English Language and Literature BA Honours

Course overview

Our English Language and Literature programme will develop your literary and linguistic knowledge. This joint honours degree will help you understand how each discipline complements the other.

You will learn from world-leading experts in everything from language and ageing to the Victorian novel.

You can combine a variety of different modules throughout your course. You can take a module in child language acquisition alongside one in children’s literature. You can learn about the development of English alongside heroic sagas. You can learn about dialects while also studying the poetry of Robert Burns.

On top of this, you’ll use everything you’ve learnt to undertake independent research on a topic of your choice.

At the end of your degree, you’ll have highly specialised knowledge from two disciplines. You will also have a huge range of skills, covering everything from transcription and annotation to archival research and persuasive argument.

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Your course and study experience - disclaimers and terms and conditions  
Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19.

View our Academic experience page, which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2023-24.

See our terms and conditions and student complaints information, which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.

Quality and ranking

Professional accreditation and recognition

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body.

Modules and learning

Modules

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Optional module availability
Student demand for optional modules may affect availability.

Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

You will build the foundations for the theoretical and historical study of language and literature.

You'll study half of your topics in English language and half in literature.

In your language modules, you'll be introduced to general topics on the nature of language and more specific ones, such as the investigation of regional dialects and other kinds of language variation.

Literature modules will provide you with an overview of the development of English literature through time and across cultures.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Introduction to Literary Studies 1	20
Introduction to Literary Studies II	20
The Nature of Language	20
Transformations	20
Introduction to the Structure of Language 1: Syntax and Phonology	20
Language Variation and Change: Dealing with Data	20

Your language modules give you the option to develop different aspects of your knowledge of the structure of English, the history of the English language, the social contexts in which English is used, and scientific methodologies for studying these phenomena.

In literature, you take at least one pre-19th-century topic alongside a more contemporary one. A range of topics are available, including Renaissance literature; Romantic literature; the Victorians; 20th-century British and American modernism; post-war and contemporary culture; drama; children’s fiction; postcolonial literature; film modules; and creative writing.

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Career Development for second year students	20
Phonological Theory	20
Syntactic Theory	20
Sociolinguistics	20
Renaissance Bodies	20
Writing New Worlds, 1688-1789	20
Revolutionary Britain, 1789-1832	20
Victorian Passions: Victorian Values	20
Contemporary Cultures	20
Modernisms	20
Independent Research Project	20
Early English: Texts, Patterns and Varieties	20
Creative Practice	20
Monsters, Misery & Miracles: Heroic Life in Old English Poetry	20
Speakers as Wordsmiths: the creation of new words in present-day English	20
Poetry Workshop	20
Theatre Script Workshop	20
Prose Workshop	20
Screenwriting Workshop	20
Experimental Methods in Linguistics	20
Multilingualism	20
Stagecraft in Early Drama	20
Literatures of Decolonisation	20
CHiLD: Current Hypotheses in Language Development	20
It's not what you say, it's how you say it: Prosody and intonation	20
Introduction to Second Language Acquisition	20
Overseas Exchange (Semester 1)	60
Overseas Exchange (Semester 2)	60

You only take one of the following modules if you undertake the Study Abroad exchange programme:

Overseas Exchange (Semester 1)

Overseas Exchange (Semester 2) 

At Stage 3, module options relate to your lecturers' specialisms, allowing you to explore some of the topics in language and literature studied at Stage 2 in more depth and giving you the opportunity to develop your specialist interests.

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Career Development for final year students	20
Phonological Theory	20
Syntactic Theory	20
Sociolinguistics	20
Early English: Texts, Patterns and Varieties	20
Monsters, Misery & Miracles: Heroic Life in Old English Poetry	20
Speakers as Wordsmiths: the creation of new words in present-day English	20
Experimental Methods in Linguistics	20
Multilingualism	20
It's not what you say, it's how you say it: Prosody and intonation	20
Introduction to Second Language Acquisition	20
Origins and Evolution of Language	20
Language in the City	20
Sex and Money: Economies of the Victorian Novel	20
Extended Study 1: Linguistics and English Language	20
Extended Study 2: Linguistics and English Language	20
Dissertation: Linguistics and English Language	40
Romantic Poetry: Journeys of the Imagination	20
Documentary Storytelling: Theory & Practice	20
Documentary Storytelling: Theory & Practice	20
Dissertation: Long-Form Essay	40
Independent Essay I (English Literature)	20
Independent Essay II (English Literature)	20
Enlightened Romantics: a Revolution in Feeling	20
Women on Trial: Gender, Power, and Performance in Shakespeare's England	20
The Victorian Novel: Time, Change, and the Life Course	20
American Poetry Now	20
Prose Portfolio	40
Theatre Script Portfolio	40
Poetry Portfolio	40
Screenwriting Portfolio	40
Jazz-Age Magazines	20
Dissertation: Digital Exhibition	40
Planetary Imaginations: Literature in the Time of Environmental Crisis	20
Writing Liberty in the Romantic era	20
Language and Ageing	20
Dissertation: Digital Edition	40
Fiction and the Philosophy of Terror: From the Supernatural to the Sublime	20
Reading Freud: An Introduction to the Principles of Psychoanalytic Theory	20
Comparative Syntax: English in a cross-linguistic context	20
Freedom and Imagination: US Literature 1850 – 1900	20
Deep North: Modern Literature of the North East	20
Advanced Second Language Acquisition	20
Laboratory Phonology	20
Unbinding Utopia, 1750 - 1832	20
Making Young Adult Literature	20
Dissertation: Placement & Project	40
From Input to Output: The Blackbox of Child Language Acquisition	20
Philosophy of Linguistics	20
Medieval and Early Modern Meaning: English Historical Semantics	20
War Writing: Heroic and Hostile Discourses in Medieval Literature	20
Envious Show: Wealth, Power and Ambition in Narratives of the Country House, 1550-2000	20
Unsex'd Females: Feminism in the Age of Revolution and Reaction	20
Children's Literature and Black Britain	20

