English Literature Degrees 2013
As an English Literature degree student at Surrey, you will join an innovative, forward thinking school which benefits from staff expertise in delivering excellent programmes in literature, language, communication and the arts. Your degree will provide you with a strong grounding in different approaches and practices in English literature, before moving on to focus on contemporary and global literatures, creative writing or a wide range of other options.
Degree programmes
Entry requirements
Minimum entry requirements
- A-level grades AAB
We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers.
Conditional offers from Surrey will be made in grades or marks, and not listed in points from the UCAS tariff.
Required subjects
GCSE English Language and Mathematics at grade C or above (or equivalent).
Grade A in A-level English, English Literature, English Literature and Language (or equivalent) or a relevant subject.
English language requirements
Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (or equivalent).
Please note that the University of Surrey offers English language programmes and is also an IELTS Test Centre.
Other suitable qualifications
Cambridge Pre-U
M1, M1, M1
European Baccalaureate
75%
International Baccalaureate
35 points
BTEC (QCF Level 3) Extended Diploma
DDD
In addition, we accept a wide range of qualifications, including other Level 3 QCF Level 3 qualifications, Scottish qualifications, the Irish Leaving Certificate, Access Diplomas and foundation courses. Other qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
It is important to check whether the qualifications you are taking are suitable for your chosen degree. If you are uncertain whether your qualification meets our entry requirements, please contact us.
If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements to this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year.
Selection process
Offers are usually made in terms of grades. All students to whom an offer is made are invited to a dedicated UCAS day. During this visit to the University, the candidate can find out more about the programmes and meet staff and students.
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Tuition fees are currently set at £9,000 per year for UK/EU undergraduates starting in 2012.
The tuition charge will be accompanied by a generous financial support package, underlining our continued commitment to widening access for those students who come from low income households.
Overseas students
The fee for students classed as overseas for fees purposes is £12,130.
The University will assess your fee status. If you are unsure whether you are likely to be considered a home, EU or overseas student for fees purposes, the UKCISA website offers more information.
Professional Training Year Fees
Programmes marked with an asterisk (*) in the table above include a professional training year.
Currently fees of £1,050 (based on an inflation assumption of 2.5%) are charged for the Professional Training Year. Fees will not have to be paid up front for those students who decide to take up the Government’s loan for higher education fees. The Professional Training year is a key factor in the high employability rates achieved by students with Surrey degrees.
Our degrees
You will be able to choose from a variety of optional modules taught by leading researchers, and will have the opportunity to gain a wide range of relevant practical and transferable skills which will provide you with a competitive edge in the employment market.
Our English Literature programmes will introduce you to a range of literary themes, genres and theories. You will explore key trends and movements and develop an understanding of historical, thematic and interdisciplinary approaches to literary interpretation.
You will benefit from a firm grounding in key works of literature in English, whilst also having the opportunity to develop specific interests in the study of contemporary and global literature across a range of themes such as gender and race.
The interdisciplinary focus of our programmes will allow you to study special topics in areas such as film, creative writing, media and culture where we have particular staff expertise.
You can choose to study English Literature as a single honours degree or to combine the study of English Literature with Creative Writing. Our Creative Writing pathway offers you the opportunity to gain confidence and expertise in writing in a variety of modes, including prose, poetry and screenplays. The Creative Writing programme is designed to complement and enhance your experience of studying English Literature by encouraging you to apply the critical and theoretical tools you have developed in your English Literature modules in order to improve as a creative writer. The Creative Writing modules will also enable you to reflect upon the ways in which your own creative practice might help you to engage with the texts that you are studying in your other classes. The Creative Writing programme combines lectures on key themes and topics, seminar discussions in which we reflect upon these issues, and workshop sessions in which we produce and discuss our own creative work.
You can also combine the study of English Literature with the study of English for International Communication or a foreign language. This combination would give you unique insights into language and culture, as well as literature. If you choose a foreign language, you would spend your third year in a country where that language is spoken, and would have the option to work or study, or to combine the two. Whichever programme you choose, you will gain the critical understanding, cultural awareness and analytical skills to prepare you for a career in a wide variety of sectors.
Programme content
Programme overview
You will begin your English Literature degree by acquiring knowledge of a wide range of literature and the methods we use to understand writing and other forms of cultural representation. As you move through the programme you will be able to choose from options that allow increased specialisation, from Shakespeare to contemporary and comparative literatures.
