English and Sociology BA

Course overview

Facilities

Our world-class Brotherton Library has a wealth of archive, manuscript and early printed material in its Special Collections including a Shakespeare First Folio, letters by Charles Dickens, materials from the Brontë family, the collection of Bram Stoker papers, as well as more recent archives for writers such as Peter Robinson, Simon Armitage, and Tony Harrison. The University Library also offers a comprehensive training programme that will enable you to make the most of our extensive library resources.

The School of English has its own print studio, allowing you to learn traditional typesetting and printing techniques and print your own works.

Course details

A joint honours degree allows you to split your time between two subjects, advancing your knowledge and skills in both areas.

In your first year, you’ll take introductory modules covering the key concepts and approaches in sociology, as well as core and option modules in English that will allow you to develop your academic writing skills and learn the foundations of English studies.

This allows you to build a good knowledge base on which you can build in the following two years.

Once you’ve established a good knowledge base, you’ll deepen your understanding over the next two years. In English, you’ll take core modules that address literature’s relationship to the environment and to the self while choosing between a wide range of option modules that might include everything from Chaucer to refugee narratives, from Jane Austen novels to African American literature, from Romantic poetry to the digital humanities. At the same time, you’ll select from a range of modules in major topics in sociology such as gender, racism and crime.

Throughout your studies you’ll develop analytical and research skills that allow you to form your own conclusions from the information you find. In your final year, you’ll get the chance to apply them to an independently researched dissertation in either subject.

Year 1

Year 1 compulsory modules:

Reading Between the Lines (20 credits) - This module equips students with a critical vocabulary for sophisticated literary study. Through close analysis of texts from a range of periods, the module introduces the creative, argumentative, and exciting discipline of ‘English Studies’. Students will encounter some of the theories that have shaped the discipline, and in turn, will discover how an English degree might change how they read the world. Guided critical reading, collaboration with peers in group presentations and seminars, and a variety of assignments will introduce students to the different kinds of assessment required later in the degree.

Writing Matters (20 credits) - Writing and communication skills are vital to most professional careers and are at the heart of English studies. This module uses well-known texts to explore the theoretical approaches and rhetorical strategies used to write about literature. Students will enhance their own writing by engaging ethically both with the text and what has been written about it, developing structured arguments, expressing ideas clearly and concisely, working with feedback, and practising writing as a process. As a result, students will cultivate a deeper understanding of how writing works, within the context of the degree, the discipline of English, and the wider world beyond.

Formations of Coloniality and Modernity (20 credits) - This module sees you exploring coloniality and modernity including their key themes, how these ideas came to be formed and both classic and contemporary debates surrounding them. You’ll use decolonial thought and social theory to explore where modern societies came from, and challenge the narratives around them as well.

Making Sense of Society: Reading Social Theory (20 credits) - In this module, you’ll be introduced to several core concepts and theoretical approaches in sociology. While many of us know a lot about society (because we’re an important part of it) the module will give you the ideas (and perspectives) to turn your knowledge into a useful critical tool.

Year 1 optional modules:

• Understanding and Researching Contemporary Society (20 credits)

• Identities and Inequalities (20 credits)

• Modern Fictions in English (20 credits)

• Race, Writing, Decolonization (20 credits)

• Drama: Text and Performance (20 credits)

• Poetry: Reading and Interpretation (20 credits)

You can also choose to take a Discovery module in a another subject offered elsewhere in the University

Year 2

Year 2 compulsory modules:

Writing Environments: Literature, Nature, Culture (20 credits) - This module examines what it means to live as human beings on a more-than-human planet. We’ll investigate how literary texts from different times and places have understood the relationship between nature and culture. We’ll address human impacts on the environment in relation to historical phenomena such as colonialism. And we’ll explore the insights that literature can offer at a time of concern about climate change and other environmental issues.

Body Language: Literature and Embodiment (20 credits) - At the heart of this module are big questions such as: what does it mean to be ‘human’? Does technology change who we are? What are the links between the body and the mind? Tackling the relationships between embodiment, language, and representation in texts from different periods and in different forms and genres, the module examines how writers have imagined the relationship between material bodies and literary representation.

Central Problems in Sociology (20 credits) - This module focuses on some of sociology’s key thinkers, sharing their ideas and how they have influenced one another. You’ll also look at several ideas related to social integration including the individual and society, power and social change, and the social basis of culture, beliefs and consciousness. These are applied to more familiar topics like religion, power, authority and sexuality, among others.

Sociology and Social Policy Research methods (20 credits) - In this module you’ll learn more about different approaches to social research. Topics include research design, ethical issues, creating questionnaires, conducting interviews and observing participants. You’ll also have the chance to attend a series of research seminars.

Year 2 optional modules:

• Crime, Law and Regulation (20 credits)

• Disability Studies: An Introduction (20 credits)

• Sociology of Culture (20 credits)

• The Sociology of Religion (20 credits)

• The Sociology of Gender (20 credits)

• Crime, Race and Ethnicity (20 credits)

• Debates in Childhood & Youth (20 credits)

• Sociology and the Climate Crisis (20 credits)

• Social and Public Policy beyond the University (20 credits)

• Medieval and Tudor Literature (20 credits)

• Renaissance Literature (20 credits)

• Modern Literature (20 credits)

• Postcolonial Literature (20 credits)

• The World Before Us: Literature 1660-1830 (20 credits)

• Other Voices: Rethinking Nineteenth-Century Literature (20 credits)

• American Words, American Worlds (20 credits)

• Contemporary Literature (20 credits)

Year 3

Year 3 compulsory modules:

Final Year Project (40 credits) - This module, in either English or Music, encourages independent, self-directed learning, and provides the culmination to the research strand emphasised in other modules. Working with their supervisor and supported by a programme of lectures and workshops, students pursue their own intellectual interests by designing, defining and creating their own capstone project. Since this might take a number of forms, it fosters a wide variety of responses to the challenges it offers students. Most importantly, it promotes academic creativity by allowing students the space to explore their own intellectual passions.

