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English Literature (Joint Honours) BA (Hons)

Immerse yourself in classic and contemporary literature, from Chaucer and Shakespeare to twenty-first-century fiction and film adaptations, alongside Drama, Film Studies or Journalism.

Overview

On this course, you will discover how texts work and debate literature’s role in society – both now and throughout history - while acquiring the skills to articulate your ideas with confidence and write with fluency and flair.  

You will receive excellent teaching from internationally renowned academics who are supportive and passionate about literature and produce world-leading research in areas ranging from medieval to contemporary literature, language, creative writing and digital humanities. You will also have opportunities to attend talks by visiting writers and internationally-acclaimed guest speakers such as Kate Forsyth, Carol Ann Duffy and Benjamin Zephaniah. 

Study English Literature at DMU and join a lively and welcoming community. Get involved in the student-led English society, go on theatre trips in the UK or travel abroad with  DMU Global  as part of your course. Our graduates go into a wide range of professions including media, marketing, publishing, teaching, public relations and the civil service. 

At DMU, you can study English Literature and Drama, Film Studies or Journalism as a joint honours course. You will choose 50 per cent of your options from English Literature and 50 per cent from Drama, Film Studies or Journalism. 

Key features

  • Read poetry, fiction and drama from different centuries and different continents to gain a comprehensive understanding of English literature with the flexibility to specialise in your areas of interest.
  • Choose optional modules from English Language and Creative Writing, and draw on expertise from DMU’s Centre for Adaptation Studies, which explores English and Film Studies. 
  • Learn from world-renowned academics and internationally-acclaimed guest speakers such as writers Kate Forsyth, Carol Ann Duffy and Benjamin Zephaniah.
  • Explore print and digital humanities and learn to use a hand printing press or gain practical training in HTML with options exploring the production of literary texts in manuscript, print and digital forms from DMU’s Centre for Textual Studies.
  • Gain valuable workplace skills through placement and internship opportunities. Our students have worked with the National Space Centre, the English Association, Age Concern, the Leicester Mercury, and local schools and colleges. 
  • English graduates succeed in wide-ranging careers with big names that include Penguin Random House, HomeStyle magazine, the BBC and Pan Macmillan. 
  • Broaden your horizons through DMU Global, our international experience programme. Our students have discovered Danish literature in Copenhagen, learned about the role of language in surveillance in Berlin and took part in a scavenger hunt in the New York Public Library. 

Scholarships:

DMU Global High Flyers Award
Our dedicated DMU Global High Flyers Award offers ambitious students a discount of up to £1,000 towards a DMU Global opportunity (terms and conditions apply).

*English Literature BA (Hons) was previously named English BA (Hons)

More courses like this:

Creative Writing, English Language, English Literature and History 
Drama (Joint Honours) BA (Hons)
Film Studies (Joint Honours) BA (Hons)
Journalism (Joint Honours) BA (Hons)

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: 

  • Drama and English: QWJ4
  • Film Studies and English: WQ63
  • Journalism and English: PQ53

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Find out more about available funding for international students.

 

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements 

English Language and Media
English Language and Journalism

  • 104 points from at least 2 A'levels
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
  • International Baccalaureate: 24+ Points

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

Interview required: No

English Literature and Film Studies BA (Hons)
English Literature and Journalism BA (Hons)

  • 112 points from at least 2 A'levels and including grade C or above in English Language or Literature
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM and a grade C or above in A level English Language or Literature
  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit in English Language or Literature and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

Note: For English Literature and Journalism BA (Hons) we would expect to see an interest in journalism and current affairs.

Interview required: No

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 overall is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

First year

Core modules:

  • Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare

Optional modules:

  • Introduction to the Novel
  • Poetry and Society
  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Evolving Language: An Introduction to Histories of Language

Second year

Core modules:

  • Exploration and Innovation: 14th to 18th Century Literature

Optional modules:

  • Text Technologies
  • Ways of Reading
  • Screen and Literary Adaptations of the Classics
  • Sex and Death in Romantic Writing, 1780-1830
  • Victorian Literature
  • Twentieth Century Literature
  • Millennial World Fiction
  • Writing Place
  • English Language in UK Schools
  • Introducing English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Third year

Optional modules:

  • English Literature Dissertation
  • English in the Workplace
  • medieval.com
  • Modernism and Modernity
  • Textual Studies Using Computers
  • Radical and Contemporary Adaptations 
  • Revolutionary Men, Unruly Women: Politics and Gender at the Fin de Siècle,1880-1900
  • Writing Adaptations: Theory & Practice 
  • Watching Early Modern Drama: Spectatorship and Fandom
  • The 21st Century Global Franchise: Adapting the Wizarding World 
  • Nineteenth-Century American Literature 
  • Professional Writing Skills 
  • Perception, Persuasion, Power: Communication and Control
  • Powerful Language: Introduction to Rhetoric

 

Detailed module information: Year one - Year two - Year three

Joint honours degree students will choose to study available modules from 50 per cent of one subject and 50 per cent of another.


