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Cardiff University

UCAS Code: VQ53 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,A,B-B,B,B

Must include Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Extended Project

A

For applicants taking the EPQ qualification, an A in the EPQ can be recognised to lower the entry requirements by a single grade. For example, an AAB offer would be "AAB from 3 A-levels or ABB from 3 A-levels and a grade A in the EPQ". Please note that any subject specific requirements must be met.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

You must have or be working towards: - English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade C/4 or an equivalent (such as A-levels). If you require a Tier 4 visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34-31

34-31 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL English Language and Literature, English Literature, or English Literature and Performance.

DD in a BTEC Diploma in Humanities and Social Science subjects, and grade B in A-level Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.

The Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate will be accepted in place of one A-level at the A-level grades specified, excluding any subject specific requirements.

UCAS Tariff

120-136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

Philosophy

English literature

How can literature and art inform our understanding of the world? What are the social factors shaping who gets heard and who gets to participate in literature and social discourse? What are the challenges facing today’s society and how can literature and philosophy help address them? You will explore these kinds of questions and many more in our BA English Literature and Philosophy degree, which will equip you to understand, analyse and articulate solutions to complex problems.

English Literature at Cardiff has long enjoyed an international reputation for its teaching and research. Our dynamic, flexible degree programme allows you to study literature from different periods and cultures, and across the range of principal literary genres. You will not be restricted to studying the printed word: we are intrigued by the connections between literature and film, art, history, technology, language, and everyday life, and our teaching reflects these interests. You will learn how literature addresses social, environmental, and economic concerns with the aim of creating a better, more inclusive world and developing sustainable solutions for the future of the planet.

In Philosophy you will develop a solid grounding in philosophy of language, will also study epistemology, philosophy of mind, and moral and political philosophy, and will have the opportunity to study areas such as aesthetics, feminist philosophy, and phenomenology. In the final year of the programme, you can specialise in your preferred areas of study. You will also come to a deeper appreciation of the implications of philosophical thought, providing you with a clear link between theories and their application.

This is emphasised in the final year of the programme, where in a core Philosophy module you will take part in a project to apply philosophical research to develop policies or strategies aimed at solving a real-world ethical or social problem. In the final-year English Literature core module, meanwhile, you will undertake a detailed examination of a single text across a whole semester and to use the experience and knowledge gained as the basis of a public-facing piece of work.

You’ll graduate with a range of professional skills, including collaboration, communication and critical thinking. You will be aware of the ethical, social and linguistic challenges that face contemporary society and industry, and have the ideas and confidence required to solve them.

**Distinctive Features of the Programme**
**Follow your interests:** Choose from modules across a range of areas in English literature and different philosophical topics and traditions and engage with new areas of research.
**Think for yourself:** Critically and creatively engage with different types of texts, data and difficult questions.
**Shape the future:** Apply philosophical research to solve real-world social problems or engage with local communities about your studies.
**Adventure and exploration:** Opportunities to study abroad in Europe and beyond, fostering independence and resilience.
**Communicate effectively:** Develop employability skills and experience in presenting your ideas in speech and writing.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£22,700
per year
International
£22,700
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

Extra funding

Cardiff University has many scholarships on offer to our prospective students. Please see our website at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/funding/scholarships for further information.

The Uni

Course location:

Main Site - Cardiff

Department:

School of English, Communication and Philosophy

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

78%
Philosophy
72%
English literature

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

84%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
66%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
73%
Course specific equipment and facilities
79%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
41%
Male students
59%
Female students
87%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

Literature in english

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
64%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

73%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
57%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
19%
Male students
81%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
3%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
low
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
54%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
13%
Administrative occupations: records
8%
Teaching and educational professionals

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

Literature in english

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
8%
Teaching and educational professionals

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Philosophy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£19k

£19k

£24k

£24k

£28k

£28k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Literature in english

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£24k

£24k

£27k

£27k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
place
University of Reading | Reading
Philosophy and English Literature
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 120-141
Nearby University
place
University of Bristol | Bristol
English and Philosophy
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 112-159

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here