Undergraduate Degrees
BA English Literature ( Q300 )
- UCAS Course Code:
- Q300
- Duration:
- 3 years
- Attendance:
- Full Time
- Award:
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- School of Study:
- Literature, Drama and Creative Writing
- Brochure:
- Literature, Drama and Creative Writing Undergraduate Brochure (PDF)
- Typical A-Level Offer:
- AAA-AAB including English Literature
The School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing is famous for the quality and adventurousness of its teaching. It embraces several interlinked disciplines; for example, you can choose to study drama or creative writing alongside English and related literatures. The English Literature degree programme explores a wide range of writing from the medieval period to the present day – from the Arthurian Tradition via Shakespeare, Milton, Austen, the Brontës, Joyce, to novelists who are still writing now – and it combines this with a range of innovatory approaches and specialist topics.
The degree course is studied in an interdisciplinary atmosphere. Alongside specialists in English Literature, you will also work with teachers and students who are involved with Creative Writing, Drama, Philosophy, Modern Languages, American Studies, Film Studies, History and History of Art. The options system also allows you to explore one or other of these subjects yourself: in each of the three years, besides your options within the English syllabus, you can choose one module from another discipline, according to your own interests and aptitude.
The whole programme is based on the awareness that literature is not an abstract or unworldly pursuit, but something which happens in the real world. That is why we teach historically, so that literature is seen in larger contexts; and it is why we host regular extra-curricular visits by contemporary writers who read and discuss their work. We also emphasise making literature as well as studying it: there is the opportunity to extend your awareness of literature through your own writing. To facilitate all this we employ a variety of teaching strategies (small group seminars, larger-scale lectures, writing workshops, individual projects and dissertations). Assessment is carried out in each teaching module (either by coursework, assessed practical project or by occasional short exams) so that there are no ‘finals’.
Course Structure:
Year 1
The first year provides a foundation for the study of literature at degree level, introducing important theoretical concepts, offering strategies for both reading and writing texts, and opening up problematic questions of literature’s historical and contemporary relation to the society which produces and receives it. All students take the module Literature in History, which runs throughout the year and introduces the sustained study of texts in their historical and cultural milieu, and teaches you how to interpret plays, poems and narratives in their historical contexts. You will also take the tutorial module Reading Texts, a small-group tutorial module which helps you to become a more resourceful and independent reader and again, is a year-long module. The third module to be taken in the first semester will be chosen from a range of complementary subjects: American Studies, Drama, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Film Studies, and History. In the second semester, alongside Literature in History, and Reading Texts, most students will choose to study the module Writing Texts, which allows you to focus upon skills of critical and creative writing in addition to exploring the nature of the writing process itself. During the first year you have the opportunity to begin to pursue distinct ‘pathways’ in your studies relating to areas of individual interest.
Year 2
In the second and third years, you choose from an extensive range of options to assemble a course that reflects your interests. There are no compulsory modules, but we do constrain your choices so that you encounter a good historical range of different kinds of writing. In the second year, you choose five modules from the wide range on offer and available modules change regularly in order to stay fresh and relevant. The main "menu" is made up of lecture-and-seminar modules devoted to quite large topics in literature - for example Shakespeare, 19th Century Writing, or Modernism. Alongside these there are smaller modules that encourage you to venture outside the literary mainstream: modules for instance about critical theory, dramatic literature, postcolonialism, or journalism. It is at this point too, that many Literature students choose to take at least one module in Creative Writing: there are regular workshops in prose fiction, poetry, scriptwriting and literary translation. Even if you would not see yourself as "a writer", you can enrich your study of literature by trying to produce some. Your final module in the second year is "free choice" which opens up other directions of study to you.
Year 3
Third-year modules are more intensive: you take only four in the course of the year and this will be more specialised seminar-based work. These modules often reflect the research interests of the staff who teach them, and they demand more initiative from you. There are no lectures: each group works as a seminar and everyone is expected to contribute on the basis of their own reading. The range of topics is wide - about thirty such seminars run each year - and is constantly changing a little. Examples of current seminar topics include Regency Women Writers, Trauma, Psyche and Modern Literature, Henry James: Questions of Art, Life and Theory, Medieval Arthurian Traditions, Revenge Tragedy: Ancient and Modern, Biography, The Gothic. At this level there is an emphasis on independent projects and individually tailored dissertations, and you could choose to undertake an 8,000-word dissertation. This means that instead of joining a taught module, you undertake an individual study with a member of staff as your supervisor. You can also take courses in other disciplines such as film, dramatic literature, creative writing, philosophy, or history.
This programme can also be taken as a part-time course of study (lasting 5-7 years).
Teaching and Assessment:
Key skills, issues and ideas are introduced in lectures given by all members of faculty, including literary critics, literary historians and writers. More specialist study is undertaken in small group seminars. These are chosen from a range offered within the School and across the University. You will also spend time studying and researching in the library or carrying out practical work or projects. In most subject areas, you are assessed at the end of each year on the basis of coursework and, in some cases, project and examination results. In your final year, you will write a dissertation on a topic of your choice and with the advice of tutors. There is no final examination. Your final degree result is determined by the marks you receive in years two and three.
