BA English Literature and International Relations
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UCAS code
LQF3 -
Typical offer
BBB -
Year of entry
2023/24 -
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years
-
Year of entry
2023/24 -
Course duration
Full Time: 3 Years
Whether you explore post-colonial literature or debate the ‘Arab Spring’, our BA English and International Relations degree lets you explore the world from different perspectives.
Our students examine some of the world’s most pressing problems as they are represented in literary works and as they are analysed through the study of International Relations, a specialist area of politics.
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 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 Class Matters. Everyone in our 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.
In international relations, you will learn how to apply political theories and techniques to the issues that make news headlines across the globe. You will have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of specialist core and optional modules, which cover topical issues such as European political integration, international terrorism, and politics in the Middle East. In certain modules, you will have the opportunity to take part in United Nations and Middle East simulations and gain an insight into the political process. You can also take part in other activities that are related to the subject, such as the Department of Politics and International Relations' weekly politics radio show and learn other useful skills such as presenting and audio editing.
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. We believe that the study of English literature and international relations is a discursive process in which we learn by sharing our ideas, and so we are determined to keep class sizes small enough so that everyone feels able to contribute. We provide detailed and thorough feedback on your written work within 15 working days: this is crucial to your development as someone whose career will involve the writing of clear and persuasive documents.
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 heritage, in education, and in the media. In international relations, you can undertake a two-week placement as part of our module on British government and politics. This is an opportunity for you to gain first-hand experience of working with an MP, charity, pressure group, local councillor or media organisation. You can also carry out longer placements during summer vacations.
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, Australia and countries across Europe. Learn more about studying abroad.
Overview
Whether you explore post-colonial literature or debate the ‘Arab Spring’, our BA English and International Relations degree lets you explore the world from different perspectives.
Our students examine some of the world’s most pressing problems as they are represented in literary works and as they are analysed through the study of International Relations, a specialist area of politics.
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 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 Class Matters. Everyone in our 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.
In international relations, you will learn how to apply political theories and techniques to the issues that make news headlines across the globe. You will have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of specialist core and optional modules, which cover topical issues such as European political integration, international terrorism, and politics in the Middle East. In certain modules, you will have the opportunity to take part in United Nations and Middle East simulations and gain an insight into the political process. You can also take part in other activities that are related to the subject, such as the Department of Politics and International Relations' weekly politics radio show and learn other useful skills such as presenting and audio editing.
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. We believe that the study of English literature and international relations is a discursive process in which we learn by sharing our ideas, and so we are determined to keep class sizes small enough so that everyone feels able to contribute. We provide detailed and thorough feedback on your written work within 15 working days: this is crucial to your development as someone whose career will involve the writing of clear and persuasive documents.
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 heritage, in education, and in the media. In international relations, you can undertake a two-week placement as part of our module on British government and politics. This is an opportunity for you to gain first-hand experience of working with an MP, charity, pressure group, local councillor or media organisation. You can also carry out longer placements during summer vacations.
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, Australia and countries across Europe. Learn more about studying 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.
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 |
EN1PE | Poetry in English | PROF Steven Matthews |
EN1RC | Research and Criticism | DR Nicola Abram |
PO1ICD | Introduction to Contemporary Democracy | DR Christoph Arndt |
PO1IPI | Introduction to Political Ideas | DR Andrew Reid |
