BA (Hons) English degree • City, University of London

This course is for 2022/23 entry. Details for 2023/24 entry are also available.

What is unique about this course?

Key information

This innovative degree is designed to bring the study of literature into the twenty-first century. You will graduate with a wide range of analytical, creative, and professional skills as well as an informed and critical understanding of writing in English throughout history and around the world.

Start date

September 2022

UCAS code

Q300

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years with placement or study abroad year

Institution

City, University of London

Location

Northampton Square

Entry requirements

Below is a list of countries with information on each about which qualifications we accept.

English language requirements

If your first language is not English, we will require evidence of English language proficiency. Minimum requirements are:

IELTS:

7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each component.

English language programmes

Don’t meet the English language requirements? INTO City, University of London offers English language programmes to help prepare you for study at university. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to degree courses.

Open day

Prospectus

Course overview English BA (Hons)

At City, we treat literature as something that is alive, active, and current. You will study the written word across time and space, from Shakespeare to social media, comic books to world literatures in English.

You will be able to choose modules from our three core strands: literary analysis; creative writing; and a range of professional skills. You will develop an informed and critical understanding of literary and professional writing in English, learning how to apply it in academic, creative, and professional contexts.

This programme builds on our international reputation in creative writing, journalism and publishing. By the end of the degree, you will have a portfolio of your own creative and professional writing ready to kickstart your career. You will also have developed critical and analytical skills needed to understand how the written word shapes, and is shaped by, the world we live in.

Immerse yourself in world literature and engage with current debates in literary scholarship
Write creatively, professionally and analytically in a range of different forms, via a range of textual, digital, and visual media
Learn from a team of expert lecturers who are passionate about the written word in all its forms
Develop employability skills with our embedded professional experience in relevant industries, such as publishing and creative writing
Or choose a module-length micro-placement or even a full year on work placement – there are amazing opportunities on your doorstep in London’s exciting Knowledge Quarter
Access world-renowned library collections – including the Senate House Library, with millions of books and beautiful study spaces, and nearby British Library.

Structure

Course content

Immerse yourself in the diverse, evolving and endlessly fascinating subject of English with this three-year English BA.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Placements

Year 1

Develop a thorough grounding in the study of literature, literary forms and literary theory. Encounter a range of texts from the British Isles and beyond as you delve into the rich history of writing in English.

Year 2

Deepen your knowledge and understanding of scholarly content with a range of modules covering different authors, genres and approaches. Choose from a range of theoretical, analytical and practical modules including a Work Placement module.

Shakespeare: Authorship and Dramatic Texts (15 credits)

This module explores and questions the basis of Shakespeare’s enduring legacy by analysing the composition, performance, and publication of his plays.
Shakespeare: Adaptation, Appropriation, Circulation (15 credits)

This module explores and questions the basis of Shakespeare’s enduring legacy by analysing how his works have been reproduced, adapted, transformed, or translated over time.
Publishing in the Digital Age (15 credits)

In this module you will explore the historical and cultural development of publishing, and learn about current conditions of the global publishing industry through the exploration of key case studies from different genres and sectors of the industry, which may include fiction, non-fiction, reference, educational, and academic publishing.
Creative Writing Workshop (15 credits)

In this module you will explore the practice of creative writing in a variety of genres. Through developing your own writing portfolio, you will develop an understanding of the practices of the creative writer.
Romanticism (15 credits)

The Romantic period, commonly defined as about 1780 to 1830, was one of dramatic social, political, industrial, technological and cultural change in Britain. This module aims to give you a rich encounter with this turbulent and productive period of literature.
Literary London (15 credits)

This module explores London’s rich cultural heritage in its literary, social and historical contexts. You will be encouraged to explore and analyse how London, both as place and idea, has been represented in different genres of writing.
London after Empire: City and Society (15 credits)

This module explores the relationship between London’s physical environment and textual representations of the city, with particular emphasis on works written in or about London in the wake of the Second World War, through the era of the British Empire’s decolonisation, and up to the twenty-first century
Digital Storytelling (15 credits)

This module introduces you to the digital turn that has revolutionised the Humanities and Social Sciences in recent years. You will learn about the history of online media and become familiar with the current digital landscape.
Concerning Futures: Writing Alternative Worlds(15 credits)

This module explores how the future has been imagined in literary writing and other cultural forms. You will consider how changing social attitudes and historical contexts have shaped perceptions of the future in literature and culture, including consideration of the environment.
Humanitarian Reporting (15 credits)

In this module you will examine how we understand faraway disasters. You will look at the background to foreign reporting, the way that the western media covers the developing world and then assess how the nature of this has changed.
Sports Journalism (15 credits)

The module will investigate the changing face of sports journalism and the way that the industry has had to evolve. You will be equipped with writing and editing skills that will prove effective across a broad range of sports.
Visual Journalism (15 credits)

This module aims to provide you with the skills and knowledge to enable you to take photographs as part of your job, and the knowledge and critical ability to be able to select good photographs for publication.
Writing about Music (15 credits)
Popular Music Now! (15 credits)
Micro-Placement (15 credits)

The module seeks to enhance career exploration and will provide you with professional level experience in the form of a self-contained project with one of City’s external employer partners. Completing the Micro-Placement module at level 5 will preclude you having the option to take the Micro-Placement elective module at level 6.

Year 3

Choose from a broad selection of elective modules, which reflect current trends in literary scholarship and in applied disciplines such as journalism and publishing. Complete at least one 30-credit major project module.

Major Project: Dissertation (30 credits)

You will identify, plan, research, and write up a substantial project related to the study of English which reflects your interests. This will allow you to apply and further develop the knowledge and skills gained through the other modules.
Major Project: Professional Portfolio (30 credits)

You will identify, complete, write-up and analyse a substantial project related to the application of English within an applied or professional context.
Major Project: Creative Writing (30 credits)

You will plan, develop and complete a substantial piece of creative writing which will demonstrate your understanding of the features of successful creative writing, broadly defined, to be presented in a format appropriate to your chosen genre and readership.
Literary Journalism (15 credits)

This module will support you to read, study and write non-fiction prose in a format that is appropriate to literary journalism. With reference to communication and narrative scholarship, you will analyse examples of long-form narrative journalism.
Crossing the Margins: Contemporary Voices in Creative Writing (15 credits)

In this module you will explore, through example and practice, approaches to creative writing forms which may include prose fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and other texts situated in the contemporary literary landscape.
Publishing in the Digital Age (15 credits)

This module aims to introduce you to the ways in which digitalisation is transforming the publishing process. You will explore the historical and cultural development of publishing, and learn about current conditions of the global publishing industry.
Teaching English (15 credits)

In this module you will gain an understanding of the principles and practice of teaching English in a variety of pedagogic contexts, which may include but are not limited to ELT and EFL teaching, higher education, adult and continuing education, primary and secondary schools, and community and business settings.
Writing the Global City (15 credits)

This module explores exchanges between cultures and their relationship to ideas and debates about identity, migration and belonging, by examining writing in English from beyond the borders of modern Britain. ‘Writing’, for the purposes of this module, includes film and other non-textual media. The module invites you to acquire and apply a range of interpretive tools and perspectives, including those from recent post- colonial theory.
Literatures of Conflict (15 credits)

This module offers the opportunity to study literary and cultural representations of violence and conflict, especially as practised by or between states, communities, and groups. By studying a selection of texts and their social, cultural, and ideological contexts, you will develop a critical understanding of how conflict and violence arise, and how they are represented in literature.
Writing Women (15 credits)

This module focuses on the role women writers have played in defining and developing literary forms and traditions. You will study women’s strategies for articulating female experience and the role of women’s writing as a reflection of social reality.
Place and Space (15 credits)

This module links the study of writing to the ways people organize and understand space. You will develop an understanding of the techniques writers have used and the role ideas of place, space and landscape play in the wider culture.
Reporting Conflict (15 credits)

The module will consider ways in which politics and technology shape and influence the reporting of conflicts. It will analyse the coverage of conflicts which followed global events, focusing on journalism’s successes and failures in covering war with the aim of providing a theoretical framework for outstanding journalistic practice.
Music, Sound and the Environment (15 credits)
Romantic Aesthetics (15 credits)

This interdisciplinary module investigates the aesthetics and ideologies associated with the Romanticism movement from the late-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries in Europe. You will explore Romantic literature from the English-speaking world, France, Germany, Italy and Russia.
Micro-Placement (15 credits)

The module seeks to enhance career exploration and will provide you with professional level experience in the form of a self-contained project with one of City’s external employer partners. Completing the Micro-Placement module at level 5 will preclude you having the option to take the Micro-Placement elective module at level 6.
Industry Projects (15 credits)

Using knowledge and skills gained through your degree, you will work in small multi-disciplinary groups on real-life professional level practical projects for employers, choosing between 5 sector streams, such as policy, finance, community, business and arts and culture.
Year Placement: Integrated Professional Training (15 credits)

This module aims to consolidate the learning and development you have gained through professional level experience in the form of a substantial work placement.

