English Literature BA

Course overview

Encounter new perspectives, discover great creative minds, and develop your abilities as a thinker and communicator on our English Literature programme. This degree emphasises literature as a dynamic social and political force that actively shapes the world in which we live. Our modules respond to urgent contemporary concerns such as the environment, race and racism, identity, and disability. You will also have the opportunity to study texts from a wide range of authors, genres, periods and cultures.

This degree will advance your critical thinking, your understanding of social and cultural differences, and your effectiveness as a persuasive communicator—all key skills that you will need in the workplace.

Studying English Literature at Leeds prepares you for an exciting and fulfilling professional future. Graduates pursue careers in media, publishing, journalism, education, the charities sector, cultural industries and creative arts, or enter fields including management, marketing, and business, where strong analytical and communication skills are prized.

Our expertise

The School of English is ranked fourth in the UK for research. Our student-centred teaching is always evolving, drawing on the latest research and ideas, and on the expertise of staff who are at the cutting edge of literary studies. The School has many creative writers and practitioners, including the Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. It is home to Poetry@Leeds, which brings together emerging and established poets, and we host events and readings by writers from around the world. The highly respected literary magazine, Stand, is produced in the School, and we support a number of student publications, including our annual Tenterhook.

Facilities

The School of English has a large informal study space where students meet and work between classes and hold English Society events. There are many attractive places to work on campus. Our Student Union runs a huge range of societies and offers great food options, while The Edge is a state-of-the-art sports facility just a few minutes’ walk from the School. As a campus university close to the centre of a vibrant city, everything is within easy reach and there are plenty of part-time work opportunities.

The University of Leeds is a partner of the National Poetry Centre, the national home for poetry, performance, learning and literacy based in Leeds.

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 and modules

Our modules explore themes relevant to how we live today, including race and ethnicity, gender, climate change and nature, social class, disability, and wellbeing. 

Taught by world-leading academics, you’ll develop a nuanced understanding of literatures in English from the medieval to the present moment, and from the local to the global.

A foundational first year will develop your ability to read critically and write with flair and precision while exploring the diversity and range of literatures in English. Second year will deepen your understanding of literature’s relationship to the environment and to the self, whilst consolidating your knowledge of the breadth and range of the subject. At Level 3, you will build your expertise through choosing from a range of specialist option modules taught by cutting-edge researchers. A final year project on a topic of your choice will allow you to sharpen and confirm your own distinctive critical voice. 

At Level 1, students take Reading Between the Lines and Literature, Culture and Critique which introduce you to university-level study and equip you to read critically and write with rigour and persuasion. A further compulsory module on Race, Writing and Decolonisation looks at some of the most explosive Black writing on race and how it has inspired decolonising and anti-racist movements across the world. You can also choose between modules that focus on drama, poetry or fiction and take a Discovery module that allows you to study subjects from across the University.

At Level 2, students will take two core modules, Writing Environments and Body Language. These modules explore two urgent contemporary challenges, the climate crisis and embodiment, and will examine how these issues can be understood and expressed through literary texts. Students will also select four further modules from a choice of eight, ranging historically and geographically from Medieval to Contemporary, and from Postcolonial to American.

Level 2 deepens and enriches subject knowledge and intellectual skills, preparing you for more independent learning at Level 3. Here, we offer a wide range of specialist modules from which you can choose. You might study literature from Arthurian legends to refugee narratives, from Jane Austen novels to African American literature, from Romantic poetry to the digital humanities. You will also undertake a final year project on a subject of your choice. Supported by your supervisor, you will define, plan, and produce an extended piece of work that will further enhance your research skills and ability to communicate effectively.

After your second year of study, you may apply for transfer to an International Degree at one of a wide range of many universities around the world with which the University of Leeds has established links. You may also spend a year in industry on a work placement as an optional third year of your degree programme.

With seminar discussions and workshops, access to outstanding resources on campus, and expert staff to guide and support, you’ll be able to broaden your knowledge and build your skills for the future.

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

Most courses consist of compulsory and optional modules. There may be some variation to optional modules from year to year depending on staff availability and new modules being developed. Before you enter each year, full details of all modules for that year will be provided.

For more information please read BA English Literature in the course catalogue.

Year 1 compulsory modules

Race, Writing and Decolonization (20 credits) - Recent hashtag movements from Black Lives Matter to Why is My Curriculum White? to Fees Must Fall suggest that the project of racial decolonisation is far from over. Focusing on African-American, South African, Caribbean and Black British writing, this module offers the chance to look at some of the most explosive black writing on race and how it informs our current 'decolonial' moment. We will move from the writing that helped dismantle the British Empire, usher in the civil rights era in the US, and bring an end to apartheid in South Africa, through to contemporary writing that confronts ongoing structures of racism. The question of exactly what constitutes blackness and black writing will be at the heart of our discussions.

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.

Literature, Culture and Critique (20 credits) - This module explores how literary analysis can help us read the world around us. It encourages students to think about concepts of ‘literature’ and ‘literariness’ and develop a reflective relationship both to their studies and the wider sphere of culture. Engaging with questions of attention, authenticity and the impact of technology on knowledge and the world, the module prepares students for the next stage of their degree, as well as attuning them to a rapidly evolving society, helping them develop essential skills in critical thinking and nuanced communication.

Year 1 optional modules

Selection of typical options shown below:

• Poetry: Reading and Interpretation (20 credits)
• Drama: Text and Performance (20 credits)
• Modern Fictions in English (20 credits)

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.

