BA in English Literature
Manchester, United Kingdom
BA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
30 Jun 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 27,800 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international students fee
Key Summary
Explore traditional English Literature alongside post-colonial literature, cultural theory, creative writing and film.
Course overview
- Study at a university ranked sixth in the UK for English language and literature (QS World University Rankings 2024).
- Explore the rich literary history and current creative scene of Manchester, recently designated UNESCO City of Literature.
- Study more than 1,000 years of English writing. Engage with literary and cultural theory, study texts in their historical contexts and reflect on different cultures and traditions.
- Gain insight into a breadth of written forms, from illuminated manuscripts to graphic novels and poetry to postmodern fiction.
A BA in English Literature will help you explore a range of texts. They date from the Anglo-Saxon era to the present day. You'll get to explore many texts and genres. They range from illuminated manuscripts to graphic novels, and from poetry to postmodern fiction. These materials come from the English-speaking world and beyond.
In your first year, you will sample a wide variety of literature. This will give you the necessary knowledge and skills for Years 2 and 3. Then, you will have the chance to choose the units that most interest you.
You will join a thriving community of students, lecturers, and writers at The University of Manchester. It is in the heart of a UNESCO City of Literature that has produced some of the world's greatest writers. The city has a thriving literature and arts scene, notably hosting major events like Manchester Literature Festival.
Special features
Placement year option
Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals and build your external networks.
Study abroad
You can apply to spend one semester studying abroad during the second year of your degree.
Exchange partners are offered in Europe through the Erasmus Exchange scheme, as well as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore via the Worldwide Exchange scheme.
Literature events
Manchester Literature Festival holds literary events across Manchester throughout the year, many in partnership with the University.
The Centre for New Writing also hosts a regular public event series, Literature Live, which brings contemporary novelists and poets to The University to read and engage in conversation.
Flexible Honours
Free choice units will allow you to explore subjects beyond your course.
In addition, Flexible Honours may allow you to study additional art, languages or cultures subjects.
Meet like-minded students
You can get to know your fellow students outside of your course by joining the English Society.
Teaching and learning
In Years 1 and 2, you will be taught mainly through lectures and seminars. Lectures provide essential knowledge and identify key questions which are then discussed further in seminars. Seminar groups usually meet once a week and numbers are kept as low as possible so that you can get to know one another and have a chance to develop and share your ideas.
In Year 3, you choose from a wide range of specialist units. You will be taught by a leading expert in the field.
A compulsory long essay in Year 3 will give you the experience of independent research and allow you to develop a personal project.
For some course units, you will join in group work and other forms of collaborative learning. You'll also have access to our virtual learning environment, Blackboard and other digital resources to support your learning.
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed using a variety of formats, including:
- written examinations;
- coursework essays;
- research reports;
- practical tests;
- learning logs;
- web contributions;
- oral presentations;
- final-year thesis.
Your second-year work counts toward 33% of your final degree result. Your third-year work accounts for the remaining 67%.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
- Reading Literature
- Mapping the Medieval
- Theory and Text
- Literature and History
- English Literature Tutorials
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
- American Literature and Social Criticism, 1900-Present
- Uncle Tom's Cabin as Global Media Event
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Chaucer: Texts, Contexts, Conflicts
- Shakespeare
- Gender, Sexuality and the Body: Theories and Histories
- Writing, Identity and Nation
- Creative Writing: Poetry
- Creative Writing: Poetry
- Medieval Metamorphoses
- Renaissance Literature
- Old English: Writing the Unreadable Past
- Satire and Sentiment: British Literature, 1660–1820
- Modernism
- Romanticism (1776 - 1832)
- Introduction to Screenwriting
- Victorian Rights: Victorian Wrongs
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
- Love American Style
- Occupy Everything
- Climate Change & Culture Wars
- American Hauntings
- James Baldwin in Context: Race, Sexuality and Activism
- Novel Democracy
- Long Essay
- Long Essay
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Culture and Conflict: Neoliberalism and Cultural Production
- Creative Writing: Poetry
- Irish Fiction Since 1990
- Radical Turns: Culture and Politics in the 1930s
- Crossing Over with Tilda Swinton: Feminist and Queer Readings of Cinema, Politics and Culture
- Apocalypse: Early Modern Imaginings
- Queer Forms: Objects and Animals in Eighteenth-Century Poetry
- Dreaming the Middle Ages
- Things that Talk: Nonhuman Voices in Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture
- Culture and Politics in the Contemporary British Novel
- British Fiction and Empire in the Twentieth Century
- Sex, Disease and the Body: 1660-1760
- Romantic Venice
- Co-operation, Competition, and Happiness: Dangerous Ideas in Victorian Britain
- Crime and Contemporary Culture
- Global Victorians
- Vital Matters: Medieval Ecologies
- Humans and other Animals in Contemporary Literature
- Women’s Writing, Citizenship, and Political Radicalism
- Contemporary South Asian Literatures
- Imaginations of the Future: People, Earth and Power
- Interdisciplinary Literature and Theology: Empathy, Ethics, Liberation
- Confronting Marginality
All our courses have your future in mind - whether that's further study or starting a career.
We design our degrees to equip you with strong critical analysis skills, the ability to articulate knowledge of concepts and theories, and the ability to work and think independently, critically, and creatively, providing you with a set of versatile skills that are highly desired by a wide range of employers.
Our award-winning careers service provides a wealth of tools, advice, development opportunities, and industry links. You'll have access to dedicated, subject-specific support throughout your studies and for up to two years after the end of your course.
Our undergraduate courses are also designed to provide an easy transition into postgraduate study, if desired.
We offer a wide range of specialist master's courses within the University and even offer fast-tracked enrolment to high-achieving undergraduate students.
Our students can take part in our Stellify programme with their degrees. They will develop professional and leadership skills. Through this, they can help their local and global communities with volunteer work.
The University of Manchester is the second most targeted university in the UK for top graduate employers (High Fliers Research, 2024).
Our graduates have gone on to work in a variety of industries, including positions with the BBC, KPMG, Deloitte, Marks and Spencer, Aviva, Accenture, and Barclays.