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English and Philosophy

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

including A English Language, Literature or combined. General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted for A level.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

Pass the Access to HE Diploma 45 credits at level 3, with distinction in 30 credits at Level 3 and 15 at Merit. 9 credits must be achieved at Distinction in English modules.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D3,M1,M2

including English at D3.

Extended Project

A

If you have already achieved your EPQ at grade A you will automatically be offered one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject. If you are still studying for your EPQ you will receive the standard course offer, with a condition of one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject if you achieve an A grade in your EPQ.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE requirements - English grade C (numeric grade 4)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

with a minimum of 6 points in English at Higher level.

RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma DD plus A Level English grade A

RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate D plus 2 A Levels grades AB including A in A Level English

Unfortunately we are unable to accept this qualification on its own due to the subject specific requirements at A Level. RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma DDD + A in A Level English accepted.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A

including English with grade A and Scottish Highers AABBB including English with grade A.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B,B

including English with grade A. This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Advanced Higher grades AA including English.

Considered alongside A Levels

UCAS Tariff

112-147

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

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

English studies

Philosophy

English and Philosophy are both ways of exploring and understanding human life. The great themes of literature and debates around language are continuous with the big issues of philosophy.
Shared questions include:
- what are the struggles, conflicts, and challenges of human life?

- how should we navigate the social, moral, and personal struggles that make up the drama of living?

Both subjects at Nottingham are especially diverse:
- English - language, literature, linguistics and drama from Old English to the present day

- Philosophy - traditional topics such as ethics and philosophy of mind alongside emerging areas like environmental and social philosophy

You'll study each subject separately but equally. Choice of specialised modules means you'll be able to follow your passions. You'll also be able to choose modules that complement each other, allowing you to look at the same topic in different ways.
There's lots of reading involved! Also plenty of opportunities to develop your own ideas and work with others.

An ideal degree if you want to be able to say what you mean and mean what you say.

You do not need any previous academic experience in philosophy to do this course.

**Combine with another subject**
You can also combine English and Philosophy with other subjects in our Liberal Arts BA.

Modules

In year one you will receive a thorough grounding in both subjects to prepare you to specialise in years two and three.
Years two and three are fully optional - choose modules that grab your interest or develop your choices into a particular theme. Normally you will study each subject equally.
Your final year dissertation is a chance to develop a longer piece of work that can combine both subjects into one project.
There are also opportunities for work experience and volunteering to build your professional skills and experience as well as Study Abroad options.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£21,500
per year
International
£21,500
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 Park Campus

Department:

School of English

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.

73%
English studies
82%
Philosophy

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.

English studies (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
90%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
69%
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

66%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
62%
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?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
17%
Male students
83%
Female students
94%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
B

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
59%
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

74%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
55%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
37%
Male students
63%
Female students
93%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
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.

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
95%
med
Employed or in further education
67%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
16%
Other elementary services occupations
9%
Media professionals

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

Philosophy

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.

£19,198
med
Average annual salary
97%
high
Employed or in further education
45%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
9%
Public services and other associate professionals
8%
Teaching and educational professionals

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

What about your long term prospects?

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

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.

£20k

£20k

£25k

£25k

£31k

£31k

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.

Philosophy

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

£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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
Durham University | Durham
English Literature and Philosophy
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 152-168
Lower entry requirements
University of York | York
English/Philosophy (Equal)
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 48-136
Same University
University of Nottingham | Nottingham
French and Philosophy
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-141

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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