If you study English Literature at Durham you will typically receive 8 contact hours per week in the first year (lectures and tutorials), 7 in the second year, and 5 in the third year (lectures, tutorials and seminars) per week. In addition, the course requires a very considerable amount of directed independent learning: a minimum of 30 hours per week, comprised of reading primary and secondary sources, writing formative and assessed essays, and preparation of tutorial and seminar assignments. From the outset the Department cultivates an ethos of research-led teaching and the acquisition of specialist study skills, as well as transferable skills. Throughout, particular emphasis is placed on small group teaching and individual academic development. The balance of contact hours across the course reflects individual progression in research, analysis and writing.

In the first year, you will take six lecture modules (three compulsory), which cover the main genres, historical periods, contexts and backgrounds to English literature. You may take up to two external modules. Weekly lectures are supplemented by small-group tutorials (an introductory meeting plus seven tutorials per module ). Specialist research, analytical and writing skills are developed in formative essays and individual feedback sessions, which play a key role in the delivery of the degree and in academic progression. The average contact time of 8 hours per week is supported by directed reading, tutorial preparation and essay research and writing, comprising at least 30 hours per week. Of this, recommended reading for lectures will occupy at least 3 hours per module per week: a total of 18 hours per week. Preparation for each tutorial typically involves at least 4 hours of directed reading and assignments; and research and writing of formative essays typically involves at least 8 hours per week.

Teaching methods are designed to support the directed learning model, for example, through the provision of reading lists, assignments, presentation briefs and online materials. Directed learning is also supported by the Durham University online learning environment. In addition to lectures and tutorials, four plenary sessions support and develop your directed learning and study skills throughout the year and prepare you to make module choices for your second year.

In the second year, in keeping with the Department’s policy on academic progression, an increasing emphasis is placed on the development of critical and analytical skills. You will take the compulsory lecture modules, ‘The Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism’ and ‘Shakespeare’. You may take up to three further lecture modules (organised for optimum historical coverage over Years 2 and 3) and a seminar module, which may be author- or theme-based, with a strong research component. Seminar modules are taught in 2-hour, fortnightly seminar sessions, which often include individual or group presentations. Seminars involve significant preparation (c. 10 hours), typically reading assigned texts and secondary material, preparing assigned topics, and researching and preparing presentations. Individual consultation sessions allow for discussion of a plan of the first assessed essay with seminar convenors. Overall, the small group ethos is maintained in second year lecture modules typically involving four tutorials and individual meetings with tutors for essay feedback, in which individual writing and analysis are developed. The average 7 hours of weekly contact time in Year 2 requires extensive directed learning and independent research of c. 34 hours per week: typically 14 hours recommended reading for lecture modules; 10 hours reading and preparation for special topic modules; 10 hours tutorial preparation, research and essay writing.

The average contact time in the third year is 5 hours per week. You will take four taught modules in the third year, in addition to a compulsory, double-weighted dissertation. Taught modules comprise lecture modules (up to three may be selected), which are delivered through weekly lectures and supported by tutorials (four per module); and research-focused Special Topics (up to two may be taken), delivered through fortnightly 2-hour seminars. The key focus of the third year is the further development of independent research, analysis and writing skills, which are emphasised in the Special Topics and find their fullest expression in your dissertation, a large research project which offers the possibility for extended creative and advanced research and literary analysis at a very high level on a topic of your choice and which forms a key element in the Department’s emphasis on undergraduate research and independent learning. While the emphasis is on independent research and writing, all students typically receive four 30-minute sessions of individual specialist supervision, and four 1-hour plenary sessions covering choice of title, research methods and skills, structure and presentation, researching, writing and referencing the dissertation (6.5 hours of supervision in all). Individual learning is also supported by the cumulative skills acquired over the three years in literary theory and analysis, close reading, essay writing, and research methods and resources. You are expected to spend at least 37 hours on independent directed learning per week: typically 8 hours on the dissertation, 14 hours on recommended reading for lectures, 5 hours on special topic reading and preparation, and 10 hours on tutorial preparation and researching and writing essays.

Throughout the degree, you are encouraged to participate in the Department’s extensive programme of research-related activities, including public lectures, special guest lectures, and lectures, readings and workshops by visiting UK and overseas academics and creative writers. Postdoctoral and postgraduate students regularly offer seminars and study days. In addition, you are invited to attend regular lectures and workshops on personal development and employment prospects, organised jointly by the Department and the Careers and Enterprise Centre. In addition to College mentors, who offer pastoral support, academic support is available from module tutors, seminar leaders, and module conveners, in addition to an Academic Advisor, allocated to you at the beginning of the course.

A level offer – A*AA including English Literature (or the combined English Literature and Language A level).

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma – D*DD and A level requirements as above.

IB Diploma score – 38 with 666 in higher level subjects, including English Literature or English Literature/Language.

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements and from mature students with non-standard qualifications or from those who may have had a break in their study.

• If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take an International Foundation Year pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

• We welcome enquiries regarding applications for deferred entry which may be considered in special circumstances. Please contact our Admissions team.

Alternative qualifications

• Other UK qualifications

• EU qualifications

• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

English language requirements

Country specific information

Full Time Fees

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Of those students who graduated in 2019:

• 85% are in paid employment or further study 15 months after graduation across all our programmes

Of those in employment:

• 83% are in a professional or managerial job
• Average salary of £25,000

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

English studies will appeal to people with a sensitivity to language, a love of reading and a sense of intellectual adventure.