PO1IRS | Politics: International Relations and Strategic Studies | DR Amanda Hall |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Compulsory modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
PO2MIR | Modern International Relations | DR Joseph O' Mahoney |
PO2SOP | The Study of Politics | DR Christoph Arndt |
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
EN2BB | The Business of Books | DR Nicola Wilson |
EN2CF | Contemporary Fiction | PROF Bryan Cheyette |
EN2CMN | Chaucer and Medieval Narrative | DR Aisling Byrne |
EN2CRI | Critical Issues | DR Stephen Thomson |
EN2MOD | Modernism in Poetry and Fiction | DR Mark Nixon |
EN2OEL | Introduction to Old English Literature | DR Eleni Ponirakis |
EN2RP | The Romantic Period | DR Matthew Scott |
EN2RTC | Renaissance Texts and Cultures | PROF Michelle O'Callaghan |
EN2SH | Shakespeare | PROF Lucinda Becker |
EN2VIC | Victorian Literature | DR Lucy Bending |
EN2WA | Writing America | DR Sue Walsh |
EN2WGI | Writing, Gender, Identity | DR Cato Marks |
EN2WPS | Writing in the Public Sphere | DR Mary Morrissey |
PO2ADC | Advanced Degree Competencies | DR Amanda Hall |
PO2AMG | American Government and Politics | DR Graham O'Dwyer |
PO2BGP | British Government and Politics | DR Rose De Geus |
PO2CGP | Comparative Government and Politics | DR Kiwi Ting |
PO2COS | Contemporary Strategy | DR Kenton White |
PO2GPH | Global Politics and History | DR Kerry Goettlich |
PO2MUN | Model United Nations | DR Sarah Von Billerbeck |
PO2PHC | Political Classics | PROF Alan Cromartie |
PO2PWS | Politics of the Welfare State | DR Christoph Arndt |
PO2RTW | Russia in the World | DR Vladimir Rauta |
PO2THI | Political Thinking | DR Alice Baderin |
PO2TMP | The Media and Politics | DR Dawn Clarke |
PO2WAP | War and Peace Since 1800 | DR Geoff Sloan |
LS2LLE | Literature, Language and Education | MRS Suzanne Portch |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Optional modules include:
Code | Module | Convenor |
---|---|---|
EN3AGN | American Graphic Novels | PROF David Brauner |
EN3AH | Hitchcock | DR Neil Cocks |
EN3BBF | Black British Fiction | DR Cato Marks |
EN3CL | Children's Literature | PROF Karin Lesnik-Oberstein |
EN3DD | Decadence and Degeneration: Literature of the 1880s and 1890s | DR Lucy Bending |
EN3DIC | Dickens | PROF Andrew Mangham |
EN3DIS | Dissertation | DR Stephen Thomson |
EN3HT | Holocaust Testimony: Memory, Trauma and Representation | PROF Bryan Cheyette |
EN3LMH | Literature and Mental Health | DR John Scholar |
EN3MAT | Margaret Atwood | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN3MCP | Modern and Contemporary British Poetry | PROF Steven Matthews |
EN3MO | Medieval Otherworlds | DR Eleni Ponirakis |
EN3OW | Oscar Wilde and the World of Art | DR John Scholar |
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 |
EN3SHF | Shakespeare on Film | PROF Lucinda Becker |
EN3TBS | The Bloody Stage: Revenge and Death in Renaissance Drama | DR Chloe Houston |
EN3UTD | Utopia and Dystopia in English and American Literature | DR Chloe Houston |
EN3VW | Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury | DR Madeleine Davies |
EN3WWP | Writing Women: Nineteenth Century Poetry | DR Lucy Bending |
PO3BFD | British Foreign and Defence Policy since 1945 | DR Kenton White |
PO3CSS | Introduction to Critical Security Studies | DR Andreas Behnke |
PO3DCW | Dynamics of Civil Wars | DR Vladimir Rauta |
PO3DIS | Dissertation | DR Adam Humphreys |
PO3FAR | The Far Right | PROF Daphne Halikiopoulou |
PO3FPT | Feminism and Political Theory | DR Sarah Goff |
PO3GAP | Gender and Politics | DR Rose De Geus |
PO3INT | Intelligence, War and International Relations | DR Geoff Sloan |
PO3IOG | International Organizations in Global Politics | DR Martin Binder |
PO3IPE | International Political Economy | DR Jonathan Golub |
PO3ITE | International Terrorism | DR Amanda Hall |
PO3MAR | Karl Marx | PROF Alan Cromartie |
PO3MEA | Politics & International Relations of the Middle East | DR Younis Lahwej |
PO3NUK | The Politics of Nuclear Weapons | DR Joseph O' Mahoney |
PO3USF | US Foreign and Defence Policy since 1950 | DR Graham O'Dwyer |
PO3WPE | War, Peace and International Ethics | PROF Alan Cromartie |
These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Fees
New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250*
New international students: £20,300
*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
Through this course you will develop strong analytical and research skills, as well as becoming experienced in delivering presentations and working as part of a group. These transferable skills will prove immensely valuable when applying for jobs related to your studies and in different fields altogether.
As an English literature 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: these are 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. Some of our students decide to continue their studies at postgraduate level; others have successful careers in fields as diverse as law, business administration, web-design, teaching and journalism.
Overall, 91% of graduates from Politics and International Relations, and 89% of graduates from English Literature, are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation*. 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.
*Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2022, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20; includes first degree Politics and International Relations and first degree English Literature responders.