From the written word to the silver screen, this joint honours course explores the middle ground between two of the worlds most important storytelling forms. This joint honours is a fascinating combination of English literature, with its centuries-old roots, and the relative modernity of the art of the moving image. Taught by our staff of internationally renowned writers and critics in a friendly, supportive and intellectually challenging environment, youll study literature in all its major forms – prose, poetry, drama – from the Renaissance onwards. The film modules are grounded in close textual interpretation and the analysis of style, genre, historical context and the politics of representation. As such, youll focus on key film genres, key directors, numerous film movements and national cinemas. With the sheer power, reach, longevity and endurance of American filmmaking over the last 120 years, much of the study of film focuses on ‘Hollywood style cinema, but youll also look at less commercial film-making from around the globe, challenging and pushing the medium to its limits. You will have opportunities to study abroad and, if you wish, to do your third year as a placement - in Britain or abroad. And in your final year, you'll get a chance to spread your wings with a substantial piece of project work that presents a thesis, building on the skills you've been developing over previous years. Our lively department is staffed by internationally renowned writers and critics, and there's a strong research culture, creating a learning environment that is both supportive and intellectually challenging. Manchester is a creative hub, with one of the biggest creative sectors in the UK, and along with our extensive cultural links both in the city and further afield, youll be ideally placed to begin building a creative network for the future. This course has a Foundation Year available.

Career prospects

Graduates enter a wide range of careers, especially media work and teaching, where their transferable skills are particularly relevant. Recent graduates have become school and college teachers and have gained employment in fields as diverse as banking, finance, manufacturing and retail.

There is also the opportunity to engage in further study and professional training, for example some of our graduates go on to study MA English Studies at postgraduate level where you have the opportunity to build your own bespoke masters experience, reflecting your interests in the further study of English. Alongside this we offer MA Publishing, delivered in collaboration with industry professionals, and many of our students go on to study MA/MFA Creative Writing at our Manchester Writing School, one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the UK. You'll have the opportunity to build on your knowledge and specialise in Scriptwriting (for stage, screen or radio). You can also specialise in Novel (including Short Fiction), Poetry, Writing for Children & Young Adults or Creative Non-Fiction.