose to study, you'll benefit from a range of excellent facilities across departments within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

You'll also be able to study in the Humanities Research Centre, the vibrant hub of our interdisciplinary research on campus. 

Teaching location

Depending on the modules you choose to study, you may be based both on Campus West and Campus East.

 

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can use the fast and frequent bus service. Take a campus tour.

Assessment and feedback

You'll be assessed by various methods, including essays, portfolios, and team presentations. You'll also submit study plans and dissertation proposals as part of your assessments, which will help you to plan your path of study in later years. 

The option modules you choose from different disciplines will include a diverse range of assessment methods, including critical essays and more practice-based or creative formats.

A student and teacher discussing a historical manuscript
A student reading a book about philosophy

Careers and skills

A degree in liberal arts opens doors to a wide range of careers, including:

Career opportunities

  • human resources
  • marketing
  • teaching
  • communication
  • non-profit
  • government
  • creative industries

Transferable skills

  • communication
  • critical thinking
  • writing
  • time-management
  • interdisciplinary experience
  • practical skills

Entry requirements

Typical offer
A levels

AAA

Access to Higher Education Diploma 39 credits achieved from units awarded Distinction and 6 awarded Merit or higher.
BTEC National Extended Diploma D*DD
Cambridge Pre-U D3, D3, D3
European Baccalaureate 85% overall
International Baccalaureate 36 Points
T levels We will consider a range of T Level qualifications for entry. Please visit our dedicated T Levels page for a full list of accepted T Levels.
Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers Scottish Highers - AAABB

Advanced Highers - not required for entry

We may also be able to consider three Advanced Highers or a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers, where an applicant does not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone. Please contact us to discuss your qualifications.
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

Additional requirements

Ab initio or post-A level German

You can take the language part of this programme ab initio (from scratch, or with a qualification at AS level or below), or you can study on a route designed for those who have an A level in this language.

Our language programmes are designed to develop fluency. For this reason we do not normally offer places to native or near-native speakers who wish to study their own language.

Alternative offers

Meeting the following additional criteria may qualify you for an alternative offer.

Criteria Adjustment
Widening participation If you successfully complete one of the following programmes, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to two A level grades (or equivalent) below our typical offer: Black Access Programme, Next Step York, Realising Opportunities. More about widening participation.
Contextual offer ABB
EPQ We recognise the value of this qualification although it will not be included as a condition of entry. It may be taken into consideration when you receive your results.

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic) 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR 176, with a minimum of 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT 7, with a minimum of 6 in each component
Oxford Test of English Advanced 136, with a minimum of 126 in each component
Duolingo Integrated subscores: 120 overall, with a minimum of 105 in each component
GCSE/IGCSE/O level English Language (as a first or second language) Grade C / Grade 4
LanguageCert SELT B2 with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic B2 Communicator with a minimum score of 33/50 in each component
Kaplan Test of English Language 478 Main Flight score with 444 in each component
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic 61, with a minimum of 55 in each component
TOEFL 87 overall, with a minimum of 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III Merit in all components
Other English language qualifications We also accept other English Language qualifications, including various school-leaving certificates.

For more information see our undergraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

To apply to York, you will need to complete an online application via UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).

Next steps

Contact us

Get in touch if you have any questions

Liberal Arts Admissions

Learn more

Department of History of Art

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