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We are an English Literature department with wide-ranging interests and world-leading archives. We are in the top 150 worldwide for English Language and Literature (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023).
You will become part of a diverse and inclusive community of readers and writers, united in our passion for our subject.
Our curriculum is global, contemporary and comprehensive, and you can study literature from across the world and every period of history, right up to the present.
Whatever your interests, you'll be able to develop them at Reading.
The flexibility of our courses allows you to choose your own pathway - you can tailor your degree to fit your interests with our extensive range of modules. Many of our modules are unique to Reading because they reflect the research specialisms of our expert teaching staff.
As an English Literature student, in your first year you can choose to study at least one other subject from across the University. This flexible system allows you to change your final degree course from a single to a joint honours, or vice versa at the end of your first year.
As a student in the Department of English Literature, you will become part of a lively academic community.
Through seminars, classes, and extracurricular groups and activities you will discuss and debate different themes and ideas with your peers, enabling you to better express yourself and to learn from each other.
Our belief in small-group teaching means your lecturers will know you by name and you will become part of a supportive community of learners.
The wide range of knowledge among our teaching staff means that you can study literature in English from every period of history and from across the globe. We have expertise in everything from Shakespeare's playhouse to children's literature, from medieval fantasy literature to modern graphic novels.
Your tutors are prize-winning authors and poets, and writers who have published extensively. You will meet them regularly throughout your degree for one-to-one support and advice.
In the National Student Survey 2023, 94% of students in the Department of English Literature said our teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things.
Our courses will equip you with high-level skills and knowledge. They will open up all the many exciting graduate careers that require excellent literacy and critical intelligence. These include communications and media, the creative industries and publishing, public life, finance, and all levels of teaching.
We offer placements, courses, masterclasses, and professional development opportunities to help you decide on a career path and equip you with the skills you need to succeed.
Prospective employers value the intellectual training, versatility, and resourcefulness that you will gain during your degree studies in English Literature. Past graduates have gone on to careers at the BBC, The Telegraph, Oxford University Press, Waterstones and Cisco Systems, as well as local authorities and schools.
At Reading, all your lecturers and seminar leaders are active researchers in the field of English Literature. That means that your learning will be based on the most recent ideas and developments in our field.
You will benefit from your lecturers' expertise, and in seminars you'll become part of a shared conversation about the way our subject is developing. You can be part of the process of discovery: students' ideas help to shape the research of the future.
Phaidra Robinson, BA English Literature
During your studies, you'll have access to a variety of unique and original collections and resources to support and inspire you.
The University has three on-site museums, as well as the Special Collections – a substantial collection of rare books, archives, and manuscripts.
Our literary treasures include:
Join our friendly and committed community of writers and learn from lecturers, published authors and your fellow students.
