English and American Studies BA
3-4 years
Course information
Typical offer ABB
UK fee ÂŁ9,250
UCAS code QT37
International fee ÂŁ19,700
Institute code L34
Taught by English
Course description
Course description
Over the course of our English and American Studies BA you will discover the unique identities of English and American literature, and how the history and culture of each country has affected its written heritage.
English studies will begin in the Renaissance, advancing your knowledge of the period's drama and poetry, before moving through to the literature of the twenty-first century, with stops along the way in the Victorian, Romantic and Modernist periods. Your American Studies modules will introduce you to a history and literary tradition characterised by independence and growth.
Our modules offer a thorough introduction to each topic, and complement each other with a stimulating mix of English and American literature and American history and film. The English courses offer a full history of English from Shakespeare to the present day, as well as firm grounding in a variety of critical approaches, drawn from politics, psychoanalysis and philosophy. The American courses offer an exciting combination of American literature, film and history.
The breadth of the modules that we offer will take you in unexpected directions and allow you to focus on your own areas of interest – particularly in your third year when you will be able to choose from a vast range of option modules. You will have the opportunity to study vital complementary disciplines, including literature, history, film and visual culture, and critical theory.
We understand the importance of experience for both academic and personal growth; as a result, our English and American Studies degree can be taken as either a three-year programme or as a four-year programme, with a year abroad at one of our 35 partner universities in the USA or Canada (subject to academic performance in your first and second years).
Entry requirements
Entry requirements
- A/AS-levels: ABB at A-level including English (Language, Literature or combined). Two AS-levels may be considered in place of one A-level. General Studies is accepted
- EPQ with A-levels: BBB at A-level including English (Language, Literature or combined) + EPQ at grade B
- International Baccalaureate: Pass Diploma with 30 points, including 6 in HL English A or B
- Access to HE Diploma: Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Distinction. To include 12 credits at Distinction in English Level 3 Modules
- BTEC Nationals: Pass Diploma with D*DD. Plus grade B in A-level English (Language, Literature or combined))
Other official national and international qualifications considered from across the world. You can review some of the qualifications we accept on our countries page and English Language equivalencies.
If your qualification or country is not listed, please contact us for more information, including the name and result of the qualification you have studied.
Second Year Entry may be possible with suitable qualifications.
Contextual offers
The University of Leicester is committed to providing equitable opportunities for all applicants from all backgrounds. We make contextual offers to support students who may be impacted by the area they live in, their personal circumstances or who have completed one of our progression programmes. These offers are usually one or two grades lower than the standard entry requirements. To qualify for a contextual offer, you must apply for an eligible course and meet specific criteria – check if you’re eligible.
Selection Process
When considering your application, we will look for evidence that you will be able to fulfil the objectives of the course and achieve the standards required. We will take into account a range of factors including previous exam results.
Applicants are not normally interviewed: If you receive an offer you will be invited to visit the department.
English Language Requirements
IELTS 6.5 or equivalent. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability.
If you do not yet meet our requirements, our English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) offers a range of courses to help you to improve your English to the necessary standard.
International Qualifications
Find your country in this list to check equivalent qualifications, scholarships and additional requirements.
Countries listFees and funding
Fees and funding
UK Students
Starting in 2024
- £9,250 in your first year. Tuition fees are subject to government regulations and may change in future years
- Year Abroad: your fee will be £1,385 for that year
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
International Students
Starting in 2024
- £19,700 per year
- Year Abroad: £4,925, which is 25% of the full-time tuition fee
If you are resident outside the UK and the Republic of Ireland, you will need to pay a deposit of £3,000 to secure your place. This will be subtracted from your total tuition fee.
From 2022 onwards, EU nationals will pay the International fee. If you are an EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme, you may qualify for the UK fee (subject to criteria).
Find out more about scholarships and funding.
A travel scholarship of up to £400 is available in your second year to help you broaden your understanding of particular aspects of American Studies. Many students use the funding to enhance their dissertation research but it is not a compulsory part of your course.
Careers and employability
Careers and employability
The University’s Festival of Careers attracts graduate employers from across a wide variety of sectors and industries. This is the perfect opportunity for you to think about where your degree will take you and gain face-to-face time with employers.
The growth of the global market means that many jobs in the public and private sectors have an international and often a transatlantic dimension. Employers are looking for independence, creativity, maturity and a broad cultural outlook, all of which are provided through the course.
Graduate destinations
Our graduates have found work with companies such as:
- Allegis Group
- Aceville Publications
- The Mills Archive Trust
- PPL PRS Music Licensing
- Dennis Publishing
- Miyazaki City Board of Education
Rachel studied English with a year abroad and went on to become Head of English and Associate Assistant Principal at a secondary school in London.