Year 2 optional modules

• Renaissance Literature (20 credits)
• Life, Love and Death from Chaucer to Marlowe (20 credits)
• Modern Literature (20 credits)
• Postcolonial Literature (20 credits)
• Contemporary 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)

Year 3 compulsory modules

Final Year Project (40 credits)- This module encourages independent, self-directed learning, providing a 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

Each year we offer a selection of optional modules at Level 3.

There are a wide range of modules representing the breadth of English Studies. led by specialist researchers in these areas. Example modules include:

• Bowie, Reading, Writing (20 credits)
• Crime Fiction Stylistics: Crossing Languages, Culture, Media (20 credits)
• Digital Discourse: language, social media, AI (20 credits)
• Fictions of the End: Apocalypse and After (20 credits)
• Global African Writing (20 credits)
• Home Bodies: Companion Animals in Contemporary Literature (20 credits)
• Language of the Media (20 credits)
• Postcolonial London (20 credits)
• Refugee Narratives (20 credits)
• Sex and Suffering in the Eighteenth-Century Novel (20 credits)
• Shakespeare and Global Cinema (20 credits)
• Telling Lives: Reading and Writing Family Memoir (20 credits)

Learning and teaching

We use interactive face-to-face teaching and learning methods to help you benefit from our tutors’ expertise. These include seminars, which are at the heart of this degree, but you’ll also encounter lectures, workshops, one-to-one tutorials, group work, and guided online learning through Minerva, our Virtual Learning Environment. Our globally recognised research feeds directly into your course and shapes what you learn at Leeds with the latest thinking. You’ll be taught by inspirational academics who are experts in their field and share your passion for your subject.

Independent study is a vital element of this course since it enables you to develop your research and critical skills and form your ideas. 

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

English Literature modules are assessed using various methods, including exams, presentations, essays and shorter written assignments. 

Some modules ask students to create include wikis, podcasts, undertake research exercises or prepare spoken presentations.

This range of assessments will help you develop your communication skills, improve your digital literacy, and enhance your ability to deliver different projects. 

Entry requirements

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

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.

We welcome applications from mature students with Access qualifications, and from students with a wide range of qualifications.

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.

If you live in a neighbourhood where there is low participation in higher education, we may be able to give priority to your application.

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 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: £10,050

International: To be confirmed

The amount of tuition fees you pay is based on whether you are classified as a home (UK) or international student. Find out how we assess your fee status.   

Tuition fees for UK students 
Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2026/27 are £9,790 and £10,050 for students starting in 2027/28.  

Subsequent years 
The UK government sets the maximum tuition fee caps that universities can charge UK students. This means your tuition fee in future academic years will reflect any changes set by the government.   

From 2028/29 onwards, tuition fees are likely to increase annually, at least in line with inflation, and may rise further if the government increases the fee cap.   

Tuition fees for international students 
The international fee applies for each year of full-time study and will remain the same for the duration of your course.    

Read more about tuition fees.

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.

Additional cost information

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.

Scholarships are also available to help fund your degree. Find out more and check your eligibility below:

• Scholarships for International students
• Scholarships for UK students
• Your subject area may also offer scholarships

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 2026

This course is taught by

School of English

Contact us

School of English Undergraduate Admissions

Email: englishug@leeds.ac.uk

Career opportunities

A degree in English gives you a range of valuable skills and attributes. A degree in English gives you a range of valuable skills and attributes. You will have analytical and critical skills that allow you to form your own conclusions, and you’ll be a strong communicator who can present and defend your views effectively. Learning in groups with others and reading about human problems and social situations will develop your interpersonal skills and understanding of ethical and cultural complexities.  You will develop flexibility in your approach to working, and be able to use digital resources and tools for learning, researching and communicating. You’ll be able to work independently and in a team – and you’ll have the organisational skills and self-reliance to help you excel in your future careers.

Our graduates have gone on to find success in areas such as:

• the creative industries
• heritage sector
• marketing, education
• civil society and not-for-profit organisations
• journalism
• law
• publishing
• media
• business charity work
• civil service
• management consultancy and leadership

Many have also progressed to postgraduate study. 

Careers support

At Leeds, we help you to prepare for your future from day one. We have a wide range of careers resources — including our award-winning Employability Team who are in contact with many employers around the country and advertise placements and jobs. They are also on hand to provide guidance and support, ensuring you are prepared to take your next steps after graduation and get you where you want to be.

• Employability events — we run a full range of events including careers fairs in specialist areas and across broader industries — all with employers who are actively recruiting for roles.

• MyCareer system — on your course and after you graduate, you’ll have access to a dedicated careers portal where you can book appointments with our team, get information on careers and see job vacancies and upcoming events.

• Qualified careers consultants — gain guidance, support and information to help you choose a career path. You’ll have access to 1-2-1 meetings and events to learn how to find employers to target, write your CV and cover letter, research before interviews and brush up on your interview skills.

• Opportunities at Leeds — there are plenty of exciting opportunities offered by our Leeds University Union, including volunteering and over 300 clubs and societies to get involved in.

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.

This programme gives you the opportunity to undertake an industrial placement year as part of the course.

It’s important to note, work placements are not guaranteed. The job market is competitive – and there may be competition for the placement you want. You’ll have to apply the same way you would for any job post, with your CV and, if successful, attend an interview with the organisation.

Our Employability Team will help you every step of the way. They run a number of placement sessions to discuss opportunities and support you with CV writing and interview preparations. Plus, they’ll be there to answer any questions you may have and offer guidance throughout the process, too.

Benefits of a work placement year:

• 100+ organisations to choose from, both in the UK and overseas

• Build industry contacts within your chosen field

• Our close industry links mean you’ll be in direct contact with potential employers

• Advance your experience and skills by putting the course teachings into practice

• Gain invaluable insight into working as a professional in this industry

• Improve your employability

Find out more about Industrial placements.