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BA English Literature and Film

UCAS code
QW36
A level offer
BBB
Year of entry
2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years

Year of entry
2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years

On our BA English Literature and Film programme, you will explore two complementary and inter-connected forms of media (the written word and film) that have shaped modern culture.

You will be studying in two departments (English Literature; and Film, Theatre & Television) who collaborate with each other extensively. English Literature was one of the first university departments in the UK to study American and Canadian authors like Margaret Atwood, and we continue this tradition with a curriculum that includes the best of contemporary writing in English from around the globe. The Department of Film, Theatre & Television pioneered the study of film in UK higher education, and we continue to lead in the range and breadth of the modules we offer.

You will learn about film from its beginnings in the late nineteenth century to the present day, and you will be able to learn more about everything from contemporary Hollywood to avant-garde cinema, together with new forms of digital entertainment and video art. Our teaching is a dynamic mix of theory and practice, and optional modules that include group-based practical projects are available for those who enjoy practice-based study. We have a huge advantage in our £11.4-million building (opened in 2011) that features three theatre spaces, a digital cinema, a dedicated recording studio and a mixing suite. You will have access to a studio with a flexible lighting system, multi-camera facilities, a talk-back system and Chroma key, and a studio gallery linked to the theatres for live filming and mixing work. We provide industry-standard software and support from dedicated technicians, and all spaces are equipped with state-of-the-art multimedia equipment and lighting.

In English Literature, you will encounter authors and genres that you may already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). You will also explore 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 lecturers and professors have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary American fiction so you will be learning from experts in the field. Everyone in our departments, from new lecturers to professors, teaches at every level of the degree, so you are learning from experts as soon as you begin your first year. 94% of students in the Department of English Literature said our teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023).

We place a strong emphasis on small-group learning within a friendly and supportive environment, because we believe that the study of literature and cinema is a discursive process where we learn by sharing ideas. We provide detailed and thorough feedback on your written work within 15 working days: this is crucial to your development as a writer, whether you intend a career in creative or professional writing.

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.

Study abroad

In your second year, it may be possible for you to spend a semester studying abroad at one of our partner institutions in the USA, Canada, Asia and countries across Europe. Learn more about studying abroad.

Overview

On our BA English Literature and Film programme, you will explore two complementary and inter-connected forms of media (the written word and film) that have shaped modern culture.

Placement

Study abroad

Entry requirements A Level BBB

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.

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 higher level English or a related subject listed above

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.

Learn more about our International Foundation programme

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.

Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2024/25. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.

Compulsory modules:

Theory and Practice of Writing
Poetry in English
Approaches to Television
Approaches to Film

Optional modules:

Exploring the Studio
Radical Forms of Theatre and Performance
Comedy on Stage and Screen
Introduction to Drama
Modern American Culture and Counterculture
Thinking Translation: History and Theory
Shelf Life
What is Comparative Literature?
Institution-wide Language Programme (IWLP)

The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules:

Film Forms and Cultures

Optional modules:

Myth, Legend and Romance: Medieval Storytelling

Explore storytelling in medieval England as you take in the fantastical tales of ancient heroes, drama that blends comedy and religious devotion, and magic and supernatural beings. You’ll consider the stark contrast of narrative structure, character development and language use by medieval writers in contrast to our own.

Writing America: Perspectives on the Nation

Critical Thinking

Victorian Literature

Victorian literature consists of a period where authors began to consider people’s place in the world with God, the workings of the mind, and the role of class and gender in the construction of identity. You’ll engage with these ideas as you consider some of the greatest works of the period – from Dickens and Hardy to Tennyson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Contemporary Fiction

Study a selection of fiction from the 1980s to the present day, exploring the formal, thematic and cultural diversity of Anglophone fiction produced in this period. You’ll consider these texts within a number of social, political and historical contexts, such as multiculturalism, feminism and globalisation.

Exploring Location

Placement and Employability Skills

Documentary

Reworking Shakespeare in Performance

Film Forms and Cultures

Television and Contemporary Culture

Identity, Performance and Culture

Early Modern Literature

Modernism in Poetry and Fiction

Examine the concepts of modernity, modernism, and the history of early twentieth-century poetry and fiction. You’ll explore experimentation and innovation in poetic and narrative form, and their relation to wider social upheaval and cultural movements in the period.

Writing in the Public Sphere

Study literature designed to prompt social and political change as you examine speeches, pamphlets, tracts and political posters from the early modern period to the present. Consider how such literature shapes debates on race, class, religion, nationality and women’s rights across Britain and Ireland.

The Business of Books

Enlightenment Revolution and Romanticism

Institution-wide Language Programme (IWLP)

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Optional modules:

English Literature Dissertation

Complete a substantial work of literary-critical argument based on sustained independent research under the guidance of a supervisor. Engage in depth with a topic of particular interest as you develop the skillset accumulated during your first two years of study.

Film Dissertation

Creative Research Project

Lyric Voices, 1340-1650

Explore lyric poetry from the Middle Ages and the renaissance. You’ll look at the presentation of themes such as love and longing, grief, and the fear of death, and compare the ways in which authors make use of literary conventions to present such themes.

Decadence and Degeneration: Literature of the 1890s

From Romance to Fantasy

Placing Jane Austen

British Black and Asian Voices: 1948 to the Present

Examine a range of British texts (poetry, drama, novels, short stories, films) by writers of Black and Asian descent. You’ll read theoretical and historical material as you examine issues of cultural capital, national identity, and minority communities.

James Joyce

Performance and Design

Advanced Scriptwriting

Screen Bodies

Modern and Contemporary British Poetry

Literature and Mental Health

Discover how literature engaged with mental health in the first half of the twentieth century, a crucial turning point in psychology. You’ll consider the de-stigmatisation of mental health in the wake of World War I, the disciplines of psychiatry and psychology that emerged from it, and how literature engages with trauma, anxiety and obsession.

Children's Literature

The Bloody Stage: Recenge and Death in Renaissance Drama

Writing Women: Nineteenth-Century Poetry

Virginia Woolf

Adaptations across Stage and Screen

Musical Theatre

Film Festivals and Programming

Instiution-wide Language Programme (IWLP)

We cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available between May and July 2023. We suggest that you regularly revisit this webpage during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250*

New international students: £22,350

*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

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. Practical work and group projects give you experience of project management and collaborative working. These are all valuable skills 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 graduates go into many walks of life: some work in the performing arts, journalism, the media or teaching. Some decide to continue their studies at postgraduate level. Others have successful careers in fields as diverse as law, business administration, web-design and advertising. Past graduates have gone on to work for employers such as the BBC, The Telegraph, Oxford University Press, Waterstones, Cisco Systems and the Royal Mint, as well as local authorities and schools. In the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21, 95% of our leavers are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation*.

*Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2023, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21; includes first degree English Literature responders.

This course has allowed me to study everything from the Romantics to mental health in literature, and television genres to documentary. It has also encouraged a real range of approaches, from small-group seminars, to practical filmmaking. I've even created my own video essays.