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English Literature and Classical Literature & Civilisation

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

A Level English Literature or A Level English Language and Literature is required

Accepted in place of A levels with the following grade equivalencies: D2 = A*; D3 = A; M2 = B. Combinations of A levels and Principle subjects are accepted. NB required subjects must be offered (see A level Section)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

6,5,5 in Higher Level subjects, to include Literature or Language and Literature

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM, plus an A at A-level in the required subject/s mentioned above. BTEC Diploma: DD, plus an A at A-level in the required subject/s mentioned above. BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A-level, including an A in the required A-level subject/s mentioned above.

Accepted in place of a non-required A level with the equivalent grade.

UCAS Tariff

128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Classical studies

English studies

This innovative undergraduate degree course is for those fascinated by ancient cultures, as well as the written and spoken word.

Study the full range of English Literature, alongside the society and literature of the classical world. Embrace the diversity of Greek and Roman culture, drawing together literature, drama, myth, religion, history, philosophy and art. By studying Classical Literature and Civilisation as a Joint Honours degree with English Literature, you will be given a strong foundation in all major periods and genres and will be able to specialise in areas ranging from medieval poetry to twenty-first century digital literary culture. You will also have the opportunity to take our specialist second-year undergraduate Shakespeare module and the possibility of participating in our residential trip in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In your Classical studies, explore the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome as well as the cultures of Ancient Egypt, Western Asia and the Byzantine Empire. Work with the plays, poems and speeches that have come down to us from antiquity, and study the monument, religion and mythology that make up classical civilisation.

**Why study this course?**

**A city that values literature as much as you do** – Did you know that inspiration for parts of The Lord of the Rings came from our very own campus (our clock tower Old Joe is thought to be the black tower of Isengard)! Explore Birmingham’s literary scene and get involved with the numerous on-campus writers groups, including our very own newspaper, radio and TV stations. Delve into the various city-wide literature festivals and take advantage of our exceptional resources, including our special collections and archives in the Cadbury Research Library and the Library of Birmingham, Europe’s largest regional library.

**Do more than read books** –Take advantage of the wide ranging expertise within our academic community and delve into the study of social media, marketing, textual production, video games, comics, film and TV, music and art.

**Personalised support** – Benefit from smaller class sizes including one-to-one support on coursework and feedback whilst also becoming part of our ever-growing careers network of highly skilled graduates. The University of Birmingham is the 4th most targeted University by Graduate Employers (High Fliers Research 2022).

**Learn from the very best** – You will study alongside some of the finest minds in the field. Times Higher Education ranked the Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology in the Top 10 in the country for its performance in the latest Research Excellence Framework exercise (based on Grade Point Average).

**Unparalleled access to history** - Explore our Cadbury Research Libraries collections consisting of over 200,000 rare books dating from 1471 and more than four million manuscript items.

**Top 10 for Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology in the Guardian University Guide 2023**

**Top 15 for English in the Complete University Guide 2023**

Modules

First-year modules cover a broad base of the subject and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying at university. By the final year the modules you take will become more specialised and reflect the research expertise of the academic staff. More detailed module information can be found on the ‘Course detail’ tab on the University of Birmingham’s coursefinder web pages.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Birmingham

Department:

Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

76%
Classical studies
75%
English studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Classics

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

62%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
90%
2:1 or above
0%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

English studies (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
14%
Male students
86%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Classics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
low
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
49%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
17%
Other elementary services occupations
15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.

English studies (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
73%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
14%
Teaching and educational professionals
7%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Classics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

English studies (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£19k

£19k

£25k

£25k

£29k

£29k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here