University of Kent

BA (Hons) English Literature & Creative Writing

Stage 1

Compulsory modules currently include the following

• Changing Literatures
• Other Worlds: Dystopias and Futures
• Adventures in Criticism
• Creative and Critical Conversations
• Becoming a Writer

Optional modules may include the following

• Class: Narratives of Exclusion and Belonging
• American Power, American Protest

Stage 2

Compulsory modules currently include the following

• Approaching Poetry
• Writing Fiction
• Right/Write to the World: Displacement, Social Movements, Political Action

Optional modules may include the following

• Shakespeare: Before and After
• World Literatures in English
• American Modernities: US Literature 1930 to the Present
• Becoming America: From Poe to The Great Gatsby
• Encounters with the Premodern, 1350-1700
• Modernism
• Reading Victorian Literature
• The Contemporary
• When Novels Were Novel: Eighteenth-Century Literature

Year in Industry

Your placement year usually takes place between your second and final year of study, and can be either paid work or an internship. Taking a placement year increases your professional contacts and gives you the chance to gain some knowledge of the work environment, acquire new skills, and develop your confidence.

Year Abroad

Going abroad as part of your degree is an amazing experience and a chance to develop personally, academically and professionally. You experience a different culture, gain a new academic perspective, establish international contacts and enhance your employability.

You are expected to adhere to any academic progression requirements in Stages 1 and 2 to proceed to the year abroad. If the requirement is not met, you will be transferred to the equivalent three-year programme. The year abroad is assessed on a pass/fail basis and will not count towards your final degree classification.

Stage 3

Compulsory modules currently include the following

• The Project

Optional modules may include the following

• A Woman’s Tale: Writing Female Identity and Experience in Medieval Europe
• American Crime Fiction
• Animals, Humans, Writing
• Beginning to Write a Novel
• The Brontës in Context
• Centres and Edges: Modernist and Postcolonial Quest Literature
• Cross-Cultural Coming-of-Age Narratives
• The End of Empire: Post-Imperial Writing in Britain
• Foundations of Activism
• Global Capitalism and the Novel
• Innovation and Experiment in New York, 1945-2015
• Magic, Marvels and Monsters in Medieval Literature
• Marlowe vs Shakespeare
• Perceptions, Pathologies, Disorders: Reading and Writing Mental Health
• Places, Journeys, Borders
• Queer Literature
• Representing World War Two
• #ShakeRace: Shakespeare and Racial Politics
• The End of the World
• The Gothic: Origins and Exhumations
• The Love Poem: Romantic Language from Thomas Wyatt to Taylor Swift
• The New Woman: First Wave Feminism and Women’s Writing, 1880-1920
• The Unknown: Reading and Writing Creative Non-Fiction and Autofiction
• Utter Lyric
• Virginia Woolf and the Novel

You will develop crucial employability skills to succeed in any field including digital, critical thinking, communication and project management skills.

Graduates from this course go on to a variety of creative and professional roles in the following fields:

• Journalism and media
• Marketing and public relations
• Creative and cultural industries
• Writing and publishing
• Education
• Business
• Charity sector
• Law.

How you'll study

Seminars are a crucial part of your learning. We keep class sizes small, making it easier for you to develop your ideas and ensuring you have the space to express and defend them.

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Independent Study

Teaching and assessment

• You will explore literature through weekly lectures with other students on the course.
• Small group seminars allow you to develop your own ideas, with space to express and defend them.
• Writing workshops are a crucial part of finding and developing your creative voice with peer-to-peer feedback and critical analysis.
• Project-based modules allow you to produce your own work and critically explore your creative process.
• Through one-to-one supervision you will receive personalised guidance and practical advice, allowing you to test out ideas, plan ahead and reflect on your work.

Assessment methods

• Assessment is varied across the course and designed to develop the skills you’ll need in the workplace.
• Some modules give you the flexibility to choose the format for assessment. This could include essays, projects, presentations, online discussion and creation of digital content such as videos, podcasts and blogs.
• You’ll also produce portfolios of creative and critical writing, including fiction, poetry, reflective journals, critical reviews, annotated texts and essay plans.

Extracurricular opportunities

• Apply your writing and editing skills by joining the student news publication, Inquire Media.
• Experience live music, comedy, theatre, film and guest authors at Gulbenkian Arts Centre and even get involved.