Year 1 will provide you with knowledge of the history of world literatures in English and an understanding of different genres. You will explore a range of literatures from around the globe, from the earliest classical authors to contemporary international writers. You will also look at the way in which literature engages with other forms of culture, such as film, media, creative writing and the arts.
In year 2 you will take compulsory modules based on the history of English literature and on issues of race, national identity, gender and sexuality in contemporary writing. In addition, you will be able to choose from a range of optional modules that allow you to develop your own interests. These modules include ones centred upon period and genre, those that develop an understanding of literature in a global context, and ones that consider English literature in its broader cultural setting. From year 2 on, students on the English Literature degree programme also have the option to take modules in creative writing.
In year 3 you will continue to develop your skills in methodology, although these will become more research-led in order to offer full support for your dissertation. In addition, you will be offered further opportunities for specialisation through a range of options that are based upon the research interests and expertise of members of staff. These build upon the knowledge of history, genre, internationalisation and contemporary culture gained in years 1 and 2. They also offer you the opportunity to investigate specific themes such as gender, race and politics.
Programme structure
Year 1 (FHEQ Level 4)
Modules include:
- Theories of Reading
- Texts in Context
- Genres and Contemporary Writing
- World Literatures
- Introduction to Text Design*
Year 2 (FHEQ Level 5)
Modules include:
- Constructing the Self
- Radical Subjectivities
- Contemporary Literature: Gender and Sexuality
- Contemporary Literature: Postcolonial Fictions
- Adaptations
- The 20th and 21st-Century American Novel
- Science/Fiction
- Poetry in English from 1909
- Contemporary Storytelling*
- Cultures and Contexts of Text Design*
Professional Training year
- Optional Professional Training year (subject to availability)
Year 3 (FHEQ Level 6)
Modules include:
- Dissertation
- The Theatre and The Novel
- Creative Identities
- Travel, Landscape and Identity in 20th-Century Fiction
- Writing on the Metropolis
- Text and Talk
- Imagination and Identity in 19th-Century Poetry
- The 21st-Century British Novel
- Global Diversity in Language and Communication
- Censorship, Freedom of Speech and Literature
- Gothic to Goth
- Creative Writing and Professional Practice*
*Creative Writing modules
Professional training
Unusually for an English Literature programme, we offer the opportunity to undertake a Professional Training year. Subject to availability, a placement will help to enhance your employability by giving you experience in degree-related professions such as publishing, marketing, the media industries, teaching, creative writing or arts administration.
A Professional Training placement will give you the opportunity to develop valuable transferable skills in analysis, reflection, communication and organisation. Placements are arranged jointly by the University and the student, and although students do not always receive a salary, they are often paid a small bursary by their employer.
Career opportunities
Graduate prospects
Our English degrees will provide you with a range of valuable skills to prepare you for a variety of careers. English graduates are perhaps best qualified for such professions as journalism, marketing, librarianship, teaching, writing and arts administration. They are also attractive to employers in management, business and the media.
Career opportunities
A degree in English Literature will equip you with a wide range of transferable skills that will prepare you for many rewarding careers. Typical job prospects include marketing, communications, publishing, the media industries, education, creative writing and arts administration. Should you wish to pursue further study, our programmes will provide you with essential knowledge and skills, as well as offering informed support and guidance to assist you in your studies.
Additional information
Teaching
Teaching on our English Literature programmes is both stimulating and encouraging. You will experience a wide range of teaching methods, including lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. In year 1, in addition to lectures, you will work closely with tutors and your fellow students in smaller seminar groups.
During years 2 and 3 you will become increasingly independent, participating in seminars in year 2 and contributing to student-led sessions in year 3. All learning is fully supported by the University’s virtual learning environment, and you will acquire a range of computing skills through the programme.
You will also be encouraged to supplement classroom work with participation in activities outside the University, such as theatre visits and trips to regional festivals such as the renowned Guildford Book Festival.
Facilities
As an English Literature student at Surrey, you will be introduced to an exciting and challenging environment that combines conventional teaching with a wide range of opportunities for you to engage with a vibrant research culture and arts activities. Regular visiting guest speakers and research seminars will inject a specialised interest into the programme and encourage students to consider areas for further study. The University of Surrey has close ties with the charity English PEN, which campaigns to protect freedom of speech and human rights for writers around the world. English PEN regularly hosts talks by prominent writers and other events at the University.
