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On our BA English Language and Literature programme, develop your understanding of English as a living and dynamic global language whilst exploring a diverse range of literary texts from Britain, America and beyond.
Our teaching in English language places a strong emphasis on applying theory to real-life situations, and on transferable skills such as problem-solving, team-working and data-analysis. You will learn about how to research issues in the social sciences and how to conduct fieldwork. You will enhance your knowledge of grammar and phonetics as well as learning about how language is used in different social settings, how language is acquired by children and adults, and how our uses of English are being re-shaped by the media. Our department has been a leader in the field for fifty years.
You will study the same number of modules in English literature as in English language. Our literature curriculum has everything you would expect from a department with a century-long reputation for innovative research. You will read more of major authors like Shakespeare and Dickens, Sylvia Plath and Samuel Beckett, but you will also be able to explore the most exciting contemporary writing in English from around the globe. Whether your interests are in creative writing, publishing studies or children’s literature, you will be able to develop your own interests with expert help.
In your first year, you study six modules, three in English language (English Language and Society, Sounds, Grammar and Meaning and one optional module e.g. Globalisation and Language) and three modules in English Literature (Genre and Context, Research and Criticism, and a choice of either Poetry in English, Creative Writing or Persuasive Writing). Your second year modules in English Language build your skills in grammar, phonology and sociolinguistics. In Literature, you choose modules that range from Renaissance lyric poetry to contemporary fiction.
In the third year, your module choices are more diverse and specialised: from Editing the Renaissance to Class Matters, from English in the World to Child Language Development and Language and Migration. In English Language, the core module Language and Communication in Professions will enable you to understand how language is used in various professional contexts. You will also research a dissertation on a subject of your choosing, in either English language or English literature, with one-to-one advice and support from your supervisor. Alternatively, if you are more focused on the practical sense of your degree, you may choose to carry out a Professional Communication Project. By the end of your three years with us, you will be an independent learner and a confident communicator.
Placement
Throughout your degree you will be thinking about the career choices that will enable you to thrive after graduation: we will help you put in place the skills and experience that you need to launch that career. Our innovative placement scheme gives you the chance to undertake an academic placement in commerce, industry or the arts. You can also take a placement module on languages and literature in education and in the media. Our students have been very successful at winning places on the University’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme, and have worked on real research projects on multilingualism, child language development, digital editing and archive studies.
For more information, please visit the websites for English Literature and English Language and Applied Linguistics.
Overview
On our BA English Language and Literature programme, develop your understanding of English as a living and dynamic global language whilst exploring a diverse range of literary texts from Britain, America and beyond.
Our teaching in English language places a strong emphasis on applying theory to real-life situations, and on transferable skills such as problem-solving, team-working and data-analysis. You will learn about how to research issues in the social sciences and how to conduct fieldwork. You will enhance your knowledge of grammar and phonetics as well as learning about how language is used in different social settings, how language is acquired by children and adults, and how our uses of English are being re-shaped by the media. Our department has been a leader in the field for fifty years.
You will study the same number of modules in English literature as in English language. Our literature curriculum has everything you would expect from a department with a century-long reputation for innovative research. You will read more of major authors like Shakespeare and Dickens, Sylvia Plath and Samuel Beckett, but you will also be able to explore the most exciting contemporary writing in English from around the globe. Whether your interests are in creative writing, publishing studies or children’s literature, you will be able to develop your own interests with expert help.
In your first year, you study six modules, three in English language (English Language and Society, Sounds, Grammar and Meaning and one optional module e.g. Globalisation and Language) and three modules in English Literature (Genre and Context, Research and Criticism, and a choice of either Poetry in English, Creative Writing or Persuasive Writing). Your second year modules in English Language build your skills in grammar, phonology and sociolinguistics. In Literature, you choose modules that range from Renaissance lyric poetry to contemporary fiction.
In the third year, your module choices are more diverse and specialised: from Editing the Renaissance to Class Matters, from English in the World to Child Language Development and Language and Migration. In English Language, the core module Language and Communication in Professions will enable you to understand how language is used in various professional contexts. You will also research a dissertation on a subject of your choosing, in either English language or English literature, with one-to-one advice and support from your supervisor. Alternatively, if you are more focused on the practical sense of your degree, you may choose to carry out a Professional Communication Project. By the end of your three years with us, you will be an independent learner and a confident communicator.