Placements

You can apply to take a sandwich year working in a real-world work placement between years two and three of your degree.

Download course specification:

USENGL-BA-English-2022-23.pdf

Study abroad

The English BA (Hons) here at City has been developed to broaden your horizons. Reflecting our commitment to teaching English literature on a global scale, the department has partnerships with many international institutions. If you perform well in your first year, then you may have the opportunity to spend your third year studying abroad. We have strong links with universities such as:

Northeastern University, USA (Boston)
University of Queensland, Australia (Brisbane)
Queensland University of Technology, Australia (Brisbane)
Koc University, Turkey (Istanbul)

These partnerships and their programmes may be subject to change.

Teaching and assessment

Your modules will be delivered using a combination of:

Lectures
Practical Workshops
Interactive sessions
Small seminars
Personal tutorials

Lectures will provide you with commentary and explanation of key content areas. Most modules also offer small seminars and workshops, where you can develop your understanding of key texts and ideas through discussion and debate as well as hone your practical and professional skills. This versatility of approach will not only facilitate discussion but allow you to generate your own content, with different readerships, forms and functions in mind.

Assessment methods

Your programme assignments will be assessed via a mix of coursework and unseen written examinations to assess your knowledge of the academic subjects and key concepts.

Your coursework will be assessed through:

Essays
Professional, reflective and creative portfolios
Reading diaries
Group assignments, including projects and presentations
Live showcase events.

The assessment weighting for year one is 10%, year two is 30% and year three is 60%.

Percentage of the course assessed by coursework

The balance of assessment by coursework (assessed essays and assignments) unseen examinations and a final year project will to some extent depend on the optional modules you choose.

The approximate percentage of the course assessment, based on 2019/20 entry is as follows:

Assessment

Year 1

Written examination: 30%

Practical: 4%

Coursework: 66%

Year 2

Written examination: 10%

Coursework: 90%

Year 3

Practical: 10%

Coursework: 90%

Overall workload

Most contact hours will take the form of lectures, seminars and practical workshops, supported by a personal tutorial system.

Approximate study time based on 2019/20 entry is as follows:

Workload

Year 1

Scheduled learning: 15%

Independent learning: 85%

Year 2

Scheduled learning: 14%

Independent learning: 86%

Year 3

Scheduled learning: 14%

Independent learning: 86%

Fees and funding

Fees for year 2022/23

£9,250

Overseas/EU

£15,460

The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2022/23 academic year only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase, which is normally 2%.

Funding options

Explore up-to-date information about funding options, available financial support and typical living costs.

Fee waivers are available for this course.
Means tested support is available for 2022/23 entry.

Additional expenses

Some of our degrees may involve additional expenses which are not covered by your tuition fees. Find out more about additional expenses.

Career

You will graduate with a unique blend of intellectual and creative skills.

Our employability-focused curriculum places a strong emphasis of the practical application of your skills in a professional context, including the opportunity to take a work placement module or year.

Delivered through world-class, research-informed teaching, this course prepares you for a range of possible career options, including:

journalism
creative writing
publishing
advertising and marketing
library science
digital media
charities
English language teaching
translation.

Placement opportunities

As an English student at City, you will have the opportunity to take a second-year elective module, ‘Work Placement’. Previous students have taken their placements in a wide range of sectors, including publishing (Penguin) and teaching as well as theatre work (Chickenshed) and charity work (Oxfam books).

You may also apply to take a sandwich year between years two and three of your degree. Our careers team will help you secure a placement in the areas that meet your future ambitions, such as:

Journalism
Publishing and literary agencies
Librarianship
Digital media companies and agencies
Cultural organisations
Charities
English Language Teaching and mentoring.

How to apply

Applications for this course are now closed.

Contacting UCAS

Website: www.ucas.com

Address: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 3LZ

Telephone:

from inside the UK 0871 468 0468
from outside the UK +44 (0)871 468 0468

For callers with hearing difficulties:

from inside the UK use the Text Relay service on 18001 0871 468 0468
from outside the UK dial +44 151 494 1260 (text phone) and then ask the operator to dial 0871 468 0468.

Facilities

As an English student at City, you will have access to a wide range of facilities to support your study, including a brand new staff and student common room with a kitchen and lounge area.
Our three campus libraries consist of around 250,000 books with over 25,000 online journal titles and over 1600 study places available.
Students can book private library spaces for academic work within City Library.
As part of the University of London, City students have access to Senate House Library. Senate House offers Arts, Humanities and Social Science Special Collections and Research Collections.

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