Newcastle University

Combined Honours BA Honours
UCAS Code: Y001 (3 or 4 Years)

• Course Overview
• Course Content
• Entry Requirements
• Careers
• Finance

Independent-minded individuals who enjoy the challenge of mastering more than one subject will find Combined Honours at Newcastle has plenty to offer.

You have unrivalled flexibility to choose topics from our Single Honours degrees to create a unique pathway through your chosen subjects. The result is an intellectually demanding degree that lets you develop existing expertise or explore new interests. This prepares you for careers in a wide variety of professions.

Subject choice

We have over 20 different subjects to choose from. You have the freedom to choose complementary subjects or unusual subject combinations to reflect your particular interests.

Some of the subject combinations possible through Combined Honours may already exist as a Joint Honours degree at Newcastle – check in advance in our A-Z of degrees. If your chosen subject combination exists as a Joint Honours degree, you should apply directly to that degree rather than to Combined Honours.

Flexible degree structure

The flexibility of our degree programme means you can study up to three subjects in your first year, before choosing which two subjects to take forward for the remainder of your degree. This gives you the freedom to try new subjects, without committing to your final subject choice until Stage 2. Alternatively, if you know the two subjects you want to study, you may study only those from your very first year.

In first year, you divide your time equally between the two or three subjects you have chosen. From second year onwards, you can choose how you want to combine them. Either:

• study both subjects in equal proportion (the joint route); or
• spend two thirds of your time on one subject and one third on the other (the major/minor route)

In your final year, you have the option of undertaking a dissertation that spans both of your chosen subjects.

Your degree certificate will reference the two subjects you studied in Stages 2 and 3, allowing employers to identify your areas of expertise, for example, BA Combined Honours (English Literature and French).

Quality and ranking

Combined Honors is ranked fifth nationally for overall student satisfaction in the 2012 National Student Survey.

Teaching and assessment

Though the details may vary depending on which subjects you choose, as a guide you will normally attend three or four lectures and a similar number of seminars a week. You are taught by staff from within the different subject areas that you choose to study, which means you learn from specialists in each field. Further information can be found on our undergraduate web pages about the approach to teaching and learning at Newcastle University.

You have access to a wide range of modules, which include a variety of assessment methods ranging from course work to examinations. Stages 2 and 3 students also have access to optional independent research and project-based modules. If you take a modern language you will spend a year abroad, usually between Stages 2 and 3. Teaching and assessment methods may vary from module to module, more information can be found in the individual subject module listings.

Studying a language

Combined Honours at Newcastle offers six different language subjects: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish and Latin American Studies.

• Most language subjects provide modules both for beginners and those with previous language experience
• You may study a maximum of two language subjects together in Stage 1, alongside a third subject. Only one of these languages can be at beginners’ level
• You can only study one modern language beyond Stage 1
• It is not possible to study Chinese and Japanese together

Study abroad

If you study a language beyond Stage 1, you are required to spend a year abroad. This makes your degree four years long. Most students spend their year abroad between Stages 2 and 3, but those who begin studying Chinese or Japanese at Level B (post A level or equivalent) will spend their year abroad between Stages 1 and 2. Find out more about what this year abroad involves on the Combined Honours Centre website.

Depending on your subject combination, UK and EU students who are not studying a language may also have the opportunity to study abroad through an Erasmus or non-EU exchange. This counts directly towards your final degree mark and can be completed during the normal period of your degree.

Combined Honours Centre

As a Combined Honours student you will be based in the Combined Honours Centre in the Daysh Building. There is a strong sense of community amongst our students: we run a student mentoring scheme, pairing first years with a current Combined Honours student for help and support; there is also a student common room where you can meet people informally.

You are welcome to join our active Combined Honours student society; you also have access to student societies in your chosen subjects, giving you even more opportunities to meet new people.