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With our BA Philosophy and English literature course, develop your critical and analytical skills and apply them to a variety of philosophical and literary texts. Our students become expert at presenting arguments clearly and persuasively.
In philosophy, we will give you an understanding of the central philosophical principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. You will also have the chance to explore non-Western philosophies, such as Indian philosophy.
Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy. You can also select modules from outside the department. In years two and three you will have the opportunity to explore your chosen topic in more depth, with modules such as Ethics and Animals, Philosophy of Crime and Punishment and the Philosophy of Religion.
In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you may already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that may be less familiar to you, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary Caribbean and American fiction.
As you progress through your degree, your module choices become more diverse and specialised: you can do archive work on Studying Manuscripts, or look at the politics of literature in Writing Global Justice. Everyone in the English Department, from new lecturers to professors, teaches at every level of the degree: this gives you the benefit of our expertise and makes you part of the conversation about our research and its impact outside the classroom. We place a strong emphasis on small-group learning within a friendly and supportive environment. In your first and second years, you will have a mix of lectures (which can be quite large) and seminars (which will never have more than 16 people).
In both subjects, you will be taught in small interactive seminar groups, encouraging discussion and debate with teaching staff and peers. Our small class sizes ensure that you will receive dedicated, individual attention.
We encourage you to undertake work placements as they provide you with a chance to put your newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice as well as allowing you to gain valuable real-world experience. You can undertake a placement at any point in your degree and work in a company or charity relevant to your final year studies. For example, a previous student worked at a zoo to learn more about the ethical treatment of animals. Other students have chosen to study abroad for one term in their second or final year. Partner institutions include universities in Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan or Australia. You may decide to learn a language to complement your study abroad later on in your degree.
Overview
In philosophy, we will give you an understanding of the central philosophical principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. You will also have the chance to explore non-Western philosophies, such as Indian philosophy.
Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy. You can also select modules from outside the department. In years two and three you will have the opportunity to explore your chosen topic in more depth, with modules such as Ethics and Animals, Philosophy of Crime and Punishment and the Philosophy of Religion.
In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you may already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that may be less familiar to you, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary Caribbean and American fiction.
As you progress through your degree, your module choices become more diverse and specialised: you can do archive work on Studying Manuscripts, or look at the politics of literature in Writing Global Justice. Everyone in the English Department, from new lecturers to professors, teaches at every level of the degree: this gives you the benefit of our expertise and makes you part of the conversation about our research and its impact outside the classroom. We place a strong emphasis on small-group learning within a friendly and supportive environment. In your first and second years, you will have a mix of lectures (which can be quite large) and seminars (which will never have more than 16 people).
In both subjects, you will be taught in small interactive seminar groups, encouraging discussion and debate with teaching staff and peers. Our small class sizes ensure that you will receive dedicated, individual attention.
We encourage you to undertake work placements as they provide you with a chance to put your newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice as well as allowing you to gain valuable real-world experience. You can undertake a placement at any point in your degree and work in a company or charity relevant to your final year studies. For example, a previous student worked at a zoo to learn more about the ethical treatment of animals. Other students have chosen to study abroad for one term in their second or final year. Partner institutions include universities in Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan or Australia. You may decide to learn a language to complement your study abroad later on in your degree.
Entry requirements A Level BBB | IB 30 points 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 include English Language and Literature, English Language, 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 |
---|---|---|
EN1GC | Genre and Context | DR Chloe Houston |
EN1RC | Research and Criticism | DR Stephen Thomson |
EN1PE | Poetry in English | DR Matthew Scott |
PP1RA | Reason and Argument | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
LS1GL | Globalization and Language | DR Tony Capstick |
LW1SOC | Law & Society | MRS Amanda Millmore |
ML1IL | Introduction to Linguistics | DR Federico Faloppa |
ML1GEC | Greats of European Cinema | PROF Julia Waters |
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 |