Guildford itself provides considerable access to arts activities, including the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, which puts on new and canonical plays, the renowned Guildford Book Festival, and a host of galleries, libraries and archives that will stimulate and support your independent studies. Above all, the University is only 35 minutes away from London, one of the world’s most important cultural centres.
You will have the opportunity to see plays at the National Theatre, the Barbican and the Globe Theatre. You will be able to watch new films in the major West End cinemas and classic movies at the National Film Theatre. This wide choice of activities will complement your studies in English Literature at Surrey, and you will be encouraged to draw inspiration from them in your work for your degree.
Assessment
The English Literature programmes are modular in structure, with assessment taking place at the end of each semester. This enables you to track your own progress throughout the degree. Although there are modules which must be passed to allow you to move on to the next year of study, the marks gained in year 1 will not count towards your final degree result. You will be assessed through a range of methods including essays, portfolios, seminar presentations, projects and examinations.
Why Surrey?
English Literature degrees 2013 at Surrey
- We emphasise employability, through our unique Professional Training year in degree-related professions or the study placement abroad
- We teach a range of literatures, from the earliest classical authors to contemporary international writers
- We give you the opportunity to build on core modules in Shakespeare and the classics with a range of innovative modules including detective fiction, travel writing and Gothic
- You will have access to a wide range of cultural activities on and off campus, including writers' events like the PEN festival, and a thriving student newspaper
- Our staff teach, publish and research at the highest international level, with specialisms in Gothic, nineteenth-century literature, women's writing, creative writing, and environmental criticism
- Creative Writing at Surrey was ranked in the UK’s top 10 for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2012
- We offer a strong focus on preparing you for a career, ensuring you have the skills in communication and creative thinking that employers value in English graduates
The English Literature programme offers an extensive range of texts – from Geoffrey Chaucer to David Mitchell – and you focus on prose, poetry, drama and film adaptations.
Sarah George
BA English Literature
After leaving another academic institution and spending a year in the workplace, it was really important for me to make the right choice when I decided to return to study. I also knew that my year of entry would class me as a mature student and I might be considered differently by university admissions procedures. After attending a University of Surrey Open Day, I knew this was the right place for me. I met staff from the School and discussed the course, as well as my own personal concerns, with them. I was reassured that mature students would be invited for interview prior to a decision being made about their suitability for the course. The exciting prospect of studying a diverse programme and the fact that they were genuinely interested in the needs of their potential students made me select Surrey as my first choice.
The English Literature programme offers an extensive range of texts – from Geoffrey Chaucer to David Mitchell – and you focus on prose, poetry, drama and film adaptations. As the course develops, you can choose from a selection of modules to suit your own personal literary interests and these are taught by staff who have a specific interest in that particular field of literature. The enthusiasm and passion expressed by the staff for their subject is infectious!
I would definitely recommend Surrey – the programme is interesting, exciting and innovative, and the staff are incredibly student-focused. Being a student here has improved my self-esteem and confidence, and has motivated me to meet my aspirations of a career in theatre.
The opportunities for placement years at Surrey are fantastic.
Hannah Pike
BA English Literature Level 2
I chose Surrey as my university as I loved the idea of taking a placement year in the middle of my course. In the current economic climate, leaving university with a whole year’s work experience puts Surrey graduates ahead of the pack in so many ways.
The opportunities for placement years at Surrey are fantastic. For mine, I am hoping to get a placement in the media, primarily radio, as this is the field I am interested in getting into when I graduate.
Doing English Literature has not only allowed me to increase my knowledge of authors and novels themselves, but also has taught me how to critically analyse them, which is such a great skill to have for almost every area of working life. It has allowed me to read novels and plays written up to 400 years ago which I have enjoyed so much. It has given me a new perspective on a subject which I thought I was so clued up on before I came to university.
As a first year, I lived in Battersea Court, which was perfect for me, as not only was it almost bang in the centre of campus, but the reception of Battersea Court is where GU2, the student radio station, transmits from, where I now host a primetime show. I was also involved a lot in MADSoc, the Music and Drama Society, which helped to increase my confidence a lot, and with whom I participated in two productions in my first year.
English Literature at Surrey
An introduction to English Literature at Surrey.
