Course overview

The degree is designed to be fully supportive to those who are new to university study, whatever your age.

You follow a central core of modules taught by the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, but can choose other relevant modules from other departments.

Entry requirements

There are no prescribed entry qualifications for the degree. Applicants are normally interviewed by the course selector in the Department of English, who will look for evidence of academic ability and commitment and, in addition, for evidence of serious interest in the study of literature. This evidence might be obtained from study of literature in an Access, A-Level or a CLL course, or a less formal engagement with literature.

Areas of study - level 4

While this degree offers flexibility, it is highly recommended that students complete 120 credits of Level 4 modules prior to Honours Level (5 and 6) study in order to prepare well for this.

The degree requires you to take 120 Level 4 credits, followed by a further 240 Honours Level credits. At Level 4, there is one compulsory module, Modes of Reading, which is taken by all Warwick students, full and part-time, taking degrees in English. The module offers an introduction to the practices of criticism and will address form, genre and literary inheritance. You are strongly encouraged to take a second module in English to increase your knowledge and skills in literature. The following are offered:

• Modern World Literatures
• Epic into Novel
• Medieval and Early Modern Literature

Other introductory modules in English and Cultural Studies are offered by the Departments of Film and TV Studies, History, Classics and Ancient History, History of Art and the Language Centre.

Areas of study - honours level

Honours Level
At Honours Level, you must take a minimum of four of the eight Honours Level modules available from the English Department. This is an indicative list of the modules that have been offered:

• The European Novel
• U.S. Writing and Culture, 1780-1920
• North American Women Writers
• Romantic and Victorian Poetry
• Seventeenth Century Literature
• Literary and Cultural Theory
• Arthurian Literature and its Legacy
• The English Nineteenth Century Novel
• Modern American Poetry
• New Literatures in English
• Devolutionary British Fiction
• Explorations in Critical Theory
• The Global Novel
• Literature, Environment, Ecology
• European Theatre
• Twentieth Century U.S. Literature
• Dissertation (application to be approved in advance; deadline to submit a fully approved form is Friday week 1, term 3 - see module webpage for full details, application form and useful workshop to help prepare you over the summer)
• Othello - 15 CATS
• English Literature and Feminisms 1799-1899
• Eighteenth Century Literature
• Crime Fiction, Nation and Empire: Britain 1850-1947
• Literature and Psychoanalysis
• States of Damage
• Restoration Drama - 15 CATS
• Early Modern Drama - 15 CATS
• Fiction Now: Narrative, Media and Theory in the 21st Century
• Disasters and the British Contemporary
• Queer and There: Queer Theory and the History of Sexuality in the Global Context - 15 CATS
• Literature, Theory and Time
• Cultures of Abolition: Slavery, Prison, Debt and Data
• Remaking Shakespeare
• Commodity Fictions: World Literature and World-Ecology
• Global City Literature: Image, Theory, Text

You may take optional modules from other departments in the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences with the agreement of the course director and academic coordinator.

Teaching, assessment and study support

There are a variety of assessments and these may include coursework assignments, formal examinations, presentations and research projects. You can study between one and three 30 credit modules per year. You can expect to commit to around 10 hours a week for each module you take, which includes contact time and independent study. Tutors are experts in their field and have extensive teaching experience, including working with adult learners. Throughout your degree programme you will be provided with considerable support and guidance.

How to apply

Applications for 2022/23 are closed

Fees and funding

The University will charge Home students £1,540 for each 30 credit module in 2022/23. Fees for subsequent years of the course have yet to be confirmed.

See Student fees and funding for more information and view potential additional fees.

The University of Warwick is not currently sponsoring students on part-time or distance learning courses with a Tier 4 visa, and so if you require a visa to study a part-time or distance learning course in the UK which is longer than six months, you may wish to consult the 'right to study' page on our Student Immigration & Compliance website: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/international/immigration/othervisas/whatvisa before you make an application.

Location and times

Classes are on located on Main Campus, The University of Warwick. Times dependent on modules taken; please contact us for more details

Further information

*The modules mentioned above may be subject to change.
Please read our terms and conditions for more detailed information and our Conditions of Offer document for more information on when you accept a place with the University.

Career Prospects

Your course and university experience will give you skills that can be transferred to a wide variety of careers. Such skills include communication, innovation, linguistical and theoretical approaches, cultural and dynamic. All these are very desirable to employers. As many graduate jobs are open to students from all degree subjects, there is a wide range of career possibilities. For example, jobs in Teaching, Journalism and Content Writing and Publishing. You could also work in a range of sectors such as Arts, Culture and Recreation, Business and Administration, Teaching and Lecturing.

Graduates from English courses have gone on to work for employers including:

• Archant
• Barclays
• Bloomsbury
• British Council
• Civil Service
• Maidstone Borough Council
• Newsquest Media Group
• Pan Macmillan
• Royal Opera House
• The Sunday Times
• Teach First
• Tesco
• Weber Shandwick

They have pursued roles such as:

• Journalists
• Newspaper and periodical editors
• Publishers
• Creative directors
• Arts officers, producers and directors
• Authors, writers and translators
• Musicians and composers
• Teachers
• Advertising accounts managers
• Business sales executives
• Solicitors and legal associate professionals
• Management consultants and business analysts
• Marketing associate professionals
• Academics and researchers

Will you definitely help get my idea launched/accepted?

The Innovation Support service does not guarantee every idea will be implemented – in fact, the majority will not make it through to final implementation.

Most ideas make complete sense when considered in isolation, but often cannot take account of the complexities and practicalities of the full environment. Many ideas cannot overcome the challenges of real-world practicalities.

The Innovation Support service cannot guarantee every idea is accepted or implemented – however it can guarantee that ideas that generate sufficient positive support are fully considered and tested against realities. It will also attempt to develop ideas to overcome any obstacles identified. It cannot guarantee implementation, but it can guarantee full consideration.