Dr. Karen Smyth
The School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing brings together writers, scholars, teachers and students in an exploration of the powers and possibilities of literature. Our aim is to make creative writing and critical reading confront one another in ways that sharpen and enliven both. We teach and research across the range of English Literature from the fourteenth century to the twenty-first. This coverage is supplemented by our interests in European Literature, in postcolonial writing in English across the world, and in literary and cultural theory.
Translation
UEA is home to the British Centre for Literary Translation, which is both a forum for professional translators and a focus for translation work with undergraduate and postgraduate students of literature. The School of Literature & Creative Writing runs the MA in Literary Translation course.
Creative Writing
For over thirty years UEA has been an important centre for established and upcoming writers, whether they come here as teachers, as students, as writers in residence, or to take part in the long-running literary festival organised by the Arthur Miller Centre and the Centre for Creative and Performing Arts.
Drama
Our drama programmes combine critical study with creative practice. The theoretical aspect draws on the expertise of LIT as a whole; the practical work is based in the purpose-built Drama Studio.
Literature
Literature at UEA is not a complete, finished object of study, but a living practice. Because we also do creative writing, translation and drama, we are aware that imaginative writing is not fixed; it is constantly being transformed, adapted, rewritten and reread. Students are invited to study these processes, and also to be part of them.
Among a diverse group of about twenty literature lecturers, there are experts on the various roles that the practice of literature can play, and has played, in society — how it can be something like praying, or like journalism, or like conversation, how it can be a form of political action, or a vehicle for ideas, or a working out of unmanageable experience, or a way of negotiating (or inflaming) differences of class and race and gender. We teach literature not in isolation, but in relation to this untidy bundle of social and psychological purposes.
It follows that we have no great respect for the boundaries that divide one academic discipline from another. We take a lively interest in the work of our colleagues in history, philosophy, film, the visual arts and music, and we encourage our students to do the same. That is why we offer a range of degree programmes which combine literature with other, related subjects. Our largest programme is the BA in English Literature: this is a single subject degree, but we work to keep it open and responsive to its multi-disciplinary surroundings.
UniStats Information
Compulsory Study (80 credits)
Students must study the following modules for 80 credits:
| Name | Code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LITERATURE IN HISTORY 1 | LDCE1F01 | 20 |
| LITERATURE IN HISTORY II | LDCE1F10 | 20 |
| READING TEXTS II | LDCE1F08 | 20 |
| READING TEXTS: TUTORIAL CLASS | LDCE1F03 | 20 |
Option A Study (20 credits)
Students will select 20 credits from the following modules:
| Name | Code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANALYSING FILM AND TELEVISION | FTMF1F09 | 20 |
| BEGINNERS' FRENCH I | LCSU1F11 | 20 |
| BEGINNERS' GERMAN I | LCSU1G11 | 20 |
| BEGINNERS' SPANISH I | LCSU1H11 | 20 |
| CLASSIC READINGS IN PHILOSOPHY | PHI-1A01 | 20 |
| IMAGINING AMERICA: LITERATURE I | AMSA1F07 | 20 |
| INTERMEDIATE FRENCH I | LCSU2F95 | 20 |
| INTERMEDIATE SPANISH I | LCSU2H11 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE I | LCSU1OB1 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL STUDIES | LDCE1F05 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL HISTORY | HIS-1A13 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO MODERN HISTORY | HIS-1A19 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO WORLD DRAMATIC LITERATURES 1 | LDCD1X39 | 20 |
| POST A-LEVEL FRENCH LANGUAGE 1/I | LCSU1F21 | 20 |
| POST A-LEVEL GERMAN LANGUAGE 1/I | LCSU1G21 | 20 |
| POST A-LEVEL SPANISH 1/I | LCSU1H21 | 20 |
| READING TRANSLATIONS: TUTORIAL CLASS | LDCE1F13 | 20 |
Option B Study (20 credits)
Students will select 20 credits from the following modules:
| Name | Code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BEGINNERS' FRENCH II | LCSU1F12 | 20 |
| BEGINNERS' GERMAN II | LCSU1G12 | 20 |
| BEGINNERS' SPANISH I (SPRING START) | LCSU1H14 | 20 |
| BEGINNERS' SPANISH II | LCSU1H12 | 20 |
| INTERMEDIATE FRENCH II | LCSU2F96 | 20 |
| INTERMEDIATE SPANISH II | LCSU2H12 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE I (SPRING START) | LCSU1OB4 | 20 |
| INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE II | LCSU1OB2 | 20 |
| POST A-LEVEL FRENCH LANGUAGE 1/II | LCSU1F22 | 20 |
| POST A-LEVEL GERMAN LANGUAGE 1/II | LCSU1G22 | 20 |
| POST A-LEVEL SPANISH 1/II | LCSU1H22 | 20 |
| WRITING TEXTS | LDCE1F14 | 20 |
Option A Study (80 credits)
Students will select 80 credits from the following modules:
| Name | Code | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 17TH-CENTURY WRITING: RENAISSANCE, REVOLUTION, RESTORATION | LDCE2Y13 | 20 |
| CRITICAL THEORY AND PRACTICE | LDCE2X15 | 20 |
| EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WRITING | LDCE2Y11 | 20 |
| ERASMUS EXCHANGE: AUTUMN SEMESTER | LDCE2A01 | 60 |
| ERASMUS EXCHANGE: SPRING SEMESTER | LDCE2A02 | 60 |
| EUROPEAN LITERATURE: ENCOUNTERS WITH 'OTHERNESS' | LDCE2X24 | 20 |
| GOODBYE TO BERLIN? LITERATURE & VISUAL CULTURE IN WEIMAR GERMANY | LDCE2Z40 | 20 |
| LITERATURE STUDIES SEMESTER ABROAD: AUSTRALIA (SPRING) | LDCE2A04 | 60 |
| MEDIEVAL WRITING | LDCE2Y15 | 20 |
| MODERNISM | LDCE2Z15 | 20 |
