Program Overview

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English Language and Literature (with Foundation Year) BA

Overview

The English Language and Literature (with Foundation Year) BA is a four-year undergraduate degree that combines a foundation year with a three-year undergraduate course. The foundation year is designed to prepare students for undergraduate study and provides a broad introduction to the arts and humanities.

Entry Requirements

• Qualification: BA Hons
• Entry Requirements: BCC
• Start Date: September 2026
• UCAS code: Q39F
• Duration: 4 years full-time
• Fees: £5,760*

Course Information

Alternative Courses for EU/International Students

This course is not available to EU/international students. Instead, you may consider the Business, Law and Social Sciences Foundation Certificate, offered through the University of Nottingham International College in partnership with Kaplan International Pathways.

Start Date

• September 2026

Entry Requirements

• 24 points overall or 544 in 3 Higher Level Certificates
• BCC
• IB score: 24 points overall or 544 in 3 Higher Level Certificates
• A level: BCC
• Required subjects:
  • A level: Our Foundation Year allows you to progress to a wide range of Faculty of Arts courses.
  • Some of our progression courses require you to have certain qualifications as well as the foundation qualification:
    • BA French Studies: Required subjects: Grade C in French at A level.
    • BA Modern Languages: Required subjects: Grade C in at least one of French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Russian or Spanish at A level.
    • BA Modern Languages with Translation: Required subjects: Grade C in one of French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Russian or Spanish at A level.
    • BA Music / BA Music and Creative Music Technology: Required subjects: Grade C in A level music. Grade 5 Theory ABRSM, LCM, Trinity or Rockschool may be accepted in place of A level music.
• GCSE: English grade 4 (C)

Additional Entry Requirements

• All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications.
• The entrance requirements apply to 2026 entry.
• The Arts and Humanities Foundation Year is part of our contextual admissions policy, reflecting a lower offer, with eligibility assessed on personal circumstances.

Personal Circumstances

• As well as having the required grades, your current or most recent school cannot be an independent school, and you must meet at least one of the following personal background criteria:
  1. You live in an area where people are less likely to go to university – check your postcode
  2. You were in receipt of free school meals (FSM) on any census day in the six years before the census day of your final KS4 year (that is, the year you were aged 15-16 years old)
  3. You are the first generation in your family to enter higher education
  4. You will be over 21 years old when you begin your course
  5. You have spent more than three months in local authority care (for this criterion you do not need to have attended a state school)
  6. You have refugee status from the Home Office
  7. You need to study in the East Midlands (for example, for family, cultural or financial reasons)
  8. You provide long term care of a sick or disabled family member

UK Entry Requirements

Alternative Qualifications

• We recognise that applicants have a wealth of different experiences and follow a variety of pathways into higher education.
• Consequently, we treat all applicants with alternative qualifications (besides A levels and the International Baccalaureate) on an individual basis, and we gladly accept students with a whole range of less conventional qualifications, including:
  • Access to HE Diploma
  • Advanced Diploma
  • BTEC HND/HNC
  • BTEC Extended Diploma
• This list is not exhaustive. The entry requirements for alternative qualifications can be quite specific; for example, you may need to take certain modules and achieve a specified grade in those modules.

RQF BTEC Nationals

• RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma grades DMM
• RQF Level 3 BTEC National Diploma grades DM + C
• RQF Level 3 BTEC National Extended Certificate M + BC

Access to HE Diploma

• Access to HE Diploma 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction, 18 Level 3 credits at Merit and 12 Level 3 credits at Pass

Mature Students

• At the University of Nottingham, we have a valuable community of mature students and we appreciate their contribution to the wider student population.
• You can find lots of useful information on the mature students webpage.

Progression to Direct Entry Degree

• On successful completion of the course, you will progress directly to your undergraduate course, chosen from the full range provided entirely within the Faculty of Arts; this excludes a small number of joint honours courses where the academic partner is in another faculty.
• Factors to consider:
  • Additional entry requirements: some degrees, notably those provided by the Department of Music, and post-A level pathway Modern Languages, have additional entry requirements.
  • Year abroad: most of our Modern Languages courses, and our American and Canadian Studies (study abroad) course involve a year abroad in your third year.
  • Placement year: if you choose (and successfully complete) this option, you will have ‘with placement year’ added to your degree title.

UCAS Code

• Q39F

Duration

• 4 years full-time
• One year foundation course, three year undergraduate course (or four years undergraduate course if you choose a course with an integrated year abroad, or take an optional year in industry or other study abroad opportunity.)

Study Abroad

• On the direct entry degree part of this course, you can apply to study abroad at one of our partner institutions or at University of Nottingham China or University of Nottingham Malaysia.
• If you are successful in applying to study abroad, you will get the opportunity to broaden your horizons and enhance your CV by experiencing another culture.
• Teaching is typically in English, but there may be opportunities to study in another language if you are sufficiently fluent.

Placements and Internships

• You can choose to add an optional placement year to your three year progression degree.
• For some of our progression degrees you could gain professional experience in film, television and other creative industries, create a network of contacts and boost your employability through our Creative Student Network internship scheme.
• The Foundation Year is based within the Faculty of Arts that offers numerous placement and internship opportunities.

