Course description
Our English BA offers a comprehensive overview of English literature in its various manifestations, leading you through the earliest material composed in English to contemporary international literatures.
The level of coverage offered by our English degree means that you will graduate with an unrivalled breadth of knowledge and an extensive range of skills. Flexibility is at the heart of our courses: a variety of option modules will allow you to shape your studies around your own interests, and to deepen your understanding of subjects and areas that most appeal to you. The expertise of our staff ranges from Old English to the present day, and from language to creative writing, meaning you will have access to an unrivalled range of topics and themes.
You will be given the opportunity to experience the full range and diversity of poetry, drama and prose written in English, encountering every major current and figure, from early medieval sagas to the early modern stage, and from the Romantic movement to the post-war period and beyond. You will also discover how English literature has adapted to reflect various conditions throughout its long history, and how the latest critical approaches can enable you to engage with its varied forms and content.
Our teaching staff are active researchers in a large number of different fields, from Caribbean literature to writing on medicine, and from the pre-Conquest period to the post-colonial era. Particularly strong areas of expertise include medieval literature, early modern literature, the Victorian period, the twentieth century, and creative writing.
You can also complement your literary study by taking options in related disciplines, such as American Literature, Film Studies, History, Creative Writing, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, or modern languages.
Assessment
You will be assessed by range of different methods, in order to reflect the number of different skills you will acquire, including essays, group-work projects, oral presentations, reviews, portfolios, and exams. These assessments are designed to help you build confidence in a range of areas and to provide prospective employers with evidence that you can work effectively both as an independent researcher and as a team member. Your final degree result will be based on the work you do in the second and third years of your degree.
Careers and employability
All students take part in the Talent Academy, which provides an introduction to the resources provided by our Careers Development Service and opportunities to gain work experience with leading employers.
We offer an option module on 'Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages'. This will increase your own understanding of the English language and provide practical teaching experience. It leads to the highly respected Cambridge CELTA qualification, which will allow you to teach both in this country and abroad.
We also offer an option module on 'English and Education' which provides practical teaching experience with a placement in a local school. You can also gain direct experience in the publishing industry with the module 'Diversifying Publishing and the Literature Industry'.
Graduate destinations
Our graduates have found work with companies such as:
- Allegis Group
- Aceville Publications
- The Mills Archive Trust
- PPL PRS Music Licensing
- Dennis Publishing
- Miyazaki City Board of Education
