Teaching

For each module you will typically have two lectures and a seminar every week, or a single long seminar, and can usually expect around nine hours of weekly contact time. However, on top of these events will be a number of additional sessions, such as workshops on research and study skills, learning groups, introduced film screenings, and scheduled personal tutor meetings. Lectures are designed to introduce you to important background information for understanding a text, theme, period or author. Weekly seminars, in which a tutor leads a small group of students in discussion, will allow you to explore a text or topic in greater depth, developing your own responses in active conversation with your tutor and peers.

For your third-year dissertation you receive one-to-one guidance across the semester from a tutor with expertise in your chosen topic.

Assessment

You will be assessed by a wide variety of different types of coursework, in order to reflect the number of different skills you will acquire, including essays, group-work projects, oral presentations, reviews, portfolios, posters, and formative exercises. These assessments are designed to help you build confidence in a range of areas and to provide prospective employers with evidence that you can work effectively as an independent researcher and as a team-member, and can communicate complex information in an accessible way. Your final degree result will be based on the work you do in the second and third years of your degree.

You will have regular meetings with your personal tutor to discuss progress in your studies. Your personal tutor will also provide a sympathetic ear for all matters of personal concern, whether academic, social or financial, or relating to housing, health or careers. Our pastoral care system is first-rate, and feedback and participation are encouraged through the Student-Staff Committee, where lecturers and student representatives from all years meet to discuss the issues that affect you.

Independent learning

When not attending lectures, seminars or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve reading primary texts and critical materials, answering prompt questions ahead of seminars, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, and preparing coursework assignments and presentations. We usually recommend around 10 hours of independent study per module per week. To help with your independent learning, you can access the Library and our social study spaces in halls of residence.

Academic support

Our Centre for Academic Achievement provides help in the following areas:

• study and exam skills
• academic writing
• presentations
• dissertations
• numerical data skills
• referencing sources

Our AccessAbility Centre offers support and practical help for students with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties, including physical, mental health or mobility difficulties, deafness, or visual impairment.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course and who are in many cases actively developing the fields in which you will be taught. PhD research students who have undertaken teacher training may also contribute to the teaching of seminars under the supervision of the module leader. Our teaching is informed by the research we do. You can learn more about our staff by visiting our staff profiles.