Key Information

• Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university’s control.

Fees

• £5,760*

Tuition Fees 2026/27

• This is the UK undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 25/26. It may increase for the academic year 26/27 and we will update our information once we have received confirmation of the fee from the UK Government.

Additional Costs

• All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus.
• Essential course materials are supplied.
• Books: You'll be able to access most of the books you’ll need through our libraries, though you may wish to buy your own copies of core texts.
• A limited number of modules may have compulsory texts which you are required to buy. We recommend that you budget £100 per year for books, but this figure will vary according to which modules you take.
• The Blackwell's bookshop on campus offers a year-round price match against any of the main retailers (for example Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith). They also offer second-hand books, as students from previous years sell their copies back to the bookshop.
• Volunteering and placements: For volunteering and placements, such as work experience and teaching in schools, you will need to pay for transport and refreshments.

Scholarships and Bursaries

• Faculty of Arts Alumni Scholarships: Our alumni scholarships provide support with essential living costs to eligible students.
• University of Nottingham bursaries and scholarships: The university offers a wide range of funds that can provide you with an additional source of non-repayable financial help.
• Home students: Over one third of our UK students receive our means-tested core bursary, worth up to £1,000 a year.

Course Overview

• Your Arts and Humanities Foundation Year will help prepare you for the BA English Language and Literature.
• This degree allows you to combine your fondness for literature with your fascination of language.
• You’ll choose from a wide range of modules, and as you progress, you can tailor your degree to the aspects which interest you the most.

Why Choose This Course?

• Automatic progression to your degree upon successful completion of the Foundation Year - there's no need to reapply.
• Preparation for success - gain the skills and confidence during the foundation year to thrive as an undergraduate.
• Great support - benefit from dedicated foundation year tutors.
• Carefully designed curriculum - each of the six modules aims to give you the best start to your progression degree.
• Freedom to explore - deepen your knowledge of your favourite topics and explore new ones.
• Build employability - develop your CV-boosting skills through integrated professional competencies training during the foundation year.
• Change your mind – this Foundation Year allows progression to a wide range of Arts and Humanities degrees.

When You Progress to Your Chosen Degree

• Explore real-world challenges across interdisciplinary themes with our ‘Engaged Arts’ optional modules.
• Work with our dedicated Faculty of Arts Placements Team to assist with your employability skills development via a range of placements, internships and volunteering opportunities.

Our Latest Stats

• 7th best university in the UK for work experience (Rate My Placement Best Universities for Work Experience, 2025)
• Top 3 most targeted UK university by leading employers (The Graduate Market, High Fliers Research, 2024)

Explore More

• A day in the life of an Arts and Humanities Foundation Year student
• What our Foundation Year students say

Your Department

• The Foundation Year is based within the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies but operates across the whole of the Faculty of Arts.
• Once you progress to your chosen degree you will be based within one of our schools and departments.

Important Information

• This online prospectus has been drafted in advance of the academic year to which it applies.
• Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to course content) are likely to occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course.

Indicative Modules

• Foundation year
  • All modules Mandatory Optional
  • Mandatory
    • Year 1
      • Important Thinkers Through History
      • Critical Thinking and Reflective Learning
      • Language and Culture
      • Media, Communication and Society
      • Narrative and Creativity
      • The Project / Language Centre modules

Teaching and Learning

How You Will Learn

• Teaching methods:
  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Workshops

How You Will Be Assessed

• Your six foundation year modules are assessed using a wide variety of methods.
• Each module has two assessment points.
• Assessment methods:
  • Essay
  • Poster
  • Presentation
  • Portfolio (written/digital)
  • Creative piece
  • Workbook
• If taking a language module in place of the The Project:
  • Exam
  • Oral exam

Contact Time and Study Hours

• Teaching: During your foundation year you’ll have at least 12 hours of timetabled contact a week through lectures, seminars and workshops.
• One-to-one tutorials: You will have four general progress tutorials as well as individual module-focused tutorials during your foundation year.

Careers

Careers Overview

• Evidence shows that students commencing their university study at foundation level achieve the same levels of undergraduate degree as their fellow direct-route students, which in turn leads to the same wide range of career options.
• In addition to your study we recommend that you participate in at least some of our CV-enhancing programmes which include:
  • Nottingham Advantage Award
  • Student Ambassador scheme
  • Volunteering opportunities

Job Prospects

• Average starting salary and career progression:
  • 78.8% of undergraduates from the Faculty of Arts secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation.
  • The average annual starting salary for these graduates was £23,974.

Careers Advice

• Studying for a degree at the University of Nottingham will provide you with the type of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in any career, whichever direction you decide to take.
• Throughout your time with us, our Careers and Employability Service can work with you to improve your employability skills even further; assisting with job or course applications, searching for appropriate work experience placements and hosting events to bring you closer to a wide range of prospective employers.

Your Campus - University Park

• University Park Campus covers 300 acres, with green spaces, wildlife, period buildings and modern facilities.
• It is one of the UK's most beautiful and sustainable campuses, winning a national Green Flag award every year since 2003.