Placement
Throughout your degree you will be thinking about the career choices that will enable you to thrive after graduation: we will help you put in place the skills and experience that you need to launch that career. Our innovative placement scheme gives you the chance to undertake an academic placement in commerce, industry or the arts. You can also take a placement module on languages and literature in education and in the media. Our students have been very successful at winning places on the University’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme, and have worked on real research projects on multilingualism, child language development, digital editing and archive studies.
For more information, please visit the websites for English Literature and English Language and Applied Linguistics.
Entry requirements A Level BBB | IB 30 pts overall
Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS, and we will guarantee you a place if you achieve one grade lower than the published offer.
Typical offer
BBB, including grade B in A level English Literature or related subject.
Related subjects: English Language, English Language and Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies and Creative Writing.
International Baccalaureate
30 points overall including 5 in English at higher level.
Extended Project Qualification
In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.
BTEC Extended Diploma
DDM (Modules taken must be comparable to subject specific requirement)
English language requirements
IELTS 7.0, with no component below 6.0
For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.
Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students
For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.
International Foundation Programme
If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.
Pre-sessional English language programme
If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.
Structure
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
EN1PE | Poetry in English | DR Matthew Scott |
EN1RC | Research and Criticism | DR Stephen Thomson |
LS1SG | Sounds, Grammar & Meaning | PROF Jane Setter |
LS1ELS | English Language and Society | DR Christiana Themistocleous |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
EC118 | Economy, Politics and Culture in the Roman World | PROF Ken Dark |
EC110 | The Economics of Climate Change | DR Stefania Lovo |
EN1COMP | What is Comparative Literature? | DR John McKeane |
EN1CW | Introduction to Creative Writing | DR Conor Carville |
EN1GC | Genre and Context | DR Chloe Houston |
EN1PW | Persuasive Writing | DR Mary Morrissey |
EN1TRANS | Thinking Translation: History and Theory | DR Daniela La Penna |
FA1MM | Modernisms & Mythologies | DR James Hellings |
CL1SO | Ancient Song | PROF Ian Rutherford |
CL1GH | Greek History: war, society, and change in the Archaic Age | DR Emma Aston |
AR1REV10 | Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present [10 credits] | DR Aleks Pluskowski |
AR1REV | Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present | DR Aleks Pluskowski |
LW1SOC | Law & Society | MRS Amanda Millmore |
LS1TAL | Techniques and Skills for Applied Linguistics | DR Natalia Kampakli |
LS1GL | Globalization and Language | DR Tony Capstick |
ML1IL | Introduction to Linguistics | DR Federico Faloppa |
ML1GEC | Greats of European Cinema | PROF Julia Waters |
PO1INE | Inequality | DR Jonathan Golub |
PO1FRE | Freedom | DR Rob Jubb |
PO1IPI | Introduction to Political Ideas | DR Rob Jubb |
PP1RP | Radical Philosophy | PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford |
PP1RA | Reason and Argument | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
TY1PRI | Printing and printmaking | DR Rob Banham |
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
LS2SLG | Sociolinguistics | DR Christiana Themistocleous |
LS2EP | English Phonology | PROF Jane Setter |
LS2EG | English Grammar | DR Natalia Kampakli |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
EN2BB | The Business of Books | DR Nicola Wilson |
EN2CRI | Critical Issues | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN2CF | Contemporary Fiction | PROF Bryan Cheyette |
EN2CMN | Chaucer and Medieval Narrative | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN2OEL | Introduction to Old English Literature | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN2RER | Restoration to Revolution: 1660-1789 | DR Rebecca Bullard |
EN2LV | Lyric Voices 1340-1650 | DR Mary Morrissey |
EN2MOD | Modernism in Poetry and Fiction | DR Mark Nixon |
EN2WGI | Writing, Gender, Identity | DR Yasmine Shamma |
EN2VIC | Victorian Literature | DR Lucy Bending |
EN2WA | Writing America | DR Sue Walsh |
