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English Literature BA (Hons)

English Literature at DMU combines classic and contemporary literature, from Chaucer and Shakespeare to 21st century fiction and film adaptations.

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Block teaching designed around you

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Read more about block teaching

Overview

Study an exciting range of literature in English from writers across the globe and from the medieval period to today. Explore topics such as Victorian and Romantic literature, Shakespeare, text technologies, film adaptation and postcolonial writing. Learn how texts work and debate literature’s role in society both now and throughout history, whilst developing valuable skills in critical analysis, creative thinking and research. 

By studying English Literature at DMU, you’ll join a lively and welcoming academic community who are friendly, supportive and passionate about literature. You’ll receive excellent teaching from internationally renowned academics and learn to articulate your ideas with confidence and write with fluency and flair.

Our English Literature graduates enter a wide range of professions including media, marketing, publishing, teaching, public relations and the civil service.

Key features

  • Study a wide range of literature from Britain, America and around the world, including fiction, poetry, drama and film.
  • Explore print and digital technologies, learn to use a hand printing press and gain practical training in programming language HTML with expert teaching from our Centre for Textual Studies.
  • Learn from internationally renowned academics and acclaimed guest speakers, who have previously included writers Kate Forsyth (novelist), Simon Armitage (poet), Andrew Davies (screenwriter) and Carol Ann Duffy (poet).
  • Select a route through this degree in Drama, Film, History, Journalism or Media. These carefully chosen routes will complement and enrich your understanding of your main subject, alongside broadening your skillset to give you a wider range of career paths available upon graduation.
  • Experience a range of teaching activities and a variety of assessment methods, ensuring your learning remains dynamic and enabling you to develop a broader range of skills.
  • Develop a range of transferable skills in critical and creative thinking, independent and collaborative working that make English graduates extremely employable and sought after in the workplace.
  • Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

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English Language and English Literature

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: Q300

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Book an Open Day

Submit a study-related enquiry

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

Apply now

Application document guidance

Order a prospectus

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements

  • 112 points from at least 2 A'levels
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points or
  • T Levels Merit

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

Interview required: No

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

First year

Block 1: Introduction to the Novel

Block 2: Journeys and Places

Block 3: Introduction to Drama: Shakespeare OR you can select to study one route from the list below:

  • Drama route – Revolutions: Staging Plays
  • Film Studies route – Disney, Warner Bros and the Business of the Film Studio
  • History route – Global Cities
  • Journalism route – Understanding Journalism
  • Media route - Media, Culture and Society

Block 4: Poetry and Society

Second year

Block 1: Exploration and Innovation: Medieval to Early Modern Literature

Block 2: Exploring Work and Society

Block 3: Screen and Literary Adaptations OR continue with the route selected in the first year:

  • Drama route – Theatre Revolutions
  • Film Studies route – Screen Archives - Preservation, Conservation and Usage
  • History route – Humans and the Natural World
  • Journalism route – Beyond News: Peace journalism and Opinion Writing
  • Media route – Public Relations and Strategic Communication

Block 4: Romantic and Victorian Literature

Third year

Block 1: Dissertation

Block 2: Print and Digital Revolutions

Block 3: World Englishes: On the Page and Beyond OR continue with the route selected in the first year:

  • Drama route – Performance, Identity and Activism
  • Film Studies route – British Cinema - Creativity, Independents and Interdependence
  • History route – The World on Display
  • Journalism route – Music, Film and Entertainment Journalism
  • Media route – Gender and TV Fictions

Block 4: Modernism and Magazines

See detailed module information


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

 

Overview

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, group tutorials and student-led seminars. Teaching sessions might be structured around discussion, a film screening or based in a computer lab. You will complete reading and research in advance and join in conversation with your tutor and your peers.

The first year expands your knowledge of the major literary genres (poetry, drama, fiction) and develops foundational skills in research, writing and critical analysis. The second year broadens your understanding of the development of English literature through time. The third year allows you to extend your knowledge by pursuing your own interests within the taught modules and your dissertation, which is a substantial independent written project on a literary topic of your choice.

Individual tutorials with module tutors are available in weekly ‘office hours’, at which you can discuss any aspect of your course or get help with assignments. All students are supported by a personal tutor and have access to specialist guidance in writing and study skills. 

You will experience varied forms of assessment, including essays, presentations, learning journals, class tests, practical work (such as the production of a sonnet using a replica of a sixteenth-century printing press or website production), peer evaluation, creative work, self-evaluation, blogs and dissertation. This range of assessment methods will enable you to develop a broad spectrum of communication and technological skills, alongside an ability to think critically, independently, flexibly and imaginatively.

Contact hours

You will normally attend 8-10 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures, seminars and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake around 30 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

Facilities and features

Placements

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team

rubyna-placement

Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career.

Our Careers Team can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

Rubyna Cassam secured a placement with Penguin Random House in London. She gained invaluable knowledge of the publishing world, from creating presentations for new book releases and producing spreadsheets of international sales figures, to contacting buyers about merchandise and attending marketing meetings about the London and Frankfurt book fairs.

Students on the #DMUglobal trip to New York

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers. 

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Students on this course have undertaken exciting opportunities to study overseas in Tokyo, Japan, and Vancouver Island in Canada.

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Graduate careers

English Literature graduates are eminently employable because of their highly developed communication and reasoning skills and their ability to work independently and as part of a group.

Our graduates go on to work in careers in a variety of areas such as archival work, the media, the civil service, marketing, journalism, the arts, library services, teaching English as a foreign language and public relations. Graduates have earned roles such as Associate Producer at the BBC, Picture Book Editor at Pan Macmillan and a Senior Press Officer in the Children's Department at Penguin Random House. Graduates also have the opportunity to undertake further studies at DMU.

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