Philosophy and English Literature
University of Reading
UCAS Code: VQ53 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of Reading
UCAS Code: VQ53 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
A level English Literature or a related subject at grade B. Related subjects: English Language & Literature, English Language, Drama & Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.
Access to HE Diploma
Must include at least 12 level 3 credits in English Literature or a related subject. Related subjects: English Language & Literature, English Language, Drama & Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Principal subjects must include English Literature or a related subject. Related subjects: English Language & Literature, English Language, Drama & Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.
Extended Project
In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification provides to students for University study, we now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer. Eligible applicants would receive two offers, our usual offer plus an alternative offer of a B in the EPQ and one grade lower in their A level subjects
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE Maths C (or 4), English Language or English Literature C (or 4).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Higher Level English Literature or a related subject at 5. Related subjects: English Language & Literature, English Language, Drama & Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Modules taken must be comparable to A level English Literature or a related subject. Related subjects: English Language & Literature, English Language, Drama & Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.
Scottish Higher
Higher English Literature or a related subject at grade B. Related subjects: English Language & Literature, English Language, Drama & Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**With our BA Philosophy and English literature course, develop your critical and analytical skills and apply them to a variety of philosophical and literary texts. Our students become expert at presenting arguments clearly and persuasively.**
In philosophy, we will give you an understanding of the central philosophical principles, concepts, problems, texts and figures. You will be taught by leading experts whose research strengths lie especially in moral philosophy and the philosophy of the mind and language. You will also have the chance to explore non-Western philosophies, such as Indian philosophy.
Your first year will introduce you to the general skills required for all philosophy. You can also select modules from outside the department. In years two and three you will have the opportunity to explore your chosen topic in more depth. These may include studying philosophy in terms of ethics and animals, crime and punishment or religion.
In your English Literature modules, you will read more of authors and genres that you may already know (from tragedy to Gothic, from Shakespeare and Dickens to Plath and Beckett). But you will also encounter aspects of literary studies that may be less familiar to you, from children’s literature to publishing studies and the history of the book. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary American fiction.
94% of students in the Department of English Literature said our teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023).
**For more information, please visit the programme page**: https://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/study/subject-area/philosophy-ug/ba-philosophy-and-english-literature
Modules
The following modules have been approved in principle for delivery in 2025/26. Please note that as part of our current curriculum improvement process, all modules require final University approval and may be subject to change.
Modules for this course:
Reason and Argument
Great Works in Philosophy
Poetry in English
Theory and Practice of Writing
Ethical Argument.
The University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. Further information about the content of final approved modules will be available in the summer of 2024. We suggest that you regularly revisit our course page during this time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information regarding the modules offered on this programme. Check our website for more details about the course structure.
Tuition fees
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What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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Philosophy
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Literature in english
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£20k
£25k
£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
£25k
£29k
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.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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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.
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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?
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