Your English Literature Offer-Holder Hub
Welcome to the English Literature Offer-Holder Hub. This month we've asked our lecturers and students for content to keep you busy through the summer and get you excited to study English Literature in September.
English student Hope's recommendations
1. Watch some taster lectures
Taster lectures on YouTube are a great way to get familiar with learning at university and to get you excited for studying English Literature. Find a lecture on a topic or text that you’re excited to know more about to reignite your excitement for learning after the strenuous two years of study during your A-Levels. Here is a great lecture on Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, a text that is studied in the Women’s Writing module in your first year.
2. Read, read, read!
As an English Literature student, you probably already read more than you ought to, but a bit more won’t hurt, right? To prepare for the amount of reading required for your course, I’d recommend using your free time during summer to speed up your pace. Read genres you normally wouldn’t and switch it up with some poetry and drama to prepare for the variety you will encounter during your degree. Your Goodreads account will thank you.
3. Watch some student vlogs
I found watching vlogs by English Literature students really helpful in getting an idea of what my life in university will be like. ‘Day in the Life’ vlogs got me excited about coming to university, both in terms of academics and the social side.
You can scroll down to see English Literature and History of Art student Lottie's Day in the life vlog.
With over 300 student societies on campus and a close-knit department culture, it's easy to get involved as an English student at Birmingham.
Day in the Life Vlog
Lottie shares a day in the life of a History of Art and English student at Birmingham!
Society Highlight - Writer's Bloc
This society holds writing workshops and editing sessions for page, stage, and screen. They also put on open mic nights and events, poetry slams and more!
"I choose to study in the Teaching and Learning building, a fairly modern and open-planned building with a very studious atmosphere. There aren't as many students there as the library, and it has a café on the ground floor!"
Throughout your time in the Department of English Literature, employability is a key area of focus.
We’re proud to be the UK university most targeted by the country’s leading graduate employers (The Graduate Market in 2024 High Fliers report).
We help to make sure that you are employable through a range of department-led and university-wide initiatives which include:
Input from Professional Careers Advisers in your Curriculum
During the first year of your studies, Careers Advisers from the University Careers Network team attend lectures in your course to support you with career planning from an early stage. The lectures will cover career planning, researching career and internship opportunities, developing the skills that graduate employers are looking for, and presenting yourself with impact to a potential employer.
Professional Skills module
You will have the unique opportunity to take advantage of a work placement as part of your final year by undertaking the Professional Skills Module as part of your optional module choices.
Internships
B-Experienced Internship programmes offer the chance to work on a meaningful project and enhance your CV with useful transferable skills. Previous B-Experienced interns have been involved with charities, festivals, publishers and galleries in the wider Birmingham area.
Find out how the University of Birmingham is Investing in your future.