English Literature BA Honours

Course overview

Our English Literature BA degree offers a constantly evolving, research-led course. You will have the opportunity to study works from the early medieval period to the present day.

You will learn about everything from literature and climate change, to queerness in the Renaissance; and from postcolonial writing to children’s fiction, and theatre history. We will invite you to think about the impact of literature on the world and your own relation to it. Our world-leading researchers and internationally acclaimed writers will help you with this.

This degree will cover works of poetry, prose, drama, and film in English. You will get the practical and theoretical skills needed to analyse these works and produce a persuasive argument.

You’ll then put these skills to work. You will produce essays, creative responses, and other forms of public-facing work, like websites, posters, podcasts, and exhibitions.

At the end of the degree, you’ll have a broad knowledge of all English literature. Our optional modules will give you specialised and cutting-edge insight into the topics that interest you the most.

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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.

This year is all about expanding your skills and knowledge. Our modules provide an overview of English literary history from the medieval period to the present. You will also learn how writers from different periods and different cultures have reacted to each other.

You will analyse poetry, plays, prose and film. You’ll learn new critical and theoretical models to support such analysis.

You will have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge beyond English literature. Students on this degree can take modules from other humanities disciplines, including:

• languages
• history
• philosophy
• sociology
• media
• education

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Introduction to Literary Studies 1	20
Introduction to Literary Studies II	20
Transformations	20
Doing Criticism	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Introduction to Creative Writing	20
Drama, Theatre & Performance	20

The second year is about cultivating specialised knowledge and independent research skills.

Our modules here offer an in-depth study of specific literary periods. You will take at least two pre-19th-century modules and at least two focusing on modern or contemporary topics. Whether you’re studying Victorian, 18th-century, modernist, or contemporary literature, you’ll be drawing on recent criticism and research to do so.

Your independent research will grow out of your in-depth period studies. The independent project will teach you how to research, plan and write an essay on a topic of your choice. This will prepare you for your third-year independent work.

Modules

Compulsory Modules	Credits
Independent Research Project	20

Optional Modules	Credits
Career Development for second year students	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
Creative Practice	20
Monsters, Misery & Miracles: Heroic Life in Old English Poetry	20
Poetry Workshop	20
Theatre Script Workshop	20
Prose Workshop	20
Screenwriting Workshop	20
Stagecraft in Early Drama	20
Literatures of Decolonisation	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) 

You will choose at least three specialist options closely linked to your lecturers’ research expertise. You will take modules that cover both pre-19th-century and post-19th-century topics.

Current options include:

• the Victorian novel
• children’s literature
• Romantic poetry
• Caribbean literature and film
• Medieval literature
• American literature
• Contemporary Documentary.

We also offer work placements in the cultural industries.

In our capstone, ‘dissertation’ modules you will complete a final-year research project. This will draw on everything you have learnt during your degree and will be on a topic you are passionate about.

Modules

Optional Modules	Credits
Career Development for final year students	20
Sex and Money: Economies of the Victorian Novel	20
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
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
Freedom and Imagination: US Literature 1850 – 1900	20
Deep North: Modern Literature of the North East	20
Unbinding Utopia, 1750 - 1832	20
Making Young Adult Literature	20
Dissertation: Placement & Project	40
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

• 

  Exhibitions

• 

  Websites

Skills and experience

Practical experience

All our modules offer practical experience. For literary studies, this might include archival and editing work, script-in-hand readings, or debates.

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

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

Business skills

Our modules will equip you with a huge number of transferable skills. You will learn to:

• work independently
• manage projects
• write clear and persuasive prose
• analyse complex datasets and sources.

You'll have the opportunity to gain real-world work experience in the cultural industries in Stage 3. We also offer modules in partnership with the careers service in Stage 2 and 3.

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
• writing a clear and persuasive argument.

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. The School is located in the Percy Building, which is at the heart of our city-centre campus. 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
• a PC cluster
• a student-led café
• 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.

Our literature and creative writing teaching is linked to the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA) programme. This will give you regular contact with leading creative artists. You'll also have access to a diverse programme of events, including spoken-word events and creative writing courses.

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

Our alumni 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