EN2SH | Shakespeare | DR Lucinda Becker |
EN2RTC | Renaissance Texts and Cultures | PROF Michelle O'Callaghan |
EN2RP | The Romantic Period | DR Matthew Scott |
LS2LNM | Language and New Media | PROF Rodney Jones |
LS2LLE | Literature, Language and Education | MRS Suzanne Portch |
LS2LAT | Introduction to English Language Teaching | MRS Suzanne Portch |
LS2LAM | Language and the Mind | DR Fraibet Aveledo |
LS2ANS | Analysing Speech | PROF Jane Setter |
LS2DAN | Discourse Analysis | DR Diana Ben-Aaron |
LS2LAG | Language and Gender | DR Christiana Themistocleous |
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
LS3LPC | Language in Professional Communication | DR Sylvia Jaworska |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
EN3PC | Publishing Cultures: Writers, Publics, Archives | DR Nicola Wilson |
EN3PSY | Psychoanalysis and Text | PROF Karin Lesnik-Oberstein |
EN3RF | From Romance to Fantasy | DR Mary Morrissey |
EN3UTD | Utopia and Dystopia in English and American Literature | DR Chloe Houston |
EN3SHF | Shakespeare on Film | DR Lucinda Becker |
EN3TBS | The Bloody Stage: Revenge and Death in Renaissance Drama | DR Chloe Houston |
EN3WWP | Writing Women: Nineteenth Century Poetry | DR Lucy Bending |
EN3VW | Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN3MAT | Margaret Atwood | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN3MO | Medieval Otherworlds | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN3MPS | Creative Writing Masterclass: Prose | MS Shelley Harris |
EN3MPY | Creative Writing Masterclass: Poetry | DR Conor Carville |
EN3NL | Nigerian Prose Literature: From Achebe to Adichie | DR Sue Walsh |
EN3PA | Placing Jane Austen | DR Paddy Bullard |
EN3DIS | Dissertation | DR Neil Cocks |
EN3DIC | Dickens | PROF Andrew Mangham |
EN3ECN | The Eighteenth-Century Novel: Sex and Sensibility | DR Rebecca Bullard |
EN3HT | Holocaust Testimony: Memory, Trauma and Representation | PROF Bryan Cheyette |
EN3DD | Decadence and Degeneration: Literature of the 1880s and 1890s | DR Lucy Bending |
EN3CL | Children's Literature | PROF Karin Lesnik-Oberstein |
EN3CF | Contemporary American Fiction | PROF David Brauner |
EN3BBF | Black British Fiction | DR Cato Marks |
LS3LST | Teaching the Language Skills | MRS Suzanne Portch |
LS3LMG | Language and Migration | DR Tony Capstick |
LS3IC | Intercultural Communications | DR Erhan Aslan |
LS3IB | Issues in Bilingualism | DR Fraibet Aveledo |
LS3EIW | English in the World | PROF Jane Setter |
LS3DI | Dissertation | DR Christiana Themistocleous |
LS3DCL | Child Language Development | DR Fraibet Aveledo |
LS3CBL | Corpus-based approaches to language description | DR Diana Ben-Aaron |
Fees
New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250* per year
New international students: £17,320 per year
*UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes
UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.
EU student fees
With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.
Additional costs
Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.
Financial support for your studies
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.
Careers
The interdisciplinary scope of this degree prepares you for a wide variety of professions. As an English graduate, you will enter the job market with highly developed research and communication skills. You will know how to access reliable information on any topic and how to present your findings in clear and persuasive language: valuable assets in today’s economy, where information and communication skills are vital. You will have the critical and cultural awareness necessary for working in the public sector and the media. Our innovative placement modules and Professional Track scheme will ensure that you have the complete package that employers are looking for: a good degree, workplace skills and experience.
100% of our graduates are in work or further study 15 months after finishing their course [1]. Our graduates work in publishing and the media, (Oxford University Press, the BBC and ITV). They also work as communication experts in large organisations like the NHS, in banks and in government; others are now working as teachers in the UK and as teachers of the English Language in China and Japan (among other places). Many of our students decide to continue their studies at postgraduate level too.
Your communications skills, your ability to research a problem thoroughly, to manage data and documentation, and to present ideas and policies clearly and persuasively, will equip you for the career you want.
[1] Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017/18; First Degree and other undergraduate responders from English Language & Applied Linguistics.