English
By Emma Prest
Published: 15 August 2004
What do you come out with? BA
Why do it? Because you love reading and analysing texts and writing essays. Through literature you can delve into history, learn about the human condition and let your imagination roam. And remember, you'll learn all those transferable skills that will make you into an ace communicator, memo writer, and speech giver. So, it will give you lots of flexibility in the job market.
What's it about? Some courses are more traditional than others. At Oxford you have a choice between Beowulf and Chaucer in the first year. At University College London you still have to study Beowulf, "It's good for them," says UCL's Professor David Trotter. "We try to cover the whole of the subject - Beowulf to Reservoir Dogs." The Warwick degree starts with medieval literature. Ditto York's. At York you can get away with studying minimal Shakespeare. At Leeds you have to do some medieval literature and some Shakespeare, though you don't have to read all 39 plays as you do at UCL. One of the most flexible courses is at Cardiff where there are no compulsory modules. You can choose courses from Old Norse to Post-Modern Literature as you can at most universities including Liverpool. Liverpool has the largest science fiction archives. Compulsory courses cover everything from Shakespear and Milton to Salmand Rushde. Liverpool also runs a unique programme with a literary magazine called "The Reader" where students go into primary schools and underpriveleged groups and help them read. Reading has revised its course in recent years and now offers an increased number of choices including courses in American literature and women's literature.
How long is a degree? Three years. Four in Scotland.
What are the students like? "Well-motivated, lively and able to work independently," in the words of Geoffrey Harvey from Reading. Usually articulate and imaginative as well. Many departments have significantly more women than men.
How is it packaged? York has no three-hour exams. Everything is judged by continuous assessment, essay, or orally in two-hour seminars. Cardiff also has few exams with the emphasis on coursework. At Warwick and Leeds it's 50 per cent by examination and 50 per cent by coursework; at UCL 80:20. Leeds emphasises exams that can count for up to two thirds of your mark. At Oxford nearly everything depends on big bang finals except for 25 per cent of final year work which is assessed.
How cool is it? Fairly cool because it's a very popular subject. Leeds University has 12 applicants for every place.
What A-levels do you need? English. Otherwise anything goes at most universities.
What grades? AAA/AAB at Oxford. AAB at Warwick, York, Leeds, Reading, Cardiff and UCL; ABB at Liverpool with an A in English Language or Literature.
Will you be interviewed? Yes at Oxford. UCL interviews one-third, Warwick interviews on Open Days. Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Reading and York interview mature students and others whom they may be undecided about. St Andrews gives no interviews.
Will it keep you off you dole? Yes, if you want to stay off it. Graduates go into the media, publishing, law, public relations and arts administration. A few continue to go into teaching. Others will head for the City or accountancy.
What do students say? Libby Powell, 20, studying for a BA in English and Philosophy at Nottingham. "Personally I can't see anything better than spending a few years reading books and analysing and writing about them. I can move along in my academic career by taking time to read and explore literature that I would enjoy anyway and produce creative analytical pieces of work. I get the chance to discuss ideas with a group of intelligent people. I have loved the group work so far. Discussing our views and pooling all our ideas is fantastic. I also love the drama work we do."
Jack Johnson, 20, studying for a BA at Leeds. "I found I quite liked the old stuff. Medieval literature was fun, including Beowolf. It's difficult to read but luckily we don't have to do the originals. You get to see books in a different light, such as Dracula, which is all about homosexuality. I don't enjoy the language side as much. Some of the seminar discussions are disappointing but others you get really into. There is a broad choice of electives at Leeds. The people on the English course are a lot of fun - there are lots of girls!'
Hannah Sheppard, 24, a recent graduate from Liverpool with BA English. "The amount of choice was fantastic. You could follow your own interests and shape your degree to suit you. I learnt to articulate my views and engage with texts. I loved Chaucer. The women's writers course I enjoyed in a different way to how I thought I would. It made you ask, why do we not have male writers' courses?"
Louise Lappin, 22, a recent graduate from Cardiff with BA English Literature. "There was a wide choice of modules - textual based to film. The critical theory module was good. It was an up-to-date course and I enjoyed the contemporary approach. It was hard work, but I enjoyed that. I am staying to do a MA in critical and cultural theory."
Where's best for teaching? Excellents were awarded to Anglia Polytechnic University, Bath Spa University College, Birkbeck, Chester College of Higher Education, Exeter, Kingston, Oxford Brookes, Queen Mary and Westfield, Sheffield Hallam, Queen's Belfast, UCL, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, East London, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, North London, Northumbria, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton, Sussex, Warwick, University of the West of England, York, Glamorgan, Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Dundee, Edinburgh and Strathclyde.
Where's best for research? Birkbeck, Cambridge, Durham, Leeds, Liverpool, Oxford, Reading, UCL, Warwick, York, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrew's, Cardiff scored 5 *. Anglia Polytechnic, Birmingham, Bristol, De Montfort, East Anglia, Exeter, Goldsmiths, Hull, Keele, Kent at Canterbury, Lancaster, Leicester, Loughborough, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent, Oxford Brookes, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Southampton, Sussex, Stirling, Strathclyde, Wales at Lampeter, Queen's Belfast scored 5. Bath Spa, Essex, Gloucestershire, King's College, Liverpool John Moores, Manchester Met, Middlesex, University College Northampton, Open University, St Mary's College, Sheffield Hallam, South Bank, Sunderland, Surrey Roehampton, West of England in Bristol, Aberdeen, Dundee, Glamorgan, Bangor Wales, Swansea Wales, Aberystwyth, Ulster scored 4.
Where's the cutting edge? Women in 16th- and 17th-century literature, performance studies and Renaissance studies at Warwick; medieval literature and Renaissance literature at York; American and post-colonial literature, Renaissance studies and language at Leeds; post-colonial literature, gender, cultural criticism and interdisciplinary study at Cardiff; critical theory and the Victorian period at Liverpool. Reading is strong on children's literature, American and Canadian literature, book history and the Renaissance period.
Who are the stars? Professors Jeremy Treglown and Michael Edwards at Warwick; Hermione Lee and Tom Paulin at Oxford; John Barrell, Harriet Guest and Rachel Bowlby at York; Ed Larrissy and Katie Wales at Leeds; Stephen Knight at Cardiff; Dinah Birch, Neil Corcoran, Marcus Walsh, Philip Davis and Kelvin Everest at Liverpool; John Pilling, Andrew Gurr, Karin Lesnik-Oberstein, Carol Howells and Simon Elliot at Reading.
What can you combine it with? At almost all universities English can be combined with a wide range of humanities. At Cardiff the most popular are Philosophy, History, French and Cultural Criticism.
