English Literature
Durham University
UCAS Code: Q300 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Durham University
UCAS Code: Q300 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: English Literature at grade A or English Language and Literature at grade A. Specific subjects excluded for entry: General Studies and Critical Thinking.
Access to HE Diploma
We require 60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at level 3 (or equivalent). At least 12 credits must be taken in English at Level 3 and passed with distinction.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
To include English Literature at D3 or higher.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include 6, 6, 6 from Higher Level subjects to include English Literature or English Language and Literature.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
To include English Grade H2
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
English Literature at grade A or English Language and Literature at grade A is required.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
English Literature at grade A or English Language and Literature at grade A is required.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: English at grade A.
Scottish Higher
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: English at grade A. We will normally make offers based on Advanced Highers. If an applicant has not been able to take 3 Advanced Highers, offers may be made with a combination of Advanced Highers and Highers, or on a number of Highers.
At Durham we welcome applications from students of outstanding achievement and potential from all educational backgrounds. We will consider applicants studying T level qualifications for entry to many of our courses. Where a course requires subject specific knowledge and this is not covered within the T level being studied, you may need to supplement your T level studies with a suitable qualification to meet this requirement, for example at A level. Where this is needed this will be clearly stated in our entry requirements.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Course details**
Not only does English Studies provide a thorough grounding in the ‘great tradition’ of English literature – from Chaucer and Shakespeare through to plays, poems and novels written in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – and in literary theory, but it also offers a wide range of imaginative and research-led modules.
The comprehensive syllabus combines traditional areas of literary study with new and developing areas of the discipline. It aims to develop your conceptual abilities and analytical skills by exposing you to a variety of literary-critical approaches. This will promote and develop the clarity and persuasiveness of your argument and expression, enabling you to develop, to a high degree of competence, a range of skills which are both subject-specific and transferable.
**Why Durham University?**
We are consistently ranked as one of the leading English departments in the UK, so when you choose to study English at Durham you can be assured of the highest quality learning experience.
Spanning texts from Chaucer to Shakespeare, from Jane Austen to Virginial Woolf, and American poetry to twenty-first century novels, English Studies at Durham will appeal to those with a sensitivity to language, a love of reading and a sense of intellectual adventure.
English Studies is a popular and highly regarded subject that will give you a broader and more balanced understanding of how the world works, politically, psychologically and sociologically.
It also develops the highly transferable linguistic, critical and analytical skills that are sought after in the contemporary workplace.
**Facilities**
Students have access to extensive general collections in literary studies which are housed in the University library, and a number of specialist collections and archives in Palace Green, in the heart of Durham city.
**Rankings**
**29th** in QS World University Subject rankings 2025
**4th** in the Complete University Guide 2025
**4th** in the Guardian University Guide 2025
**Top** 10 in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
**Career Opportunities**
Academically, we inspire our students to develop as analytic, sensitive and creative readers and writers, yet an English Studies degree is worth so much more.
We aim to transform students into independent thinkers with the ability to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively. It’s this skill set, coupled with effective organisational and research skills, that makes them so highly valued across a range of work environments.
Graduates progress into a diverse range of careers and sectors, including roles in arts and theatre management, broadcasting, publishing and journalism, technical writing, business, marketing and advertising, teaching, higher education, law, the third sector and government.
Modules
For current information please scroll to the bottom of the page for Provider Information and select Visit our Course Page under Course Contact Details.
Assessment methods
Most modules will be assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations.
You should have developed the ability to interpret different ideas and values represented in literature, to test the ideas of others and to pursue ideas of your own.
In the third year you will write a 10,000-word dissertation on a subject of your choice related to English Literature.
In addition to the help provided by your subject lecturers, you can also access extensive support for your assessments through ASC, the Academic Skills Centre. See below for details: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/centres/academic-skills-centre/
Tuition fees
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Extra funding
Durham University offers a range of scholarship opportunities to academically well-qualified and highly motivated students. For further details, including deadlines for application, please visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/scholarships/
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Literature in english
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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.
£22k
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£33k
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