English Literature

Undergraduate Degree with Foundation Year Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

In our BA English Literature programme, enhance your creative and analytical skills with exciting modules covering different themes, periods, and topics, including creative writing. Cultivate your professional skills and confidence for success in your chosen career.

English Literature
Entry Tariff

104–120 UCAS points (or equivalent)

Foundation Year entry: 64 UCAS points (or equivalent)

UCAS Code

Q300

Q302 (if choosing Foundation Year)

Duration

3 years (full-time)

4 years (full-time) if opting for the additional placement year

4 years (full-time) if opting for Foundation Year entry

Start date

September 2024

Degree Type

BA (single honours)
Course also available with Foundation Year

Modules

These modules are those we currently offer and may be subject to change.

This course is offered as a degree with foundation year – a four-year programme which provides an additional foundation year at the beginning of the degree, that will give you academic and practical experience, as well as the skills you need to ensure you are equipped to successfully complete your chosen degree.

£2,000 Foundation Scholarships for all home students  

Find out more about our degrees with a foundation year  

 
 
 

This course offers all students the option of a one-year paid work placement, to boost your employability even further. If you choose this route, you will take the placement following year two of your course, and then return to complete your degree.

Why take a placement?

A placement year is the perfect opportunity to gain valuable work experience, to build on the career skills we will teach you on this degree. The connections you make on the placement will improve your career prospects further, and equip you with the skills you need to secure graduate-level employment.

How we support you

The University's Placement and Work Experience Team are experts at helping you to secure a placement. They will work closely with you from the start, helping you research potential employers, discover placement opportunities, create and pitch your CV, and will coach you to perform well in interviews. We aren't able to guarantee a placement, but our sector-leading advisors will give you the best possible chance of securing one.

Find out more about how we'll support you  

We understand that your plans might change once you start your programme. If you decide not to do a placement, you will have the option of completing the three year version of your programme.

Whatever your choice, you will have access to many opportunities for work experience through our Placement and Work Experience Team, and access to face-to-face and 24/7 online careers support.

Study Abroad

This course has the option of studying abroad as part of your degree in your second semester of second year.

With Roehampton Abroad scholarships of up to £1,000 and Turing Scheme funding available, you could spend a semester at one of our partner universities across the globe, with destinations including the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe.

Find out more about where your degree could take you here.

 

Skills

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Graduate with a broad, transferable range of creative, analytical, and professional skills. This incorporates:

· Being a sophisticated reader of literary and cultural texts and refining your professional reading, editing, and writing skills

· Becoming adept at switching your style to suit different creative and professional contexts

· Developing skills in research and analysis, problem solving, digital content creation, and copywriting

· Getting hands-on experience with our in-house publisher, Fincham Press, as well as getting involved with our literature and creative writing society and wider school events

· The option of learning and developing creative writing skills alongside your literary ones

These strands will ensure that you are ready for an exciting career. Equally important are the following, which are also important to our teaching and learning

· Confidence: the ability to answer questions without fear

· Observation: seeing problems clearly

· Humility: knowing you don’t know everything

· Mindfulness: being aware of positive thought processes

· Curiosity: experimenting and exploring

· Resourcefulness: knowing where to come up with ideas

· Action: the ability to put ideas into action and to meet deadlines

With the BA English Literature, you will be ready for a wide range of jobs where you are able to think deeply and critically, and to communicate complex ideas persuasively and accessibly to different audiences – all important skills in a workplace that, in the current age of AI, will see an ever-increasing need for critical and creative thinkers.

How you'll learn

In this exciting programme, you will learn through a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops, and personalised tutorials in a supportive campus environment.

You will have no written exams. Instead,you will evaluate critical and creative thinking through coursework made up of essays, presentations, creative options and digital portfolios of your choosing.

 

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Explore diverse topics, such as: 
  • Fantasy literature and fantasy world-building 
  • Literature in translation from authors all around the globe ·
  • Global London through modern fiction, film, and television 
  • Race, gender, and sexuality studies from the Early Modern period to the present day
  • The relationship between literature, film, and philosophy
  • Creative writing and experimental fiction
  • God and Heroes in Renaissance and Middle English literatures
  • Literature from the Romantic and Victorian periods
  • Genre fiction, popular culture, and media studies
  • Children's and young adult literature and culture
  • Modernist writing and film
  • Tragedy from Ancient Greece to Shakespeare and the present day
In addition you will have opportunities to be involved with some of the biggest literary festivals in London, including the Wimbledon Book Festival and the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival. 
 
We also have a thriving literary and cultural arts scene, involving public lectures, film screenings and discussions, and trips to Shakespeare’s Globe, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Library, the National Maritime Museum, the National Gallery, and the British Film Institute, to name a few.

Why did our past students study for their BA in English Literature at the University of Roehampton?

“The reason why I chose to study English literature specifically at Roehampton was down to the teaching staff I met at the time and also the positive feedback I got on open days from other students. The best thing about studying at Roehampton was the support I had from amazing lecturers. Everyone was so approachable and I never felt that I couldn’t just go and knock on a door for help.” - Saara Ismail Mahomed, BA English Literature

“I knew the standard of teaching was very high. The principal reason I chose Roehampton over other London universities […] was that the programme and its component modules sounded infinitely more interesting than programmes and modules offered anywhere else.” - Katherine Farquharson, BA English Literature

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Career options

Shape the future landscape of literature. 

Graduates go on to work in a wide variety of fields. A degree in English Literature trains you in a variety of transferable critical skills. These are valued by employers across a whole range of literary and cultural arts industries, and beyond.

Our graduates have gone on to work as:

  • Journalists
  • Copywriters
  • Podcasters
  • Librarians
  • Editors
  • Teachers
  • Social media marketers
  • Policy advocates
  • Fundraising strategists
  • Radio presenters
  • Script editors
  • Theatre directors
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Application Info

How to apply

Undergraduate programmes

 

If you need any help or advice with your application, or just want to ask us a question before you apply, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We welcome applicants with a wide range of qualifications, including BTECs, A-levels and T Levels.

When we consider applications to study with us, we form a complete view of your achievements to date, and future potential. In some cases, we will make you a contextual offer. Contextual offers ensure that all applicants have a fair opportunity of gaining a place with us, regardless of their background. Find out more about contextual offers.

Detailed advice on applying for an undergraduate degree is available on our How to apply page.

Tuition fees and funding

September 2024 entry tuition fees

Year 1 fees, see links in table below for more information.

UK EU and International Placement year
£9,250 £15,488 £998

We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries. See our 2024 financial support pages for UK students, and for international students.

We also provide other ways to support the cost of living, including free buses and on-campus car parking, hardship support and some of the most affordable student accommodation and catering in London. Find out more about how we can support you.

Entry tariff

We welcome applications from students studying T Levels.

For all courses we also accept a wide range of other qualifications and experience. Contact us to find out more.

When we consider applications to study with us, we form a complete view of your achievements to date, and future potential, and can offer flexibility in entry requirements. Find out more about our Contextual Offer scheme.

Specific entry requirements

  • IELTS: 4.5 / 5.0 / 5.5 
  • UCAS International Equivalents (64 entry tariff) 
  • 5 GCSE / GCSE passes at grade C/4 or in an international equivalent 

​General entry requirements

International students

Contextual offers

When we consider applications to study with us, we form a complete view of your achievements to date, and future potential, and can offer flexibility in entry requirements.

Find out more  

Need help before you apply?