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Overview

You will be taught by internationally-recognised academics who are friendly, approachable and experts in their fields. You will debate literature from different centuries and different continents in lectures, seminars, workshops and one-to-one tutorials. You will attend guest lectures by exciting writers and thinkers; previous speakers include Simon Armitage, Andrew Davies (screenwriter), Carol Ann Duffy, Jackie Kay, Andrew Motion and Benjamin Zephaniah. You will learn to write fluently and persuasively, to articulate complex ideas and arguments, to research topics comprehensively and to challenge existing opinions.

The first year expands your knowledge of fiction, drama and verse and develops foundational skills in research, writing and critical analysis.

The second year broadens your understanding of the development of English literature through time, with options to study literary adaptations - a field bridging English Literature and Film Studies - or to engage deeply with literary theory.

The third year allows you to choose from an exciting range of options to gain in-depth knowledge of the writers and texts that interest you. You will produce a dissertation on a topic of your choice with the support of a supervisor in one-to-one tutorials (joint honours students complete their dissertation/major project in either English Literature or their other subject). You will also have the opportunity to do a work placement through the module ‘English in the Workplace’ to boost your skills and experience and enhance your CV.

Teaching sessions might be structured around discussion, a film screening or based in a computer lab depending on your module choices. You will complete reading and research in advance and join in conversation with your tutor and your peers. Individual tutorials with module tutors are available in weekly ‘office hours’, at which you can discuss any aspect of your course or get help with assignments. You will experience varied forms of assessment, including essays, presentations, exams, blogs, journals, websites, research reports and creative options.

You will be supported by a personal tutor with access to specialist guidance in writing and study skills from the Centre for Learning and Study Support. Our postgraduate students also run a popular peer mentoring scheme providing friendly and informal advice for undergraduate students in English at DMU. We offer a range of student prizes to reward outstanding academic achievement in English Literature at all levels of the BA degree. 

Contact hours

English Literature and Drama Studies
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) and usually an exam. Your precise timetable will depend on the optional modules you choose to take, however, in your first year you will normally attend around 10 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 27 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

English Literature and Film Studies
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) and usually an exam. Your precise timetable will depend on the optional modules you choose to take, however, in your first year you will normally attend around 14 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 28 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

English Literature and Journalism
For more information visit Journalism (Joint Honours) BA (Hons)

 

Facilities and features

Placements

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
rubyna-placement

Placements

Though the  English in the Workplace module  you can put the skills developed during your English degree into practice  with  a placement.  This insight into the professional world is a valuable opportunity to  enhance and build  on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you  to progress  onto your chosen career.

Students have secured placements at public relations agencies, with the National Space Centre, the English Association, Age Concern, the Leicester Mercury, and in local schools and colleges.

Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

Students on the #DMUglobal trip to New York

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons,  helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based  activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as  Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible, DMU will continue to review government advice and if travel is permitted, we hope to offer a small number of extra-curricular opportunities in the summer of 2021.

Students on this course have recently undertaken opportunities to study overseas in Tokyo, Japan, and Vancouver Island in Canada.

English Literature graduate Lauren Marston said: “My stay in Tokyo provided me with an extremely exciting and eye-opening experience into Japanese culture and language. I have gained more self-esteem and have the confidence and aspiration to work abroad again.”

placements-img-01

Graduate careers

English Literature  graduates develop strong communication and reasoning skills with the ability to work independently and as part of a group. Our graduates go on to work in careers in a variety of areas such as archival work, the media, the civil service, marketing, journalism, the arts, library services, teaching English as a foreign language and public relations. Graduates have earned roles such as Associate Producer at the BBC, Picture Book Editor at Pan Macmillan and a Senior Press Officer in the Children's Department at Penguin Random House.

English Literature and Film Studies BA (Hons) graduate, Kieran Chauhan works at an independent production company. He had the opportunity to visit Pixar Animation Studios in San Francisco where he filmed exclusive interviews, including with head of studio Jim Morris, about Pixar’s advanced animation and storytelling techniques. Kieran said: “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve always wanted to visit Pixar but to collaborate with them on something like this – getting access to their animation studio and meeting their team – is a dream come true.”

Take your next steps

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