English BA
3-4 years
Like John Keats, who compared his reading to 'travel...in the realms of gold', we recognise that exploration and discovery are at the heart of literary study. Our degree puts a wide range of English literatures at your disposal, leading you from the Middle Ages to the globalised literature of the present day; at every step, you will have freedom to organise your studies around your own interests, and to focus on areas of greatest appeal to you.
Start date:
Course information
Typical offer ABB
UK fee £9,250
UCAS code Q300
International fee £19,700
Institute code L34
Taught by English
Top 10 in the UK for English (Guardian League Table 2025)
Course description
Course description
Our English BA offers a comprehensive overview of English literature in its various manifestations, taking you through the development of literary culture in English, from its early stages to its fragmentation into multiple international literatures.
The level of coverage offered by our English degree means that you will graduate with an unrivalled breadth of knowledge and an extensive range of skills. Flexibility is at the heart of our courses: a variety of option modules will allow you to shape your studies around your own interests, while you chart the development of English from the late medieval period to the present day. The expertise of our staff ranges across a number of fields, from gothic literature to detective fiction, and from drama to creative writing, giving you access to a broad sweep of topics and themes. We also offer employability modules in teaching and publishing, allowing you to gain invaluable real-world experience in these areas.
You will experience the full range and diversity of poetry, drama and prose written in English, encountering every major current and figure, from medieval romances to the early modern stage, and from the Romantic movement to the post-war period and beyond. You will also discover how English literature has adapted to reflect various conditions throughout its long history, and how the latest critical approaches can enable you to engage with its varied forms and content.
Our teaching staff are active researchers in a large number of different fields, from Caribbean literature to writing on medicine, and from the Victorian period to the post-colonial era. Particularly strong areas of expertise include early modern literature, the Victorian period, the twentieth century, and creative writing.
You can also complement your literary study by taking options in related disciplines, such as American Literature, Film Studies, History, Creative Writing, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, or modern languages.
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 2025
- £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 2025
- £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.
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.
Careers and employability
Careers and employability
All students take part in the Talent Academy, which provides an introduction to the resources provided by our Careers Development Service and opportunities to gain work experience with leading employers.
We offer an option module on 'Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages'. This will increase your own understanding of the English language and provide practical teaching experience. It leads to the highly respected Cambridge CELTA qualification, which will allow you to teach both in this country and abroad.
We also offer an option module on 'English and Education' which provides practical teaching experience with a placement in a local school. You can also gain direct experience in the publishing industry with the module 'Diversifying Publishing and the Literature Industry'.
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
Year 1 lays the foundations of your study in literature and language. You will develop crucial skills in the four main areas of English studies, learning how to analyse poetry, prose, drama, and language; you will learn about the development of the novel and the English language itself, and encounter the Renaissance stage in all of its richness. You can also choose two option modules to complement your study of literature.
Core modules
- Reading Poetry
- Writing Matters
- The Novel Around the World (double module)
- Renaissance Drama (double module)
Option modules
Choose one option module from:
Then choose one option module from:
- American Literature in the Twenties and Thirties
- Introduction to Writing Creatively: Part 2
- Literature for Children and Young Adults
- Historical 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.
Year 2
Year 2
In Year 2 you will have the opportunity to discover literature from the medieval and early modern periods, and be able to explore the literary and theoretical movements that have shaped contemporary literature and language studies. You will also be able to choose from a generous selection of specialist option modules, to enhance your employability profile and benefit from our research expertise.
Core modules
Option modules
Choose one option module from:
- Romantic Literature from Blake to Shelley (double module)
- Eighteenth-Century Literature from Restoration to Revolution (double module)
Choose one option module from:
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
- Chaucer’s Worlds
- Diversity in Contemporary American Literature
- Using Stories
- Gothic
Choose one option module from:
- Modern Literature from Conrad to Orwell (double module)
- Rewriting Britain from Windrush to Now (double module)
Choose one option module from:
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
- Advanced Creative Writing Skills
- Diversifying Publishing and the Literature Industry
- English and Arts Journalism
- English and Education
- Your Career and Other Stories
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
Your final year of study will allow you to explore texts from the Romantic period up to the globalised writing of our contemporary world. You will also be able to write a dissertation on a research topic entirely of your own choosing, and take a range of modules led by specialists in their academic fields.
Core module
Option modules
Choose one option module from:
- Renaissance Literature from Utopia to Paradise Lost (double module)
- Victorians: from Oliver Twist to The Picture of Dorian Gray (double module)
Plus two option modules from:
- Adolescence in American Fiction and Film
- Science Fiction: Exploring Space and Time
- Forms of Modern Poetry
- Love and Death: The Novel in 19th Century Russia and France
- Writing Voices
- Classical Worlds: Translation and Reception
- Writing Prose Fiction
- The Living and the Dead in Nineteenth Century Literature and Culture
Then 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
- Medieval Worlds
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.
The David Wilson Library has extensive collections of rare books and manuscripts plus the personal archives of two local giants of 20th century writing: Joe Orton and Sue Townsend.
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.
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.
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.
Teaching and learning
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.
Apply now
Course | Qualification | Duration | UCAS Code | Availability |
---|---|---|---|---|
Course English | Qualification BA | Duration 3 years full-time | UCAS Code Q300 | Availability How to apply |
Course English with Year Abroad | Qualification BA | Duration 4 years full-time | UCAS Code Q300 | 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.