English and Sociology BA

Year of entry

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UCAS code
QL33
Start date
September 2024
Delivery type
On campus
Duration
3 years full time
Work placement
Optional
Study abroad
Optional
Typical A-level offer
AAB (specific subject requirements)
Typical Access to Leeds offer
BBB at A Level including English and pass Access to Leeds.
Full entry requirements

Course overview

English

This degree gives you the chance to combine the study of very human subjects. You’ll learn about the ways in which societies are organised and structured, as well as one of humanity’s most popular forms of cultural expression – literature.

You’ll be introduced to the key principles of sociology and study English literature across poetry, drama and prose in core modules. We also offer a wide variety of optional modules, giving you the chance to explore the literary periods, authors and themes as well as the sociological topics that interest you.

Our academic expertise covers a wide range of topics in both English literature and sociology. As a result, we can offer flexible degrees with plenty of choice so you can pursue your own interests. You could explore topics such as American fiction, drugs policy, Medieval literature, class division, digital humanities or disability studies. Whatever you’re looking for, the chances are you’ll find it at Leeds.

Facilities

The world-class Brotherton Library boasts unique manuscript, archive and early printed material in its Special Collections – valuable assets for your independent research. Our additional library resources are also excellent, and the University Library offers a comprehensive training programme to help you make the most of them.

Brotherton Library Reading Room

Course details

A joint honours degree allows you to study the same core topics as students on each single honours course, but you’ll take fewer optional and discovery modules so you can fit in both subjects.

In your first year, you’ll take introductory modules covering the key concepts and approaches in sociology, as well as choosing to explore poetry, drama or prose. This allows you to build a good knowledge base on which you can build in the following two years.

You’ll choose from modules covering the full range of English literature we teach, from medieval right through to contemporary fiction, as well as optional modules on everything from children’s literature to post-Apartheid narratives and the politics of language. 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, introducing the creative, argumentative and exciting discipline of ‘English Studies’. Through close analysis of specific texts across a range of periods and forms, students will encounter some of the varied theories that have shaped and continue to underpin the discipline. Students will find out how an English degree might change the way we read and see the world, while developing their academic skills through guided critical reading, collaboration with peers in group presentations and seminar discussions, and a variety of assignments designed to introduce them to the different formats of assessment required throughout the degree.

  • Writing Matters (20 credits) - Writing and communication skills are vital to most professional careers, but they are especially valuable in the field of English studies. This module explores debates around a canonical literary text, examining theoretical approaches and rhetorical strategies used to write about literature. Students will hone their own writing skills by engaging ethically with the text and the ideas of others, 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, learn how to share insights with greater efficacy and sophistication, and practice how to transfer this knowledge to future workplace contexts.

  • 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)

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) - This module explores the relationship between embodiment, language and representation across a range of literary forms, genres, and periods, addressing questions such as: what does it mean to be ‘human’? Can technology change who we are? How do we navigate the relationship between the body and the mind? It examines how critical theorists and creative writers and life writers have treated and imagined this relationship between material bodies and literary representation, in order to better understand both the possibilities and limitations of literary expression.

  • 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)

  • State of Emergency: Social science and the COVID-19 pandemic (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 encourages independent, self-directed learning, providing a culmination to the research strand emphasised in other modules. It fosters a wide variety of responses to the challenges it offers students, since any final year project might take one of a number of forms. Most importantly, it promotes academic creativity and the exploration of individual intellectual interests.

Year 3 optional modules (selection of typical options shown below):

  • Tragedy: Classical to Neo-Classical (20 credits)

  • Imagining Posthuman Futures (20 credits)

  • Theatricalities: Beckett, Pinter, Kane (20 credits)

  • Telling Lives: Reading and Writing Family Memoir (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

We use a range of teaching and learning methods to help you benefit from our tutors’ expertise. Lectures, seminars and tutorials are among the most common, but workshops are also occasionally used in some modules as well.

There’s also an important element of independent learning throughout your degree – this is where you build your research skills and learn to think critically about what you find. We have excellent library resources to help you do this, and the University Library runs training programmes to help you get the best from them.

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 – normally a mixture of exams and essays, but oral presentations, dramatic performances, group projects and other practical tasks may also be used.

We also offer a wide range of support, such as extra classes on public speaking, exam technique and wider skills development which will be available throughout your time at Leeds.

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 and grade A in the EPQ.

Alternative qualification

Access to HE Diploma

Pass diploma with 60 credits overall, including at least 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher.The Access course must include English modules. Grade 4/C in Mathematics at GCSE is also required. An interview and a piece of written work may also be required.

BTEC

We will consider the level 3 QCF BTEC at Subsidiary Diploma level and above in combination with other qualifications. Please contact the Admissions Office for more information.

Cambridge Pre-U

D2, M2, M2, including D2 in English.

International Baccalaureate

35 points overall with 16 at Higher Level, including 6 in English at Higher Level and 5 points in Mathematics at Standard Level

Irish Leaving Certificate (higher Level)

H2, H2, H2, H2, H3, H3 including H2 in English

Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers

AB in Advanced Highers including A in English and AABBB in Highers, or A in English in Advanced Highers and AABBB in Highers

Welsh Baccalaureate

The Welsh Baccalaureate is not typically included in the academic conditions of an offer made to you for this course. If you choose to undertake the Welsh Baccalaureate we would strongly encourage you to draw upon these experiences within your personal statement, as your qualification will then be taken into account both when your application is initially considered by the selection panel and again when reviewed by the admissions tutor at the time your A-level results are passed to us.

Other Qualifications

European Baccalaureate: 80% including 8.5 in English.

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 an alternative 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 alternative admissions.

Typical Access to Leeds offer: BBB at A Level including English and pass Access to Leeds.

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: £9,250 (per year)

International: £24,500 (per year)

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2023/24 and 2024/25
Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students are set by the UK Government and will remain capped at £9,250 for 2023/24 and 2024/25. The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation only as a consequence of future changes in Government legislation and as permitted by law.

Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2023/24 and 2024/25
Tuition fees for international students for 2023/24 and 2024/25 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 Taught Admissions Policy 2024

This course is taught by

School of English
School of Sociology and Social Policy

Contact us

School of English Undergraduate Admissions

Email: undergrad-english@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Career opportunities

A degree in English and Sociology equips you with skills that are highly valued by employers.

You’ll have advanced communication skills, and you’ll be able to research a topic thoroughly and draw your own conclusions by thinking critically about the information you find. You’ll be analytical and capable of working independently or in a team. Of course, because you’ve managed two different subjects during your degree, you will also have organisational and time management skills.

As a result our graduates are attractive to a range of employers and have gone into careers in social work, the charity sector, education, journalism, law, the civil service and the creative industries. Many others have gone into postgraduate study.

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.

Leeds for Life is our unique approach to helping you make the most of University by supporting your academic and personal development. Find out more at the Leeds for Life website.

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.