Program Overview

---

English Literature BA (Hons)

Overview

This course is available in Clearing for 2025 entry.

Level

Undergraduate

UCAS Code

Q300

UCAS Points

112

Start date

Oct 2025, Oct 2026

Duration

3 years

Location

Gateway House, Chester

UK fees

£9,535 per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

International fees

£14,450 per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Course Leader

Dr Richard Leahy

Level

Undergraduate

UCAS Code

Q302

UCAS Points

72

Start date

Oct 2025, Oct 2026

Duration

4 years

Location

Gateway House, Chester

UK fees

£5,760 for the first foundation year, then £9,535 per annum for the following years (2025/26)

International fees

£10,750 for the first foundation year, then £14,450 per annum for the following years (2025/26)

Course Leader

Dr Richard Leahy

Course Summary

On this English Literature degree, you’ll engage with a rich variety of literature and/or language, spanning different historical periods and covering the full range of major literary genres, including prose, poetry, and drama. You’ll develop a deep understanding of key critical, theoretical, linguistic, and stylistic concepts, and learn how to apply scholarly skills such as bibliographic research in your studies.

What You'll Study

• Foundation Year
• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

Modules

Level 4

• Studying English (100 Credits) Core This module offers an interdisciplinary exploration of English language, literature, and creative writing, focusing on the rich historical and cultural tapestry of the city of Chester.
• Writing for Your Life (20 Credits) Option Writing – both other people’s writing and the writing you do yourself – will be central to your university degree and your future life, whether that is in your career, in further study, or in the lifelong love of learning we hope to inspire.
• Language options (20 Credits) Option You now have the opportunity to pick an optional module to learn a new language or build on your existing language skills as part of your degree.

Level 5

• Advances in English (40 Credits) Core This module takes you on a journey through the history and development of the English language, exploring its evolution alongside the literary and creative works that have shaped and reflected its development.
• Creativity in the Modern Workplace (40 Credits) Option The module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a 140-hour work placement.
• Time and Place: Literature in Context (20 Credits) Core This module enables you to understand the significance of historical context and place in literature from the Renaissance through to the contemporary period.
• Literary Acts of Resistance (20 Credits) Core Embedding the Chester ‘Citizen Student’ principle at the heart of teaching, this module examines representations of community, activism, and protest in English literature.
• Work Placement (40 Credits) Option This module provides a structured, university-level work placement for 4, 5 or 7 weeks as one continuous block / period with a placement provider.
• Language options (40 Credits) Option The Level 5, 40-credit modules require a basic foundation of knowledge of your chosen language e.g. GCSE or equivalent, a Level 4 module in the same language or equivalent previous learning.
• Creative Futures: CSP (40 Credits) Option This module will provide you with the practical and theoretical underpinning of professional practice in your specific subject, enabling you to identify and develop key employability attributes and skills in preparation for your future career.
• Experiential Learning (40 Credits) Option This is an experiential learning opportunity that incorporates, 20 teaching contact hours/lectures to prepare for the150 contract hours where L5 students can use all their skills learned to date on an actual real-world (external business) client driven project, working in teams and produce an artefact.

Level 6

• Beyond the Page (40 Credits) Core This final-year module integrates English language, literature, and creative writing to prepare you for life beyond university, blending academic study with practical skill development and career-focused applications.
• Type Writing: Literature and Genre (20 Credits) Core This module focuses on varied and exciting examples of ‘genre fiction’.
• Contemporary Literary Cultures (20 Credits) Core This module is an exciting exploration of a range of contemporary texts, which can include flash fictions (short-short stories) and poems in magazines and collections, ‘literary’ novels and ‘popular’ novels, award-winning plays and best-selling plays, and less traditional ‘publications’ on websites and social media.
• CSP Negotiated Research Project (40 Credits) Option This self-directed module allows students to initiate and develop their own major project ideas appropriate to their discipline of study.

How You'll Learn

• You will be assessed in a variety of ways
• There may be some online learning activities
• This course is designed around in-person study
• Study 3 – 6 modules per year

Entry Requirements

• Home Students
  • UCAS Points: 112 points
  • GCE A Level: Typical offer – BCC-BBC
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
  • International Baccalaureate: 28 points including 5 in HL English
  • Irish / Scottish Highers: Irish Highers - H3 H3 H3 H3 H4 (including H3 in English) Scottish Highers - BBBB (including English)
  • Access requirements: Access to HE Diploma (must include a relevant Humanities subject at Level 3), to include 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Merit or above
  • OCR Cambridge Technicals: OCR Extended Diploma: DMM
  • Extra Information: Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs.
• International Students
  • UCAS Points: 72 points
  • GCE A level: 72 points overall, including grade D in A level
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP
  • International Baccalaureate: 24 points including 4 in HL English
  • Irish / Scottish Highers: Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 (including English) Scottish Highers: CCDD (including English)
  • Access requirements: Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall (including English or one of the alternative subjects above)
  • OCR Cambridge Technicals: OCR Extended Diploma: MMP
  • Extra Information: Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree.
• Foundation Year
  • UCAS Points: 72 points
  • GCE A level: 72 points overall, including grade D in A level
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP
  • International Baccalaureate: 24 points including 4 in HL English
  • Irish / Scottish Highers: Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 (including English) Scottish Highers: CCDD (including English)
  • Access requirements: Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall (including English or one of the alternative subjects above)
  • OCR Cambridge Technicals: OCR Extended Diploma: MMP
  • Extra Information: Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree.

Fees and Funding

• Home Students
  • £9,535 per year for a full-time course (2025/26)
• International Students
  • £14,450 per year for a full-time course (2025/26)
• Foundation Year
  • £5,760 for the first foundation year, then £9,535 per annum for the following years (2025/26)
• Additional Costs
  • Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software.
• Bursaries
  • The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee.

Who You'll Learn From

• Dr Richard Leahy
  • Senior Lecturer
• Professor Melissa Fegan
  • Professor
• Professor Emma Rees
  • Professor of Literature and Gender Studies; Programme Leader, MRes Gender Studies
• Dr Sally West
  • Senior Lecturer
• Professor Deborah Wynne
  • Professor

Where You'll Study

• Exton Park, Chester
  • The location
  • Modern learning resources and library
  • Fitness facilities
  • Student Services
  • Chapel, chaplaincy and multi-faith spaces
  • Accommodation
  • Catering

Your Future Career

• Job Prospects
  • A single honours degree in English Literature brings many transferable skills including written and oral communication, textual analysis, presentation, teamwork, time management and independence.
• Progression options
  • Creative Writing: Writing and Publishing Fiction MA
• Careers service
  • The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.