Liberal Arts (with Placement Year)

Defy traditional subject boundaries with our vibrant Liberal Arts degree

Explore countless connections across the humanities with our hands-on Liberal Arts degree. You will inspect various disciplinary approaches while covering topics like:

- revolutions and rebellions

- world religions

- digital production

- creative writing

- journalism and the media

- political communication.

Our BA Liberal Arts degree gives you a broad, interdisciplinary foundation while allowing you to specialise in the areas that excite you most. Major pathways on our BA Liberal Arts degree include:

- creative writing

- English

- film and screen media

- history

- political science

- theology.

Our liberal arts programme is also available as an accelerated two-year degree.

Real-world experience

During your Liberal Arts degree, you can engage in real-world public presentations and creative projects through mediums like:

- film and tv

- magazines

- podcasts.

Learn in the capital

We are only 30 minutes away from central London. As a BA Liberal Arts student, you’ll have access to diverse creative, cultural, historical, and political scenes. You could explore places like:

- The British Library

- Shakespeare’s Globe

- The Tate Modern

- Houses of Parliament.

We’ll also take you on exciting field trips to several cultural institutions as part of your degree, including:

- National Theatre

- Museum of London

- the Imperial War Museum.

A campus with a unique creative history

Our campus is attached to Strawberry Hill House. Here, renowned gothic writer, Horace Walpole, designed and lived to inspire his work. As a result, your degree will be a fully immersive and geographically distinct learning experience.

Expert teaching and support

You will learn from experts here to support your personal and professional growth. Our student, Davin, tells us our lecturers are “very helpful and are always available to provide useful feedback”.

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2023) placed us in the UK’s top 5 for teaching quality.

Paid work placements

You can complete a paid work placement to build your skills and network. You can work in:

- theatres

- concert halls

- museums

- heritage sites

- publishing houses

- charities.

About the Placement Year

A placement year enables you to undertake a year of experience in an organisation between your second and final year.

It will enable you to:

- apply the knowledge and skills you gain from your course in a work setting

- build your commercial awareness and insights into organisations and industries you might want to work in

- develop your professional skills through company training, networking skills and confidence in the workplace

- get some great experience for future job applications or even land a graduate job.

Support from St Mary’s every step of the way

Securing a placement can really help you develop your job search skills and the Employability Service placement and Careers Teams can support you to find and apply for available opportunities.

Please note: in the event that you cannot secure a placement you will be able to transfer onto the three year version of your degree programme.