History degrees with AAB entry requirements for 2027
History degrees with AAB entry requirements for 2027
Applicants for 2027 entry have until 18:00 on 13 January 2027 to send their five UCAS choices, and anyone applying to Oxford or Cambridge must send their application by 18:00 on 15 October 2026. For a student whose first choices ask AAA or A*AA in History, the next tier of the list usually sits at AAB. As such, it helps to know how many good courses sit at that level, and in History there are a great many.
We checked the 2027 entry requirements on each university's own pages in September 2026. Eight universities give AAB as the typical offer for single honours History: Birmingham, Exeter, Lancaster, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and UEA. Across single and joint honours together, 97 courses at 19 universities ask AAB for a degree that includes History.
For comparison, Oxford, UCL, King's College London, Bristol, Warwick and York all ask AAA for History, while Cambridge and Durham ask A*AA. Of course, a published offer is the grade a successful applicant has to reach rather than a portrait of the field, and many applicants to the courses below are predicted higher than AAB.
Single honours History at AAB
The table lists each single honours course with its UCAS code and the offer the university describes as typical. Where a university also publishes a contextual offer, or an alternative offer that counts the Extended Project Qualification, we have included it, since either can bring the grades required down by one. Courses marked † show 2026 entry figures, because the university had not published its 2027 page when we checked.
Swipe the tables sideways to see every column.
| University | Course | Typical offer | Contextual offer | EPQ or other alternative | IB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB | ABB | ABB plus a grade B in the EPQ | 6,6,5 at Higher Level, 32 points overall |
| Durham | Historical ArchaeologyUCAS F411 | AAB | BCC | 35 to include 665 in higher level subjects | |
| Exeter | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB | BBB | 34/665 | |
| Exeter | History (Cornwall)UCAS V102 | AAB to ABB | BBB to BBC | 34/665-32/655 | |
| Exeter | History and Ancient HistoryUCAS V111 | AAB | BBB | 34/665 | |
| King's College London | Ancient HistoryUCAS Q806 | AAB | BBB | 35 points overall or an aggregate score of 17 from three Higher Levels. | |
| Lancaster | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB † | 35 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 HL subjects | ||
| Leeds | Ancient History and HistoryUCAS V110 | AAB | BBB and pass Access to Leeds | ABB plus A in a relevant EPQ | 35 points overall with 16 at Higher Level |
| Leeds | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB | BBB and pass Access to Leeds | ABB plus A in a relevant EPQ | 35 points overall with 16 at Higher Level |
| Newcastle | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB | 34 points | ||
| Nottingham | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB | One grade lower than the standard offer with an A in the EPQ or equivalent | 32 points overall or 665 in 3 Higher Level subjects | |
| Sheffield | HistoryUCAS V100 | AAB | ABB | ABB + B in a relevant EPQ | 34, 33, with B in a history-based extended essay |
| UEA | History | AAB | BBB | 33 points overall. 4 subjects at H2, 2 subjects at H3 | |
| UEA | Modern History | AAB | BBB | 33 points overall |
Exeter's History in Cornwall, taught at the Penryn campus, is the only course here with a range, running from AAB to ABB. King's College London's Ancient History and Durham's Historical Archaeology also sit at AAB. Both are a step away from a broad History degree, so they deserve a careful look at the modules before they go on a list.
Joint honours with History at AAB
Joint degrees make up most of the list. Glasgow accounts for 32 of them, because its four-year MA pairs History, Scottish History and Economic and Social History with a long run of other subjects, all within the same published range of AAB to BBB. Elsewhere the pairings are the familiar ones, with History and Politics at Birmingham, Exeter, Lancaster, Newcastle and Sheffield, and History and Philosophy at Exeter, Lancaster, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield and York.