AR1EMP | Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome | PROF Roger Matthews |
AP1SB1 | Introduction to Management | DR Yiorgos Gadanakis |
FA1MM | Modernisms & Mythologies | DR James Hellings |
EN1TCL | Twentieth-Century American Literature | PROF David Brauner |
EN1PW | Persuasive Writing | DR Mary Morrissey |
EC110 | The Economics of Climate Change | DR Stefania Lovo |
EC118 | Economy, Politics and Culture in the Roman World | PROF Ken Dark |
MT1CC | The Science of Climate Change | PROF Nigel Arnell |
PO1BRI | British Society | DR Dawn Clarke |
PO1IPI | Introduction to Political Ideas | DR Rob Jubb |
PO1FRE | Freedom | DR Rob Jubb |
PO1INE | Inequality | DR Jonathan Golub |
PP1EL | Elementary Logic | DR Severin Schroeder |
PP1GJ | Global Justice | DR Shalini Sinha |
PP1ML | The Meaning of Life | DR Luke Elson |
PP1MM | Mental Machines | DR Nat Hansen |
PP1RP | Radical Philosophy | PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford |
PP1RG | The Right and the Good | PROF Philip Stratton-Lake |
PP1WRI | Writing the Philosophical Essay | PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
LS2LLE | Literature, Language and Education | MRS Suzanne Portch |
EN2BB | The Business of Books | DR Nicola Wilson |
EN2CF | Contemporary Fiction | PROF Bryan Cheyette |
EN2CRI | Critical Issues | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN2CMN | Chaucer and Medieval Narrative | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN2OEL | Introduction to Old English Literature | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN2LV | Lyric Voices 1340-1650 | DR Mary Morrissey |
EN2MOD | Modernism in Poetry and Fiction | DR Mark Nixon |
EN2WGI | Writing, Gender, Identity | DR Yasmine Shamma |
EN2WA | Writing America | DR Sue Walsh |
EN2VIC | Victorian Literature | DR Lucy Bending |
EN2SH | Shakespeare | DR Lucinda Becker |
EN2RTC | Renaissance Texts and Cultures | PROF Michelle O'Callaghan |
EN2RER | Restoration to Revolution: 1660-1789 | DR Rebecca Bullard |
EN2RP | The Romantic Period | DR Matthew Scott |
PP2EA2 | Ethical Argument 2: Philosophy and How to Live | DR Luke Elson |
PP2EA1 | Ethical Argument 1: Philosophy and How to Live | DR Luke Elson |
PP2GP2 | Global Philosophy 2 | DR Shalini Sinha |
PP2GP1 | Global Philosophy 1 | DR Shalini Sinha |
PP2HKW1 | Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein 1 | DR Severin Schroeder |
PP2MM2 | Meaning and the Mind 2 | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP2OID1 | Oppression, Inequality, and the Enemies of Democracy 1 | MR George Mason |
PP2MM1 | Meaning and the Mind 1 | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP2HKW2 | Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein 2 | DR Severin Schroeder |
PP2IDR1 | Ignorance, Doubt, and Relativism 1 | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP2IDR2 | Ignorance, Doubt, and Relativism 2 | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP2OID2 | Oppression, Inequality, and the Enemies of Democracy 2 | DR Charlotte Newey |
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 |
EN3VW | Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN3WWP | Writing Women: Nineteenth Century Poetry | DR Lucy Bending |
EN3MO | Medieval Otherworlds | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN3MAT | Margaret Atwood | DR Madeleine Davies |
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 |
EN3CL | Children's Literature | PROF Karin Lesnik-Oberstein |
EN3CF | Contemporary American Fiction | PROF David Brauner |
EN3DD | Decadence and Degeneration: Literature of the 1880s and 1890s | DR Lucy Bending |
EN3BBF | Black British Fiction | DR Cato Marks |
PP3LA | Philosophy of Law | MR George Mason |
PP3HGML | Happy, Good and Meaningful Lives | PROF Philip Stratton-Lake |
PP3CP | Chinese Philosophy | PROF John Preston |
PP3DIS | Dissertation in Philosophy | DR Jumbly Grindrod |
PP3FAI | Fairness | DR Charlotte Newey |
PP3BESR | Business Ethics and Social Responsibility | DR Charlotte Newey |
PP3AEST | Aesthetics | DR Severin Schroeder |
PP3AF | Are we free? | PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford |
PP3MED | Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Mediaeval Philosophy | DR Luke Elson |
PP3REL | Philosophy of Religion | MR George Mason |
PP3RVK | Reason, Value & Knowledge | PROF Philip Stratton-Lake |
PP3SCF | The Scandal of Film | PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford |
PP3SPA | Speech Attacks: bullshit, lies, propaganda | DR Nat Hansen |
PP3SSG | Society and State in Ancient Greece | PROF David Oderberg |
PP3WMA | Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mind and Action | DR Severin Schroeder |
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.
Flexible courses (price per 10 credit module)
UK/Republic of Ireland students: £750
International students: £1275
Careers
Specialist career modules throughout the degree will give you the chance to think about what career you would like and what skills you will need for it.
Studying philosophy enables you to develop a range of transferable skills. In particular, skills in clear thinking, logical analysis and the critical assessment of argument are greatly valued in a variety of professional careers such as law, politics, management and marketing. Overall, 92% of graduates from the Department of Philosophy are in work or further study 15 months after the end of their course [1].
Past graduates have found employment in the civil service, journalism, consultancy, finance, local and central government, and previous employers have included the Ministry of Defence, Cambridge University Press, local authorities and other universities.
Some of our graduates choose to continue their studies at postgraduate level, or through conversion courses and teacher training.
[1] Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017/18; First Degree responders from Philosophy.