Course summary

If you choose to study English Literature at Lancaster we will take you on an exciting journey through a vibrant array of authors, genres, historical periods, literary movements, techniques and critical approaches. We offer a degree that is intellectually stimulating, provides a wide variety of study choice and turns out graduates with excellent employment prospects. You can study writers dating from the middle ages to the present day, and choose genres and periods that particularly appeal to you. Some of the genres you may encounter include science fiction; gothic; utopia; world literature; the graphic novel; travel writing and slave narratives. You’ll discover a wide range of authors, from which could include classics such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Bronte and Oscar Wilde and more modern and contemporary authors such as Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Chinua Achebe, Samuel Beckett, Margaret Atwood, Jackie Kay and Carol Ann Duffy. Flexibility is built into our degree programme, meaning you can immerse yourself in English Literature or combine it with another complementary subject. Our academics are passionate about English Literature and they teach our courses from the first year onwards, meaning they are available to help you. Our keen emphasis on employment means you will develop professional skills as part of your studies. We offer a number of placement and internship opportunities, which could include classroom experience in schools, a short placement in a creative or heritage organisations and internship opportunities, as well as a separate placement year degree. There is a strong international emphasis to our work and you may have the opportunity to spend your second or third year at one of our prestigious partner universities. There may also be opportunities for short study trips. You will have the opportunity to spend Year 3 on a placement with a public, private or voluntary organisation in the UK or overseas. This experience should boost your employment prospects and help you to decide on your career direction and the kind of organisation in which you want to work once you graduate. You will be doing a real, responsible job – with all the satisfaction that brings. Applying for a placement is a competitive process and our Placements Team will support you in finding and applying for a suitable placement. The preparatory modules you will complete in years one and two are designed to give you the best chance of success in both your placement applications and the placement itself. One of the aims of the placement year is to enhance your understanding of the connections between theory and practice which could benefit your final year of study. Placements provide an exciting opportunity to build up experience and transferable skills, as well as to make contacts with potential employers, which can place you a step ahead in the graduate recruitment market. The University will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all placement roles offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills. If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply.