Department of English Studies | BA English Literature (with Placement Year) 48 months Undergraduate Program By Durham University |Top Universities

Department of English Studies | BA English Literature (with Placement Year)

Subject Ranking

# 29QS Subject Rankings

Program Duration

48 monthsProgram duration

Scholarship

YesScholarships

Main Subject Area

English Language and LiteratureMain Subject Area

Program overview

Main Subject

English Language and Literature

Degree

BA

Study Level

Undergraduate

Study Mode

On Campus

BA English Literature (with Placement Year) at Durham University

[email protected]


If you have a love of reading and a sense of intellectual adventure, English Literature could be the perfect degree for you.


Not only does English Studies provide a thorough grounding in the ‘great tradition’ of English Literature – from Chaucer and Shakespeare through to Plays, Poems and Novels written in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries and in Literary Theory, but it also offers a wide range of imaginative and research-led modules.


The comprehensive syllabus combines traditional areas of literary study with new and developing areas of the discipline. It aims to develop your conceptual abilities and analytical skills by exposing you to a variety of literary-critical approaches. This will promote and develop the clarity and persuasiveness of your argument and expression, enabling you to develop, to a high degree of competence, a range of skills which are both subject-specific and transferable.


You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree; this would increase the course from three years to four.


The first year will focus on advancing skills of critical analysis and argument you have already acquired at in your education to date. This includes close reading and analysis of texts, such as the Awareness of Formal & Aesthetic Dimensions of Literature and of the Affective Power of Language, alongside the introduction of more advanced concepts and theories relating to literature.


In the second year, you will build on the knowledge and skills developed in your first year by broadening the range of literary texts and periods with which you will engage. You will study a substantial number of authors, topics and texts and gain awareness of the range and variety of approaches to literary study.


The final year includes a dissertation on a subject of your choice related to English Literature. The dissertation involves guided research on a self-formulated question, the gathering and processing of relevant information and materials, and results in a work of sustained argumentative and analytic power.


Academically, we inspire our students to develop as analytic, sensitive and creative readers and writers, yet an English Studies degree is worth so much more. We aim to transform students into independent thinkers with the ability to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. It’s this skill set, coupled with effective organisational and research skills, that makes them so highly valued across a range of work environments. Outside of the classroom, we offer regular lectures and workshops that focus on personal development and key employability skills.


Graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and sectors, including roles in arts and theatre management, broadcasting, publishing and journalism, technical writing, business, marketing and advertising, teaching, higher education, law, the third sector and government.


Durham University: Inspiring the Extraordinary

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world.

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other!

Program overview

Main Subject

English Language and Literature

Degree

BA

Study Level

Undergraduate

Study Mode

On Campus

BA English Literature (with Placement Year) at Durham University

[email protected]


If you have a love of reading and a sense of intellectual adventure, English Literature could be the perfect degree for you.


Not only does English Studies provide a thorough grounding in the ‘great tradition’ of English Literature – from Chaucer and Shakespeare through to Plays, Poems and Novels written in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries and in Literary Theory, but it also offers a wide range of imaginative and research-led modules.


The comprehensive syllabus combines traditional areas of literary study with new and developing areas of the discipline. It aims to develop your conceptual abilities and analytical skills by exposing you to a variety of literary-critical approaches. This will promote and develop the clarity and persuasiveness of your argument and expression, enabling you to develop, to a high degree of competence, a range of skills which are both subject-specific and transferable.


You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree; this would increase the course from three years to four.


The first year will focus on advancing skills of critical analysis and argument you have already acquired at in your education to date. This includes close reading and analysis of texts, such as the Awareness of Formal & Aesthetic Dimensions of Literature and of the Affective Power of Language, alongside the introduction of more advanced concepts and theories relating to literature.


In the second year, you will build on the knowledge and skills developed in your first year by broadening the range of literary texts and periods with which you will engage. You will study a substantial number of authors, topics and texts and gain awareness of the range and variety of approaches to literary study.


The final year includes a dissertation on a subject of your choice related to English Literature. The dissertation involves guided research on a self-formulated question, the gathering and processing of relevant information and materials, and results in a work of sustained argumentative and analytic power.


Academically, we inspire our students to develop as analytic, sensitive and creative readers and writers, yet an English Studies degree is worth so much more. We aim to transform students into independent thinkers with the ability to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. It’s this skill set, coupled with effective organisational and research skills, that makes them so highly valued across a range of work environments. Outside of the classroom, we offer regular lectures and workshops that focus on personal development and key employability skills.


Graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and sectors, including roles in arts and theatre management, broadcasting, publishing and journalism, technical writing, business, marketing and advertising, teaching, higher education, law, the third sector and government.


Durham University: Inspiring the Extraordinary

We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things in the world.

A globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other!

Admission requirements

4 Years
Sep-2024

Tuition fee and scholarships

Domestic Students

9,250 GBP
-

International Students

-
-

One of the important factors when considering a master's degree is the cost of study. Luckily, there are many options available to help students fund their master's programme. Download your copy of the Scholarship Guide to find out which scholarships from around the world could be available to you, and how to apply for them.

In this guide you will find:
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More programs from the university

Durham University is a globally outstanding centre of teaching, learning and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, in a unique and historic setting. Durham is a university like no other!

We conduct innovative and impactful research to transform lives and make a difference globally and locally: research to empower and inspire.

We offer a broad range of courses. Our degree programmes are informed by research undertaken by our high-calibre staff in partnership with policymakers, industry, the public sector and communities globally.
 
Alongside the outstanding education we offer to students, we believe that participating in every aspect of university life is fundamental. The deep affinities created by each of our 17 Colleges ensure that we always have a sense of community at the heart of all we do.

Durham's four Faculties offer a host of Undergraduate courses covering a variety of subject disciplines:

  • Durham University Business School
  • Faculty of Arts & Humanities
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Social Sciences & Health

Opportunities for multidisciplinary studies are also available through the Department of Natural Sciences, Department of Liberal Arts or the Department of Combined Honours in Social Sciences.

Please visit the Durham University website (www.durham.ac.uk) for the full available suite of Undergraduate programmes.

Durham University: Inspiring the Extraordinary