Careers and Employability Service
Get career-ready at Leicester with guidance from our award-winning Careers and Employability Service. We're here to give you a lifetime offer of support, even after graduation. Our team of specialist careers advisers and mentors will help you every step of the way. From supporting you with CVs and interviews, to volunteering opportunities and placements, we're here to help you reach your professional goals.
Related courses
Related courses
Sustainable Development Goals
Sustainable Development Goals
We are committed to providing skills and knowledge to help prepare you tackle global challenges. We have mapped our undergraduate degrees for learning which aligns to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This degree includes learning which relates to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
- Goal 5: Gender equality
- Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Course structure
Year 1
Year 1
In Year 1 you will explore key texts in US literary and visual culture, as well as taking modules that will provide you with a foundation for the study of literature.
- Writing Matters
- The Novel Around the World (double module)
- Classic American Writing
- Reading Poetry
- American Literature in the Twenties and Thirties
- Renaissance Drama: Shakespeare and his Contemporaries (double module)
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year 2
Year 2
In your second year of study you will discover new ways of reading texts from the Renaissance through to the twenty-first century, and will further hone your interdisciplinary skills.
Core modules
Option modules
Choose one option module from:
- Romantic Literature from Blake to Shelley
- Eighteenth-Century Literature from Restoration to Revolution
Choose two option modules from:
- Advanced Creative Writing Skills
- Diversifying Publishing and the Literature Industry
- English and Arts Journalism
- English and Education
Choose one option module from:
- Modern Literature from Heart of Darkness to Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Rewriting Britain from Windrush to Now
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Year Abroad (optional)
Year Abroad (optional)
We’ll make sure you have everything you need for your future career: not just by awarding you a high quality degree, but also by helping you to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to make your mark in the world as a Citizen of Change. One way you can do this is by opting to take a Year Abroad between Years 2 and 3 of your degree.
Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to a career in the private, public or third sector - or plough your own furrow as an entrepreneur – you will find the experience invaluable.
For more information, including a list of destinations, please visit our Study Abroad website.
Please note
- A year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See the Fees and Funding tab of this page for details.
- You may be eligible for a travel grant from Student Finance England.
- Places are offered on a competitive basis, and eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2.
- Language courses, at beginners or advanced level, are available through our Languages at Leicester scheme.
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Final Year
Final Year
Core module
Option modules
Choose two or three option modules from:
- Renaissance Literature from Utopia to Paradise Lost (double module)
- Victorians: from Oliver Twist to The Picture of Dorian Gray (double module)
- Adolescence in American Fiction and Film
- Forms of Modern Poetry
Choose two option modules from:
- Queering the Renaissance
- Literatures of Protest: Reading and Political Action
- The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
- Weird Fiction/ Weird Film
- Autobiography and American Literature
- Late Victorian Gothic: Texts and Contexts
- The Other in American Fiction and Film
- The Thatcher Factor: The 1980s in Literature
- Jane Austen: The Novels, their Contexts and their Adaptations
- Tragedy
- Writing for Laughs
- Sex and Sensibility: Women, Writing, Revolution
- Life and Fate: Russian Literature from Pushkin to Grossman
- Medieval Worlds
- Reading and Writing Climate Change Fiction
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Why Leicester?
We offer excellent levels of support - our personal tutor and mentorship systems, and our teaching and assessment methods all ensure that you feel part of a vibrant academic community from the first, and fully confident as a researcher and writer throughout your time with us.
Our degrees are designed with choice in mind: our generous range of options at every level of study allows you to organise your studies around existing interests, or to explore and encounter new ones.
American Studies at Leicester has been in the top ten of at least one of the big three subject-ranking league tables every year for the past decade.
Employability is at the heart of our degree: as well as polishing your skills in analysis, research and presentation, we have bespoke vocational modules that will let you gain valuable insight into a range of future careers, from teaching to publishing, and from journalism to the creative arts.
Reading list
See the types of texts you might read, over the summer, to get a feel for the course and arrive prepared and ready to go.
View reading lists for:
Teaching and learning
Teaching
For each module you will typically have one or two lectures and a seminar each week. Alongside 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, 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 tuition across the term from a tutor with expertise in your chosen subject.
Assessment
You will be assessed by range of different methods, in order to reflect the number of different skills you will acquire. You will be assigned a combination of essays, group-work projects, oral presentations, reviews, portfolios, and exams. 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 both as an independent researcher and as a team member. 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 they be academic, financial, housing, career or social issues.
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 journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. 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. 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.
Apply now
| Course | Qualification | Duration | UCAS Code | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course English and American Studies | Qualification BA | Duration 3 years full-time | UCAS Code QT37 | Availability How to apply |
| Course English and American Studies with Year Abroad | Qualification BA | Duration 4 years full-time | UCAS Code QT37 | Availability How to apply |
Data about this course
There is such a broad range of literature and language, from Old English right through to contemporary writing.