Not only does English studies provide a thorough grounding in literary theory and the ‘great tradition’ of English literature – from Chaucer and Shakespeare through to plays, poems and novels written in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – but it also offers a wide range of imaginative and carefully designed modules.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

• 36th in the world in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2022
• 4th in The Guardian University Guide 2022
• 3rd in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022
• 3rd in The Complete University Guide 2023.

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see the English Studies pages.

Research Excellence Framework

• 90% of our research activity was judged to be ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2021).

Facilities

The Department is housed in a Grade II listed building, Hallgarth House and in Elvet Riverside. Both buildings are close to the University’s Bill Bryson Library and the special collections in the Palace Green Library. The Department has strong links with the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Institute for Medical Humanities, the Centre for Poetry and Poetics, which oversees the archive of the distinguished Northumbrian modernist poet, Basil Bunting, and the Institute of Advanced Study.

Durham students run their own English Society, which provides many opportunities for theatre visits, especially to the Royal Shakespeare Company season in Newcastle every year. There is also a strong tradition of student drama and music within the Department and the University as a whole.

Find out more:

You will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. The course requires a considerable amount of directed independent learning, consisting of reading primary and secondary sources, writing formative and assessed essays, and preparing tutorial and seminar assignments.

Teaching is research-led from the outset, with a gradually increasing focus on the development of your own research skills as you progress through your degree.

Weekly lectures are supplemented by small-group tutorials. Specialist research, analytical and writing skills are developed in formative essays and individual feedback sessions, which play a key role in the delivery of the degree and in academic progression.

Assessment

Most modules will be assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations. In the third year you will write a 12,000-word dissertation on a subject of your choice related to English Literature.

A level offer – A*AA including English Literature (or the combined English Literature and Language A level).

BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma – D*DD and A level requirements as above.

IB Diploma score – 38 with 666 in higher level subjects, including English Literature or English Literature/Language.

In addition to satisfying the University’s general entry requirements, please note:

• We welcome applications from those with other qualifications equivalent to our standard entry requirements and from mature students with non-standard qualifications or from those who may have had a break in their study.

• If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take an International Foundation Year pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.

• We welcome enquiries regarding applications for deferred entry which may be considered in special circumstances. Please contact our Admissions team.

Alternative qualifications

• Other UK qualifications

• EU qualifications

• International qualifications

International students who do not meet direct entry requirements for this degree might have the option to complete an International Foundation Year.

English language requirements

Country specific information

The tuition fees for 2024/25 academic year have not yet been finalised, they will be displayed here once approved.

The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government.

The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).

Please also check costs for colleges and accommodation.

Academically, we inspire our students to develop as analytic, sensitive and creative readers and writers, yet an English Studies degree is worth so much more. We aim to transform students into independent thinkers with the ability to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. It’s this skill set, coupled with effective organisational and research skills, that makes them so highly valued across a range of work environments. Outside of the classroom, we offer regular lectures and workshops that focus on personal development and key employability skills.

Graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and sectors, including roles in arts and theatre management, broadcasting, publishing and journalism, technical writing, business, marketing and advertising, teaching, higher education, law, the third sector and government.

Of those students who graduated in 2019:

• 85% are in paid employment or further study 15 months after graduation across all our programmes

Of those in employment:

• 83% are in a professional or managerial job
• Average salary of £25,000

(Source: HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey asks leavers from higher education what they are doing 15 months after graduation. Further information about the Graduate Outcomes survey can be found here www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk)

English Studies is a popular and highly regarded subject that will give you a broader and more balanced understanding of how the world works, politically, psychologically and sociologically. It also develops the highly transferable linguistic, critical and analytical skills that are sought after in the contemporary workplace.

An English degree at Durham provides a comprehensive grounding in literary theory. The wide range of modules allows you to explore a variety of literary forms and challenge the way you think about the role of literature in the world, from the classics to contemporary texts. We are home to a vibrant and active research department and take a research-led approach to teaching and learning which informs all levels of academic enquiry, including undergraduate ‘special topic’ seminar modules developed around key research themes and areas of expertise.

You can choose to focus purely on English literature or combine the study of English with either Philosophy or History. We also offer English Studies named routes through a Combined Honours or Liberal Arts degree. You can further tailor your study with an optional year abroad or work placement in the third year.

We are consistently ranked as one of the leading English departments in the UK, so when you choose to study English at Durham you can be assured of the highest quality learning experience.

For more information see our department pages.

Rankings

• 36th in the world in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2022
• 3rd in The Guardian University Guide 2023
• 3rd in The Complete University Guide 2023
• 9th in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

Staff

For a current list of staff, please see the English Studies pages.

Research Excellence Framework

• 90% of our research activity was judged to be ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (REF 2021).

Facilities

We are a diverse community of around 700 undergraduates, 120 postgraduates and 70 staff from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. We are located close to Durham city centre with most of the Department’s teaching and research taking place in two buildings: the Georgian listed building, Hallgarth House and Elvet Riverside which stands beside the River Wear.

Students have access to extensive general collections in literary studies which are housed in the University library, and a number of specialist collections and archives in Palace Green, in the heart of Durham city.

Undergraduate students are also invited to attend the Department’s extensive programme of research-related activities, including public lectures, special guest lectures, as well as lectures, readings and workshops by visiting UK and overseas academics and creative writers.

Find out more: