Liberal Arts (BA)

The BA in the Liberal Arts is a course designed to offer those students with a general interest in the Humanities a broad-based programme of study, that engages with a full breadth of Humanities subjects and disciplines rather than specialising in just one subject area.

The first two years of the degree programme are constituted by an innovative education model: two years of 'Basic Studies', which is a broad introduction to Humanities comprising modules from across the various Schools within the Faculty.

In these two years, the student makes important choices about the course content to follow: through the choice of courses from the four strands of historical inquiry, cultural engagement, practical humanities and the human mind, the students decide to an extent on which areas of Humanities they wish to focus.

From the start, you obtain a broad understanding of the Humanities, from which you gradually sharpen your profile into a specialisation in your third year. In the third year, two strands of study are chosen.

It is those two specialised strands that are studied in depth and form your Bachelor's degree. This gives students the possibility of a unique interdisciplinary study in the Humanities, creating the best correlation with the student’s professional interests and future job possibilities. Each student is free to choose the two strands which will comprise their Bachelor's degree.

Year One – Level 4 (CertHE, DipHE & BA)

• Contemporary Challenges: Making a Difference (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Cultures and Philosophies of Politics (20 credits; optional)
• Death, Burial and the Afterlife (20 credits; optional)
• Exploring the Humanities (20 credits; compulsory)
• From Egypt to the Near East: Phenomena of the Mediterranean (20 credits; optional)
• Gender, Sex, & Sexuality: Historical & Critical Perspectives (20 credits; optional)
• Humans and Other Animals (20 credits; optional)
• Learning in the Digital Era (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Morality, Ethics and Reason (20 credits; optional)
• Myths and Mythology: How Stories Shape the World (20 credits; optional)
• Power and Inequality (20 credits; optional)
• The Colonial Project and the Humanities (20 credits; optional)
• The Nature of Objects: Why Matter Matters (20 credits; optional).

Year Two – Level 5 (DipHE & BA)

• Changemakers: Building your Personal Brand for Sustainable Employment (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Changemakers: Creativity and Value Creation (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module).
• Any other 80 credits from the undergraduate portfolio of programmes (80 credits; optional).

 Year Three – Level 6 (BA)

• Independent Project (40 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module).
• Any other 80 credits from the undergraduate portfolio of programmes (80 credits; optional).

Level 3 (Foundation Year) 

On-campus

• Academic Survival Skills (20 credits; compulsory)
• Introduction to University Life (10 credits; compulsory)
• Independent Investigation (10 credits; compulsory)
• Introduction to the Humanities (10 credits; compulsory)
• Academic Writing (10 credits; compulsory)
• Understanding Literature (20 credits; optional)
• Talking to the Dead (20 credits; optional)
• Being Human (20 credits; optional)
• Understanding Democracy (20 credits; optional)

Distance Learning

• Academic Skills (20 credits; compulsory)
• The Humanities (20 credits; compulsory)
• Writing for University (20 credits; compulsory)         
• Knowledge and Belief (20 credits; compulsory)
• People across time (20 credits; compulsory)
• Language and Culture (20 credits; compulsory)

Prospective students should be aware of the following:

• Not all optional modules are offered every year
• Optional modules are delivered subject to sufficient student numbers
• Language modules are optional/compulsory/core according to linguistic ability
• There are many Level 5 and Level 6 versions of the same module. Students can only take this module once; this depends on which year the modules are offered in.

The programme is assessed in a variety of ways and will include several of the following type of assessment: essays of 1,000 to 4,000 words in length, document analysis, book/ journal reviews, short reports and reflective journals, time tests, seen and unseen exams, field journals, posters, group and individual presentations, dissertations of 10,000 words, wikis, commentaries and film evaluations.

This Framework aims to develop your professional skills and competence alongside your academic subject knowledge. You’ll study up to 40 credits per level throughout your programme from the Graduate Attributes Framework.

The Graduate Attribute modules are designed to enable you to develop, and evidence, a range of career-focused skills related to your subject area. These skills include digital competency, research and project management, as well as such personal competencies as communication, creativity, self-reflection, resilience and problem-solving. 

• Find out more about the Graduate Attributes Framework

• Dr Jeremy Smith
  
• Dr Kyle Erickson
  
• Dr Paul Wright

Grades are important; however, our offers are not solely based on academic results. We are interested in creative people that demonstrate a strong commitment to their chosen subject area and therefore we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.

To assess student suitability for their chosen course we normally arrange interviews for all applicants at which your skills, achievements and life experience will be considered as well as your qualifications.

Graduates go on to careers in a variety of fields including:

• Communication, business
• Cultural and social advocacy
• Film and media
• Fundraising, management consultancy, research
• Health, food and lifestyle
• Human, animal and land rights
• International development, aid and charity organisations
• Museums, heritage, tourism
• Publishing
• Race relations, community, social work, caring professions
• Teaching

The Faculty has estimated on the assumption that students buy new copies of the books. Students may also choose to spend money on printing drafts of work.

Students may spend up to £300 per year on books and additional related materials.

Students are expected to submit two hard copies of their final project, the estimated cost for binding these is £20.

Optional Field trip:

The faculty works to ensure that there are a range of fieldwork and field trip options available both locally and internationally. Thus students can opt to take either more expensive or less expensive placements. The Faculty subsidises these but the cost each year is dependent on airfare, location, and currency exchange rates. Below are the upper end of expected costs based on where students have currently done placements.

Fieldwork (depending on where a student decides to do fieldwork): c. £500 - £1,500

Individual trips: c. £5 - £50

History (BA)
UCAS Code: V100

Philosophy (BA)
UCAS Code: V502

Religious Studies (BA)
UCAS Code: RV60

Liberal Arts with Distance Foundation Year
UCAS Code: LAFD

Scholarships and Bursaries

Visit our Lampeter Accommodation section to find out more.

Our students do not explore all forms of human social and cultural behaviour by simply sitting and listening to how other anthropologists understand the world, they experience what is to live like them themselves.

We focus particularly on applying and engaging with theory to address social issues. We recognise that practical, first-hand engagement with ‘other’ cultures is the best way to understand the anthropological endeavour. If you choose to study with us you will be given plenty of opportunity to be an anthropologist — by applying the knowledge you learn in the classroom in the ‘real’ world.

If you would like to find out more, you can visit us on an Open Day.