| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2025-09-01 | - |
| 2024-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
The English Literature and History program at QV21 offers a cross-disciplinary approach, integrating literary-critical and historical knowledge. It develops students' critical thinking, research, and communication skills, providing a grounding in both English literature and history from the late Roman Empire to the present. The program prepares graduates for diverse careers in academia, research, education, media, and other fields requiring strong analytical and communication abilities.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
Objectives:
- Offer students a cross-disciplinary approach, integrating literary-critical and historical knowledge.
- Develop students' critical thinking, research, communication, and analytical skills.
- Provide a grounding in both the traditional "great tradition" of English literature and contemporary trends.
- Equip students with an expansive understanding of history, covering the late Roman Empire to the present.
Description:
- Three-year BA program, with the option to extend to four years with a placement or study abroad year.
- First year introduces students to advanced historical and literary study.
- Second year dives deeper into specific periods and styles, including Shakespeare, and offers a variety of optional modules.
- Third year focuses on independent research, culminating in a dissertation in either English Literature or History.
Outline:
First Year:
- Three English Literature modules chosen from:
- Introduction to Drama
- Introduction to the Novel
- Introduction to Poetry
- Romance and the Literature of Chivalry
- Epic and Literature of Legend
- Ancient Worlds and English Literature
- Three History modules chosen from:
- Decline and Crisis? Europe 1300-1500
- Transformations in the Late Antique Mediterranean, c.300-c.700 CE
- Connected Histories: Early Modern Europe, c.1450-1750
- The Atlantic Archipelago, c.1500-c.1750
- Modern Times: a Cultural History of Europe, c.1860-1960
- Power in Africa
- Imagining East Asia in the Modern World
- Wars and Welfare: c.1900-1945
- The Rise and Fall of American Slavery
Second Year:
- Core modules:
- Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism
- Shakespeare
- Optional modules (selection varies from year to year):
- Chaucer
- Victorian Literature
- American Poetry
- Contemporary US Fiction and the Question of Genre
- Romantic Plays and Players
- The Brontës
- Medieval Islamic World
- Modern China’s Transformations
- Black British History
- Photographic Histories
Third Year:
- Core module: Dissertation (research project in either English Literature or History)
- Optional modules (selection varies from year to year):
- Restoration and 18th Century Literature
- Old English
- Old Norse
- Literature of the Romantic Period
- Post-War Fiction and Poetry
- Keats and Shelley
- Resistance in South Asian Postcolonial Literature
- US Cold War Literature and Culture
- 1688: Monarchy and Revolution in Britain
- Developing Africa
- Mapping Eastern Europe in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
- Sexual Revolutions: The Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Britain and Beyond, 1920s–1970s
Placement or Study Abroad:
- Fourth-year option available for those who wish to enhance their learning experience.
- Placement allows students to gain practical experience in a relevant field.
- Study abroad provides the opportunity to immerse oneself in another culture and academic environment.
Assessment:
- Most modules assessed by essays and end-of-year examinations.
- Third-year dissertation involves independent research and writing under faculty guidance.
Teaching:
- Combines lectures, seminars, and tutorials to offer diverse learning experiences.
- Individual feedback sessions play a key role in developing student's research and writing skills.
- Teaching staff consists of researchers and experts in their respective fields.
- Guest lectures and workshops offered throughout the program.
Careers:
- Program prepares graduates for a wide range of careers, including:
- Academia
- Research
- Education
- Media
- Arts and theatre management
- Broadcasting
- Publishing
- Journalism
- Technical writing
- Business
- Marketing
- Advertising
- Third sector
- Government
- Many graduates pursue further study in areas like law, higher education, finance, and accountancy.
- Data provided for recent graduates suggests strong outcomes, with high levels of employment and postgraduate study.
Other:
- Ranked 38th in the world for QS World University Subject Rankings 2023.
- Highly regarded by The Guardian University Guide and The Complete University Guide.
- Students have access to extensive library resources and specialized collections.
The tuition fees for 2025/26 academic year have not yet been finalised, they will be displayed here once approved. The tuition fees shown for home students are for one complete academic year of full time study and are set according to the academic year of entry. Fees for subsequent years of your course may rise in line with an inflationary uplift as determined by the government. The tuition fees shown for overseas and EU students are for one complete academic year of full time study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