Year 3 optional modules

Selection of typical options shown below:

• Sex and Suffering in the Eighteenth-Century Novel (20 credits)

• Telling Lives: Reading and Writing Family Memoir (20 credits)

• Home Bodies: Companion Animals in Contemporary Literature (20 credits)

• Postcolonial London (20 credits)

• Global African Writing (20 credits)

• Shakespeare and Global Cinema (20 credits)

• Refugee Narratives (20 credits)

• Fictions of the End: Apocalypse and After (20 credits)

• Bowie, Reading, Writing (20 credits)

• Sociology Dissertation (40 credits)

• Quantitative Social Research (20 credits)

• Disability and Development (20 credits)

• Research Skills for your Dissertation (20 credits)

• State Crime and Immorality (20 credits)

• Contemporary Children, Young People and Families (20 credits)

• Global Terrorism and Violence (20 credits)

• The Social Life of Data (20 credits)

• Gender, Technologies and the Body (20 credits)

• Sociology of Consumerism (20 credits)

• Protest and Social Movements (20 credits)

• Ethnicity and Popular Culture (20 credits)

Learning and teaching

On this course, you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

We use different types of assessment. Written exams and essays are likely to be part of the mix, but coursework, project portfolios, and oral presentations will be included in some modules. Support will be on hand throughout your time at Leeds – for example, you’ll be able to attend extra classes on exam technique, structuring an essay and public speaking if you need them.

Entry requirements

A-level: AAB including A in English (Language, Literature or Language and Literature).

GCSE: Grade 4/C in Mathematics.

Other course specific tests:

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ in a relevant subject this might be considered alongside other Level 3 qualifications and may attract an alternative offer in addition to the standard offer. If you are taking A Levels, this would be ABB at A Level including A in English (Language, Literature or Language and Literature) and grade A in the EPQ.

Alternative qualification

Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the School’s Undergraduate Admissions Team.

Alternative entry

We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.

Access to Leeds is a contextual admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.

Find out more about Access to Leeds and contextual admissions.

Typical Access to Leeds offer: BBB including English (Language, Literature or Language and Literature) at A Level , GCSE Grade 4/C in Mathematics and pass Access to Leeds.

Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year

This course is designed for students whose backgrounds mean they are less likely to attend university (also known as widening participation backgrounds) and who do not currently meet admissions criteria for direct entry to a degree.

The course will give you the opportunity to be taught by academic staff and provides intensive support to enable your development of academic skills and knowledge. On successful completion of your foundation year, you will progress to your chosen degree course. Find out more about the Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year

Alternative Entry Scheme for Mature Students

If you are a mature applicant (over 21) and you don’t have the required A Levels or GCSE English and maths qualifications, you can complete our Alternative Entry Scheme (subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for the scheme). As part of this, you may be asked to take tests in English and maths and to write an essay.

Contact the Lifelong Learning Centre for more information.

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information contact the School of English admissions team.

International Foundation Year

International students who do not meet the academic requirements for undergraduate study may be able to study the University of Leeds International Foundation Year. This gives you the opportunity to study on campus, be taught by University of Leeds academics and progress onto a wide range of Leeds undergraduate courses. Find out more about International Foundation Year programmes.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English
If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our undergraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

Fees

UK: To be confirmed

International: To be confirmed

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26
The fee for UK undergraduate students is decided by the Government and may vary if policy changes. The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation, and as permitted by law.

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 will be £9,535.

The tuition fee for the following programmes with an integrated foundation year is £5,760 for the foundation year, and £9,535 for subsequent years of study:
•    Business Studies with Foundation Year BSC
•    Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year BA
•    Interdisciplinary Studies with Preparation for Higher Education BA
•    Social Science (foundation year) BA
 

Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2025/26
Tuition fees for international students for 2025/26 are available on individual course pages.
 

Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year
If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period. For more information, see Study abroad and work placement tuition fees and loans.

Read more about paying fees and charges.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There is help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Find out more in our Undergraduate funding overview.

Applying

Apply to this course through UCAS. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website.

Read our guidance about applying.

International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK students. Our network of international representatives can help you with your application. If you’re unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2025

This course is taught by

School of English
School of Sociology and Social Policy

Contact us

School of English Undergraduate Admissions

Email: englishug@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Career opportunities

Careers support

We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.

The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more about Careers support.

Study abroad and work placements

Study abroad

On this course you have the opportunity to apply to spend time abroad, usually as an extra academic year. We have over 300 University partners worldwide and popular destinations for our students include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Latin America. 

Find out more at the Study Abroad website.

Work placements

Practical work experience can help you decide on your career and improve your employability. On this course you have the option to apply to take a placement year module with organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK, or overseas.

Find out more about work experience on the Careers website.