English Literature BA Honours
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 17,000 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Our English Literature BA allows you to study English literature in its wider social, cultural, and historical contexts.
You'll be able to engage with an exciting variety of texts, both traditional (such as Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens) and non-traditional (such as queer fiction, graphic novels, and new forms of digital content) alongside other kinds of cultural works such as films, museums and art. You'll become a sophisticated reader of texts in their wider cultural contexts while sharpening your research. This training in critical and creative reading is particularly suitable if you are considering English teaching, the publishing or journalism industries, or any career that involves sophisticated communication skills and an advanced level of language use. It is of particular interest to those wishing to develop their skills as a writer. Our degree is strong in promoting the transferable and cognitive skills that employers value, and that contribute to lifelong personal and professional development.
We begin the course with an examination of what literature is, what tools we use to discuss it, and how texts are related to the historical contexts from which they emerge. As you progress through the course, you'll be introduced to a wide variety of literature from Shakespeare to the Gothic, American fiction, Modernism and contemporary writing. You'll study different forms including poetry, prose, and drama, looking at texts from diverse periods and places.
We make the most of our central London location in the midst of galleries, museums, cinemas and theatres, and use the urban landscape as a resource for studying the social and theoretical issues relating to literature.
Top reasons to study with us
- Benefit from small group learning – We offer bespoke small group tutorials of around five students per tutor, which are designed to support your individual learning needs during the first two years of your degree, as well as academic skills support throughout your degree
- Engage with a variety of texts – You'll be studying both traditional and non-traditional texts alongside other cultural works such as films, museums and art
- Gain experience before graduating – you’ll have the option to do a work placement as part of this course
- Learn transferable skills – Our degree will prepare you for a variety of careers by helping you to build your communication skills, research skills and creativity in problem-solving
- Experience cultural London – Our unrivalled central London location allows us to take advantage of the wealth of cultural institutions and opportunities in London
Admissions
Curriculum
There is a range of optional modules available from within the School of Humanities and across the University in each year of study. In Year 3, you have a particularly extensive array of modules to choose from, which allows you to tailor the degree to your interests and future aspirations. In Year 3, you also complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice with one-to-one supervisory support.
Our principal mode of teaching is through seminars of 15-25 students, with some larger university lectures. A key feature of our degree is our weekly small group tutorials (about five students per tutor). These are designed to support your learning needs as you go through the first two years. The tutorials are specific to this degree and provide an important space for you to find personalised support in your studies more generally, alongside enhancing your study and employability skills.
As with all university study, much of your learning is independent, conducted beyond the classroom (individually and in groups) in the library, at home, and via our online learning system (Blackboard), and the tutorials provide essential support for independent study.
Assessment on the English Literature BA varies from traditional essays, presentations, and small analytic exercises of texts through to small research projects and ultimately the preparation and writing of your dissertation in the final year. Some modules combine coursework with a short exam.
The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Year 1
Subjects of study include:
- Keywords for Literary Studies
- Literature Tutorial
- Poetry and Politics
- Shakespeare and Performance
- What is Literature?
Year 2
Subjects of study include:
- English Literature Tutorial
- Making Memory: Culture, History and Representation
- Monsters
- Romanticisms
- The Novel
- The Victorian World
- Writing Revolutions
Placement Year
Between Years 2 and 3, you’ll have the option to undertake either a study or work placement at a partner institution abroad. The optional year abroad helps you develop cultural and intercultural awareness of the country you visit and allows you to gain experience in a different setting.
Year 3
Subjects of study include:
- Dissertation
- Fiction After 1950
- Issues in Culture
- Reading the Present
- Sexualities in Literature and Culture
- Special Topic
- The Modernist World
- Tragedy: Ancient to Modern
- Work Placement for the Humanities
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Transferable skills
On graduating, you'll have an array of important transferable skills, including:
- A sophisticated use of written and spoken English
- An advanced critical ability in the use of theoretical perspectives
- Facility and precision in the use of analytical tools
- Strong skills and initiative in collecting and organising complex materials and writing up clear, well-presented reports or fluent critical arguments
We also provide guidance in CV writing and drafting job applications, and preparing for interviews and psychometric tests, giving you a headstart in your graduate career.
Job roles
This course will prepare you for roles in a range of fields, including:
- Advertising
- Academia
- Curation
- Journalism
- Marketing and PR
- Publishing and editing
- Research
- Teaching
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:
- Apple
- Arsenal Football Club
- Bank of England
- BBC (Newsround, Holby City)
- Cancer Research
- Charles Dickens Museum
- Civil Service
- English Heritage
- Hope Not Hate
- Imperial War Museum
- Ministry of Defence
- NHS
- Penguin
- Selfridges & Co
- Tate Britain
- Taylor and Francis (publishing)
- Ted Baker
- The Guardian
- Victoria and Albert Museum