BA (Hons) English Language and Literature
- UCAS code: Q300
- Mode of study: Full time
- Duration: 3 years
- Entry requirements 2013: 240-300 points from 3 A levels or equivalent, to include 100 points from A level English.
- Please see details of the range of other qualifications that will also be considered on the 'Entry Requirements' tab below. Please do contact us for advice on other qualifications that aren't listed here.
Find out more:
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 8299
Email: humanities.admissions@port.ac.uk
Department: School of Social, Historical and Literary Studies
Course overview
Our BA (Hons) English Language and Literature is an engaging degree programme, aimed at those wishing to combine literary study with a sound knowledge of the linguistic structure of English. This degree offers a wide-ranging choice of options in both English and European literatures in translation and film. You will also have the opportunity to study teaching English as a foreign language.
An interest in the way language is used to act on listeners or readers is central to both aspects of the degree and continually informs a range of units. Language units such as Style in English and The Language of Literature explore this directly, while English units such as Samuel Beckett or Renaissance Special Study: Poetry focus on the rhetorical use of language in different historical periods.
BA (Hons) English Language and Literature is part of the Division of English and History, which means that you will also have the opportunity to meet and socialise with a lively group of students from sister degrees that focus on English literature or combine English with creative arts, media, history or comparative literature.
This breadth of specialist interest fosters a wide range of perspectives and degree-combinations, helping to make Portsmouth a vibrant place to study English.
While we fully expect that you will enjoy your time at Portsmouth, we also recognise that at the end of the course you will need to get a job. To help you with this transition, the course also includes a careers management unit, which will help you market yourself to prospective employers, hone your presentation skills and put together a viable CV. It will also help you research the job market and understand application procedures.
Placements
This course allows you to take the Learning From Experience (LiFE) option, which lets you earn credits toward your degree for work / research placements, volunteer roles or internships undertaken alongside your studies. The option gives you the opportunity to enhance your employability skills, to reflect on the ways in which you've done so, and to learn to express this to potential employers.
Why study at Portsmouth?
The English Department is based in the School of Social, Historical and Literary Studies at Milldam and has an excellent reputation as a dynamic and innovative centre for teaching and research. The English staff are specialists in a wide range of literatures and critical approaches, and run courses that are diverse, imaginative and intellectually challenging.
At the last Teaching Quality Inspection we scored very highly, putting us in the 'premier league' of English degrees taught in this country, and all our teaching staff hold postgraduate qualifications in teaching and learning in higher education. Our staff are also keen researchers and have published widely in their specialist areas. They contribute to the Portsmouth Centre for European and International Studies Research, which gained the top grade in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise.
Our courses are notable for their emphasis on the study of English literature in a historical and cultural context, and their coverage of a diversity of genres and forms in contemporary English writing. The Department provides a high standard of support to its students, but also fosters individual choice and independent learning. In feedback, students repeatedly praise the high quality of teaching and the commitment of individual tutors within the English subject area.
Course content
Year one
- Literary Theory
- Literary History 1
- Language, Society and Mind
- How Language Works
- Introduction to Narrative
- Starting Language Research
Year two
- Literary History 2
- Meaning in English
- The Structure of English
- Literary Prize and Public Acclaim
- Options including:
- Eighteenth Century and Romantic Literature
- Early Modern Drama
- American Literature
- Nation and Travel
- Victorian Literature and Visual Culture
- Analysing Discourse
- Language and Languages Teaching
- Forensic Linguistics
- Languages (University Wide Option)
- Learning from Experience
Year three
- Dissertation (English Language or English Literature)
- Options including:
- Early Modern Literature and the Bible
- Enlightenment: Literature, Culture & Modernity
- Magical Realism
- Postmodern Historical Fiction
- War and Fascism
- Tracing Borders: Women & Writing 1890-1940
- Twentieth Century Avant-Garde Fiction
- Friendship, Community and Identity in C17th Poetry
- Charles Dickens
- European Literary Decadence
- Consuming Fictions: Food and Appetite in Victorian Culture
- Holocaust Literatures
- US Masculinities
- English in an Historical Perspective
- English in the World
- Professional Communication
- Professional Communication 2
Please note that whilst a range of options will be offered, there will inevitably be some variation in the availability of individual units at any given time.
Teaching and assessment
Our teaching approach involves lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. You will be expected to participate fully in group discussions and group projects, as well as develop and apply word-processing and presentation skills. You will also have the opportunity to experience practical media skills through workshops and project work.
As making sure you have a supportive learning environment is important to us, you will have a personal tutor assigned to you as part of the study skills and careers research management programmes. All staff also have office hours and are often available at short notice. In your final year you will be assigned a personal supervisor to help plan and produce your dissertation project.
We use a range of assessment methods including coursework, essays, close textual analysis, presentations and a dissertation.
Career prospects
Studying English is a great preparation for a career in publishing, the media, teaching or research. Portsmouth English graduates enjoy a wide range of career pathways including TEFL, television script writing, journalism, public relations, web design and postgraduate study.
While studying English language and literature is clearly a great foundation for a career in the arts, the sophisticated analytical and presentational skills you will gain are also highly valued by a range of non degree-specific graduate employers. Given this, our English graduates also enter a diverse range of non degree specific pathways, including human resource management and information services work.