First-year modules cover a broad span and are designed to introduce you to ways of studying literature at university. By the third year, your modules will focus on specific writers or themes and reflect the research expertise of the Department’s academic staff. Our aim throughout your degree course is to guide and support you in your progress, helping you to gain confidence as a reader, researcher and writer, and assisting you to prepare for life beyond your undergraduate studies.

First year

In your first year, the emphasis is on acquiring the foundational skills and knowledge which will form the basis of your studies throughout the rest of your degree. You will work on a wide variety of authors and genres, including texts from the medieval period through to the present day, and will spend a small proportion of your time studying English Language. You will be encouraged to develop your skills in literary analysis and essay-writing, and will also be introduced to the major library and electronic resources relevant to the university-level study of English literature.

Second year

You will continue your studies in all the major literary periods, but work more closely on the key literary issues and genres specific to each era. You will also take options in Medieval/Early Modern literature, Modern literature and English Language, and either a transhistorical literature option or a module from another discipline.

Third year

You will choose from a wide range of research-led modules, each taught by a leading specialist in the field. These optional modules will be complemented by your dissertation and by a year-long Shakespeare module, overseen by our colleagues from the prestigious Shakespeare Institute in Stratford. You may also choose to continue your English Language studies.

How will I be taught?

As a Birmingham student, you will be taught by world-leading experts in both language and literature. Throughout your studies, you will be encouraged to become an independent and self-motivated learner and to thrive on challenge and opportunities to think for yourself.  This involves developing some ways of working that may be very different from those with which you are familiar from school or college. Our first-year courses are designed to help you make a smooth transition to studying at university, and you will be able to draw on an excellent range of sources of support throughout your studies.

Support available

Personal Tutor

From the outset, you will be assigned your own Personal Tutor who will get to know you as you progress through your studies, provide academic and welfare advice, encourage you, and offer assistance in any areas where you may feel you need extra support to make the most of your potential and your time here at Birmingham.

Academic Writing Advisory Service
The Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) will provide you with individual support from an academic writing advisor. You will receive guidance on writing university-level essays and dissertations which can be quite different from your previous experiences of writing.  Support is given in a variety of ways, such as small-group workshops, online activities, and feedback through email and tutorials.

Peer-Assisted Study Support Sessions

You will have the opportunity to attend Peer-Assisted Study Support or PASS sessions, which are weekly study groups run by established students who have already successfully completed the module you are studying. 

Learning settings

Lectures explore a particular text, topic or context, often involving brief factual descriptions and outlining major questions and interpretations. Their main purpose is to challenge and stimulate, encouraging you to come to your own conclusions based on further reading and seminar debates.

Seminars are usually small groups of between ten and twenty-five students. They often run alongside lectures, addressing any individual questions you may have, and allowing you to consolidate lecture material, to engage in student- and tutor-led discussion and to expand your understanding.

Workshop-based skills sessions help you to make the transition from school or college to university and support our small-group seminars.

Supervised independent study. In your final year you will undertake two dissertations, pieces of independent research chosen and structured according to your own interests. You will be supported in this through one-on-one supervisions with tutors.

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). For each module you study the VLE gives you access to extensive resources and information. It allows you to share thoughts on assignments with other students via the discussion group facilities, and even to submit your work electronically.

[Image above - Department of English Graduation July 2012]

Studying for an English BA at Birmingham is an unparalleled opportunity, not only to engage with a diverse cultural, textual and linguistic discipline, but also to develop skills in intellectual analysis, critical thinking and articulate expression – skills that last a lifetime and qualify you for many possible careers. You’ll also be encouraged to acquire practical skills that you’ll find just as useful in your future career, including oral presentation, professional documentation, group work and the uses of information technology.

Fifty per cent of vacancies advertised for new and recent graduates don’t specify a degree subject, and English graduates enter a wide range of careers including advertising, journalism and media, government, law, publishing and teaching at every level. About 25% of English graduates pursue postgraduate study to specialise in an academic area or prepare for careers such as law and teaching.

English graduates from Birmingham have a high rate for employability for the subject, and we’re ranked in the top ten universities nationally for graduate employability. Ninety-one per cent of our English graduates go into work or study within six months of graduation. English graduates from Birmingham have a high average starting salary of £18,000.  Our graduates have started careers with employers including the BBC, Headline Publishing Group, Mirror Group Newspapers and Oxford University Press, in roles such as account executive, editorial assistant, marketing assistant and sales and events coordinator.

Whether you have a clear idea of where your future aspirations lie or want to consider the broad range of opportunities available once you have a Birmingham degree, our Careers Network can help you achieve your goal. This is a unique careers guidance service tailored to your academic subject area, offering a specialised team who can give you expert advice. This includes individual careers advice and events to give you insight into the professions and employers of interest to arts graduates. Our ‘Creative careers’ series is always popular with our students, and features events with employers and professionals from areas such as advertising, PR and communications, careers in journalism, publishing and writing, and careers in the theatre.

English alumni profiles

Careers events

We also hold events covering careers in teaching, event management, marketing and working with charities; we’re developing links with local arts organisations to create some amazing opportunities for students; and you can even apply for our ‘Global Challenge’ to work overseas on an expenses paid placement during your summer vacation. We also encourage all our students to apply their skills in the workplace by undertaking internships in the summer; the work experience bursary scheme enables students to apply for funding for placements in those career fields where they are often unpaid.

Extra-curricular activities

To enhance your career prospects even further, you will need to think about engaging in some extra-curricular activities while you're at university to broaden your skills and your network of contacts. This can include the many societies at the Guild of Students and also the many voluntary opportunities offered with local arts organisations. Our employer-endorsed award-winning Personal Skills Award (PSA) recognises your extra-curricular activities, and provides an accredited employability programme designed to improve your career prospects.

Our College of Arts and Law undergraduate research scholarship scheme enables interested students to work on a current academic research project being run by one of the College's academic researchers. Undergraduate research scholars gain work experience over the summer after their first or second year and have the chance to develop skills in both collaborative and independent research.

Cultural Internships

Our innovative Cultural Internships offer graduates the opportunity for a six month paid internship at a leading cultural institution in the West Midlands. These internships are a unique opportunity to learn fundamental, transferable business and interpersonal skills, through experience of real work in an established cultural institution. Our current partners include Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust and the Library of Birmingham. We have plans to expand the scheme to include our own major cultural assets, such as Winterbourne House, the Lapworth Museum, and the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. This scheme will give you professional experience to set you apart in a competitive graduate market.