Skip to main content

English Literature BA(Hons)

2025-26 (also available for 2024-25)

Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years inc. placement year
5 years part-time

Entry requirements

A Level - BBB-BCC

BTEC - DMM-MMM

See full entry requirements

Places available (subject to change)

30

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. Students on our English Literature BA(Hons) degree could get involved in the award-winning Huddersfield Literature Festival; past students have gained experience in festival planning, programming, curating, and stewarding. 
  2. An impressive 90% of graduates from this course are in work and/or further study 15 months after graduating (Unistats 20/21 data, UK domiciled graduates).
  3. Choose from a range of module options and undertake diverse and unique forms of coursework assessment; uniquely, there are no exams on this degree.  

If you love books or enjoy exploring new ideas, theories, and themes, our English Literature BA(Hons) degree will help indulge your passion. 

On this course, you’ll read and discuss some of literature’s greatest works. You’ll also learn to navigate digital resources and present your ideas using the latest media.  

Discover how to research, analyse, debate, and create. With a host of module options to choose from and no exams (only unique forms of coursework assessment), you can delve into the subject and consider a range of employment routes later.

Why study English Literature BA(Hons)

Each year, our students can:

  • Take an active role in events at Huddersfield Literature Festival, getting involved with everything from programming to planning.
  • Attend a variety of exciting fieldtrips; past excursions have included a visit to the Bronte parsonage and Shakespeare’s Globe in London. 
  • See their work published via GRIST Books – an in-house publishing company which champions students’ work. 

Plus, an impressive 90% of graduates from this course are in work and/or further study 15 months after graduating (Unistats 20/21 data, UK domiciled graduates).

We want you to finish your degree with the kind of practical, transferable skills needed in the real world. Critical thinking, researching, independent study, communicating and arguing persuasively are just a handful of skills you could hone, with the course potentially leading you to consider further study. Apply instead for a complementing role; you might, for example, consider marketing, journalism, publishing, or copywriting. You could also consider teaching or law as a viable career path.  Entry requirements

Course detail

Core module:

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking enables us to go beyond the surface of information, using analytical skills to dissect, question, and evaluate ideas with a detective's curiosity and a scientist's precision. This skillset is common to all disciplines in the Humanities, where the challenge lies in unravelling complexities, probing assumptions, and exploring the neglected features of human culture, language and history. The module will hone your intellectual skills in reasoning and close analysis, improve your ability to present arguments effectively, and equip you to plan and conduct an independent research project. This module will also provide support for planning your personal and career development.

Introduction to English Literature

This module introduces you to a diverse range of literary texts, representing the principal genres on which the Western literary tradition is built. It also explores how these genres have been adapted, modified, and reformed in response to historical and cultural change. It helps you situate this knowledge in relation to overarching questions about the key concepts, skills and terms used throughout the study of literature at university level.

Introduction to Creative Writing

This module aims to develop creative thinking alongside Creative Writing skills. It also aims to clarify the principles of good writing and to enable you to reflect upon and improve your own abilities. It will also cover a variety of related academic skills in organisation of research, revising drafts and preparation of the final copy.

Introduction to English Language

This module introduces students to the study of the English language. Students will explore primarily descriptive and some theoretical approaches to the English language and be introduced to a range of sub-disciplinary areas in the field of language study like phonology, phonetics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. The module focuses on the establishing core linguistic concepts relevant to the study of English and building the practical skills necessary to analyse language structure and interpret English language data. The module will familiarize students with a wide range of terminology, concepts, approaches, methods of analysis and key scholars.

Entry requirements

BBB-BCCat A Level .

120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

Merit at T Level.

DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

  • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
  • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

Applications from international students will be considered on an individual basis, and with advice from the University's International Office.

Offers will be subject to an interview, after which you will be invited to attend an Applicant Visit Day, at which you will have the opportunity to meet staff and current students. Read more about the interview process on our Interviews, auditions and portfolio pages.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.5 overall with no element lower than 6.0, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

Placements


The course offers a compulsory 5 week work placement in Year 2. If you’re studying full-time, this course also offers an optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.

Recent graduates have taken placements at Pen and Sword Books, Kirklees TV, Numberworks & Words, The Halifax Courier, Garibaldi College, Scoill Vallajeelt - Isle of Man, Bradford Police Museum and a range of primary and secondary schools including Batley Grammar School.

I have gained experience in multiple fields, such as: editorial, marketing, advertising and publishing whilst on placement at Grist.

English Literature Student

Charlotte Edwards, English Literature BA(Hons) completed placement at Grist Books

Hear from our Students

Your Career


As an English Literature graduate, you are valued for the advanced skills you have developed in critical thinking, researching, independent study, communicating and arguing persuasively. Depending on your specialism, your career choices are as varied and exciting as your degree course.

Our graduates have gone on to work in teaching, PR, social media, script writing and law. Others have opted for PGCE study and have become teachers, or continued their studies at Master's level.

*Percentage of our undergraduate students from this course go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20, UK domiciled, other activities excluded).

95% Graduates employed*

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Research excellence

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through research our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, which means you develop knowledge and skills that are current and highly relevant to industry.

86.9% of our research is ranked as world-leading or internationally excellent and our combined total of publications places us 4th in the country for research outputs (REF 2014). Our work in English specifically is recognised by the University having been listed in the 2018 QS World University Rankings by subject for 'English Language and Literature'.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

You may also be interested in...

English Literature with Creative Writing BA(Hons)

Explore diverse literature genres, fostering your voice and creativity as a writer—from contemporary poetry to Victorian novels, and more.

Find out more How to apply

Full-time

Undergraduate


English BA(Hons)

This course is ideal for students who are passionate about all aspects of English: literature, linguistics, and/or creative writing.

Find out more How to apply

Full-time

Undergraduate