The department has specialists in every period of English and American literature, as well as English language, with an outstanding record of world-leading research (REF 2014). There is a full programme of research seminars (at which papers are given by invited speakers and graduate students), a research methods workshops, and career development events. Several students from the department have participated as visiting scholars at Yale as part of the UCL-Yale Collaborative Partnership. Students have automatic access to an incomparable range of archives and libraries, including Senate House Library and the British Library, both of which are nearby. Please note that all doctoral students at UCL are considered to be on an MPhil programme until they ‘upgrade’ to PhD status in the second year of their studies. The English department does not offer a standalone research master's programme and nor is it possible to be admitted as a PhD student directly.

As one of the highest-ranked English departments in the UK, UCL English graduates are particularly well regarded by employers (within academia and in the wider world), with many former UCL English students going on to academic jobs in top universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, and here at UCL.