| NINETEENTH-CENTURY WRITING | LDCE2Z30 | 20 |
| ROMANTICISM 1780-1840 | LDCE2X26 | 20 |
| SHAKESPEARE | LDCE2Y04 | 20 |
Option B Study (20 credits)
Students will select 20 credits from the following modules:
Free Choice Study (20 credits)
Students will select modules worth 20 credits from the course catalogue with the approval of their School
Option A Study (120 credits)
Students will select 120 credits from the following modules:
Disclaimer
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules and regular (five-yearly) review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff or sabbatical leave. Where this is the case, the University will endeavour to inform students.
Year Abroad
You may transfer your studies to another European university for one or both semesters of the second year. You can choose from a range of universities in countries such as Greece, France, Germany and Switzerland. Alternatively, and depending on the availability of places, you may wish to spend a second-year semester at an Australian university (eg Macquarie, Sydney).
Entry Requirements
- A Level:
- AAA-AAB including English Literature
- International Baccalaureate:
- 34-33 points overall with 6 in HL English
- Scottish Advanced Highers:
- AAA-AAB including English Literature
- Irish Leaving Certificate:
- AAAAAA-AAAABB
- Access Course:
- Please contact the university for further information.
- HND:
- Please contact the university for further information.
- European Baccalaureate:
- 85-80% overall, with 80% in English Literature
Entry Requirement
The combined English Language and Literature A-level is acceptable instead of English Literature. A second Arts or Humanities subject at A-Level is encouraged, alongside English Literature. Students studying the IB programme should offer a second Arts or Humanities subject at Higher Level.
Students for whom English is a Foreign language
We welcome applications from students from all academic backgrounds. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading). Recognised English Language qualifications include:
- IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in all components)
- TOEFL: Internet-based score of 88 overall (minimum 18 in the Listening and Writing components; 19 in the Reading component; and 21 in the Speaking component)
- PTE: 62 overall with minimum 55 in all components
If you do not meet the University's entry requirements, our INTO Language Learning Centre offers a range of university preparation courses to help you develop the high level of academic and English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study.
Interviews
The majority of candidates will not be called for an interview. However, for some students an interview will be requested. These are normally quite informal and generally cover topics such as your current studies, reasons for choosing the course and your personal interests and extra-curricular activities.
Gap Year
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year, believing that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry and may wish to contact the appropriate Admissions Office directly to discuss this further.
Special Entry Requirements
English Literature A-Level is required.
Intakes
The School's annual intake is in September of each year.
Alternative Qualifications
We encourage you to apply if you have alternative qualifications equivalent to our stated entry requirement. Please contact us for further information.
GCSE Offer
Students are required to have Mathematics and English at Grade C or above at GCSE Level.
Assessment
For the majority of candidates the most important factors in assessing the application will be past and future achievement in examinations, academic interest in the subject being applied for, personal interest and extra-curricular activities and the confidential reference. We consider applicants as individuals and accept students from a very wide range of educational backgrounds and spend time considering your application in order to reach an informed decision relating to your application. Typical offers are indicated above. Please note, there may be additional subject entry requirements specific to individual degree courses.
Fees and Funding
University Fees and Financial Support: UK/EU Students
Further information on fees and funding for 2012 can be found here
University Fees and Financial Support: International Students
The University will be charging International students £11,700.00 for all full time School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing undergraduate programmes which start in 2012.
Please click to access further information about fees and funding for International students
Applications need to be made via the Universities Colleges and Admissions Services (UCAS), using the UCAS Apply option.
UCAS Apply is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time Undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom. It is made up of different sections that you need to complete. Your application does not have to be completed all at once. The system allows you to leave a section partially completed so you can return to it later and add to or edit any information you have entered. Once your application is complete, it must be sent to UCAS so that they can process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The UCAS code name and number for the University of East Anglia is EANGL E14.
Further Information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances with the Admissions Office prior to applying please do contact us:
Undergraduate Admissions Office (Literature, Drama and Creative Writing)
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
Please click here to register your details online via our Online Enquiry Form.
International candidates are also actively encouraged to access the University's International section of our website.