| University | Courses | Typical offer |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | English Literature and History · History and Politics · Modern Languages and History | AAB · AAB † |
| Cardiff | English Literature and History | AAB to BBB |
| Durham | Ancient History and Archaeology | AAB |
| Exeter | English and History · History and Business · History and International Relations · History and Politics · Philosophy and History | AAB to ABB · AAB |
| Glasgow | Ancient History/Archaeology · Ancient History/Politics · Chinese/Economic & Social History · Economic & Social History · Economic & Social History with Quantitative Methods · Economic & Social History/Celtic Studies · Economic & Social History/Central & East European Studies · Economic & Social History/Economics · Economic & Social History/English Literature · Economic & Social History/French · Economic & Social History/Geography · Economic & Social History/German · Economic & Social History/International Relations · Economic & Social History/Music · Economic & Social History/Philosophy · Economic & Social History/Politics · Economic & Social History/Portuguese · Economic & Social History/Sociology · History/Archaeology · History/Business & Management · History/Central & East European Studies · History/Economic & Social History · History/Economics · History/Mathematics · History/Politics · History/Sociology · Scottish History/Archaeology · Scottish History/Central & East European Studies · Scottish History/Economic & Social History · Scottish History/Mathematics · Scottish History/Politics · Scottish History/Sociology | AAB to BBB |
| King's College London | History & Modern Languages (French, German, Portuguese or Spanish) with a year abroad | AAB |
| LSE | Economic History and Geography | AAB |
| Lancaster | Chinese Studies and History · English Literature and History · History and International Relations · History and Philosophy · History and Politics · History, Philosophy and Politics | AAB † |
| Leeds | English and History · History and Philosophy · History and Sociology · Modern Languages and History | AAB |
| Manchester | Ancient History and History · Film Studies and History · History and American Studies · History and Modern Languages | AAB |
| Newcastle | Ancient History and History · English Literature and History · Politics and History | AAB |
| Nottingham | History and Philosophy | AAB |
| SOAS | History and Law | AAB † |
| Sheffield | English and History · History and Philosophy · History and Politics | AAB |
| Southampton | Archaeology and History | AAB to ABB |
| UCL | History and Philosophy of Science · History and Politics of the Americas | AAB |
| UEA | English Literature and History | AAB |
| Warwick | Ancient History and Classical Archaeology · Ancient History and Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe · French and History · German and History · Hispanic Studies and History · History and Italian · History and Sociology | AAB |
| York | History and French (with a year abroad) · History and German (with a year abroad) · History and History of Art · History and Italian (with a year abroad) · History and Philosophy · History and Spanish (with a year abroad) | AAB |
Several joint degrees add a subject requirement to the grades. Leeds asks for an A in English for English and History, and Manchester asks for an A in History across its History joint degrees. Warwick's language pairings ask for an A in History and set a language requirement as well. Moreover, Manchester's History and Modern Languages asks AAB with French or Spanish but ABB with German or Russian, which is the kind of detail that only shows on the course page.
Courses where AAB sits within the published range
A few universities publish a range instead of a single offer. Edinburgh's History degrees run from A*A*A to AAB, the range of grades it says most applicants needed to receive an offer, and its ancient history degrees run from AAA to ABB. That being said, a student expecting AAB sits at the very bottom of the History range, which makes Edinburgh an aspirational choice rather than a back-up.
| University | Courses | Published range |
|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | Ancient History · Ancient and Medieval History · Classical Archaeology and Ancient History · French and History · German and History · History · History and Archaeology · History and Classics · History and Economics · History and History of Art · History and Scottish History | A*A*A to AAB · AAA to ABB |
| Glasgow | Economic & Social History/Psychology · History/Psychology · Scottish History/Psychology | AAA to ABB |
Reading the offers
Contextual offers vary more than typical offers do. Sheffield and Birmingham publish ABB as their contextual offer for History, Leeds asks BBB with a pass in its Access to Leeds scheme, and Exeter and UEA publish BBB. Eligibility depends on criteria each university sets for itself, usually built around the school attended and the home postcode, so they are worth reading early.
The Extended Project Qualification earns a lower offer at four of these universities. Birmingham and Sheffield accept ABB with a B in the EPQ, Leeds accepts ABB with an A in a relevant EPQ, and Nottingham makes an offer one grade lower with an A. Of course, an EPQ only helps when it is finished well, so we would treat it as a bonus rather than the plan.
Glasgow's History joint degrees at this level share a published range of AAB to BBB, and like every Scottish university Glasgow teaches them over four years. Despite the extra year, a student who would enjoy a broader first two years often finds the Scottish structure an advantage, since subjects outside History can be kept going before honours begins.
Choosing an AAB course as a back-up
A back-up only works if the student would be glad to go there, so we would choose it on the course before the grades. History degrees differ more than their titles suggest, both in the periods and regions on offer and in how heavily the final-year dissertation counts. As such, reading the module catalogue for each course on this list is an evening well spent, and our guide to reading the syllabus before you apply sets out what to look for.
For a student predicted A*AA or AAA, we would normally expect one or two of the five choices to sit at AAB, alongside the more ambitious ones. Subsequently, once offers arrive, the firm and insurance choices are made, and an AAB offer often makes the most sensible insurance for a student holding an AAA firm.
How we checked
We read the 2027 entry requirements on each university's own course pages in September 2026, and the single honours table links to the page we used for each course. Glasgow and some other universities set joint-degree offers by a published rule rather than a page per course, and in those cases we applied the rule the university states. Requirements can change during the cycle, so the course page should be the final word before you apply.
If you would like a second view on a list of five, we can go through it with you. The initial consultation lasts 30 minutes, costs nothing, and carries no obligation.
Also in this series: History degrees with ABB entry requirements for 2027.