Information about these graphs

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They are based on the modules chosen by our students in 2022-23.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present.
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods

You can normally expect to spend around 10 hours per week attending lectures, seminars, workshops and film screenings. You also spend around 25 hours per week on class preparation, reading, writing, and other kinds of independent research recommended by your tutor.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

• 

  Assignments – written or fieldwork

• 

  Coursework

• 

  Dissertation or research project

• 

  Essays

• 

  Examinations – practical or online

• 

  Group work

• 

  Presentations

Skills and experience

Practical experience

All our modules offer practical experience. In language and linguistics, this might take the form of data collection and analysis. In literary studies, this might include archival and editing work.

When you study English at Newcastle, you will also benefit from regular field trips organised by the School. These include visits to:

• The Wordsworth Trust (Dove Cottage)
• Lindisfarne
• various city theatres such as Northern Stage, Live Theatre, and Theatre Royal
• Seven Stories (the National Centre for Children's Books)
• Beamish Museum
• the Great North Museum

Research skills

For your independent study module at Stage 3, you can choose to complete a dissertation or extended research project, investigating a topic that you are passionate about.

You can focus your research on Literature or Language. It is also possible to carry out an interdisciplinary research project that combines both disciplines.

Employability

Employability and the engagement with the wider world go hand-in-hand in this degree.

Many of our modules, particularly in Stage 3, model their assessments on the kind of tasks you might be employed to do:

• constructing marketing briefs
• drafting website copy
• curating exhibitions 
• designing experiments
• coding websites
• analysing data
• writing clear and persuasive arguments

Beyond our modules, there are plenty of extracurricular opportunities. These range from freelance writing for Newcastle’s student newspaper to paid internships in the department.

The Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts, in particular, hires students to work on everything from event management to app design. The centre also runs workshops with professionals in the creative industries.

Opportunities

Study abroad

You can study abroad for one semester in your second year as part of this degree. In Europe we have links with:

• Ghent University, Belgium
• Leipzig University, Germany
• Groningen University, Netherlands
• Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands

We also have links with universities in other parts of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the USA, including, but not limited to:

• Monash University, Australia
• University of Sydney, Australia
• McGill University, Canada
• University of Hong Kong
• University of Vermont, USA

Find out more about Study Abroad.

Work placement

During your degree, you’ll have multiple opportunities to undertake a meaningful work placement. In your second and third years, you may choose to take the Career Development Module which offers academic credit for 50 hours of placement. You can choose to carry out your placement via part-time work, volunteering or in a local school. You will be assessed through a mixture of written work, presentations, and professional skills assessment.

In addition, you'll have the option to spend 9 to 12 months on a work placement with University support from our dedicated Careers team to help you secure your dream placement in the UK or abroad. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice, and developing your professional expertise. Previous placements have been in a range of sectors, including:

• Journalism and Broadcasting
• Sustainable Energy
• Politics
• Digital Media and Marketing
• Education
• Finance
• Museum and Heritage
• Travel and Tourism

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements.

Facilities and environment

Facilities

You'll be based in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, which is at the heart of our city-centre campus, in the Percy Building. You'll join a lively community of students, academics, writers and professionals.

You'll have access to:

• a digital media lab – for students with documentary and film-making modules
• The LingLab, a world-class research facility for linguistics
• PC clusters throughout campus
• a student-led café
• the award-winning Language Resource Centre with self-study resources for over 50 languages
• plenty of spaces to work and socialise

You will have exceptional library provision from our award-winning Library Service. It houses over one million books and a huge range of electronic resources.

Find out more about the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics

Support

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a Personal Tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues affecting your academic progress.

Peer Mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer questions you may have when starting university.

Your future

Industry links

English graduates from Newcastle University include:

• Peter Straughan (screenwriter of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
• Andy Bird (former chairman of Walt Disney International)
• Neil Astley (writer and founder of Bloodaxe publishing house)
• Teresa Graham (accountant and SME champion, awarded a CBE in 2007 and an OBE in 1997)

Students with this degree get a range of valuable skills, which they can transfer to many different sectors. Your literary training can be used in journalism, librarianship, teaching and the highly competitive fields of writing, acting, and directing. Our graduates have also gone into a variety of career areas including marketing, law, politics, and human resources.

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Careers support

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2024 entry (per year)

Qualification: BA Honours
Home students full time 3 years	Tuition fees (per year) 9250
International students full time 3 years	Tuition fees (per year) 21000

Home Fee Students

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for home fee-paying students is set by the UK government.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

International Fee Students

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our undergraduate scholarship page for more information.

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend a year on a work placement or studying abroad, you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve additional costs which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Find out more about:

• different tuition fees
• additional costs

Scholarships

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

How to apply

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through UCAS

Apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages