English Literature
Entry requirements
A level
104-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, to include a relevant subject.
106-112 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma (English based).
Cambridge Pre-U score of 44-46, to include a Principal Subject in a relevant subject.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects, to include a relevant subject.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H4,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H4
To include Higher Level English.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with an English qualification.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with an English qualification.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with an English qualification.
104-112 Tariff points to include a minimum of 2 Advanced Highers, to include English.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
UCAS Tariff
104-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent, to include a relevant subject.
104-112 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 1 A level in a relevant subject, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**This is a Connected Degree**
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.
**Overview**
When you study English Literature at Portsmouth, you'll also explore history and politics, society and culture, human relationships and identities, and how we choose to live. And you’re doing it in a city steeped in lively literature, from Charles Dickens to Neil Gaiman.
You’ll learn the skills to critically analyse the purpose, truth and impact of any written text. You’ll also develop the skills to produce your own writing and presentations, so you can communicate original ideas in ways that engage and influence readers.
The combination of creative thinking and rigorous analysis you develop will make you a compelling candidate for all kinds of jobs – from marketing to museums, and journalism to publishing.
**Course highlights**
- Discover our literary city with the constantly evolving Portsmouth Literary Map – your course begins with a tour of literary Portsea and the Dockyards area, introducing significant places in the lives of Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, today's local writers, and plenty more
- Enjoy the freedom to interpret assignments creatively, and develop employable skills in presentation and teamwork, on a course without exams
- Learn directly from staff who produce world-leading research into areas as diverse as magical realism and representations of food
- Build specialist knowledge by choosing the topics that match your interests – from global literature to dystopian and apocalyptic environments, from women’s writing to crime writing
- Develop your own style and build up your portfolio by becoming a contributor to our Writing Literary Portsmouth blog
- Curate your own literary prize or produce a prize pitch, to experience what happens when writing meets the commercial marketplace
- Build a professional network with high-profile figures including authors, agents, publishers, booksellers, judges and critics through our contacts and partnerships
**Optional pathways**
There are optional pathways through this degree that let you combine your literature studies with another interest, leading to the following exit awards:
- BA (Hons) English Literature with History
- BA (Hons) English Literature with Media Studies
**Careers and opportunities**
This degree will set you up to pursue careers in fields where communication and critical thinking matter. Employers in many more industries recognise the value of the transferable skills you’ll gain during an English Literature degree. Your CV will demonstrate:
- sophisticated analytical skills, enabling you to assess texts on any topic
- the ability to think critically and reach your own conclusions
- a flair for presenting and discussing ideas with diverse audiences
- the confidence to say exactly what you mean to say, in writing and in person
- a creative mindset that helps you see things differently
- a well-developed sense of empathy and teamworking skills
What areas can you work in with an English literature degree?
After the course, you could work in areas such as:
- advertising
- journalism
- arts and media
- public relations
- copywriting
- teaching
- research
You could also study at postgraduate level.
Graduate destinations
Roles our previous graduates have gone onto include:
- copywriter
- journalist and editor
- marketing executive
- teacher
- paralegal
- sales executive
- museum curator
Our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job or course that puts your skills to work. After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years as you advance in your career.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year currently include:
- Body Politics
- Global Identities
- Popular Culture
- The Short Story: Murder, Madness And Experimentation
- Unpacking Texts: Introducing Critical Theory
There are no optional modules in this year.
Year 2
Core modules in this year currently include:
- Literary Prizes And Public Acclaim
- Research In Practice
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Bloody Shakespeare: The Politics and Poetics of Violence
- Crime Writing
- Dystopian and Apocalyptic Environments: Ecocrisis in the Literary Imagination
- Empire and its Afterlives in Britain, Europe and Africa
- Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences
- Global Security
- Intercultural Perspectives on Communication
- Marketing and Communication
- Modern Foreign Language (Institution-wide Language Programme)
- Modernity and Globalisation
- Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
- News, Discourse and Media
- Principles of Economic Crime Investigation
- Professional Experience
- Puritans to Postmodernists: American Literature
- Space, Place and Being
- Transitional Justice and Human Rights
- Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response
- Women’s Writing in the Americas
Placement Year (optional)
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
Year 3
Core modules include:
- Dissertation / Major Project
- Specialist Option: Empires and Identities
- Specialist Option: Societies in Revolution
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Consuming Fictions: Food And Appetite In Victorian Culture
- Holocaust Literatures
- Magical Realism
- Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates
- Professional Experience
- Time, Temporality, Contemporary Fiction
- US Masculinities
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
essays
textual analysis
presentations
a dissertation
real-world projects
creative assignments
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
Year 1 students: 100% by coursework
Year 2 students: 100% by coursework
Year 3 students: 100% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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.
How do students rate their degree experience?
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Literature in english
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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Literature in english
What are graduates doing after six months?
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Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Literature in english
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£22k
£26k
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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Post-six month graduation stats:
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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:
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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?
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