Course summary

Taking Film and English Literature at Lancaster gives you the opportunity to study for a stimulating degree scheme based jointly at the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) and the Department of English and Creative Writing. Your Film degree examines cinema’s aesthetic importance in the context of an increasingly visual and media-oriented culture, while investigating the connections between contemporary art, theatre, music and film. Lancaster’s course is academic rather than vocational, but you will have the opportunity at each year of the programme to make your own digital films using the University’s state-of-the-art equipment. In English Literature, you’ll explore texts of different periods and genres, develop a deeper understanding of literature’s role in society, and discover new approaches. The department has an established interest in intersections between literature and film. 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.